frozen yeast

[Tim Gregory]

So I got a full size beer fridge yesterday and as I'm emptying out my old mini fridge I find my 2 jars of lambic blend and brett are embedded in a wall of ice. Do you "think these will recover or are they done?

[KMcK]

I never give up on yeast without giving it a chance to recover. Make a starter with it and be very patient.

[mr x]

It might be hard to tell with those two yeasts than with 'regular' yeasts if they are working or not.

[Jayme]

Where it's in any sort of medium, freezing = bad. Cell walls rupture, over time you can get mutations. That said, it'll probably still work but the viability will be quite low. The bigger issue IMO with the lambic cultures is it'll likely totally fuck up the bug ratios. If it were me, I would base your decision on space. If doing a beer with that culture means you don't have the space to do a second batch with a fresh culture, I wouldn't bother. But if you have the space to spare, then might as well give it a shot and see what you get.