Re: options during cows dry-time of year?

I don't know if this will answer your question, but it's what I've experienced:

I live in Iowa (likely THE worst 'illegal state' getting raw milk), so I have to drive several hours one way to get it, or find someone who is headed that way.

Hence, I typically make my kefir from top-quality pasteurized, non-homogenized milk from a local dairy (Radiance Dairy scored in the top ten in the nation here: http://www.cornucopia.org/)
...but every now and then I manage to get a few gallons of fresh raw milk.

The grains absolutely LOVE the raw milk and grow like crazy-weeds, but even when I use the pasteurized/non-homogenized, they produce what seems to be a very good quality of kefir and still grow so fast I have to 'kefir in the fridge' (or they'll take over the house...and grocery budget).

When I put them back into raw milk, I can sense no 'degradation' from having being in the pasteurized milk - they immediately go into 'full growth' and it seems there's no 'readjustment period' at all (there's no discernible difference between the first batch of raw milk kefir and the last...except my sadness for it being the last :(

Since my pasteurized milk is such high-quality (before it's cooked/killed) it may have something to do how healthily/easily my grains seem to 'switch'.

I've never frozen grains, although I've dehydrated them...but I've never rehydrated any.

Personally? I'd go for the long-term rest in a larger quantity of raw milk, or using pasteurized/non-homogenized before I'd freeze them...but that's just 'discernment' and certainly not 'scientific'.

Kefir ON!

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