dry/liquid yeast questions

[vendejp]

I just want to get some consensus on a few yeast related questions. i did a search here, but didnt really find what im looking for.

Dry vs Liquid.

Dry = $1.50, liquid = $5.

Ill start with what I understand of dry yeast
for my dry, ive used 1 packet and just rehydrated it in about a cup of H2O about 30 min before pitching. Is there anything else that should be done? ive read to use 2 packets.... one or two? ive also seen instructions that dont say to re-hydrate dry yeast, but to directly pitch into the fermenter. re-hydrating the yeast is easy, so i do it.

dry yeast is susceptible to contamination during the drying process, whereas liquid yeast can be cultivated in completely sterile environment.

liquid - from what i understand, the main advantage is a greater variety of strains. also, from what i understand you have to create a "starter" a few days before to increase the yeast count.... BUT white labs yeast is directly pitchable. you really only create a starter if you have a high OG beer that requires more yeast or makeing more than the 5 gal.

is this accurate? what other pros/cons and basic info are there? what do you guys do? ill do some experimentation of my own, but i thought id get some feedback first.

im wondering if the extra $3.50 a batch of beer is worth it for the liquid and why.

thanks

[Payson]

In my opinion, liquid is worth the extra few bucks simply due to its variety. I generally pitch the smack pack or vial directly without a starter and have never had a problem. I guess what it boils down to is whether $3.50 extra is a worthwhile investment to produce a superior beer. I must admit though, I've made plenty of good beers with dry yeast and never used more than 1 pack. On the other hand, you could not make an acceptable lambic with dry yeast (to name 1 style)

[wortchillergoal]

I use liquid yeast. I enjoy the results. When I first started, the people I was learning from would try a beer and could tell if it was a dry yeast. I said I hope I never end up like that, but I did. Dry yeast leaves a different after taste, not bad but you can notice it.

Liquid yeast does not have to have a starter. The starter will decrease your lag time time and give you a stronger fermentation.

Try both and see which you like. You will be able to make great beer with either.


BEER CAN BE FOOD, BUT FOOD CAN NEVER BE BEER.

[Fast_Eddy]

One other con to dry is that it is considered to not be of high enough quality to be harvested and re-pitched. Re-pitched liquid yeast costs $0.0.

[toneyc]

And.... if you do a lot of beers that use the same yeast, you can do the parallel culturing thing. I use a lot of the American Ale yeast so I made a large starter and split it 8 ways. $5.00 / 8 = 63 cents a shot, cheaper than dry yeast, eh?

I have never used dry yeast, St. Pat's started me out with SmackPacks. I never made a starter until a couple of months ago after hearing everyone here talk about them. A good starter does seem to make a better beer.

:)
Toney.

[SLOSHomebrewers]

I have sucessfully split a liquid culture up to 12 times.

Granted, it was one of the more vigerous cultures produced by white labs, and by the 12 one, it was beging to produce some strange esters.

I have both pitched directly from a white labs vial and used starters. A starter is well worth it, especially if the culture is less than fresh. You don't have to get too fancy with the starter thing. Use whatever kind of container you have around the kitchen as long as it is clean and sanitized.

I now culture my own yeast from slants. I posted tons of info on that in another thread. I keep a dry yeast packet in the fridge for emergency use, but have not had to use it yet.
________
CLAY REGAZZONI (http://www.ferrari-wiki.com/wiki/Clay_Regazzoni)

[brewmonkey]

Good call on the back up yeast. I too keep some dried yeast around just in case something stalls and I cannot get a liquid culture to pitch.

Yeast if handled well can go for several generations. There is only one liquid culture that I know may not go more then 5-7 (without re-plating and culturing) and that is the WLP 002. It is a great yeast, is a very high floccer so it drops bright without finings. But all at the sacrifice of longevity, if you take it past the 5ish mark it starts to produce esters (fruity) does not drop bright quickly if at all without finings, and the yeast harvest is fluffy compared to the think cake you normally would see with it.

[vendejp]

thanks gang... it sounds like most people are proponents for the liquid yeast.

ill try some from white labs. and experiment. maybe after a few batches ill try to harvest some from my fermenter (after i research how to).