Anyone know why dry lager yeast's gotten so expensive?

$5 bucks for w-23 or w-34/70

following proper pitching rates, you need two packets

that's 10 bucks for dry yeast!

I hear ya. Last time I stopped by the LHBS it was $3.39 each for S-05. Two packets of that & I'm paying $6.80 for dry yeast? Looks like it's time for us to start washing our dry yeast trubs.

I just paid $2.39 for Saflager S-23, and $3.49 for Saflager W-34/70 at my LHBS, so I'm not sure why you're getting the shaft like that. I am considering getting a 500g brick next year if my experiments into lagering go well this year.

I like the W34/70 so much, I'm going to buy a brick. Well when I finally get through this years bulk yeast buy, that is.

I am upset that the company that made superior lager yeast went out of business. I thought it was a very clean lager yeast. I think I am going to start to looking in to washing my yeast as well. I have talked to flying bison brewing company here in Buffalo and they have offered to give me some of their yeast for free. I might start to do that.

I was wondering the same thing awhile back. Check out what lallemand said on this probrewer.com thread.

http://www.probrewer.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=14084&highlight=yeast+prices

That's an interesting claim by the Lallemand representative in regards to their increasing price to guarantee consistency and quality, given the total f*** up that they committed with the Nottingham strain earlier this year...

khiddy said:

That's an interesting claim by the Lallemand representative in regards to their increasing price to guarantee consistency and quality, given the total f*** up that they committed with the Nottingham strain earlier this year...

Click to expand...

It's probably to make up the money for the Nottingham F up.

While I can't fully understand a 350%+ price increase, I can understand why dry yeasts are increasing in price - quality and ease of use.

No one can argue that dry yeast quality hasn't improved dramatically since I started brewing in the early 1990s.

Ease of use is so obvious any fool can plainly see it. An 11g packet of dry yeast can be pitched into under- or non-aerated, chilled wort. Proper pitching rates will be assured assured (mid-OG ales, of course). A good ferment is pretty much idiot-proof.

Even at $6.75 per packet (Northern Brewer's price for W-34/70), it's a savings over a $6.25 Wyeast XL smack-pack and $4.99 for a pound of DME for the starter (again, ales).

Plus the ease of use - dump the packet into the cooled wort or after simple rehydration - beats building up a starter, which you must do with liquid yeasts, regardless of manufacturer, if you want to pitch properly.

Those are valuable features. The consumer should expect to pay for them.

It's analogous to cars. These days, cars are more fuel-efficient, have added safety features like airbags, and convenience features like GPS navvy systems. If you expect to pay the same for a 2010 car with all those features as you did for a 1995 car with no more features than a tape deck, the manufacturer is not gouging you; your expectations are way out of whack. Adjust them.

Cheers,

Bob

My LHBS prices went up, but only on the Fermentis strains. Danstar and Coopers are still $2 and $2.50, respectively. I asked them and they said that when Fermentis first put the yeast strain on the market, the promotional price was the $2.50-$3 we were used to paying. It was only supposed to be a short term (month) promotion. However, it appeared that they forgot about the promo price and most LHBS were buying double quantities. Further away than recently, Fermentis priced the strains at their market price, where they were originally intended on being priced. However, most LHBS had some surplus of these. Recently, the LHBS have moved through their own surplus and finally Fermentis increased price is being passed on to us. It's a shame, but it's still cheaper than the liquid stuff. Hopefully as they come out with new stuff, the prices of the oldies and goodies deflate. I just stopped buying Fermentis, Danstar and Coopers work just as well.