What's the best way to pitch liquid yeast?

Hey guys!

Just got all my ingredients to do Merlin's Ale, a receipe that I got from my Beer book. It looks like a nice light ale to guzzle without getting too slammed like most of my other batches would do to you if you did. Here's the ingredients:

Gain Bill:
4 oz British 55L Crystal
1 oz Peated Malt
1/2 oz British Roasted Barley

Malts:
5 lbs Extra Light DME

3 oz Malto Dextrin

Hops:
1/2 oz Styrian
1/4 oz Target
3/4 oz Kent Goldings

Yeast: Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale

What is the best way to pitch this liquid yeast that you guys have found? All that I have used so far is Safale US-56, which is a dry yeast that you simply open and sprinkle into the wort once it has cooled down to 72 F or so. The US-56 has done me great and has never failed. It fermented very fast in most cases, and lead to some high ABV's in my beers. So this will be my first attempt at using a liquid yeast.
According to the info I have, Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale has a high flocculation.
Just wanted some advice here before I go and make the batch (I've got to get some bottles freed up anyways too! ).

What's the best way to pitch liquid yeast?
Print the instructions on the bottom. HAHAHAHa.
Ok, that was lame.
Anyway, you can pitch liquid yeast the same way you do with your dry yeast, but it's never a bad idea to make a starter first. I don't usually do that when I use liquid (thought I should), but always do when I use dry yeast.

Make a starter.

Make a starter. :fro:

Make a freaking starter!

I cannot stress this enough. I used to be one of those "it doesn't say anything about a starter on the package" guys. But after witnessing a painful THREE DAY lag time with my Dubbel, I'm a true convert...and now I walk the earth spreading the Good Word. Make a starter, and the starter shall set you free.

Seriously, for the small amount of work that goes into making a starter, you get huge returns on your investment. Minuscule lag time, vigorous fermentation. My suggestion is to make a big starter---at least 1 liter---I use sanitized empty gallon water jugs. Smack your pack a day prior to making the starter to make sure it's viable. When it's swollen, pitch into the starter. Cap it with an airlock or sanitized tinfoil, roughly 8-18 hours prior to pitching. Then pitch the entire starter directly onto cooled wort. You'll thank yourself for this.

And if you really want a great fermentation, get yerself a $30 aeration kit too.

Senor Cardgage says,

"Make a starter, and get a leg up on the pile!"

That's why I haven't jumped ship to liquid yeast, just not mentally ready for it yet. It's really hard to beat the simplicity of dry yeast. I mean, is there really that big of a difference between the two given the same brew???

Another vote for making a starter! Big starters equal fast fermentation starts (and cleaner beers)!

Ol' Grog said:

That's why I haven't jumped ship to liquid yeast, just not mentally ready for it yet. It's really hard to beat the simplicity of dry yeast. I mean, is there really that big of a difference between the two given the same brew???

Click to expand...

It's been a while since I did the dry yeast thing, but isn't there a larger selection of liquid yeasts than dry?

Ol' Grog said:

That's why I haven't jumped ship to liquid yeast, just not mentally ready for it yet. It's really hard to beat the simplicity of dry yeast. I mean, is there really that big of a difference between the two given the same brew???

Click to expand...

I'm on this bandwagon just as much as the starter bandwagon, Grogman. When I moved to liquid yeasts, which allows you get yeasts that are specific to the particular style you're brewing, my beers improved immensely. The character and complexity of liquid yeast is simply impossible to get from dry. I still use dry once in awhile---if I don't have time to make a starter, and then, only if it's a stout/porter where the malt character will probably outshine the yeast character anyway. Otherwise, liquid is THE way to go.

Yes, you will notice a big difference---hefeweizens especially---and believe me, there's no need to be "mentally ready". The only reason I waited so long was because I was afraid to mail order liquid yeasts during the summer (I have no LHBS). for fear of the heat. Other than that---like I said, starters are very, very easy to make. If you've made priming wort at bottling before, then you've made a starter. Just boil some DME/LME in water for 15 mins, then cool it and add the yeast. It's not rocket science.

Yes, yes, switch to liquid, you will see a difference...as much of a difference as you would see by switching from extract to partial mash.

Evan! said:

Make a starter.

Make a starter. :fro:

Make a freaking starter!

Click to expand...

Hit the nail on the head there. Listen to him, he speaks the truth

Boy, what a thread! "Smack your pack" and "When it gets swollen". Sounds like more than brewing going on here.......................

Liked Evan's cartoon pic there! LOL!

Okay make a starter it is then.
yah, I decided that unless I'm making a recipe that calls for dry yeast, I'll more than likely use liquid yeasts. For the simple reason that there are much more "Flavors" out there. Mine was shipped with a cold gel pack and the shipping time was only 1 day, so it was still quite cold when I got it and put it in the fridge.

Take this with as big a grain of salt as you wish;

I have been brewing for 24 years this December.

I started with dry yeast as that was all that was available in the 80's.

As things for homebrewers have improved, I moved on to liquid yeast and have never looked back.

In the last 5 years, I have started to use starters and will never brew again without one.

The stout I made for Xmas was a good example, a HUGE 35 lb grain bill for a 10 gallon batch, with increadible amounts of solids took 4 hours to start and less than 4 days to finish with a crisp finish that would have taken 3 or 4 weeks to get otherwise.

Do a starter, your beers will improve because of it.

And, as a side bonus, you get to drink them sooner too.

Thats a good thing.

Cheers,

knewshound