Yeast Preference

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What type of yeast do you prefer?

  • Liquid (WL, Wyeast)

  • Liquid with starter

  • Dry (Muntons, Danstar)

  • Dry with starter

  • Other methods - Please specify in reply


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kb9vzh

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I am happy to say I was able to brew two 5 gallon batches tonight for the first time in a few months. Fu?@ing job! The problem was when I went to get out two of the needed vials of White Labs yeast the expiration date was long past. So I did not take a chance and used the dry with a starter. So here is my question. What do you prefer when pitching?
 
I prefer the yeast that goes with the style of beer I'm making, but it must be in good condition. Most of the time I use a good starter, but it depends on the beer. Depending on how long the expiration date has passed I would have probably used the liquid yeast. I like to buy my yeast before brew day so I can build it up, plus if the yeast is old I can take more time to "rejuvenate" it.
 
Lately it's been dry, rehydrated (no starter). If there's a particular yeast flavor I'm after, I'll go back to liquid with a BIG starter. Otherwise, I expect to continue using dry yeast for most of my brews.
 
For clean American beers - Dry with starter
For European and special beers - Liquid with starter.
Higher gravity beasts - Yeast cakes.

Wild
 
Dry, no starter and not rehydrated. For dry yeast, there's no reason to make a starter. It's recommended to rehydrate the yeast, but I've had good results without so I probably won't change a thing.

Only time I use liquid is if there is a very particular yeast-centric style I'm going after and can't get what I want with dry.
 
If it is a beer where I want a clean ferment, I use both -- Safale US-05 and Nottingham (dry) or Wyeast American or German ale yeasts (in my yeast bank). For beers where I want more of an ester flavour profile from the yeast, I only use liquid yeasts and ALWAYS with a starter.

Just a note, dry yeasts should not be used with starters for two reasons: (1) if you want a higher cell count, it is often cheaper to buy two packets of yeast than to make up a starter, and (2) dry yeast are packaged at the peak of their growth phase, and putting them in a starter can actually reduce their health and viability if you are not careful.

If you want the best health and viability from your dry yeast, rehydrate according the manufacturer's instructions. If you don't rehydrate, you will get about 50% viability, which may still be plenty of yeast for many brews.
 
I typically use liquid with a starter. Going forward, I'm probably going to move to dry unless the profile I want is unavailable.
 
FlyGuy said:
If you want the best health and viability from your dry yeast, rehydrate according the manufacturer's instructions. If you don't rehydrate, you will get about 50% viability, which may still be plenty of yeast for many brews.
Safale US-05 says to pitch dry. No mention on the packet about rehydrating.

I like starters 'cause they cut my lag time down to minutes. :ban:

Wild
 
Between Nottingham and Saf - 05, this convert hasn't bought a liquid yeast back in a year. Plan on using liquid with huge starter for a Munich Lager next month, but that is one of only a few reasons I would not use dry.
 
I live on the dark side, so much of my brewing is with dry yeast. If the style requires it, I'll use liquid with a starter.
 
Seems like we have a good mix of preferences here so far. The two batches I pitched last night with dry started to bubble just 2 hours after pitching. Most liquid I have used takes at least 4 to 5 hours so things must be working. We will see when its done and I puur the first glass.
 
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