Yeast

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NickN

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I've done a few batches so far and I have only used dry safale yeast. Do you guys prefer liquid yeast? What are the pros/cons that you guys see between the two?
 
I love the wide selection of liquid yeasts available, but dry yeast is very convenient and has never failed me. Also, dry yeast is cheaper and easier to keep on hand.
 
It's all personal preference. What the last guy said sums it up. That said, I prefer liquid. It's more hassle than dry though. You need to make starter to hit the proper pitching rate most of the time and it doesn't keep as long as dry.
 
How is a starter different from rehydrating dry yeast?
 
In a starter you are propagating the cell count.

Rehydration you are just preparing the yeast before pitching so that less die in the initial pitch into the wort
 
Starters are like a mini batch of beer. You have to make wort (most people use DME and water) and then wait for it to ferment out. It takes a day or two depending on the method you use.
 
In a starter you are propagating the cell count.

Rehydration you are just preparing the yeast before pitching so that less die in the initial pitch into the wort

In addition, the dry yeast have a crap-ton more yeast cells active when rehydrated and pitched compared to just what's in the little vial of liquid yeast. That's why you have to build up the liquid yeast into a starter, but the advantage is that you have a wider selection of yeasts available. You even have a whole bunch of commercial beers you can harvest yeast from their bottles with a starter; I did that for the first time this previous week, pitched it yesterday, and 16 hours later my airlock is bubbling 2 or 3 times per second.

I feel like my creative spirit will eventually turn towards using more liquid yeast and playing around with starters. Then the dry yeast is great to have on hand for just in case circumstances, or for the quick extract batch here and there.
 
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