Choosing proper yeast

[acyl]

Hi. I buy dry yeast packets (safbrew by fermentis) instead of the liquid wyeast because it's a lot cheaper. How do these strains of dry yeast compare to the quality of wyeast? Would it be worth it to culture the yeast from the dry packets or should I stick to the wyeast for culturing purposes?



Also, when a yeast characteristic says "high" for final gravity, will that make a higher ABV beer or lower than one that says "low"

 

[RCCOLA]

There is a ton of debate on which is better so the true answer is that both have their place in brewing. But, for their intended useage, Fermentis' yeasts are comparable to, but not exactly like, their liquid counterparts.

You don't need to make a yeast starter for any dry yeast but should for liquid.

When they say ''attenuation--High" it means that the beer will have a lower final gravity meaning a drier beer.

Low attenuation yeasts will have more body and tend to be a little sweeter.

 

[jsullivan02130]

Dry yeasts are great and I use them all the time but if you are making a smaller beer and you want to leave a little residual malt you'll want to use a liquid yeast. The dry yeasts that are available s-04, S-05, Nottingham, are all highly attenuative compared to, for instance, White labs 002 (Fuller's strain).

That is, the dry yeast will make a much less malty, less sweet beer. If your grain bill is on the low side, this might mean a thin -- and less pleasant -- ale.

 

[PT Ray]

I think if the profile of US-05, S-04, or Nottingham fits what you're looking for they should do just fine. It seems when you go outside of that the quality in the dry versions tend to take a back seat against the liquid.

 

[alexdagrate]

If you live anywhere near a brewery you should find out if they'll give you by-product yeast. It's way better than dry packets, wet vials, or wet packs. I get a mason jar of Wyeast 1056 from my local brewery and its full of so many active cells that i never need to make a starter. Easy and saves me money.