Just wondering about dry yeast prices...

[fuelish]

Why are dry beer yeasts typically a lot more expensive than dry wine yeasts??? Am sure the same technology goes into producing either....is it because the homebrewing of beer market is so much huger than the homemaking of mead/wines, and, hence, a lot more $$$ to be made by selling beer yeasts for a lot more??? Just wonderin', though it's not like it matters, really

 

[madscientist451]

They charge what they think the market will bear, just like the craft brew you get at your local store. Maybe it is more expensive to make?
If you make similar brews back to back you can save the used yeast and repitch it. Some people say dry yeast isn't the best for this, but it works. Liquid yeast is expensive, but you can re-use the yeast many times.

 

[RmikeVT]

OPINION!

Some of the newer dry beer yeasts are expensive, but the ones that have been around for a while are quite cheap. S-05, S-04, Windsor, Etc are all around 1.99 to 2.99 a sachet of 11 grams of yeast. Aren't wine yeasts usually sold in 5.5 gram or 6 gram sachets? So, double the amount of beer yeast than wine yeast?

I think the newer dry yeasts are more expensive because of R&D, marketing etc to get a new product to market.

One thing we don't typically see has home brewers is the wholesale price of the yeast. I have 3 home brew stores within a 30 mile radius of my home and their price on yeasts and hops varies quite a bit, but their price on grain, extract are quite similar. I think for a home brew store trying to increase their margin it is easy to do on hops and dry yeast, raise the price $1 (33% increase in price, 50% increase in margin) and it really doesn't make the beer that much more expensive to brew and doesn't deter a customer. I'm not going to go to a homebrew store further away or that Im not familiar with, or mail order a sachet of yeast to save $1.50 on a $50 ingredient bill. I'm just gonna pick it up and buy it and say oh well.

 

[Imperator85]

Most dry yeasts have been around for a good while, and I wouldn't be surprised if the overall costs of production are lower. Combine that with the fact that dry yeast has a longer shelf-life than liquid yeast, can handle higher temperatures for longer, you can see costs being less. Of course, not every yeast strain is easily made into a dry form, and not every dry yeast is cheap. Some of the new ones are almost as much as liquid yeast. That could be do to development costs RmikeVT said. There are far more wine yeast strains available in dry form than in liquid form (though most stores selling winemaking supplies only carry the a select number of strains). In general, it could be that wine strains are more easily packaged in dry form compared to the strains used to make beer.

 

[Brewenstein]

They charge what they think the market will bear, just like the craft brew you get at your local store. Maybe it is more expensive to make?
If you make similar brews back to back you can save the used yeast and repitch it. Some people say dry yeast isn't the best for this, but it works. Liquid yeast is expensive, but you can re-use the yeast many times.

Bolded word are my highlight - I disagree with this. Once your dry yeast is hydrated and done fermenting, it is liquid yeast. Just use good harvesting practices and you will be fine. I usually try to get three uses out of one packet - the original average gravity beer gets the (rehydrated) dry yeast, then a slightly higher gravity, or darker beer gets the appropriate pitch of slurry, followed by a higher gravity / really dark beer getting the appropriate amount of slurry. Then it goes down the drain.

 

[dyqik]

OPINION!

Some of the newer dry beer yeasts are expensive, but the ones that have been around for a while are quite cheap. S-05, S-04, Windsor, Etc are all around 1.99 to 2.99 a sachet of 11 grams of yeast. Aren't wine yeasts usually sold in 5.5 gram or 6 gram sachets? So, double the amount of beer yeast than wine yeast?

I think the newer dry yeasts are more expensive because of R&D, marketing etc to get a new product to market.

One thing we don't typically see has home brewers is the wholesale price of the yeast. I have 3 home brew stores within a 30 mile radius of my home and their price on yeasts and hops varies quite a bit, but their price on grain, extract are quite similar. I think for a home brew store trying to increase their margin it is easy to do on hops and dry yeast, raise the price $1 (33% increase in price, 50% increase in margin) and it really doesn't make the beer that much more expensive to brew and doesn't deter a customer. I'm not going to go to a homebrew store further away or that Im not familiar with, or mail order a sachet of yeast to save $1.50 on a $50 ingredient bill. I'm just gonna pick it up and buy it and say oh well.

US-05 and S-04 are $6 and $5 in my LHBS. Muntons is $3, Danstar yeasts are ~$4-$5. WLP vials and WYeast packs are $8.

Of course, they're in Cambridge, MA, so they have much, much higher rents and taxes than most LHBS's. And it's still worth getting your yeast from them because you know the supply chain has kept the yeast in a relatively good environment. Their other prices are a lot closer to online prices, so it's worth shopping there for speciality grains etc., which they have a very good selection and turnover of. But it's also expensive enough to make propagating dry yeast with starters a worthwhile exercise.

 

[RmikeVT]

US-05 and S-04 are $6 and $5 in my LHBS. Muntons is $3, Danstar yeasts are ~$4-$5. WLP vials and WYeast packs are $8.

Of course, they're in Cambridge, MA, so they have much, much higher rents and taxes than most LHBS's. And it's still worth getting your yeast from them because you know the supply chain has kept the yeast in a relatively good environment. Their other prices are a lot closer to online prices, so it's worth shopping there for speciality grains etc., which they have a very good selection and turnover of. But it's also expensive enough to make propagating dry yeast with starters a worthwhile exercise.

That's high for dry and liquid. They don't call it tax-a-chussets for nothing.

 

[botigol]

Those prices are pretty close to how much yeasts cost here in the Denver metro area too...I knew that I was paying too much, I just couldn't substantiate it.

 

[poptarts]

yeast slanting, the buy is super cheap and you get strains for life.

 

[JonM]

Second that. I made some slants from expired yeast in the LHBS's bargain bin - now I have a lifetime supply of 1007 for $3.

 

[botigol]

I'm going to take a crack at freezing with glycerin and see how that goes, but I keep seeing slanting come up, so I'll have to do some more reading.

 

[dyqik]

That's high for dry and liquid. They don't call it tax-a-chussets for nothing.

It's not really the taxes TBH. It's just the price of rent and space in Cambridge - about double that of the outer Boston suburbs and 3-4 times that of e.g. the DFW area. Which is what the local economy can support.