Oooh, I kicked a hornet's nest didn't I, lol. To try to bring things back into context, I think we can agree on a general consensus that making a starter with dry yeast is not necessary and not ideal, compared to just using the right amount of dry yeast. My specific situation is that I have
one (1) packet of w 34/70 on hand, when ideally as per the manufacturer's instructions, I should use two. I'm wondering if the benefits of propagating a packet of yeast in a starter outweighs the alleged negative side effects of making a starter with dry yeast. Just pitching the single packet is also on the table. I suspect that all of the above options will result in beer.
W 34/70 used to be a cheap yeast, but it ain't no more. The lowest price I can find for a packet is $8.49. You can find it as low as $6 per on ebay if you buy 6 at a time. $6 in my mind is still expensive for a packet of dry yeast, considering that I still have a bunch of Nottingham that cost me around half that. And I'm not sure if I want to get into lagering enough to drop $36 on yeast right now.
Just yesterday I bought a nice craft beer at the restaurant for $6.50 and you're complaining about an extra $9 to make 5 gallons of beer?
There's nothing wrong with that logic, but I haven't bought a beer in a restaurant in 10 years. I'm not paying that for something that I can make for a buck. The price of beer to me is what it costs me to make it, and $9 per batch is a significant increase.
Some people actually like that classic 'home-brew thing
I know what you mean and I don't take offense. I'm not emulating commercial beers, and I don't enter competitions. There are two kinds of homebrewers: those who want to make the best possible beer, and those who want to make economical beer. I'm the latter kind, although I don't think there's anything wrong with the quality of my beer, as far as my personal tastes go. I prefer my homebrew over any commercial examples of similar styles, and that includes ales fermented at 75-80 degrees or with underpitched yeast. Using grain and hops that I like makes a million times more of a difference to me.