Some Yeast Questions

[Forrest]

I was just looking at my favorite homebrew supplies store's website and was wondering about the difference between liquid yeast and Dry Yeast. I have always used dry yeast because that is what was most readily avaible when I started getting into homebrewing. But in every video I see about Beer Making, the brewers always use Liquid Yeast so I figured there at do be a reason, something that makes the Liquid Better.

I am also very interested in the science of brewing and have heard about certain brewerys developing and using their own strains of yeast. How would I go about doing that or is it even possible to do at home?

Thanks in advance.

 

[mew]

Some people will tell you that liquid yeast is better than dry, but you can get good or bad of each. The main difference is that there are many more varieties of liquid yeast than dry. I do not know about producing yeast strains at home, but I would guess that it would be near impossible.

 

[Brewsmith]

Mew pretty much answered it. If you are looking for a specialty strain - Hefeweizen, Belgian, Wit, Kolsch, CA Common, or a specific brewerie's strain, liquid is the only way to go. If you wanted do develop a strain at home you would need a ton of lab equipment and have a degree in molecular biology.

 

[CBBaron]

Here is and article on yeast culturing:
http://www.realbeer.com/spencer/yeast-culturing.html
Not as hard as you might think but its not developing your own strain either.
Craig

 

[cweston]

Dry

Pros:easier to use, easier to store, less perishable, cheaper.

(An 11 gram packet of good-quality dried yeast costs about $1.50-$2.50 and contains way more yeast cells than liquid.)

Cons: Limited selection of yeast strains available.

Liquid

Pros: Enormous selction of yeast strains available.

Cons: Needs a starter to increase cell count (if you want a fast, vigorous ferment), more expensive ($7), more perishible (especially a concern if shipping in warm weather).