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Top 5 Dry Yeasts?

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S-23 is another one that seems to have a pretty high variance of opinions about it.
Didn't touch it for years because of that very reason. A mate tried it last year. Really great lager. No fruit salad. Mild, but really pleasant ester. I've been using it since. Kind of annoyed i didn't try it earlier. If you think about it, it's a commercially available yeast from germany. If it's good enough to be sold commercially in Germany, its good enough for me.
 
Didn't touch it for years because of that very reason. A mate tried it last year. Really great lager. No fruit salad. Mild, but really pleasant ester. I've been using it since. Kind of annoyed i didn't try it earlier. If you think about it, it's a commercially available yeast from germany. If it's good enough to be sold commercially in Germany, it’s good enough for me.
Nice! I commend that for sure. I’ve been wanting to force myself out of my comfort zone a bit more, and open myself up to trying new things as opposed to always relying on other people’s opinions and experiences. That was sort of what my original post was about. I wanted to try dry yeast but was so afraid it wasn’t going to be as good as liquid strains. So I needed other people to convince me they were worth trying, haha. Now I’m trying to be that way about some of these more “controversial” (for lack of a better term) strains, and just giving them a shot.
 
Nice! I commend that for sure. I’ve been wanting to force myself out of my comfort zone a bit more, and open myself up to trying new things as opposed to always relying on other people’s opinions and experiences. That was sort of what my original post was about. I wanted to try dry yeast but was so afraid it wasn’t going to be as good as liquid strains. So I needed other people to convince me they were worth trying, haha. Now I’m trying to be that way about some of these more “controversial” (for lack of a better term) strains, and just giving them a shot.
I use it at 15c, with no issue at all.

Yeah, it's only beer, whats the worst thing that can happen? You don't like it. Easy, don't use it again. It's just beer
 
Didn't touch it for years because of that very reason. A mate tried it last year. Really great lager. No fruit salad. Mild, but really pleasant ester. I've been using it since. Kind of annoyed i didn't try it earlier. If you think about it, it's a commercially available yeast from germany. If it's good enough to be sold commercially in Germany, its good enough for me.
I bought a packet of it a week or two ago since it was on sale for a pretty low price (about half of what I typically see 34/70 sold for, for example). I'd never even heard of it before, but I thought "it's a Fermentis yeast, so it's got to be good." But then I saw tons of people hating on it online, and I started wondering whether I'd need to really tailor the fermentation temperature, grain bill, and hops specifically for S-23 instead of just making whatever I want to make. When I have seen people say "Hey, it's a bit estery, but it's great," it has made me a bit less worried.
 
I bought a packet of it a week or two ago since it was on sale for a pretty low price (about half of what I typically see 34/70 sold for, for example). I'd never even heard of it before, but I thought "it's a Fermentis yeast, so it's got to be good." But then I saw tons of people hating on it online, and I started wondering whether I'd need to really tailor the fermentation temperature, grain bill, and hops specifically for S-23 instead of just making whatever I want to make. When I have seen people say "Hey, it's a bit estery, but it's great," it has made me a bit less worried.
I regret not trying it for myself earlier. It’s a great yeast strain. It’s kind of a euro lager flavour I think. It’s my go to now. I’ve only used it at 15c, so not sure about colder or warmer ferment temps.

You have it, may as well try it. I’ve used it in rice lagers, and just about to keg a 100% Heidelberg pils malt lager with it. Can’t wait to try it.


Some people don’t like it. I don’t like 34/70. At all. Nothing wrong with the yeast, it’s just that I prefer other strains to it. Just my tastebuds I guess
 
I regret not trying it for myself earlier. It’s a great yeast strain. It’s kind of a euro lager flavour I think. It’s my go to now. I’ve only used it at 15c, so not sure about colder or warmer ferment temps.

You have it, may as well try it. I’ve used it in rice lagers, and just about to keg a 100% Heidelberg pils malt lager with it. Can’t wait to try it.


Some people don’t like it. I don’t like 34/70. At all. Nothing wrong with the yeast, it’s just that I prefer other strains to it. Just my tastebuds I guess
I had been thinking of fermenting it at 15C (59F/60F) as well, so good to hear that's a good temperature for it. I really like 34/70, but just like I love tons of different kinds of ale yeasts, I also love tons of lager yeasts (though mainly from drinking them since 99% of my brews so far have been ales and I just brewed my first lager in December). Hopefully S-23 will also be one I really like.
 
S-23 is a very close genetic match for the Urquell strain according to DNA testing carried out a few years ago, iirc. I don't know how reliable that test was or how much that tells us but it suggests it came from a very good source, in all likelihood. I don't make many lagers but I've enjoyed the few I've made with S,-23.
 
Is there an updated list of current dry yeasts with what strains they are and their liquid and other dry counterparts? I like to see one that listed all if not the major brands. I like knowing what the strains are too (ex: W34/70, Diamond = Westaphaner, US-05, Imperial Flagship = Chico, etc).
 

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