What are your favorite / the best dry yeast strains?

[Balog]

I know many folks think that dry yeast is not as good as liquid, but between cost, the ability to store for a couple months without as bad of an effect on viability, not needing to make a starter etc there are a lot of upsides. I know the diversity of styles isn't as good, but I've heard that the relative quality has improved a lot.

So who here uses dry yeast and likes it? What are your favorites, and how do they compare to the equivalent types of liquid? I'm especially interested in Belgian strains and ones that'll handle a higher abv.

 

[fartinmartin]

I have settled on Safale US-05 and Safale S04 they will both do higher than 8% that's plenty for me.

 

[The10mmKid]

I've made some mighty fine Saisons with Lallemand/Danstar Belle Saison yeast. Especially after some repitching.
I'm almost convinced the trouble with the liquid varieties ain't worth the effort.

'da Kid

 

[unionrdr]

I like US-05 & S-04 the most S-04 is great for English styles being a witbred strain. Cooper's 15g larger ale yeast packets work really well & are usually fresher at online sites. I like to rehydrate dry yeast to make them get through the reproductive phase sooner if pitched at high krausen & within 10 degrees of current wort temperature.

 

[dkevinb]

US-05 for American and S-04 for English style beers here. I use dry yeast exclusively, and those two make up all but a handful of my ales. I've even used S-04 in a couple of ciders with really good success. My honey cider finished at 9.2% ABV (1.002 FG), so I know S-04 can handle that. They're both lunch pail yeasts - they just quietly do exactly what you expect them to do. S-04 is also the best flocculating yeast I've every seen. The yeast cake on the bottom of the fermenter hardly moves.

I've also used WB-06 in an American wheat, but it's still bottle conditioning. Nottingham does good work, too, but it can be explosive. Watch your temperatures and rig a blow-off tube for that one.

I haven't brewed any Belgians, yet.

 

[Balog]

Thanks everyone. Does anyone buy a bunch all at once and store it?

 

[Balog]

I've made some mighty fine Saisons with Lallemand/Danstar Belle Saison yeast. Especially after some repitching.
I'm almost convinced the trouble with the liquid varieties ain't worth the effort.

'da Kid

Have you ever tried a Chimay Blue or Duvel style? I'd really like to do a clone of those. Maybe Old Crustacean too.

 

[fartinmartin]

I go to the brew shop just twice a year and buy everything for the half year, yeast, grain, caps, starsan , hops . That's enough for about six 25L brews, no keeping problems at all .

Re US 05 and S04 I always rehydrate now, its easy, it adds to the process, you know that the yeast is away before pitching, so there is no doubt at all , you will not have a lag time!

 

[Hammy71]

05 for almost everything.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, rehydrating cuts lag time down to as little as 3 hours for me. Just pitch at high krausen & within 10 degrees of current wort temp.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Mainly Safele 05, used to use 04 a bit but dont care for the flavor any more. Went back to nottingham for a few batches and am pleased as well. I collect the yeast slurry from the primary in sanitized jars and repitch, seems to work well and is very easy. As a side note, harvested some yeast from Sierra Nevada Kellerweiss, and Long Trail IPA. Very easy to culture some yeast from a few bottles, $8 for a six pack and a boat load of free yeast. I just carefully pour off the beer, then add about 3 oz of starter wort to 3 bottles and cap w/ foil and agitate several times a day for 3-5 days, when they are complete I step those 3 bottles up in a larger glass jug....fun little project, very easy.

 

[beergolf]

US-05 , S-04 work well for most styles.

Belle Saison is a beast and makes a nice saison.

 

[estricklin]

I use a lot of dry yeast in the summer due to the hot weather being so terrible for shipping liquid yeast. I do love 04 and 05 but I mostly brew lagers so I tend to use S-23 and 34/70.

It's never a bad idea to order a bunch of dry yeast and store it up. It means you'll have yeast for an emergency (woops that yeast stored in the fridge for 2 months isn't kicking this batch off) or those times when you don't have time for a starter, or when you just feel like using dry.

An easy way to rehydrate is to open a bottle of water, dump over half of it out, pour the yeast in and let it sit for 15 minutes.

 

[ncbrewer]

For hefeweizen I like Danstar Munich Wheat Beer Yeast.

 

[sumbrewindude]

I love dry yeast for it's ease of storage, convenience, and easy ability to divide for smaller batches.

I've used US05, S04, Belle Saison, Notty, and a few of the MJ yeasts

I prefer Danstar/Fermentis over MJ.

I wish Fermentis would make their K97 available in 11g packets, as well as their swiss lager. I wish both would make an low attenuating english yeast sub for Windsor, something closer to either Thames/Yorkshire. I may need to try MJ's Newcastle...

I am excited to see the new Abbaye yeast from Fermentis, dry yeast has been missing a good Abbey strain for a while.

 

[skw]

I was in a monogamous relationship with US-05 since I started brewing two years ago, now we broke up and I'm seeing other strains. I had a summer affair with Nottingham, and just had a threesome with S-04 and BRY-97. Got lager-curious and am watching bubbles on a WY2112 fermenter right now. So many strains, so little time...