White Labs WLP001 Dry Yeast Coming Soon

[rtstrider]

Well it looks like hades might have frozen over

California Ale Yeast | WLP001 | White Labs

White Labs offers California Ale Yeast WLP001 known for its use in hoppy beers, it accentuates hop flavors and aromas and attenuates well, even for high-gravity beers. Contact us now!

www.whitelabs.com

I'm curious to see if this means they will be putting in more effort to send other popular strains to the dry yeast market. I'm also curious to see the price point on this. Either way it's a win in my book!

 

[day_trippr]

It is an intriguing entry to a deeply populated market.
I doubt it's going to be earth shaking market-wise but if it performs well in the fermentor I could see it predating on their liquid version...

• Wyeast American Ale (WY1056)
• White Labs California Ale (WLP001)
• Fermentis SafAle American Ale (US-05)
• RVA Yeast Labs Chico Ale (RVA-101)
• Imperial Flagship (A07)
• Omega West Coast Ale I (OYL-004)
• Lallemand LalBrew West Coast Ale (BRY-97)
• Mangrove Jack’s US West Coast (M44)
• Bootleg Biology Classic American (BBUSA1)
• GigaYeast NorCal #1 (GY001)

 

[wsmith1625]

If it performs as well as the liquid variety, it will being a strong competitor with SafAle. It also needs to be priced competitively.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Blog Post Detail :

• "Open package and sprinkle on top of wort (no rehydration required)"
• "Can be repitched, ..."
• shipping benefits
• and lots of other good information!

 

[rtstrider]

They just stated on their Facebook post they have 2 more strains in the works to be released this year in dry form. I'm really curious to see what they have up their sleeves.

 

[eliastheodosis]

If it performs as well as the liquid variety, it will being a strong competitor with SafAle. It also needs to be priced competitively.

US-05 is $6-$7 most places around me. If they pushed into the market even slightly lower I'm sure they'd have no problem snapping up some market share.

if it performs well in the fermentor I could see it predating on their liquid version

It could predate their liquid version but it might also add an option to their portfolio that is more attractive to some consumers. I'm practically sitting on top of Omega. I'd never bother even looking for White Labs liquid around me unless it was something unique. A dry version would probably end up in my fridge at some point, though...

 

[rtstrider]

US-05 is $6-$7 most places around me. If they pushed into the market even slightly lower I'm sure they'd have no problem snapping up some market share.


It could predate their liquid version but it might also add an option to their portfolio that is more attractive to some consumers. I'm practically sitting on top of Omega. I'd never bother even looking for White Labs liquid around me unless it was something unique. A dry version would probably end up in my fridge at some point, though...

I could see the dry strains performing better in the LHBS market. A LHBS told me that they have trouble pushing liquid strains prior to their expiration date. Having this dry option would help a good bit!

 

[eliastheodosis]

I could see the dry strains performing better in the LHBS market. A LHBS told me that they have trouble pushing liquid strains prior to their expiration date. Having this dry option would help a good bit!

Yeah, absolutely. I'm pretty sure my closest LHBS has the same struggles. Being so close to Omega helps, but at the same time Omega is all they carry for exactly this reason.

 

[rtstrider]

Honestly I could live with purchasing online liquid strains as long as Morebeer carried the seasonal yeast strains. With Morebeer I know the transit will be 2 days tops and the strain won't get uncomfortably warm with the largest freezer pack they have. This isn't meant to be a Morebeer promo lol It's more or less that I'm pretty familiar with their shipping speeds and free shipping

 

[dmtaylor]

This could bring me back to using WLP001, since I know it does not perform the same as either US-05 or BRY-97 or others. It might be nice to have another version in the toolbox.

I hope they release some more interesting strains later on. Something more style-oriented than plain-vanilla Chico.

 

[BongoYodeler]

US-05 is $6-$7 most places around me. If they pushed into the market even slightly lower I'm sure they'd have no problem snapping up some market share.


It could predate their liquid version but it might also add an option to their portfolio that is more attractive to some consumers. I'm practically sitting on top of Omega. I'd never bother even looking for White Labs liquid around me unless it was something unique. A dry version would probably end up in my fridge at some point, though...

As an aside, I just ordered 8 pks of US-05 off Amazon for $3.16/pk.

I have an Irish Red currently in the fermenter on WLP001. If the dry version works as well it would be nice to have that option.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

As an aside, I just ordered 8 pks of US-05 off Amazon for $3.16/pk.

RiteBrew $2.79/pk; buy 10, get $4 off; ships either USPS ($4) or regional service ($7); I get 10 (vs 8) and still beat amazon's price.

 

[BongoYodeler]

RiteBrew $2.79/pk; buy 10, get $4 off; ships either USPS ($4) or regional service ($7); I get 10 (vs 8) and still beat amazon's price.

Looks like that's a slightly better deal. Darn I wish I'd known earlier, I just ordered some amber malt from them for an upcoming brew day. I definitely would have thrown the US-05 on the order.

 

[eliastheodosis]

RiteBrew $2.79/pk; buy 10, get $4 off; ships either USPS ($4) or regional service ($7); I get 10 (vs 8) and still beat amazon's price

Yeah, I'll recommend RiteBrew as well. Great prices and great service from my experience.

I think the price difference would still be valid for me, and probably many others, for a couple reasons. First, I don't always plan well enough ahead and need to grab a pack or two from the LHBS. Second, I just don't use any variation of Chico that much. I tend to buy those as needed and see the markup at the LHBS as an investment in their well-being. If there's another option sitting there for $1 less that does something similar then I'm interested, though. Would probably buy some just to give them a vote of interest.

I hope they release some more interesting strains later on. Something more style-oriented than plain-vanilla Chico

Seconded. I would love to see more new, interesting lager strains in the dry space. Maybe with lagers getting trendier I'll take anything interesting, though.

 

[rtstrider]

Yeah, I'll recommend RiteBrew as well. Great prices and great service from my experience.

I think the price difference would still be valid for me, and probably many others, for a couple reasons. First, I don't always plan well enough ahead and need to grab a pack or two from the LHBS. Second, I just don't use any variation of Chico that much. I tend to buy those as needed and see the markup at the LHBS as an investment in their well-being. If there's another option sitting there for $1 less that does something similar then I'm interested, though. Would probably buy some just to give them a vote of interest.


Seconded. I would love to see more new, interesting lager strains in the dry space. Maybe with lagers getting trendier I'll take anything interesting, though.

Say maybe their seasonal lager strains?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

They just stated on their Facebook post they have 2 more strains in the works to be released this year in dry form. I'm really curious to see what they have up their sleeves.

If you think about the big technical advantage of dried yeast over liquid, it's that you need less oxygen in your wort. Two styles that people try to keep oxygen away from are hop soups and lager. Which are also conveniently, big markets.

So my guess would be that the next two will be WLP066 London Fog and WLP830 German Lager Yeast. Possibly an English one like WLP002 or 007, but those two are more likely I think.

500g bricks are available now on Yeastman - and I don't remember them offering slopes before, but maybe I've forgotten that? Talking of which, in other news for those who are serious about British yeasts, a selection of Brewlab slopes are now available from the Malt Miller in the UK.

 

[Miraculix]

Pllllllllllleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase somenthing EEEENGLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISH!!!!!!

 

[Jaybird]

I kind of thought Mangrove Jacks took over the dry market when they hit the streets with all their offerings in dry. It will be interesting to see how far WL takes this. When I had my Home Brew shop I started out with WL exclusively on the liquid side and sold BOATLOADS of it! But when WL went to the blister pack they worked really hard to eliminate the small mom and pop shops from their sales force, not sure why but whatever. We moved to Wyeast and was SUPER happy with them. Can't lie, I always LOVED the WL yeast strains and how they preformed. This will be interesting for sure!

Cheers
Jay

 

[Bassman2003]

It is only interesting to me if they have found a way to get better performance, or performance equal to liquid with better technology. I know many use dry, but since the market is so crowded, better tech would be an edge. WLP001 is my favorite IPA yeast but I am an old school westie drinker. Since they lied about "pitchability" with their packs for years, I do not trust much other than independent reviews.

 

[jayst]

This must be an attempt to offset their new packaging for liquid yeast. At not-quite twice the price (and twice the cells), they need something to remain affordable

 

[Pehlman17]

Possibly an English one like WLP002 or 007

This would solve all of my problems.

 

[bwible]

I got an email from them today saying the WLP001 dry is available. There was a link to their site but when I looked there I didn’t see any reference to it yet.

Might be getting close

 

[eliastheodosis]

I got an email from them today saying the WLP001 dry is available. There was a link to their site but when I looked there I didn’t see any reference to it yet.

Just checked and it's up on Yeastman. You just have to select 001 and change the packaging from Purepitch to dry yeast. They also confirmed in that email that two more will be released in 2023. No other info than that. It's out in the wild, though.

 

[bwible]

$12.95 for an 11g packet on their site. Where I live its $15 to ship one too if I order it from them. So why wouldn’t I just continue to buy the liquid?

 

[day_trippr]

Holy cow! How is that going to compete successfully against US-05 for ~$5?

Cheers!

 

[eliastheodosis]

$12.95 for an 11g packet on their site

Yeah, holy I didn't look at the price. That just doesn't make any sense to me. Too many other options at half that cost...

 

[BongoYodeler]

Seems like White Labs is going to price themselves right out of the picture. Pure Pitch Next Gen? What's that going for $15? My LHBS is dropping them completely.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Why would anyone buy dry yeast from a liquid yeast company when there are so many excellent dry yeasts in the market.

 

[bwible]

Holy cow! How is that going to compete successfully against US-05 for ~$5?

Cheers!

Its not

 

[bwible]

Seems like White Labs is going to price themselves right out of the picture. Pure Pitch Next Gen? What's that going for $15? My LHBS is dropping them completely.

I end up paying about that for Wyeast when I buy it. $11 for the pack and an extra $3 for a cold pack and an insulated mailer. I have one shop that is about a 45 minute drive but he’s a real small store and he only carries Omega. So I end up buying everything by mail.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Why would anyone buy dry yeast from a liquid yeast company when there are so many excellent dry yeasts in the market.

That's like asking why you would buy brewing yeast from a bread yeast company when there are so many excellent brewing yeasts on the market. Except the likes of Lallemand manage to produce both despite being >90% bread yeast, and in some cases produce brewing yeasts that meet a requirement better, and/or at a better price, than their competitors. So people buy it, it doesn't matter what other stuff they do.

And in this case, WLP001 has quite a brand attached to it, which means that for a percentage of buyers they will be prepared to pay a premium for it. If selling less at a higher margin works better for White Labs, then good luck to them.

 

[Miraculix]

Honestly, I would buy a premium English dry strain for that price. But only if the beer results are as good as the liquid equivalent. Doesn't have to taste exactly the same but it has to be as English as the liquid version. I don't get this from any other dry yeast yet, so there would be the selling point.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

That's like asking why you would buy brewing yeast from a bread yeast company when there are so many excellent brewing yeasts on the market. Except the likes of Lallemand manage to produce both despite being >90% bread yeast, and in some cases produce brewing yeasts that meet a requirement better, and/or at a better price, than their competitors. So people buy it, it doesn't matter what other stuff they do.

And in this case, WLP001 has quite a brand attached to it, which means that for a percentage of buyers they will be prepared to pay a premium for it. If selling less at a higher margin works better for White Labs, then good luck to them.

No it’s not, it’s asking why buy from a company with no dry yeast experience. And they want a premium price.

 

[rtstrider]

If I didn't have wlp001 already banked up, or the ability to purchase Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in my area, then I'd probably bite to give it a shot. I will say it's the closest Cali ale strain I've tried and pairs up well with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clones!

 

[RJB.]

I was under the assumption that the equipment needed to produce dry yeast on a commercial scale was incredibly expensive and that there are only a handful of companies in the world that produce dry yeast (Lallemand, Fermentis, AEB). What are the chances that White Labs is outsourcing this to one of those big dry yeast manufacturers and just slapping the WL label on it?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I was under the assumption that the equipment needed to produce dry yeast on a commercial scale was incredibly expensive and that there are only a handful of companies in the world that produce dry yeast (Lallemand, Fermentis, AEB). What are the chances that White Labs is outsourcing this to one of those big dry yeast manufacturers and just slapping the WL label on it?

No it’s not, it’s asking why buy from a company with no dry yeast experience. And they want a premium price.

As we've discussed elsewhere, they're outsourcing manufacturing to Lallemand according to the packet :

 

[mac_1103]

What are the chances that White Labs is outsourcing this to one of those big dry yeast manufacturers and just slapping the WL label on it?

I'd say the chances are excellent. I'd also say there's nothing wrong with that. It's still their yeast.

 

[RJB.]

As we've discussed elsewhere, they're outsourcing manufacturing to Lallemand according to the packet :
View attachment 815886

I suspected as much. Good catch, I didn’t even notice that on the packaging.

I'd say the chances are excellent. I'd also say there's nothing wrong with that. It's still their yeast.

If it means there are more dry yeast strains on the market I’m all for it!

 

[Bobby_M]

As one of their vendors, I also sent an email asking them exactly what my marketing story would be on these.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

As one of their vendors, I also sent an email asking them exactly what my marketing story would be on these.

I suspect they'll say something along the lines of :

Behind the R&D: WLP001 Dry California Ale Yeast®

Over a decade ago, we sought to produce a dry White Labs strain to support the growing interest in dry brewing yeasts. During that quest, we found that there wasn’t a good opportunity to make the dry yeast we wanted to make, one we could 100% stand behind.

www.whitelabs.com

It's a difficult one because they can't be too rude about wet yeast, but the convenience of dry is one selling point, and also potentially one can push not needing aeration in the same way, which is useful for hoppy stuff. It'll maybe make a bit more sense if you see WLP001 as the trial run for the next two, which presumably will be competition for 34/70 and Verdant, aimed at beers that are more sensitive to oxygen.