Why do brewers buy Chico yeast?

[BW210]

Friday, my grain will be in and this weekend I'm doing my first full boil of 12 gallons start in my 15 gallon pot. I'm doing a SNAP clone and will do two starters and hopefully end up with 5.5 gallons in two carboys. The yeast is WLP001 that cost me $9 at the lhbs, I have washed and brewed 5 times, replaced the yeast in the vile and have 4 jars ready for my next 2 - 12 gallon batches.

The time is irrelevant since I do the washing while I rack and clean up. Since I started washing trub free, my yeast jars are much fuller and while possibly not needed, I still do starters. DME cost is minor for myself also since I'm not doing AG yet, I do grain and DME. I buy my DME online for $45 per 12lbs shipped priority mail. Some food grade buckets from the local grocery store and I always have several batches ahead worth. I keep one bag that I use and re-seal-a-meal until next time.

 

[tennesseean_87]

Well today I'm going to brew a two gallon batch and pitch a pack of wyeast right in. No starter required. Then when the beer is done I'll wash the yeast and brew a five gallon.

+1. Cut down that sig, though. Use commas, not line breaks.

 

[wedge421]

Yeah for $3 I just buy the US-05 when I need a quick ferment on a PA or IPA. I suppose I could just throw in the yeast from a SNPA but its just easier to tear open a packet and dump it in and I know ill have good results. Although your way is much more delicious!

 

[iX_Xi]

In bulk you can get dry US-05 just over $3/pack at Mailorder HBS. So I go for Quick, Cheap and on hand.

 

[Calichusetts]

I think you are leaving out the cost of a stir plate, flask, and other things necessary to culture yeast. Once you have that equipment, it becomes cheap

 

[helibrewer]

I've only brewed the same beer style twice so I use a lot of different yeasts. Some day I'll harvest something but for .10 per pint, I just buy new.

 

[Revvy]

I think you are leaving out the cost of a stir plate, flask, and other things necessary to culture yeast. Once you have that equipment, it becomes cheap

You don't technically need those to do it. The old Charlie Papazian method of dumping some boiled and cooled dme into a beer bottle works fine too.

 

[Stauffbier]

I don't harvest from bottles, but if I really wanted to I would harvest from my own homebrew bottles.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

Ive washed and reused certain yeasts, but I would never use my time to do that with the Chico strain. Its 3-4 bucks in dry form and I know my time is worth more than that. If you want to then go ahead, I just prefer using the dry version of it as opposed to time/money of building it up from the dregs.

 

[Minky]

One thing to consider whenever propogating yeast is the possibility of mutation. I like to use the yeast from Flying Dog's "In Heat Wheat", which the brewer says is the actual fermentation yeast. He warned me, though, that it quickly mutates when you attempt to propogate it, so he advised me to always build it up from the bottle.

 

[homebrewdad]

My two bits for the OP.

Some homebrewers are all about brewing for the very lowest price. I understand and respect that.

For me, though, the couple of dollars I might save just isn't worth the time. I don't have enough brewing time as is, and I find it difficult to invest more of that scarce commodity when I could spend $7 for a vial of liquid yeast.

 

[jkendal]

I have a question that I hope people will reflect on...Why do brewers buy Chico / WLP001 / US 05 / 1056 yeast from homebrew stores or labs? This has to be one of the most commonly sold yeasts, but you can get the yeast with a (nearly) free sixpack!

For almost the exact same cost, a person can purchase and enjoy almost six bottles of SNPA. I've got an APA and a cherry ale bottle conditioning and another IPA in primary, all with yeast cultured off my last bottle of SNPA. And I have 2 more mason jars with the same yeast washed and waiting for a future brew.

I know this would be to complicated for someone on their first few brewing attempts, but most of us are beyond that point.

So, tell me what you think...am I nuts or can we all enjoy a little free beer when we buy yeast?

Some of us are just plain lazy - it's SO MUCH easier to just buy it from the LHBS (and I even drink SNPA from time to time).

I like your enthusiasm, though...

 

[tpizzy]

Just playing devil's advocate here: maybe the OP is assuming that everyone makes a starter regardless of whether the original source is a packet, yeast, or vial. Is it common practice to pitch yeast without a starter? I was scared out of this practice a few years ago and never looked back. DME sure is expensive.

One of my main justifications for building cultures from bottles is that I'd make a starter anyway in order to guarantee strong fermentation activity right out of the gate. I'd always heard that pitching right from the package or vial runs the risk of incomplete fermentation. Just my two cents.