yeast - dry vs liquid

[gallo_pug]

What are the benefits or disadvantages of using a dry yeast like muttons dry ale yeast for pale ales, ipa's etc vs the more expensive liquid smack packs.

Thanks

 

[Edcculus]

This is discussed ad nausem here. Dry has the convenience and price factor, but there are a LOT more liquid strains available. For certain styles, liquid is the only choice. If you brew all American pale ales and IPAs, there is no reason not to use a regular dry yeast like US-05.

 

[Revvy]

It's really not a -vs- They both make great beer.....they both have their place.

I have found that a lot of new brewers especially, THINK they HAVE to use liquid yeast, but in reality most ales can be made with Notty, Windsor, Us-05, Us-04 and many lagers with basic Saflager.....7-8 bucks a pop for liquid as opposed to $1.50-2.50 for dry, with more cell count, is imho just a waste of money for the majority of a brewer's recipe bank...most commercial ales us a limited range of strains, and those liquid strains are really the same strains that the afore mentioned dry strains cover, for example Us-05 is the famed "Chico strain", so if you are paying 7-8 bucks for Wyeast 1056 American/Chico Ale Yeast, and you STILL have to make a starter to have enough viable cells, then you are ripping yourself off, in terms of time and money....

If you are looking for a "clean" yeast profile, meaning about 90% of american ales, the 05, or nottingham is the way to go. Need "Bready" or yeasty for English ales, then 04 or windsor. Want a clean, low profile lager yeast- saflager usually does the trick.

Modern dry yeasts are just as good these days as liquids.

I use dry yeast for 99% of my beers, for basic ales I use safale 05, for more british styles I us safale 04 and for basic lagers I use saflager..

The only time I use liquid yeast is if I am making a beer where the yeast drives the style, where certain flavor characteristics are derived from the yeast, such as phenols.

Like Belgian beers, where you get spicy/peppery flavors from the yeast and higher temp fermentation. Or let's say a wheat beer (needing a lowly flocculant yest) or a Kholsch, where the style of the beer uses a specific yeast strain that is un available in dry form.

Even John Palmer talks about this...He doesn't bash dry yeast, just points out the differences.

6.3 Yeast Forms

Yeast come in two main product forms, dry and liquid. (There is also another form, available as pure cultures on petri dishes or slants, but it is generally used as one would use liquid yeast.) Dry yeast are select, hardy strains that have been dehydrated for storability. There are a lot of yeast cells in a typical 7 gram packet. For best results, it needs to be re-hydrated before it is pitched. For the first-time brewer, a dry ale yeast is highly recommended.

Dry yeast is convenient for the beginning brewer because the packets provide a lot of viable yeast cells, they can be stored for extended periods of time and they can be prepared quickly on brewing day. It is common to use one or two packets (7 - 14 grams) of dried yeast for a typical five gallon batch. This amount of yeast, when properly re-hydrated, provides enough active yeast cells to ensure a strong fermentation. Dry yeast can be stored for extended periods (preferably in the refrigerator) but the packets do degrade with time. This is one of the pitfalls with brewing from the no-name yeast packets taped to the top of a can of malt extract. They are probably more than a year old and may not be very viable. It is better to buy another packet or three of a reputable brewer's yeast that has been kept in the refrigerator at the brewshop. Some leading and reliable brands of dry yeast are DCL Yeast, Yeast Labs (marketed by G.W. Kent, produced by Lallemand of Canada), Cooper's, DanStar (produced by Lallemand), Munton & Fison and Edme.

Dry yeasts are good but the rigor of the dehydration process limits the number of different ale strains that are available and in the case of dry lager yeast, eliminates them almost entirely. A few dry lager yeasts do exist, but popular opinion is that they behave more like ale yeasts than lager. DCL Yeast markets two strains of dry lager yeast, Saflager S-189 and S-23, though only S-23 is currently available in a homebrewing size. The recommended fermentation temperature is 48-59°F. I would advise you to use two packets per 5 gallon batch to be assured of a good pitching rate.

The only thing missing with dry yeast is real individuality, which is where liquid yeasts come in. Many more different strains of yeast are available in liquid form than in dry.

The only real "criticism" of dry yeast, is that, due to how they are made to be stable, that there are not many varieties available, that and the warning to avoid those "no-name" yeasts under the lids of extract can and to go with one of the "proven" strains.

 

[WenValley]

There are no local homebrew shops in my area, so I have to order my brew supplies from online vendors. Being able to have a "stash" of dry yeast in the fridge provides me with the ability to brew when my schedule allows.

I'll usually throw in a couple of liquid yeast styles with every shipment to try out new types, but for me, dry yeasts are very handy.

 

[mithion]

Yeah, liquid yeast is a bit of a rip off. However, prices for dry yeast are on the rise as well. I bought a packet of S-04 a couple of weeks ago as bottling yeast and it was $4. Still cheaper than liquid but the gap isn't as wide. What I like to do is recycle the yeast. I still go for the $8.50 liquid yeast which offers better variety, but I do 5 batch on one pack. One batch the first time around and then four batches with the second generation. The staff of the LHBS where I get my stuff told me that if your yeast washing is trustworthy, you can do a third generation safely but I stop at two. So with my scheme, the yeast cost me $1.70 per batch.

Of course, the combination of US-05 and S-04 will get you through a large number of styles so for people who just want to keep it simple, that's the best option. But for me, tinkering with which strand to use is complexity I have fun tinkering with. But either way, Fermentis, White Labs, and Wyeast all produce excellent products you can't go wrong with.

 

[PT Ray]

I'm still torn after 15 years.

Overall I think liquid is the winner but the gap has narrowed over the years. I've been using Danstar and Safale for my basic ales for the past few years but think now it's time to try liquid again to see if it worth the fuss.