Yeast? How big do you buy?

[Willy]

So far - I have only purchased dry yeast packets for fermenting (11 grams) but now I am thinking I should go big and save some money.

Now this only applies to 2 strains that I use for most batches. US-05 and 34/70 but I bet you could have guessed since they are probably the most widely used yeast strains around.

But oh my ... The packets of yeast have gone up very sharply over the last few years. Anyway, it looks like I will save about $100 for about 45 5 gallon batches. At my current rate of production, the ig 500g boxes would last about 2 years which I think is well within the range of "good yeast".

Curious? Does anyone buy dry yeast in 500g sizes? Are there some considerations I am unaware of? What was your experience? Thanks.

 

[mac_1103]

Never bought a brick. The only consideration I'm aware of is that you have to keep dry yeast dry. If I was doing this, I would weigh it out in single use aliquots and vacuum seal them. Maybe that's overkill, but I don't think so.

US-05 is $2.69 a pack at Ritebrew if you buy ten or more. To save $100 on 45 batches, you'd have to get a brick for about twenty bucks. 34/70 is $4.59 a pack even with the quantity discount. And you have to pitch twice as much. Good thing I don't really like lagers.

 

[Willy]

Never bought a brick. The only consideration I'm aware of is that you have to keep dry yeast dry. If I was doing this, I would weigh it out in single use aliquots and vacuum seal them. Maybe that's overkill, but I don't think so.

US-05 is $2.69 a pack at Ritebrew if you buy ten or more. To save $100 on 45 batches, you'd have to get a brick for about twenty bucks. 34/70 is $4.59 a pack even with the quantity discount. And you have to pitch twice as much. Good thing I don't really like lagers.

That is a killer deal on US-05! But yes, I love lagers and my German Pilsner corny just kicked. Grrrr. I have a Czech Pilsner on hand pouring, and another batch in the cool 56° fermenter so I will make it.

Might pick up a ten pack of US-05. Nice find!

 

[mac_1103]

Might pick up a ten pack of US-05. Nice find!

If you spend $50 you'll get a break on shipping too.

 

[Sliveroverlord]

Maybe you could overbuild a starter from the yeast packs. At 45 Batches in 2 Years, you could store the yeast harvested from the starter in the fridge for 2-4 weeks and overbuild another starter with ist and so on

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

That is a killer deal on US-05! But yes, I love lagers and my German Pilsner corny just kicked. Grrrr. I have a Czech Pilsner on hand pouring, and another batch in the cool 56° fermenter so I will make it.

Might pick up a ten pack of US-05. Nice find!

I buy yeast in bulk too from Rite Brew, everything else too for that matter. For me it's just down the road but I have heard shipping is reasonable. It's just a warehouse but Neil has a good stock and knows a fair amount about brewing, good guy.

 

[Pennine]

If you want to save money maybe just harvest yeast. A few mason jars are cheap.

 

[Tony B]

Or, start a frozen yeast bank? https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/frozen-yeast-bank-procedure.733226/
I started this thread about a year ago. I currently have a dozen or more strains in my freezer. Most are in my frozen vials and I always keep a handful of dry yeast packs as backups for when I’m pressed for time or just lazy.

 

[FredF]

So far - I have only purchased dry yeast packets for fermenting (11 grams) but now I am thinking I should go big and save some money.

Now this only applies to 2 strains that I use for most batches. US-05 and 34/70 but I bet you could have guessed since they are probably the most widely used yeast strains around.

But oh my ... The packets of yeast have gone up very sharply over the last few years. Anyway, it looks like I will save about $100 for about 45 5 gallon batches. At my current rate of production, the ig 500g boxes would last about 2 years which I think is well within the range of "good yeast".

Curious? Does anyone buy dry yeast in 500g sizes? Are there some considerations I am unaware of? What was your experience? Thanks.

I bought a 500g brick of Hornindal Kveik well over a year ago. Whenever I brew, I open it up and weigh out 60 grams for the brew, (I brew 30 gallons at a time) then I fold up the wrapper and vacuum seal it up and put it back in the fridge. Works well. I suppose you could divide it up at the beginning and vacuum seal in the doses you want.

 

[dmtaylor]

I don't buy bricks. Should be fine as long as you keep it vacuum sealed.

 

[Willy]

Thanks the responses. I have a vacuum sealer already so reclosing the pack is doable. For whatever reason, I don't wanna get into harvesting, not sure why. I suspect I fear that I will inadvertently be adding "cooties".

I did see somewhere while researching... You can use a single 34/70 pack for a 5 gal if you pitch at room temp (I have used two, pitching at ferm temp of 55-58° usually). Does anybody use this method?

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Thanks the responses. I have a vacuum sealer already so reclosing the pack is doable. For whatever reason, I don't wanna get into harvesting, not sure why. I suspect I fear that I will inadvertently be adding "cooties".

I did see somewhere while researching... You can use a single 34/70 pack for a 5 gal if you pitch at room temp (I have used two, pitching at ferm temp of 55-58° usually). Does anybody use this method?

I brew ten gallon batches and rarely use more than one pack of yeast. Sometimes if I'm in doubt I'll make a starter.

 

[Indian_villager]

Little AF, usually need a microscope to see them. Y'all finding thicc yeast somewhere?


Jokes aside, keep an eye out on homebrew finds. Occasionally there are deals on amazon where you can get 3-5x packs for fairly cheap. I have bought out of those deals and the dates on the pack indicate they are pretty fresh. For liquid yeast, for styles I brew often I am propagating out of the starters and I can get a pack of yeast to last 6 brews to a year that way.

 

[VTMongoose]

If you keep your eyes peeled on eBay, you can snag a deal on expired bricks once in a while:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/226235246516

 

[jdauria]

One other money saver for yeast is putting a new beer on the yeast cake of a prior beer. Have done it multiple times with good success. They say not to put a light beer on the yeast cake of a dark beer, as you may pick up color, but I did once and it was fine. In fact, one of the beer magazines just had an article on smoked beers and it talked about making a Smoked Helles by putting the Helles on the yeast cake of a Rauchbier. You will get subtle smoke notes, perfect for a Rauchbie.

 

[conlun]

I’m in a similar boat—just using a different yeast! For the past few years, I’ve kept a brick each of BRY-97 and Diamond on hand, and recently added a Pomona to the mix. I store the original packaging inside a vacuum bag, and on brew day, I just take out what I need and reseal it.

I’ve even used packs that were around 4 years old without any issues!