Another Liquid Discussion

[cornyandy]

Hi all,

I'm toying with the idea of using a few liquid yeasts in the coming months. I would just like a couple of bits of advice please.

The first and most obvious (and probably most contentious) Wyeast or White Labs? It's probably a question of preference rather than anything else but I would love someone to point me in the right direction as to which is the more user friendly etc

Also what are the best methods for reusing.

I tend to brew on a whim, deciding the night before "tomorrow is brewday" this means that the convenience of dried yeast is great. Is there a way I can do this with liquid cultures. ie to have them stored til I need them

I mentioned all this in Liquid V Dried thread but don't want to hijack that one.

Many Thanks All

Andrew

 

[Covrich]

I don't have a preference between wyeast or whitelabs.. I just pick what the supplier has.. they will often have a same strain equivalent.. But I pick the yeast to the style. So depends on the style you are going for..

Brewing on a whim makes it a touch tricker if its lower gravity you'll probably be okay but I do prefer to make a starter especially if you want to harvest, giving your yeast a healthy start makes them much more healthy and viable for harvesting.

You could grow your liquid yeast in a starter then stick it in the fridge so you know the day you will use it you can decant off most of the spent wort and ditch it in (at room temp) but don't make the starter weeks before you brew.

There is little doubt dry yeast is far more convenient so where I don't feel it makes a different such as a pale ale I won't use liquid for that.

 

[TheRedDarren]

Covrich pretty much covers it there, although I would add the Wyeast packages probably take it on convenience - take one out of the fridge on brew day and give it a whack, there's your starter.
Whereas WL yeast comes in a small pack, you don't actually need to make a starter as you can direct pitch if your wort is below 1.060, but I always make a starter as I like to top crop.

 

[Covrich]

I will be honest I still made a starter with the smack packs , I dont always seem to pop them properly for some reason because of that I don't trust it to grow properly so just make my own little one . as I brew outside a quick healthy fermentation is important and a started liquid yeast really gives that..

 

[Cwrw666]

I've only used a smack pack once - it worked well once the inner thing burst but I had to smack the hell out of the thing to get it to burst properly!

 

[Notlaw]

I've only used a smack pack once - it worked well once the inner thing burst but I had to smack the hell out of the thing to get it to burst properly!

I thought a sturdy gent like yourself would punch through the whole thing!

 

[geetee]

The inner packet in Wyeasts is a slippery little thing.
I find if I lay them on a bench and give it a good hard slap it usually works first time.

 

[cornyandy]

Thanks Folks, I'll probably try some of the more specific yeasts for Belgian stuff but stick to dried for the more mundane brewing.

 

[MyQul]

I will be honest I still made a starter with the smack packs , I dont always seem to pop them properly for some reason because of that I don't trust it to grow properly so just make my own little one . as I brew outside a quick healthy fermentation is important and a started liquid yeast really gives that..

Me too. I beat the hell out of the smak pak but still could pop the inner sachet thing. In the end I just cut the pack open then fished the nutrient pack out and cut that open and poured both into a starter

 

[MyQul]

Btw you don't have to let a starter fully ferment out. You can pitch it a 'high krausen' which is about 12 -24 hours after starting your starter. Pitching at high krausen doesnt half cut the lag time as your pitching the starter at the point when the yeast is at its healthiest.
So you could start of the starter the night before brewday and pitch it when your worts ready th following day. The only 'disadvantage' is you need to pitch the whole 2L.
I've pitched starters at high krausen and they've worked well. Not as convenient as dried yeast but a bit more convenient then having to wait for the starter to fully ferment out

 

[cornyandy]

Thanks Myqul

 

[dad_of_jon]

Thanks Folks, I'll probably try some of the more specific yeasts for Belgian stuff but stick to dried for the more mundane brewing.

Mj Belgian ale yeast is good, used it twice, impressed both times :grin: