Liquid yeast or dried yeast?

[Bobstrolz]

I've made about a dozen AG brews now using Whitelabs liquid yeasts and I've been happy with the results. Recently I was talking to a commercial brewer who only used dried yeast so I got to thinking, if its good enough for the pro brewers its good enough for me.
What's the general opinion? Is there really much difference?

 

[clibit]

Some commercial brewers use dried yeast because it's convenient to do so. They avoid yeast management. It doesn't mean it's as good as liquid yeast, I think. Or that commercial beer is as good as what you can make at home.

 

[MyQul]

I've made about a dozen AG brews now using Whitelabs liquid yeasts and I've been happy with the results. Recently I was talking to a commercial brewer who only used dried yeast so I got to thinking, if its good enough for the pro brewers its good enough for me.
What's the general opinion? Is there really much difference?

You've got to remember professional breweries and HBers have different priorities. As a HB your usually trying to make the best beer you can, no matter the cost (within reason) or however long it takes you. No matter what they say in there marketing blurb, a professional brewery always has the bottom line to think about.
Dried yeast's a LOT easier to handle than liquid yeast, which is the reason large numbers of proffesional breweries use it.One of my LHBS/microbrewery told me this is the reason they use it too .

I've never used liquid yeast as I have no real temperature control but am planning to use it once the cooler months arrive. I like dried yeast as I'm lazy and it's easy just to sprinkle it into your wort whereas with liquid yeast I'm going to need to make starters, count/measure yeast etc. Taste/flavour profile wise most people say (I've read) that liquid yeast blows dried yeast out of the water though.

 

[clibit]

There are some fantastic beers made with dried yeast. The Kernel uses US05. But they focus on styles that are very hop focused, I think. And a lot of breweries don't use dried yeast. They have the skill to manage their own yeast strain, and they do it mainly because the yeast makes their beer unique. And because their yeasts make lovely beer. If you want a beer that has a really nice yeast contribution, you need liquid, in my opinion. Why is Fullers beer so good? The yeast is a major factor. The biggest single factor.

 

[Bobstrolz]

I'm trying a dried yeast in the porter I've got brewing now. It will be interesting to see how that turns out.

 

[clibit]

I'm sure it will be great. I've made some great porters with dried yeasts. Have you made a liquid yeast porter? Something to compare with?

 

[trueblue]

Just because professional brewers use it doesn't mean is better, John Smiths make more bitter than any other English brewer and it's total ****. The yeast is the most important ingredient we use so why use a more inferior product. Price does not come into it, I get 6 brews from a whitelabs vial, and the management side is so minimal if you are not willing to put in that extra effort to produce a better beer just drink the John Smiths of the world.

 

[nbpicklesno2]

My local 10 bbl micro Brewery uses liquid yeast that they change every 8 or so brews costing them £300 a time as its stored centrally at a lab.

They believe it to be value for money as they don't have to do yeast management (too difficult) nor use dry yeast (inferior product).

Horses for courses.

 

[rodabod]

I think US-05 is absolutely fine in its dried form. The only advantage I can see with using the Wyeast equivalent is that it's faster to start, so arguably healthier.

I'm going to persevere with S-04 and see what it works well with, but for specific yeast flavours I have no option to buy the strain as liquid as the range of dried is so small.

 

[Bobstrolz]

I've made two stouts using liquid yeasts and I'm happy with it. In the porter I'm brewing at present I'm using Gervin GV12. Will see how it fares and if its not up to scratch I'll go back to Whitelabs yeast. Got to try these things I suppose.

 

[clibit]

Gervin makes a really good porter. :thumb:

 

[Covrich]

I have yet to use liquid but I may for certain types

I have used US05 for a lot of my AG (not all but quite a few) and I think its a great yeast, However I made a Saison a month or 2 ago and with Jack Mangrove dreid yeast.. do not get me wrong I love this beer its really nice for my first go at a Saison I am delighted with it, however with the yeast character being so strong in this style I cannot help but wonder should this be the sort of beer that would really benefit from the more expensive yeast just to bring out a little more character.

 

[clibit]

I think if you want a beer that has a neutral yeast presence, US05 does a great job, and Gervin is good too. For beers where you want more from the yeast, it is generally better to get a suitable liquid yeast. That includes a lot of English ales. Belgian styles obviously. For dark English styles I like neutral yeast, so the dried options above work well for me. But I'm increasingly of the mind to use liquid for everything, and save money by splitting and harvesting.

 

[MyQul]

I like my dry stouts dry, so a high attenuating dry yeast is fine for those. I've been using Mauribrew 514 but I think I will switch to notty come the cooler weather. I'm looking forward to trying out liquid yeasts for my bitters and am going to try wyeast 1469 west yorkshire first

 

[Covrich]

With liquid yeast you always have to make a starter or do those smack packs come ready ??

With harvesting isn't there a time you have to use them by.. I did think about that but for people like me who do one brew a month it's probably not a viable option especially if the following brew isn't suited to that yeast

 

[duncans]

Maybe I am a bit slack but the home Brewer can benefit from the convenience too right? Brew days on Thursday for me,tuesday now and I haven't even decided what to brew so no chance of having a starter ready. God bless dried yeast 😁

 

[Kyle_T]

Maybe I am a bit slack but the home Brewer can benefit from the convenience too right? Brew days on Thursday for me,tuesday now and I haven't even decided what to brew so no chance of having a starter ready. God bless dried yeast 😁

How long are you thinking it takes to make a starter? Take some wort from 10 minutes into the boil, crash chill it and add your yeast. By pitching time it's ready.

 

[clibit]

I've re-pitched yeast more than a month old, I just pitch more. Ideally you should be making a starter to revitalise the yeast. I use dried yeast for the convenience still, I'm not great at planning ahead, tend to brew spontaneously. But I want to be better organised and get a proper yeast system going.

 

[MyQul]

With liquid yeast you always have to make a starter or do those smack packs come ready ??

With harvesting isn't there a time you have to use them by.. I did think about that but for people like me who do one brew a month it's probably not a viable option especially if the following brew isn't suited to that yeast

Pretty sure Wyeast say that you can just directly pitch smakpaks (but I'd need to check their site to be sure)

There seems to be a bit of a difference of opinon on when you should use harvested yeast which has been kept in the fridge. Some people say use it after two weeks others say 1 month. But you can keep it in the fridge for months so long as you make a starter.

 

[louis macneice]

With liquid yeast you always have to make a starter or do those smack packs come ready ??

With harvesting isn't there a time you have to use them by.. I did think about that but for people like me who do one brew a month it's probably not a viable option especially if the following brew isn't suited to that yeast

I've pitched WLP007 direct from the vial at room temp with no ill effects. On their web page it says:

While a starter is not always necessary, White Labs recommends making a starter if the Original Gravity is over 1.070, if the yeast is past its "Best Before" date, if you are pitching lager yeast at temperatures below 65F, or if a faster start is desired.

​

So if your yeast is in date, your OG's below 1.070 etc etc ...then you can go ahead.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice