Liquid yeast, worth it or rip off?

[pms67]

I'm thinking of brewing the American Wheat Beer from the bible, it asks for Wyeast 1010 American Wheat but it's quite pricey,including the malt and hops,it's around £22.
Would a dried yeast give a similar outcome,I know it's only 3 or 4 quid of a difference but hey,you know......
Cheers :thumb:

 

[YeastFace]

American Wheats aren't meant to have a particularly yeast-forward profile like their German cousins. I've used US-05 or similar in the past.

I believe that WY1010 is from Widmer's Hefeweizen, which has more yeast character than most American Wheats (but less then German).

So, I'd say it depends what you want to achieve by way of yeast profile.

 

[pms67]

I think i would be quite happy with just the wheat malt and hops (citra i think) and a clean type of yeast,not bothered about anything too funky,it will only be my third biab anyway, trying to learn as i go as i always just used kit yeasts.
Ta

 

[Linalmeemow]

I did an American wheat extract clone of Gumballhead with US05 and it came out great. May have come out better with liquid yeast but I was happy with what I got.

 

[pms67]

Yeah,to be honest i think im too tight to start using liquid yeast unless im looking to make something outrageous, ive never had a problem with kit yeasts (apart fron Wherry obviously) BUT if i used liquid once im afraid everything else would seem inferior, sometimes you are better not knowing i think 😁

 

[strange-steve]

If you have a look at overbuilding starters then you can use a single pack of liquid yeast many times. The last pack I bought is currently fermenting its 4th brew, so it's not expensive. Of course you do have to factor in the cost of the DME also but its still cheap.
I much prefer liquid yeast, especially if brewing "yeast driven" styles like saison, hefeweizen etc.

 

[mike77]

If you plan on reusing the yeast then it's not a rip off. I've just brewed 2 beers in the last few weeks from a yeast that I've been using for about a year or so. So a single pack can go a long way.

 

[pms67]

And would you say the difference is noticeable over dried cause i hear you can reuse that also,in fact in sure Craigtube is just scooping out some trub and dumping it on each batch as an experiment? Probably upsetting a few people along the way but if someone tries it and it works i guess.

 

[Pfeffer]

Yeast is yeast. People argue that liquid yeast gives superior taste, but the fact is yeast is a living thing. It multiplies and metabolizes sugar.

If it comes dried or liquid is just a service; you pay for convenience. The real question is indeed what strain you need to use. I'm pretty new with brewing, but I'd say any wheat style yeast would do. Obviously it would taste differently, but on the other hand.. exactly that might make a good beer, a great beer.

And to be honest, the wyeast catalogue is pure mycological porn; the choice is phenominal.

 

[IainM]

I tried both the Brewferm Blanche wheat yeast and the Coopers Wheat yeast, both came out pretty neutral and not particularly interesting. I've never tried the Wyeast American Wheat, so can't tell you if it would be any different, but I hope to do a Belgian Wit or Hefeweizen at the end of winter and, having asked around, am now reasonably convinced that no dry yeast can deliver the characteristics typical of the style, so I'll certainly be going for a liquid.

 

[pms67]

Ok thanks guys

 

[MyQul]

6 quid sounds a lot but even if you still only ever used the yeast once it only adds 15p to a pint. Having said that I'm still too tight to buy liquid and prefer to culture yeast up from a commercial bottle cultured beer and re-use the yeast many times

 

[Pfeffer]

You might want to Google some different yeast strains for wheat beers. What I read I'd happily spend 4 quid extra on some of the wyeast strains, especially the bavarian wheat 3638 seems like something I would like. (I'm one of those strange chaps that swirls his Paulaner to get the last bit of yeasty goodness out).

In my opinion American wheat beers are dull, Belgian ones are a bit to acidic to my taste (not sure how to describe that palet). I love the banana-ish German ones though.

So get something that goes well with your taste. In the end, you'll be the one drinking it

Tip; you can sometimes get older packs of liquid yeast very cheap. The cell count will be down, but if you create a starter first you should be good. So you can still get the good varieties cheap.

 

[Joeyriles]

Another thing you can do is visit your local brewery and ring ahead, asking for a little baggy of their yeast when you do.
They normally just ask that you leave a quid in their chosen charity pot. I've got some from Hog's Back and some from Ringwood and have reused them multiple times. It costs me to make starters with DME but I've found that the quality of fermentation has been excellent in comparison with using dry yeast.

 

[BeerCat]

If you have a look at overbuilding starters then you can use a single pack of liquid yeast many times. The last pack I bought is currently fermenting its 4th brew, so it's not expensive. Of course you do have to factor in the cost of the DME also but its still cheap.
I much prefer liquid yeast, especially if brewing "yeast driven" styles like saison, hefeweizen etc.

Agree with that. The liquid wheat yeasts smell amazing and i used one pack of wlp004 for around 8 brews and still some in the fridge. Not that expensive when you think about it. It's just less convenient.

 

[DoctorMick]

Agree with that. The liquid wheat yeasts smell amazing and i used one pack of wlp004 for around 8 brews and still some in the fridge. Not that expensive when you think about it. It's just less convenient.

But much more fun! :thumb:

 

[pms67]

DoctorMick , your APA, I take it you haven't done any bittering additions ? Or am I being daft.
If I'm right,how much hops did you add whilst steeping?

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Agree with that. The liquid wheat yeasts smell amazing and i used one pack of wlp004 for around 8 brews and still some in the fridge. Not that expensive when you think about it. It's just less convenient.

OP.....Its not expensive, totally the opposite. I bought a WLP 004, 3 years ago and have got at least 12 brews out of it and given loads away. Though I doubt it is still WLP 004.

 

[pms67]

OP.....Its not expensive, totally the opposite. I bought a WLP 004, 3 years ago and have got at least 12 brews out of it and given loads away. Though I doubt it is still WLP 004.

Wow,that's a lot of brews from one yeast.
I knew yeast could be reused but I guess the point is,is it much better than dried yeast? As you can repitch onto trub which has used dried I think.

 

[DoctorMick]

DoctorMick , your APA, I take it you haven't done any bittering additions ? Or am I being daft.
If I'm right,how much hops did you add whilst steeping?

Correct, I added 100g pellets at flameout and left them to sit for 20 minutes before cooling. It's an experiment so I'm not sure how the bittering will turn out but the sample I took last week is promising. Based on the sample, I think it's a technique I'll be using again although with higher ABV beers I will use some hops earlier on to increase the IBUs.