What are the advantages of...

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ElChemist

Absolute numpty...
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Fresh yeast over dried?

Given my knowledge of yeast is about 18 years old (uni was a while ago) Yeast tolerate being dried out remarkably well, so what are the advantages of using a liquid yeast versus a dried one?

I ask as I'm about to start putting together my first foray into AG with a Cilbit style 10L batch and want to know if i'm better off using fresh over dried. Availability isnt an issue, there are many online retailers to choose from.

I can see that fermentation will start faster but other than that...

Many thanks

ElChem
 
For me it's the range. Whether a dried yeast which is almost exactly the same as a liquid has any disadvantages, I'm not sure. I look at all the properties that I want in a partular yeast and pick it dependant on that rather irrespective of it being dry or liquid
 
If you are planning other similar brews soon and have some where to store split yeast packs go fresh/liquid.

If not half a pack of dried will be fine (depending on style).

My lhbs recommended using the best yeast available and I'm still to try a liquid yeast.
 
If you are planning other similar brews soon and have some where to store split yeast packs go fresh/liquid.

If not half a pack of dried will be fine (depending on style).

My lhbs recommended using the best yeast available and I'm still to try a liquid yeast.

My LHBS doesn't rate liquid yeast, he reckons it's over priced for what it is. He also says that the quality of dried yeast has improved so much in the last few years, that he sees no reason to use a liquid one. He can get them if anyone wants them, but doesn't use them or rate them himself.
 
As I said I've not used a liquid yeast yet. I have been very happy with us05 to date.
 
My LHBS doesn't rate liquid yeast, he reckons it's over priced for what it is. He also says that the quality of dried yeast has improved so much in the last few years, that he sees no reason to use a liquid one. He can get them if anyone wants them, but doesn't use them or rate them himself.

I agree with the fact that dried yeast has improved vastly over the past few years and the range seems to be ever increasing but yeast is what makes your beer. Two beers made with exactly the same ingredients bar yeast can taste completely different. So if a the characteristics your after in a yeast are available in a liquid but not dried I think it's worth every penny to buy the liquid.

To give you an example. I recently wanted a clean yeast for pseudo lagering that i can free ferment with so can handle warm weather . The initial thought was US-05 but I've read that it can give off peachy flavours at the top and bottom end of it;s temp range. This is something you definately don't want in a lager so I went for WLP001 instead as I've read the peachy flavours dont occur even though it has a similar high temp tolerance to US-05
 
I once tried a yeast slope from Brewlab for a TTL and it was the worst beer I ever made, believe it or not very yeastie!

Made a TTL with Wyyeast 1469 and that was one of the best ever, lovely yeast and I have used that a few times. For "normal" pale ales and standard beers I will use US-O4 or Nottingham.
 
This is one of the many brewing topics that has conflicting information all over the place. If you listen to anecdotes, then you can come to any conclusion you like. I've read a couple of small side-by-side blinded taste tests comparing liquid to dry, and the liquid has come out top both times. This isn't exactly statistically significant, but it resonates with the common opinion that liquid yeasts are, generally, better. On the other hand, many breweries use dried yeast, and they should know what they're on about as the taste of their product affects their bottom line. I've just started experimenting with liquids, not in the expectation that it will dramatically improve my beer, but in order to keep different yeasts in my fridge so I can build up a starter when I want.
 
On the other hand, many breweries use dried yeast, and they should know what they're on about as the taste of their product affects their bottom line.

I think a big motivation for breweries to use dried yeast is a) it doesn't need as much 'handling' as liquid strains do. You can just buy loads of it relatively cheaply, measure a set amount and chuck it into your wort. no need for onsite yeast labs or pay a yeast lab to culture yeast for you b) consitancy - again measure a set amount and get the same results every time
 
For me it is three fold. Variety, health and speed.

As MyQul mentioned, there are way more choices when it comes to liquid yeast. When I started and was using dried yeast I remember looking of an English strain that gave good fruity esters, good attenuation and floculated/sediments well. In dried yeast I couldn't find one that ticked all the boxes.

I ended up getting some yeast from Wibbler Brewery which I've found covers all of these bases.

The other thing that I like with liquid yeast is that you can make a starter and ensure your yeast is in peak health to start your fermentation.

This leads on to my last reason, which is that a big healthy yeast starter will have the beer fermenting in 6-12 hours, where as there is a longer lag phase for dried. This gives less chance for any uninvited bacteria to get in.

I like the reassurance of pitching yeast at the end of the day and coming down to find it bubbling away when I check in the morning.
 
Depends on what you're going to make, If you;re going to use a yeast which you want it to impart a flavour or add character profile then you are defintaley going to want to use liquid.. there is also the range.

I think this guy sums it up very well.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsCEuEnnv9E[/ame]
 
I stand by the things I said in this thread http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62763

A lot of the new micro brewers that have sprung up in the last few years use dried yeast and produce very ordinary beers so to try and stand out they just bung in shed loads of hops. I fail to understand why any one would spend a fair amount of money on equipment and ingredients, spend several hours on the brewing process then when it comes to the most important thing we use try so save a pence :twisted:. Use the best yeast you can get, live yeast from a good commercial brewery is the best I have ever used, manage it properly and you will get at least 5 brews per vial.
 
I stand by the things I said in this thread http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62763

A lot of the new micro brewers that have sprung up in the last few years use dried yeast and produce very ordinary beers so to try and stand out they just bung in shed loads of hops. I fail to understand why any one would spend a fair amount of money on equipment and ingredients, spend several hours on the brewing process then when it comes to the most important thing we use try so save a pence :twisted:. Use the best yeast you can get, live yeast from a good commercial brewery is the best I have ever used, manage it properly and you will get at least 5 brews per vial.

A lot of the new micro breweries are going for American style beers and so they use American yeast. US-05 is available dried and would be a lot easier for really small breweries to work with than liquid.

If you don't have the facilities to run a yeast lab, dried yeast makes sense.

If I was making English beer, I'd be worrying about the yeast a lot more as it plays a bigger part in the flavour.

I like a good hoppy American style beer but I think yeast has so much to offer.
 
A lot of the new micro breweries are going for American style beers and so they use American yeast. US-05 is available dried and would be a lot easier for really small breweries to work with than liquid.

If you don't have the facilities to run a yeast lab, dried yeast makes sense.

If I was making English beer, I'd be worrying about the yeast a lot more as it plays a bigger part in the flavour.

I like a good hoppy American style beer but I think yeast has so much to offer.


Yes this is the philosophy I adopt, for clean US hop forward types or pseudo lagers for example us05 all the way, English style ale liquid , there are so many options too.. why try this hop that hop this grain that grain treat your water ect, then throw in the same packet of dehydrated yeast.
 
I must admit I've found that the beer I've made with some liquid yeast from the Hog's Back brewery, Tongham has been incomparable to the stuff I did with dried yeast. It doesn't suit every style and I think works very well for traditional English bitters and some darker, heavier beers but a hoppy IPA I brewed recently feels muted...maybe it just needs more time in the bottle. When on form it gives some fruity but delicate esters which I haven't been able to replicate with dried yeast-the krausen is more of a mushroom cloud and allows me to top-crop for re-pitching.
I'm pretty certain I've been over-pitching (always made a fairly big starter regardless of the abv I'm trying to achieve) but I would rather that than not hit the right numbers.
 
I must admit I've found that the beer I've made with some liquid yeast from the Hog's Back brewery, Tongham has been incomparable to the stuff I did with dried yeast. It doesn't suit every style and I think works very well for traditional English bitters and some darker, heavier beers but a hoppy IPA I brewed recently feels muted...maybe it just needs more time in the bottle. When on form it gives some fruity but delicate esters which I haven't been able to replicate with dried yeast-the krausen is more of a mushroom cloud and allows me to top-crop for re-pitching.
I'm pretty certain I've been over-pitching (always made a fairly big starter regardless of the abv I'm trying to achieve) but I would rather that than not hit the right numbers.

I think a number of English strains are quite floctuant (Both liquid English strains, shepard neame and Wyeast 1469, I've used have been) which I think leads to this muting of hops.Notty is supposed to suffer from this hop muting and is also very flocculant. US-05 which is most people's goto strain for IPA's and hoppy beer is a lot less flocculant.
Perhaps flocculancy in a yeast somehow 'drags' the hop flavours down with it. Might be worth doing a bit of googling to find out why this is
 
Been reading replies with interest and it seems taste and ability to be arsed making starters... I'll experiment and see where I end up...

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
Been reading replies with interest and it seems taste and ability to be arsed making starters... I'll experiment and see where I end up...

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

I just use my own wort for starter's. I portion off a couple of litres then freeze it till I need it. Then boil it for 15 mins to make sure it's sanitsed before using it
 
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