# Lager yeast liquid vs dry whats the dif ?



## thebigwilk (28/4/16)

Doing a pils this weekend just wondering if its worth the wait to make a starter with the liquid yeast, or do I just go a dry yeast is there a big flavour difference between them, and is the extra time and money spent worth it in the end flavour of the beer?


----------



## MHB (28/4/16)

The difference is Choices - a lot more of them in liquid.
SW-34/70 is the best selling dry lager in the world (by a large multiple of the rest added together). Its a fairly good yeast for a dry north German style of Lager but of limited use for the fuller bodied Lagers and Pilsners I prefer.
Mark


----------



## fletcher (28/4/16)

the difference is range. there is a wider range of liquids. that's it.


----------



## danestead (28/4/16)

If you are brewing this weekend, I'm afraid you probably don't have the time to do a starter sufficient for a lager (assuming you only buy 1 standard sized pack of wyeast or whitelabs and are doing a 20L or greater batch).


----------



## GalBrew (28/4/16)

3 packets of w-34/70 rehydrated will work very nicely.


----------



## gezzanet (28/4/16)

Please see the post. Should I rehydrate dry yeast. All answers there. [emoji85]


----------



## Seaquebrew (28/4/16)

What is the difference? 

About 6 pages of waffle

Both make beer

Cheers


----------



## GalBrew (28/4/16)

Or pitch 6 directly, whatever.


----------



## Danscraftbeer (28/4/16)

I fuss over yeast calculations. Mr Malty, Beersmith etc. Consider dates of yeast etc. 
My conclusion from my experience is that dry yeast have more reliable shelf life or something. I've had liquid yeast cakes that were dead after a pressure ferment and got a soap taste from it. Never had that case with dry yeast and the yeast cakes (recycled yeast) were very viable.
I always make starters with yeast calculations. Never under pitch.
$0.02 ymmv


----------



## Danscraftbeer (28/4/16)

Call me shrewd or tight arse but I couldn't pitch 3 packs of yeast to get the correct pitch rate for a ~20lt brew as some do. 
That yeast costs more than all the other ingredients put together!
Stir plate and flasks do good work of starters.


----------



## GalBrew (28/4/16)

It depends on what you have less of, time or money. I usually will make a starter on a stir plate from liquid yeast. But sometimes time is not on your side.


----------



## Binetti (30/7/18)

Hi all,

(Performing thread CPR)....
I know this thread hasn't moved for a while but I wonder what people think about Fermentis/Mangrove Jacks dry yeasts nowadays?
There seem to be many more dry yeasts available now, than when this thread was started, or is it just me noticing?

I am a huge fan of Koeslch (adding an e is the accepted way of spelling this, if you can't find an umlaut), having drunk many a pint in Germany.
I really hate the dry-flavoured knock-offs breweries make over here, using US05.
I used to swear by White Labs liquid yeast for this, if for nothing else, and generally assumed it was a better product than a dry yeast and would impart more/better flavour, etc. in every case.

However, I recently read somewhere that the Fermentis Safale US05 is in fact the same strain as Whitelabs California Ale liquid yeast.
I have used both plenty of times and cannot report a marked difference in the results. Are other dry yeasts the same as liquid counterparts?
I see that we can now get a variety of dry yeasts - Mangrove Jacks make a lot (presumably the Kiwi company supplies a growing demand for more styles of beer) of different types, particularly English Ales and European Lagers, and Fermentis (and also Danstar) also seem to have many more styles, more widely available, than before.

Specifically, Fermentis now make a K97 German Ale yeast, which some report as making a damn fine Koelsch and which would make my decade!
Can anyone confirm or refute any of this and is there still good reason to use (more expensive, more trouble and highly perishable) liquid yeast?
Has anyone researched any of these new dry yeasts, tested them side-by-side with a liquid equivalent, etc?


----------



## Black Devil Dog (30/7/18)

Wyeast 2565 is my favourite for making Kolsch style beers. 

I've tried the K97 German ale yeast and White labs liquid Kolsch yeast and from my own personal experience, the WY2565 is the better one. Others may beg to differ though.

I've recently pretty much stopped using US05, because I found inconsistencies in flocculation. Sometimes it would form a compact yeast cake on the bottom of the fermenter and other times it would clump into small lumps and not settle fully. When I'd transfer to keg I'd notice small lumps of yeast being sucked through the transfer hose. This would happen even after a couple of weeks cold conditioning.
I'm going try the Mangrove Jack M44 Ale yeast instead for a while. 

My house lager yeast is Fermentis S-189. It's a great lager yeast and I'll keep using it for sometime to come.

I don't use a lot of liquid yeasts, mainly because I like the ease of use with dry yeasts and find they store longer. Someone who does might be able to elaborate a bit more on comparisons between them and dry yeasts. I'm sure variety is a big factor.


----------



## MHB (30/7/18)

Binetti said:


> Snip
> I am a huge fan of Koeslch (adding an e is the accepted way of spelling this, if you can't find an umlaut), having drunk many a pint in Germany.
> I really hate the dry-flavoured knock-offs breweries make over here, using US05.
> I used to swear by White Labs liquid yeast for this, if for nothing else, and generally assumed it was a better product than a dry yeast and would impart more/better flavour, etc. in every case.


Another big fan of Kölsch, lucky enough to have a local who makes an absolute cracker (Potters/Hunter Beer Co...).

Its been interesting following the availability of yeast (both dry/liquid) as soon as one maker develops one all the rest have a "Version" in pretty short order, there are so many versions of 05 around that many beer writers just use the term Chico because they are indistinguishable.
Similar thing with most strains, lets say there is a lot of overlap, I think the white labs/Wyeast ranges are about 90% the same (I prefer Wyeast for its shelf life)
K-97 is a really old strain, (I think over 20 years) it isn't a bad Alt yeast but if you want to make a really good Kölsch spend the money on a liquid, personal favorite is the Kölsch 2 which is a seasonal from Wyeast, but that wouldn't stop me from using the 2565.
Mark


----------



## rude (30/7/18)

I have brewed quite a few kolsch beers love the style used only 2565
Usually use a simple grain bill of Hiedelberg pils malt sometimes with a touch of pale wheat and or carapils
Mainly use Tettenanger hops all the way through to about 20 to 24 IBUs
About to pitch one very soon but have bittered with magnum @ 60 mins this time with Tett in the cube
Pkt yeasts I have tried
Notto which comes out dry as a dead dogs donga but persisting with it
Have tried MJ M15 which didn't attenuate like I wanted but beer was nice in an English Mild, English liquids are hard to beat though
MJ 44 which I have in a APA kegged for the last month waiting for dry July to finish
US05 pkt which works for me but haven't used for a while now
WB06 yonks ago but prefer liquid in my Hefe
Will keep trying dry yeast as it is convenient with fairly good results


----------



## Binetti (31/7/18)

Hey, thanks for the great insights!

Sadly, my love for the Koelsch style makes it sound like I must keep using liquid yeasts. Oh well, I wanted to try some of the Yeastbay styles anyway ;-)
I have had the best results with a 3-step mash, using mostly Gladfield Pilsner (haven't tried Heildeberg but now want to) plus a little wheat and maybe a touch of Munich.
I usually throw in about 120g of whatever hops I can lay my hands on, out of Tettnanger, Saaz and sometimes even a little Hallertau (gives a slightly more floral touch, that recedes quickly), midway through the boil.
I have only used the WLP029 but will try the Wyeast 2565, until the Koelsch 2 becomes available.
I would love to do a side-by-side with e.g. a Wyeast 2565 in one batch and K97 in the other.
If this ever happens, I'll be sure to post the results!
BTW does anyone know where to get the Staenge (Koelsch glasses) in Australia?


----------

