All Grain Brewers - Yeast Poll

[MarkBastard]

Please answer the option that most closely suits you.

 

[Scruffy]

I might sometimes buy it dry, but it's always liquid when it hits the wort...

 

[QldKev]

I ticked - "I use dry yeast mostly but use liquid yeast for some specialty styles"
but I also do harvest some yeasts in a farm. CPA, 3068 and a couple more.

 

[MarkBastard]

I might sometimes buy it dry, but it's always liquid when it hits the wort...

Just so there's no confusion, this is a poll asking in what form you source it from. If you buy a packet of Safale US05 dry yeast, rehydrate it, pitch it, then it's still counted as dry yeast.

 

[mje1980]

At present im using more dry, but i do prefer liquids for special beers. I mostly brew ales, and US05 is such a great yeast. Also i just did my first lager in a while so S189 was what i used. Great yeast as well.

Though next up is a kolsch with 2565, and im waiting on some Thames valley ale from Ross. Mmmmmmmm.

 

[MarkBastard]

By the way just for interests sake, does anyone regularly use liquid yeasts for just one batch and not reculture / reuse?

 

[Swizzle]

It might be the Scottsman in me but I find it a bit pricey to just use a liquid yeast once.

My usual approach is to reculture, sometimes from a dry and sometimes from a liquid, and at times from a stubby from the bottlo, one of my preferred methods as you get to drink the surplus!

 

[chappo1970]

By the way just for interests sake, does anyone regularly use liquid yeasts for just one batch and not reculture / reuse?

Chappo puts his hand up...

With the wild yeast problems I had last year (touch wood none since) only fresh yeast can used around my place. I have thrown a brew directly onto the cake successfully but I need to be super careful if doing so.

Chap Chap

 

[Airgead]

Its yeast off slants for me. Most of my slants started as liquid but a couple (especially the wine strains) started as dry.

I had my first ever infected starter a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately I tasted it before I pitched it. All my tubes of 005 were infected. Must have had a problem with my master. I had to buy another original to restart my cultures and that's the first beer yeast I have purchased in 5 years.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Swizzle]

Ahh what's a slant?

 

[Nick JD]

Ahh what's a slant?

 

[Swizzle]

thanks for that. What's that thing about a picture and 1000 words? I can see some research beckonning...

 

[MarkBastard]

I think there'll be a day in the future when I make slants as well. Have read up on it a bit.

At the moment I use dry yeast and don't do any harvesting. I've used liquid yeast before but it's a bit expensive if you're not going to use it for multiple batches.

Does anyone specifically avoid dry yeasts like Safale US05 because you feel the dry yeast is inferior (to a liquid equivalent) and you'd notice the different in teh end result?

 

[manticle]

I picked liquid mostly but dry sometimes. It really depends on what I'm making. If I'm making a beer that requires specific esters like a Belgian style or English style I tend to use liquid. I mainly reculture my liquids, mostly by top cropping, sometimes from slurry but I've just started splitting new packs when I buy them. I just pour a bit off into a couple of test tubes with boiled, cooled water and fridge them so I can start a bit of a library.

If I'm making something that needs a clean yeast I just use 05 which I very ocassionally reculture from slurry. White wine dried yeast for my cider and tiny experimental white wine batch.

 

[mika]

Liquid all the way. Used dry yeast once in the past 2 years and that was on a yeast experiment.
Usually split the original pack into about 4 (sometimes 6 if I use that strain regularly) containers. Use each container once (I'll only repitch if I'm going to a much higher gravity batch), once they're gone, buy another pack/vial/jar.

 

[warra48]

I make a 2 to 3 litre starter for ales, and 5 litres for lagers, from a fresh pack or tube of liquid yeast.
The starter beer gets poured off, and I add a little pre-boiled cooled water.
This is then agitated to suspend the yeast in the small amount of water.
3 or 4 slants are filled, labeled, and stored in the fridge.
The rest of the starter is pitched.

I tend not to save further slants from the built up slant starter, but buy fresh packs or tubes. I reckon 4 to 5 brews from one fresh liquid yeast is enough for me.

 

[Tyred]

Mainly dry yeast, but at the moment I appear to be making english style ales (milds and bitters) so I am top cropping a liquid yeast and using that for them.

 

[leiothrix]

Slants from liquid yeast for me. If I have another batch of a similar style ready to ferment I might reuse a yeast cake too.

I use dry yeast for wine/cider/mead making though. Bought 1/2kg of EC-1118 and split it with my Dad. It's cheap enough that I couldn't be bothered with slants.

 

[mje1980]

I used to use liquids religiously, but that was before i had 3 kids, and had time to stuff around with culturing it up, and splitting into 1st gen starters haha.

 

[superdave]

Being fairly n00b still I have only used dry yeasts, I have a couple packs of liquid yeasts for when it's their time (2 brews to go till I use the 3068). I have also made some slants which look healthy. I also do two brews in a row minimum with the same yeast so I can reuse the cake to be extra tight. Povo Uni days shining through