No offence taken. I'm not lookin' to brew the cheapest brew but the best brew. Therefore your point is taken. I have another two packets of SO4, so I can dump the stuff that I have pitched into a starter. The way I understood it rinsing and reusing it leads to progressively better beer. If this is not the case with SO4 then I'll start fresh.
So currently I am brewing English Bitters, IPAs and Porters; which yeast do you suggest.
BTW I assume the yeast was dead, I pitched the middle, darker, layer about 9 hours ago and so far no activity.
All the dried English yeasts are, imho, terreible. Irrespective of manufacturer or supplier. They are the VB of the English brewing world. (note I am not anti dry yeast per-se, but the English ones are shit. Vomit-inducing, horrible nasty shit).
Liquid yeast is they way to go: and they
are worth harvesting. Wyeast vs Whitelabs is a useless argument; they both have good yeasts in their range. And they have a good range. Check out both their websites. Yeast choice then depends on the characteristics you want.
The only one I'd steer clear of is whitelabs 007? (the yorkshire strain). The esters it throws are way too similar to apples for my liking. Wyeast 1469 (west yorkshire) on the other hand is a beast. If you pitch large amounts into a coolish wort, you can get a nice dry profile; if you pitch at the lower end of correct pitching range into a warmer wort, you can push the stonefruit esters through the roof. That's why so many people on here bang on about how good it is. For a higher attenuation, there is a whitelabs english yeast (cant remember the product number) that is similar to W002 (a great yeast in and of itself, particularly if you like diacetyl in your green beer, but cleans up well after a week or two of condition), but with 10% higher attenuation: haven't used it myself, but have drunk beers made with it, and they were great. For low attenuation, Wyeast ringwood would be the go (although, for my
personal preference, slightly
too estery)....So many choices when you go liquid.