[bigchicken]

I have ingredients to brew 2 different beers with 3 yeast options. One beer is going to be an experiment all grain batch using cherry juice, cacao nibs, and an array of malts to create a chocolate cherry bomb stout that will be by Christmas batch this year. I planned to use 1945 NB NeoBritannia, which I have a slurry of. I also have a simple Northern Brewer Dry Irish Stout extract batch to brew on a day when I don't have as much time.

Here's my problem; I have the 1945 slurry that was rinsed several times and is very clean yeast, but due to the long time since it was last used, the viability is too low for my Christmas batch that should be at about 1.060 OG, per Mr. Malty. I need to make a starter for it in order to use it. I had intended on using a pack of S-04 for the Dry Stout, but now I'm wondering if I should use the 1945 and build it up for my Christmas batch? When I review sites about descriptions of the yeast differences, I think I can pull off the 1945 for a Dry Stout if I keep the temps low during fermentation. I shouldn't have to make a starter for the 1945 with the weaker stout, saving me time later when I repitch it for the bigger beer.

My 3rd option is I'll be bottling a blonde that used S-05 very soon. There will be plenty of yeast there for either beer, but I'm thinking it is too clean for either batch.

So, what are your thoughts? What's my best option for the Dry Stout with those 3 yeast options.
Thanks for the help with this and all my questions over the last couple years.

[a10t2]

How old is the slurry? I'd most likely make a small starter for the dry stout. Assuming that's fairly low-gravity, it should ferment out in just a few days, and then when you rack it to bottle/keg you can harvest plenty of yeast for the bigger stout.

[bigchicken]

The slurry is older than I'd like, dating back to Feb. 20th. The last time I used old 1945, it was a smack pack that had already swollen and was 9 months old. It surprised me by being extremely viable and blowing off a 6.5 gallon fermentor with a 5 gallon batch. That beer was 1.050 stout that nearly finished in 2 days, but then took a while to finish. I then took that slurry and waited 4 months to use it and it plowed through a 1.072 old ale fermenting in the low 60s. I didn't reuse it after that.

A small starter is definitely an option for the dry stout, or at least something to wake it up. I guess I'm wondering if S-04 is even the right choice for a dry stout? That was Northern Brewer's alternative to a liquid yeast when I ordered it, but I'm wondering if that is just because there isn't a good dry strain for it?

[a10t2]

At six months, I really don't see a starter being optional. Sure, you could pitch enough cells assuming you have enough slurry, but the viability is going to be somewhere around 20%. That much dead yeast is inevitably going to have some flavor impact.

S-04? Or US-05? S-04 is Fuller's strain and would be a good choice for any British-style ale.

[bigchicken]

At six months, I really don't see a starter being optional. Sure, you could pitch enough cells assuming you have enough slurry, but the viability is going to be somewhere around 20%. That much dead yeast is inevitably going to have some flavor impact.

S-04? Or US-05? S-04 is Fuller's strain and would be a good choice for any British-style ale.

I hadn't thought about the dead factor for flavor impact. That could change it considerably.

I meant S-04. Seems I've always had too much of a fruity flavor from it, even when fermenting cold. I'll have to check my brew logs to see what I've all used it in. May not have been the yeast, but more what I was trying to make with it.

[reverseapachemaster]

Make a starter from the 1945 then ferment your dry stout. Then pitch part of that cake into the bigger stout. No reason to give up on a good yeast over having to make a small starter.