[cat.schneides]

Anyone know the best website to order Wyeast from? Im looking for a half decent price, but more importantly, one that has a wide variety of strains of Wyeast and who ships fairly fast/packages well to keep cool.

I am having trouble finding a website that has all the different strains that I need.

Thanks

[Stevie]

MoreBeer appears to carry most of the offerings. What strains are you looking for? Some are seasonal and special release.

[HoosierBrew]

 I try to get yeast from my LHBS pretty much every time.  Mine has fresh Wyeast on hand and there's no concern with shipping issues.  In the colder months there are fewer of those concerns, but I've gotten yeast in the mail that was a few months older than I'd have considered buying at my LHBS.

[cat.schneides]

So far more beer looks to be the cheapest and Ive found all the yeast strains that ive needed so far.

When they ship it do they do a good job of keeping it cool? With say an ice pack...

[Stevie]

Ice pack is additional. Be sure to order at the start of the week so the package doesn't stay in a warehouse over the weekend. I order Monday, the ship Wednesday, I get on Friday.

As Jon noted, buy local if you can.

[pete b]

I often order it through northern brewer because my LHBS is not so L. It comes in an insulated package still cool and always is pretty fresh based on the date. I haven't comparison shopped for price because I like NB for product selection, customer service, shipping etc. I save my yeast and get several uses out of one pack of yeast so I'm not looking to save a buck per pack.

[reverseapachemaster]

FWIW some of the WY offerings are seasonal and/or were released once or twice and then have not come back out so if you're looking for something in particular you should check to see if it should be available in stores at this time.

[dave.kline]

Order from somewhere relatively close to you.  When I order yeast, I order from Morebeer because it'll arrive at around noon the day after they ship.  It's generally cool, not cold with an ice pack by the time it gets to me.

[erockrph]

Order from somewhere relatively close to you.  When I order yeast, I order from Morebeer because it'll arrive at around noon the day after they ship.  It's generally cool, not cold with an ice pack by the time it gets to me.

+1 - I always try to buy my liquid yeast from retailers that give me the best shot of receiving it in good condition.

[cat.schneides]

I often order it through northern brewer because my LHBS is not so L. It comes in an insulated package still cool and always is pretty fresh based on the date. I haven't comparison shopped for price because I like NB for product selection, customer service, shipping etc. I save my yeast and get several uses out of one pack of yeast so I'm not looking to save a buck per pack.

You save your yeast as in you make less than 5 gallon batches so you dont need the whole package per batch?

[Stevie]

I often order it through northern brewer because my LHBS is not so L. It comes in an insulated package still cool and always is pretty fresh based on the date. I haven't comparison shopped for price because I like NB for product selection, customer service, shipping etc. I save my yeast and get several uses out of one pack of yeast so I'm not looking to save a buck per pack.

You save your yeast as in you make less than 5 gallon batches so you dont need the whole package per batch?

He reuses his yeast. Takes the slurry from one batch to the next. The amount is more than enough for a proper pitch, and there are techniques that need to be considered, but it is a very common practice. My biggest issue is planning a pipeline that allows me to use the same yeast in succession.

[cat.schneides]

Okay thats what I thought, wasnt sure what he meant! I would like to do this as well- how do you know if there is an efficient amount of yeast to use from the slurry? And is there any problems with contamination?


I have 3 x 30 gallon kettles and a 40 gallon fermentor with pumps attached so I will be doing lots of volume.

[Stevie]

Woah, you're going big. If you are brewing commercial, I'm positive it would be better to get a pitch from the labs directly sized for a 2BBL system. You would get a fresher pitch packaged in a way to ensure safe arrival.


The most accurate way to know your pitch rate is to use a microscope and slide designed for counting cells. A dye is also used to stain the dead cells in the sample.


There are methods to estimate the count including eyeballing and a dilution method that I haven't tried myself. I will use a yeast calculator, such as the one found at mrmalty.com, to estimate the number of cells in the slurry and eyeball it from there. Not perfect, but close enough for my needs.


Contamination can be avoided/reduced using proper sanitary practices. I simply wipe my fermenters opening with alcohol and pour into a sanitized jar. Not perfect, but works for me. We have a resident yeast expert that has discussed the best practices across many threads. His methods are akin to proper lab work, and I'm sure practiced by many breweries.