[denny]

Didn't know the Mangrove stuff was dry...  For some reason I was turned off with the name and dismissed it/never looked it up until now. 

I haven't used any of the Mangrove stuff. I've heard and read several accounts here and from brewer friends of subpar attenuation on some of their strains. High FGs aren't a good selling point for me. I'm sure it's probably not across the board.

Yeah, I've heard the same.  There's a thread on another forum right now about poor attenuation and flocculation.  http://www.brews-bros.com/topic/121637-m31-tripel-just-wont-drop-out/

[Visor]

   I split a batch of Cali Common a couple months ago, did half with M-54 and half with 2112, O.G. was 1.054, the M-54 finished at 1.009 while the 2112 finished at 1.013. Take it for whatever it's worth.
   I'm in the mostly dry camp, probably 85% of my brews I use dry, and thus far I've only had success with liquid a little over half the time. We are about as far from everywhere here as you can get and still be on planet Earth, so ordering liquid this time of year is a high risk crap shoot. Surprisingly I did receive a couple quite warm packs of WLP007 last week, one of which is happily chugging along right now in the other room, so getting warm isn't always a death sentence for liquid.

[zwiller]

Can we expound on the "not having luck with dry yeast" comments for a moment?  Let's rule out the biggest one:  Failure to ferment.  Never read of one of these but maybe it has happened.  I have read more than a few guys getting the shaft with liquid...  I have also read that a few guys have had higher FG, then I read the recipe and it's 20% crystal mashed at 155F...  I suspect that the majority of the issues with "dry yeast" stem from a brewer that used chico or other yeast extensively and then switches without further adaptation.  It's not always that easy.  Yeast changes the whole program: IME chico (and Whitbread) can rip right through dextrins like recipe above, while others cannot. 

I am a firm believer that the less you mess around with dry yeast (hydrate/starter/etc) the better off you are.  Only time I rehydrate is on slightly bigger beers (1.060-1.075) that do not justify a 2nd pack and I do so with distilled.  While I am at it, dry yeast do not require O2.  It's already taken care of. 

This is gonna sound weird, but one of the main reasons I am put off with liquid is that it costs more than dry.  Why?  They don't have to dry it and some say cell count is half of dry. 

[denny]

This is gonna sound weird, but one of the main reasons I am put off with liquid is that it costs more than dry.  Why?  They don't have to dry it and some say cell count is half of dry.

Because of the cost of maintaining and packaging the liquid yeast.  Dry yeast is much cheaper to manufacture and store.

[Philbrew]

I decided to go with mangrove Jack's M31. We'll see how it works.

I'm currently drinking* a Belgian dubbel made with M31 and it's delicious.  Lots of plum and some pear with a crisp finish.  1.065 --> 1.006  One pack (rehydrated) in a 6 gal. batch.

*not literally currently, it's 9;00 AM!

[Philbrew]

Didn't know the Mangrove stuff was dry...  For some reason I was turned off with the name and dismissed it/never looked it up until now. 

I haven't used any of the Mangrove stuff. I've heard and read several accounts here and from brewer friends of subpar attenuation on some of their strains. High FGs aren't a good selling point for me. I'm sure it's probably not across the board.

Yeah, I've heard the same.  There's a thread on another forum right now about poor attenuation and flocculation.  http://www.brews-bros.com/topic/121637-m31-tripel-just-wont-drop-out/

I've only used Mangrove Jack's M79 Burton Union (several batches) and M31 Belgian Tripel.  But those have always attenuated very well and dropped clear for me.  I really like those two.

[brewsumore]

Didn't know the Mangrove stuff was dry...  For some reason I was turned off with the name and dismissed it/never looked it up until now. 

I haven't used any of the Mangrove stuff. I've heard and read several accounts here and from brewer friends of subpar attenuation on some of their strains. High FGs aren't a good selling point for me. I'm sure it's probably not across the board.

Yeah, I've heard the same.  There's a thread on another forum right now about poor attenuation and flocculation.  http://www.brews-bros.com/topic/121637-m31-tripel-just-wont-drop-out/

I've had poor attenuation with MJ M44 West Coast Ale 2 out of 3 times I used it -- IIRC 2-3 points higher than US-05 on a split batch from 10-gal, but made really good beer both times using their Burton Ale yeast.  I pretty much gave up on the M44, although it flocced better than US-05 for me.

[Wilbur]

I've almost always used dry yeast and been very happy, the nearest homebrew shop is about 45 minutes away. There are some places in town that sell stuff, one of them still has some White Labs vials sitting in a fridge. I'd love to hear more about some peoples experiences with K97, or the Fermentis/Lallemand Belgian yeasts. I'm in central Illinois, so I don't really have access to Mangrove Jack or some of these other places unless I order online. I'd love to try the Yeast Bay Kveik yeast, or one of the WL Nordic blends, but I haven't heard much about peoples experiences with those either.

[Philbrew]

I've almost always used dry yeast and been very happy, the nearest homebrew shop is about 45 minutes away. There are some places in town that sell stuff, one of them still has some White Labs vials sitting in a fridge. I'd love to hear more about some peoples experiences with K97, or the Fermentis/Lallemand Belgian yeasts. I'm in central Illinois, so I don't really have access to Mangrove Jack or some of these other places unless I order online. I'd love to try the Yeast Bay Kveik yeast, or one of the WL Nordic blends, but I haven't heard much about peoples experiences with those either.

I've tried to make a kolsch with K-97.  It did not make a kolsch and I didn't like the flavor.  Too tangy and sourish.

[BrewBama]

I've almost always used dry yeast and been very happy, the nearest homebrew shop is about 45 minutes away. There are some places in town that sell stuff, one of them still has some White Labs vials sitting in a fridge. I'd love to hear more about some peoples experiences with K97, or the Fermentis/Lallemand Belgian yeasts. I'm in central Illinois, so I don't really have access to Mangrove Jack or some of these other places unless I order online. I'd love to try the Yeast Bay Kveik yeast, or one of the WL Nordic blends, but I haven't heard much about peoples experiences with those either.

I've tried to make a kolsch with K-97.  It did not make a kolsch and I didn't like the flavor.  Too tangy and sourish.

 

Interesting. It's supposed to be a German Ale yeast.


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[Iliff Ave]

I've almost always used dry yeast and been very happy, the nearest homebrew shop is about 45 minutes away. There are some places in town that sell stuff, one of them still has some White Labs vials sitting in a fridge. I'd love to hear more about some peoples experiences with K97, or the Fermentis/Lallemand Belgian yeasts. I'm in central Illinois, so I don't really have access to Mangrove Jack or some of these other places unless I order online. I'd love to try the Yeast Bay Kveik yeast, or one of the WL Nordic blends, but I haven't heard much about peoples experiences with those either.

I have used K97 five times but still need some further experience. I feel that it is does well in lighter colored beers mainly because it provides a slightly tart character that doesn't work in dark ales. It is slow to clear which is where some of that tart character may come from. I personally, don't think it is well suited for Kolsch or Alt although others will report otherwise. I admittedly have not used it in those styles.

Looking at my notes, it looks like I have done a 'german brown' ale twice, a wheat beer, and some hoppy stuff. The yeast was neatral in the hoppy stuff, undesirable in the brown, and great in the wheat. I could not figure out what was wrong with my brown ale attempts until someone mentioned a tart thing they had notices with K97. Then I connected it. Just my experience up to this point. 

I will be using K97 again this weekend in summer/wheat ale. In my opinion it is not a 'German Ale yeast' that can be used as a sub for WY1007 or WLP036 which was my original assumption.

[Philbrew]

I dried out about a year and a half ago (yeast, not booze  ).  I'm happily 100% dry yeast.  It's a 220 mile round trip to the LHBS that I'd trust for liquid yeast and waiting for online delivery squashes my brewing spontaneity.  And dry yeast saves a few bucks.

Here's the dry yeasts that I've tried and my thoughts on each:

Frementis W-34/70.    My ancient taste buds can't tell the difference from WY2124

Safale US-05.    Meh in a rye ale, OK in an APA.

Mangrove Jack's M79 Burton Union.    Love it.  But its been replaced by M36 Liberty Bell Ale.  We'll see.

Lallemand Belle Saison.    Love it.

Fermentis K97.    Tried it in a kolsch.  No likee.

Danstar London ESB.    Good flavor and fast worker but didn't attenuate great.  Like the MJ M79 better.

Fermentis S-04.    OK but I liked the MJ M79 and Danstar Notty better.

Fermentis S-189.    Liked it in a Maibok.

Danstar Nottingham.    Super in an Irish Red Ale.

Mangrove Jack's M31 Belgian Tripel.    Made a delicious Belgian Dubbel.

I agree with others that the big hole in dry yeast choice is no kolsch yeast.  But there's lots of other styles to brew.

I'm thinking of trying some American styles this summer with Lallemand BRY-97.  Anyone have thoughts on that?

[dmtaylor]

I dried out about a year and a half ago (yeast, not booze  ).  I'm happily 100% dry yeast.  It's a 220 mile round trip to the LHBS that I'd trust for liquid yeast and waiting for online delivery squashes my brewing spontaneity.  And dry yeast saves a few bucks.

Here's the dry yeasts that I've tried and my thoughts on each:

Frementis W-34/70.    My ancient taste buds can't tell the difference from WY2124

Safale US-05.    Meh in a rye ale, OK in an APA.

Mangrove Jack's M79 Burton Union.    Love it.  But its been replaced by M36 Liberty Bell Ale.  We'll see.

...

I'm thinking of trying some American styles this summer with Lallemand BRY-97.  Anyone have thoughts on that?

I like BRY-97 a lot.  It's like a little fruitier US-05, with more moderate attenuation in the low to mid 70s instead of close to 80%.  I'll use it for any American ale where I'm afraid of over-attenuation.  It does lag a long while, but don't worry, it's alive and will eventually take off on about day 2 after pitching.  No worries.

[Stevie]

So four packets... into a 1.038 starter wort.  Nothing.  Zip. Zero. Nada.

Did you check the gravity?  I've had starters ferment out overnight and look totally dead.

Been there before. I tend to give it a swirl to see if there is any dissolved co2, if that doesn't work a quick sniff will tell me where I'm at.

[SWSommer]

I primarily use 34/70, US-05 and Belle Saison, plus 71B for mead and D47 for cider. I'll occasionally use S-04 and BRY-97. I also need to do more experimenting with Danstar's London ESB,

If I want to brew with a liquid yeast, I need to plan it out in advance and order onine.
[/quote]

Danstar London ESB is a very reliable yeast.  I use it for most of my stouts and porters.