[denny]

I have not tried Diamond yet. Is it more or less the Lallemand analog of 34/70? In my head, I viewed it as the analog more of S-189. Or are its characteristics something in between these two strains?

I admittedly don't yet have a huge breadth of experience with dry yeast overall (I'm a relatively recent convert from liquid), but I do love 34/70 and S-189. I've been using these two for a while now and am very impressed. My pre-pro lager with S-189 is as good as beer gets, to my palate. Once there is a good dry yeast analog of Mexican lager WLP940, I will have my dry-lager-yeast quiver fully stocked (for now, I'll keep using 940...god I love that strain).

Question for our resident yeast expert Saccharomyces: I taste the off-flavor from dry yeast that you have mentioned in this and previous posts. With me, I can only describe it as musty/soapy. I suspect it's a fatty acid. Which makes sense, given that with the way dry yeast is propagated, they are enriched in fatty acids. I suspect that flavor is because some cells of dry yeast die at the initial pitch and the flavor comes from autolysis. Curious if you knew any research about this.

Yes, it is reputedly the same strain as 34/70, but with differences that come from different companies.

[Saccharomyces]

It was out there if you looked.  I bought 2 lb. in that period.

I eventually located a 2lb package as well, but by then, I had a healthy sourdough culture.  Yeast and flour were pretty much gone from local grocery store shelves for several months and I was not going to pay scalper prices on Amazon.  It was a crazy period.

[ttash]

FWIW, baking yeast is still Lallemand's largest market.

Thank goodness that during the height of the pandemic I could still buy brewer's yeast. Baker's yeast? Not so much. Besides being an avid brewer, I'm also an avid bread maker. At least one of my passions was still well supplied.

It was out there if you looked.  I bought 2 lb. in that period.

I live in a small town, population <3000. 100 miles from the next city, so we only have 2 grocery stores. First time I could find it in town was August 2020. It was crazy.

[denny]

FWIW, baking yeast is still Lallemand's largest market.

Thank goodness that during the height of the pandemic I could still buy brewer's yeast. Baker's yeast? Not so much. Besides being an avid brewer, I'm also an avid bread maker. At least one of my passions was still well supplied.

It was out there if you looked.  I bought 2 lb. in that period.

I live in a small town, population <3000. 100 miles from the next city, so we only have 2 grocery stores. First time I could find it in town was August 2020. It was crazy.

I ordered on Amazon since at that point I wasn't going to stores.