Amateur

I'm the other way. But the couple of times I have used dry, I didn't notice any real problems.

Either way is fine, just make sure theyve been stored properly and within the exp datell, and follow the manufacturer guidance.
 
Ok fair points! My local brew supplier hasn't got much variety in yeasts so a broader search is required!
 
Liquid has a bit more unique ones to choose from. But, at least around me it's about 40% more cost or so.

I do it out of habit mostly. Plus I'm a little more familiar with white labs numbering and names :D
 
I've used dry yeast with good results, mostly when I don't have time to or forgot to do a starter. A packet of dried yeast, rehydrated, has about twice the number of cells as a vial or smack-pack, enough for a medium-strength ale or a very light lager. As JC pointed out, they're much cheaper than the vials! I haven't tried dried yeast for a lager but for a medium-strength lager, I'd use two packets of dried yeast for four times the cells of a vial or smack-pack. Exception: Here in Denver we have access to Inland Island's yeast, packaged in such a way that a single bottle is twice the cell count of White Labs or Wyeast. No starter required, makes me a happy brewer!
 
I've used dry yeast and liquid yeast and both are fine. Dry yeast stores better and has a much more stable viable cell count while liquid yeast offers a greater variety of strains to choose from. Liquid yeast also needs a starter to build up an adequate cell count where as with dry an additional sachet can be added as needed. So for convenience dry wins. For variety liquid wins. Both are tools that belong in the toolbox of any brewer.

As for siphoning off the cake after fermentation. I would, absolutely, leave it on the cake for as long as your pipeline will allow. If you need the fermenter empty to brew your next batch, buy an additional fermenter. Your beer will improve. I primary for 4 to 6 weeks post fermentation. I then keg condition (with some yeast in the keg) for as long as I need to store it. The beer just gets better. The only exception is hop-forward brews like IPAs because hop flavor tends to die down after a while so don't age those out to extremes.

Time on the cake relates of SG. The more alcohol produced, the more the brew will benefit from sitting on the cake. There is plenty going on still in the beer post-fermentation. Once you take that off the cake, it is what it is generally speaking.
 
looks like a packaged starter, Im on a dry kick nothing but dry for a year
 
Love your work boys! Just need to find a brew store with a bigger range, my local has only ale, cider and wine yeast. Might also be time to invest in a secondary vessel, the missus is gonna love that!
 
And BOOM!! just like that an idea strikes, I have a spare 25l water tank complete with tap, in my camping kit! If I set this up as my secondary does it need an airlock? And when decanting from the primary how much trub (is that the correct term?) should be transferred?? I will be bottling into stubbies at final.
 
Yes, use an airlock in a secondary. I aim to leave all sediment behind in the primary. It doesn't happen, but by the next racking, there's about no sediment left.
 
I usually leave the bucket or carboys on the floor to ferment. At least 24 hours before racking, I'll move it to a table or counter. As long as I'm not crazy with moving it, it settles enough by the time I rack.

I've also adjusted how.much I brew and have in the primary, etc. So I end up with 5 gallons of packaged beer at the end of it. That'll come in time as you get used to your equipment
 
So many possibilities! I've actually got 3 water tanks in the shed, all sitting idle!
 
Haha. It's gotten bad enough that I can't go into a grocery store aisle without thinking what I could use to brew with and how
 
I love it how one thought leads to another, I have access to 20l food grade sealable buckets! and I'm visioning a row of buckets full of beer! My pinch point is stubbies and storage....and arguing against the beloved who's comment ' how much fu@&$#g beer do you need??' is impossible to quantify!
 
trust me it empties faster than you think, the minute I tap my drinking keg a couple of days later its almost half empty
 
Over the years I've acquired multiple fermenters, multiple kegs and multiple beer fridges. It just accumulates the longer you brew. Have a friend who's throwing out an old fridge? Boom. Expansion.

One note about using these additional vessels, though. Not everything that CAN store beer is going to work out. Plastic scratches easily when cleaning and scratches and nooks are breeding sites for bacteria. If the vessel has inaccessible places for direct contact cleaning, that's also an issue. Is it really air tight?

Finished beer is not the most hospitable place for bugs, but given a good enough head start and enough time bugs can take hold. I also wouldn't recommend plastic for any long-term storage as it is oxygen permeable. So it will oxidize if left in even a "sealed" plastic container for long stretches. How long, I couldn't tell you, but it will become an issue after months.
 
Hahaha I was just letting the thought train loose for a bit! But it has got me thinking about secondary storage, I think I'll be looking at a couple of carboys!
 
I'd love to find some small, affordable conical fermentors, say in the 8 gallon range. I've seen a few on the Internet but never had the impulse to buy one. Currently my primary fermentor is an 8-gallon Speidel plastic jug, I have a valve at the bottom but still have to tilt it to get the last bit of beer out, I've put a probe for the Inkbird temperature controller through the top so I can measure the fermentation temperature of my beer directly (it's improved the quality of my brews vastly). But I'd like to move to conicals, not the overpriced FastFerment types, just some good old utilitarian plastic conical fermentors.
 
Ive thought about the same thing just so I can save yeast easier, Ive seen some on ebay and other sites but their generic and require some modification to use for fermenting, then theres the cooling problem even a fast fermenter requires a large vertical space if your not going with a glycol system from a freezer

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.a ... &catid=513
 

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Ozarks Mountain Brew said:
Ive thought about the same thing just so I can save yeast easier, Ive seen some on ebay and other sites but their generic and require some modification to use for fermenting, then theres the cooling problem even a fast fermenter requires a large vertical space if your not going with a glycol system from a freezer

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.a ... &catid=513
Click to expand...

I'd have to saw the legs off that or build a shorter stand to get it into my fermentation chamber (an old refrigerator). Problem number next... (sigh).
 
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