Mixing Dry And Liquid Yeast

[Sandy Feet]

I am planning on brewing a Pumpkin Brown for Christmas. I cooked, prepared, and froze my fresh pumpkin over the weekend because fresh pumpkin won't be available for much longer.
When I made something similar with sweet potatoes in the past, it looks like I used S-05. I do have an old pack of S-04 that has been in my refrigerator for some time, and I was thinking of mixing that with White Labs WLP004 liquid (Guinness Strain). Have any of you used a similar combination, and if so, what did you think?

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

I sometimes will add a little dry yeast to the pitch to bump up pitch rates. It seemed to work, no downside to it unless you blend a Belgian strain with a neutral blend, then the Belgian will overwhelm the neutral strain. But blending two English strains seems reasonable to me.

 

[Donoroto]

In theory one could overwhelm the other, so the weaker yeast might not add any character, but there is no harm in mixing yeasts.

 

[Sandy Feet]

My theory was that I usually pitch high. I have something just sitting around, and I hate it going to waste. I also really liked that Guinness strain in the last Porter I made. So, I guess it doesn't sound like anything evil is going to happen. That is good.
The wife wants a Pumpkin Beer for Christmas. I made a Sweet Potato Brown before that I liked. With that beer, I did more of an American Brown. I'm thinking of going toward the British side with this one, and I am playing around with a couple of ideas now. One of them is the hops.
I didn't think you needed to go very big with the hops for a spiced beer. I visited a brewery that made an awesome Pumpkin Beer that did have some noticeable, but not overwhelming hops. It was likely one of the best I had this year. I believe they used Challenger. I'm thinking the same thing with 30ish IBUs with one bittering hop edition.
Playing with recipes is fun

 

[Ward Chillington]

it looks like I used S-05. I do have an old pack of S-04 that has been in my refrigerator for some time, and I was thinking of mixing that

O4 and 5 will play a different tune as will the WLP and you have different ingredients so your gonna get a different beer...hell...it's homebrewing.. ..you can have a different beer with the SAME ingredients!

My bigger concern is that Old pack of 04...how old is old? Old as in expired? My point here is that a strong and healthy pitch is most likely going to get good results, all other things being unchanged. You can mix them but if you are looking to compensate for older yeast, dry or liquid, make a starter!

 

[Sandy Feet]

The S-04 doesn't expire until May of 24, but I use mostly liquid these days. I love the White Labs selection that I can get, and it will be within the date from the homebrew store. I have not bought the liquid yet.
I'm making a moderate gravity 5-gallon beer. If I really wanted, I could almost get away with the liquid on its own. The extra is just for insurance.
It is definitely going to be a different beer. Maris Otter instead of American 2 Row. British yeast vs S-05. Likely, British hops instead of Cascade. The balance was right on the other, so it is a least a place to start with the grain quantities.

 

[Zefram]

...I'm thinking of going toward the British side with this one, and I am playing around with a couple of ideas now. One of them is the hops.
I didn't think you needed to go very big with the hops for a spiced beer. I visited a brewery that made an awesome Pumpkin Beer that did have some noticeable, but not overwhelming hops. It was likely one of the best I had this year. I believe they used Challenger. I'm thinking the same thing with 30ish IBUs with one bittering hop edition.
Playing with recipes is fun

I make a pumpkin ale that uses an English base and it gets good reviews from friends and family The recipe uses EKG for bittering (about 33 IBUs) and Fuggles for some aroma (about 5 min), but I love Challenger and wouldn't think twice about using it instead.

PS: I see no reason not to mix the WLP004 and S-04... could be fun to see what comes of it!

 

[Sandy Feet]

I make a pumpkin ale that uses an English base and it gets good reviews from friends and family The recipe uses EKG for bittering (about 33 IBUs) and Fuggles for some aroma (about 5 min), but I love Challenger and wouldn't think twice about using it instead.

PS: I see no reason not to mix the WLP004 and S-04... could be fun to see what comes of it!

Thank you for sharing. I might actually have a good idea of what I want now.