There is of course K-97, but does anyone have personal comparisons with other dry German ale strains? How about the Cellar Science “KÖLSCH” yeast? Is that a repackage of K-97, or is it something different? I don’t really see any other options available for homebrewers.
I am a dry yeast brewer and even though it’s not dry, but I recently used Dieter from Imperial. I was totally impressed. It fermented fast, dropped clear fast, and made a wonderful Kölsch with that slight hint of fruitiness that I associate with the style. I don’t brew a lot of Kölsch but when I do, I’ll use Dieter.
They’re discontinuing Koln? WTF! That makes me angry as it has become one of my favorites. There is no dry alternative that I am aware of. K97 is garbage in my opinion
Are you looking to make kolsch or alt? IMO, they need distinctly different yeasts. For kolsch, nothing beats WY2565 IMO. The wines fruitiness give me what I expect from kolsch. For alt, all I look for is something very clean that ferments well at low temps (52-55F). Of course, WY1007 is a main choice, but I’ve also made award winning alt with 1056 and 1728. I realize none of those are dry.
The answer is “yes” in terms of kölsch or alt. I have found K-97 works pretty well for alt (but isn’t as much to my preference for kölsch…maybe I’ll have to give it another go). I currently have on tap a tasty altbier made with Köln. Temperature management helps a ton. Wyeast is harder for me to get local, and I tilt towards White Labs or Imperial based on what my LHBS has. We all have different tastes, of course!
And yes, my strong preference is to find another workable dry strain. Liquid is great, but the convenience and ever-increasing quality+variety of dry yeast is hard to beat for my brewing habits.
I think you should try the Cellar Science Kolsch yeast. There was a thread a year or so ago that seemed to conclude most cellar science yeasts were not repackaged Lallemand or Fermentis. Most were AEB I think.
This one (and the CellarScience sku) is Alt and Kolsch- so that might be K-97 which is not what you want.
i haven’t used mangrove jack in forever, and it isnt available here. the only other big variety option is fermentis products, and while i sorta-like certain ones of theirs i could say in general i like a number of lallemand products a lot, whereas fermentis ones when i try have been really mixed in results with only S-189 being one i unreservedly liked a lot.
im seeing two white labs dry yeast products now though - wlp001 and wlp066 - but they are $13.99 for dry yeast - it seems demented to me when most dry yeast is in the $4 to $8 range
it had that supposed pitch rate issue. also they chose to cancel it, so maybe it had higher costs or production issues?
I’ll be brewing a Kolsch this coming weekend using the Koln. I have had good results with all of Lallemand yeasts that I have used. When I can’t get Koln anymore, I’ll have to use something else. I know there are plenty of options.
I can’t give you any options. I used the wrong word. I don’t know that there are plenty of options. I should have said I’m guessing there are plenty of options. Sorry.