Interesting about the rehydration comment - I have not rehydrated on occasion, without any issue other than a slight lag on 34/70 and MJ Bavarian M76. So for lagers, lately I have been rehydrating in water for a half hour to an hour with a really good shake, somewhat a la the SNS approach to liquid yeasts with wort. It seems to jump start the fermentation a little, but it could be the good aeration of the main wort…I have no way of really knowing.
I tried rehydrating a couple of times several years ago, but didn’t notice any noticable change in my beer. I have since discarded that step in my brewing process.
FWIW, the only time I use liquid yeast is when I can’t find a suitable dry alternative for a beer I want to brew. That is happening less and less often over the past few years. I just don’t have a convenient LHBS and don’t always have the ability to plan my brewdays to ensure that I have fresh liquid yeast to pitch. I always keep US-05, W 34/70, Belle Saison, S-189, and one or two other dry yeast strains laying around in my fridge, and I can brew 90% of my usual beers with these options.
There are three different Munton’s yeasts (available here in the UK) that may be causing confusion? Munton’s Active yeast and Munton’s Premium Gold yeast are both sold in 6g packs and found here:
http://www.muntonshomebrew.com/category/yeasts-and-other-products/
And thirdly Gervin yeast, sold in in 11g packs, and found here as GV12, is widely believed to be the Nottingham strain:
http://www.muntonshomebrew.com/other-products/gervin-yeast/
I’m sure that all three are different, they behave differently.
Gervin GV12 behaves like Nottingham and is used by many home brewers in the UK, it’s very cheap, about £1.50 for 11g.
Munton’s Gold is pretty neutral but has a touch of fruitiness, it attenuates less than Gervin, low 70s, and flocculates much more slowly. This yeast seems fairly popular here, costs about £1.75 for 6g. The small packs are off putting in the modern market though, I’m sure they would sell more if they up-sized them.
Munton’s Active yeast is very cheap and it does not convert maltotriose - Munton’s recommend it for use with cheap extract kits where simple sugars are added to make up the fermentables - though it can work well in low gravity AG beers like milds, to leave some body and sweetness.
I’ve recently tried MJ Liberty Bell yeast, and I like it. Would be interested to know where this yeast originates from, but the marketing chap I bumped into recently from MJ wasn’t giving anything away. He did say one of the MJ range was re-packaged Nottingham though. My guess would be M42, can’t see what else it could be.
I brew a lot of German styles and haven’t yet found a dry yeast I like much for those. I’ve tried 34/70 several times with mixed results, but my go-to for lagers is a healthy pitch from a starter made with FRESH WLP830. I haven’t found a dry yeast I like for Hefes, Kolsch or Alt, either.
That said, I use US-05 almost exclusively for American Ales - APA, IPA, Porter, Cream Ale, etc. I keep a couple packs of US-05 in the fridge all the time so I can brew an American Ale pretty much any time without planning (I also keep 2-row, several crystal malts and my go-to hops on hand). Rehydrated US-05 is super reliable and can be run across a broad temperature range to suit one’s needs/preferences.
Same experience here UNTIL… I tried S-189. The S-189 is a very good dry lager yeast. Finally my lager actually tastes “German”! W-34/70 is a terrible yeast in comparison, terrible stuff, I won’t use it again.
Agreed on S-189. 34-70 is no match, but not terrible - some get lemon notes from it. US - 05 is clovey to me when used cool. S-23 is a bit too fruity. MJ Bohemian was way too sulfury and MJ Bavarian was basically 34-70 as far as I could tell, again, not terrible. 2206 is not dry, but I like it in my German lagers
34/70 isn’t bad at all, but it does pale in comparison to S-189. S-189 has proven to be a very nice yeast that truly expresses German maltiness to me. However, S-189 does require proper lagering. It is rough, hot, and alcoholic prior to proper lagering and that all disappears after about 6 weeks of lagering.
It is also less amenable to warmer lager fermentation temps and “accelerated” lager fermentations in my experience. I definitely got some fusels when I attempted my usual 34/70 fast lager fermentation schedule with it. It is worth the wait, though.
I never rush the S-189 (fermented typically at 47-49F), but it can be ready to rack to a serving keg in 14 days; just that it will need some additional time in the keg to clarify on its own. It is drinkable in 21 days, if fermented cold and enough yeast is pitched (I usually pitch 3 sachets in 10.5 gallon batches). It definitely seems better when I rack at 21 days and serve two weeks later or beyond. It can be re-pitched with success, but I rarely do that anymore, since I am letting it sit in primary for a while longer than I used to do, based on keeping “reserves” in line at all times. When a couple kegs open up in the rotation, then I look to rack in keeping with that availability.
Brewed my first Bohemian Pilsner with 34/70 this year. All grain 2.5 gallon batch, distilled with mineral additions. Straight pitch no rehydration and fermented at 60f for 3 weeks then in cold closet at 49f for 2 weeks. Kegged and left in the keggerator another 3. Fantastic. No corn, no weird flavors, just a straight up delicious Pils. I only have 1 beer i ferment with liquid yeast and that’s my steam beer. Everything else is dry and never rehydrated. I recently brewed a cream beer with an expired packet of US05 (May 2016!!) and it is fantastic. In my experience, dry yeast has come a very long way and continues to improve.