Joe wrote:
... <snip>[color=blue]
> 2. I was told by my supplier to NOT use liquid yeast unless I was making an
> exotic like Begian style beer. He told me to mix the beer very well by
> shaking and stirring the fermentor and then ADD THE DRY YEAST AT THE TOP
> without rehydrating it first. Let it sit, do NOT shake or stir again. In
> 24 hrs I get perfect slow fermentation and essentially complete. I usually
> put in 2 packets dry.[/color]
... <snip>

Your supplier's advice is, shall we say, less than optimal. The better
brands of dry yeast are as good quality as the liquid yeasts, and, if
the give you the flavor profile you want, better value for the money.
BUT... Dry yeasts are very limited in the flavor profiles available.
There are no dry Belgian yeasts available, no true dry lager yeasts, no
dry hefeweizen yeasts, no dry Kolsch yeasts, no... Well, you get the
picture.

I suspect your supplier can't be bothered with stocking a refrigerator
with a good variety of liquid yeasts, perhaps because of limited
turnover (liquid yeasts don't have the long shelf life of dry yeasts).
But to say that they are only useful for exotic beers is to
significantly limit your possibilities. Does he by chance also carry
only two or three types of hops, or only dry malt extract, or only a
half dozen grains, or ...?

-- Andy McKellar
Dallas, TX