A great advantage of liquid yeast is its sheer variety. However, it’s hard to beat the convenience and long-term storability of dry yeast. Even if you prefer making starters, it’s nice to have some different packets of the dry stuff in the fridge, ready for those hastily planned brew days.
It doesn’t seem like that long ago that we could count the types of dry yeast available to us on two hands. Because of the process involved in dehydrating yeast, fewer dry strains are available. However, recently, some new and unusual types of dry yeast have caught our eye.
Lallemand Sourvisiae
This is for lactic souring, but it’s not Lactobacillus—it’s not bacteria at all; it’s yeast. Sourvisiae is a bioengineered Saccharomyces strain with a genetic tweak that enables it to produce lactic acid during fermentation. Lallemand reports that beers fermented with Sourvisiae can reach a puckering final pH of 3.0–3.2, also producing a fruity aroma and flavor. Fermentation can take four days to a week. One advantage of using it: the Sacch yeast is hop-tolerant, whereas hops can inhibit the acid production of lactic bacteria. (Alternatively, Lallemand also sells two types of Wildpitch, its dried Lactobacillus (plantarum or helveticus, take your pick).