Omega Yeast?

Yeast & Fermentation
1

Hi All,

So, due to a home renovation project, brewing has been on hold for several months. It’s just about wrapped up, so I came back to NB today to see what I might want to brew next, and I noticed a new (at least to me since my last visit) yeast option from Omega Labs.

As I was scrolling through, I also noticed that a LOT of the yeast options from White Labs and Wyeast are listed as out of stock–like, 1/3 of them or so.

Given the high number of “out of stock” listings I saw, I couldn’t help but wonder if NB had decided to phase out Wyeast and White Labs in favor of Omega. I mean, I can understand why they might want to, since Omega’s Chicago location probably makes it easier to get product, etc. But, this kind of worries me for a few reasons.

  1. All recipes–either kits or self designed–that I have worked on have been with these other brands. Not that I wouldn’t want to try Omega for something, but for brews that I know I’ve gotten good results with, I wouldn’t want to change.

  2. Omega doesn’t appear to have nearly as many options as the other two. Not just through NB–even on their own site they don’t have as many offerings. So, there may not be “apples to apples” options for some yeasts I’ve used.

  3. It looks like all of the kits still list dry, Wyeast, or White Labs options. But, with so many being out of stock, it seems like ordering a lot of these kits might result in a shipping delay.

Just wondering if anyone knew what was going on.

2

I’m just making assumptions here, but it wouldn’t be the first time that NB ran low on White Labs or Wyeast product, and had much of it listed as out-of-stock. Could be as simple as a refrigeration unit going down at their warehouse. I wouldn’t read too much into it. And as you said, there’s hardly any overlap between Omega’s products and any of the big two’s products. Omega’s niche is in unique strains that the big labs DON’T carry, so it would be impossible to replace them with Omega’s products.

However, Omega’s hothead strain (kveik yeast) is pretty awesome, and if NB is going to start carrying it, then it’s a big win for us!

1 Like
3

Aswesome, thanks for the info. Like I said, I’m definitely down for trying their stuff, if it’s in addition to the others. Just wanna make sure it’s an expansion of offerings.

Cheers!

4

Yes, Pork Chop I feel has it nailed. I saw somewhere earlier this year that NB wasn’t too interested about sending wet yeast during the summer or warmer months, and wouldn’t back a warranty. Sneezles61