Dry lager yeast -- WTF prices?!

[backyard brewer]

... BTW, if prices stay high, you'll also see Coopers and Muntons getting into the game IMHO. Nobody *has* to buy their product. We buy it because it's cheap enough and high quality enough that we don't start investigating alternatives. But if this is a long-term price increase, guys like me will start investigating alternatives.

That's my point. I am of the opinion that until you see Coopers and Muntons get into the game prices will stay at this new level. They must not be into the game because of ROI. If the profit margin is increasing and they see an opportunity to grab market share, then they'll probably make the capital expenditure but until then I would suspect the other two are sharing some sort of detant (sp?) In the automotive aftermarket, I've seen this many times over, especially in segments where tooling and infrastructure costs are high. While they aren't aerospace expensive, I would guess incubation tanks are not cheap, nor is the equipment to properly freeze dry yeast without killing or contaminating it.

[bwarbiany]

It also looks like another player is jumping in:

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_i ... s_id=13069

Looks to be roughly equivalent to S-04. It seems the same company makes a lager and a hefe yeast.