Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

G'day everybody. I have already learned in this forum that I should be using a Tomato Paste wash for my second fermentation. Is there any advantage of using Vodka Yeast over Baker Yeast for producing spirit for liqueurs?

Perhaps I should also mention that I use some of the ethanol in our small cosmetics business for making things like Rattan Cane diffuser oil. Not that I think the type of yeast used will have any effect on the use of the ethanol in cosmetics.

Cheers, Mac

Stick with bakers yeast mate, it's tried and proven over and again and if something goes wrong we can guide you through it.

Bakers is a great place to start, cheap, reliable and easy to find. That said in my experience something like ec1118 will produce a cleaner and smoother vodka. :think:

:text-+1:
I did the tpw as per the recipe for years and never had one fail. Double distill and make harsh cuts for a really nice product.
The thing I like about the tpw is you can get everything you need from Coles or Woolworths :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Because your looking at flavouring the vodka I'd say Bakers Yeast. It's bomb proof. If you were looking for a sipping vodka, then go with what res suggested, the ec 1118 or a similar specialist yeast.
TPW, Kale, and Ted's FFV are recipes that can be found on this forum and are all capable of giving you a quality neutral spirit.

Many thanks everybody. I will definitely go with Bakers Yeast and a TPW (learning the jargon already) :handgestures-thumbupleft: I shall head for Woolies first thing tomorrow and get the ingredients.

I am fortunate that I have a cosmetic making den so I will probably distill the water and adjust with Citric Acid to about pH 5.5 before I start. Probably a bit of overkill but I am having fun already.

Good stuff mate :handgestures-thumbupleft: I reakon your on your way to making this your new found passion.
Btw... that's not your real pic in your profile is it?.. a certain amount of anonymity is suggested with this hobby

Definitely overkill to distill your own water for a ferment mate (unless you have reall nasty tap water of course). Probably not terribly cost effective for the volume you'll need either.

I do my ferments with tap water run through an inline caravan water filter to remove the chlorine and have had no problems.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

Thanks for the tip "Doubleuj". I understand the reason for anonymity of course, but I hear they treat old farts like me quite well in the "cooler". One of the great advantages of old age is that you can do a great deal of political stirring with very little consequences. IMHO the sooner the law tries to make an example of someone and the laws get changed as a consequence, the better it will be for all of us. Missing out on alcohol tax as an excuse for banning home brewing and stilling is PATHETIC. Reminds me of the days when we had to pay to watch our own TV.

Professor Green wrote:I do my ferments with tap water run through an inline caravan water filter to remove the chlorine and have had no problems.
Cheers,
Prof. Green.

Thanks Prof, I will do just that.

Cheers
Mac

Arismac wrote:G'day everybody. I have already learned in this forum that I should be using a Tomato Paste wash for my second fermentation. Is there any advantage of using Vodka Yeast over Baker Yeast for producing spirit for liqueurs?

Perhaps I should also mention that I use some of the ethanol in our small cosmetics business for making things like Rattan Cane diffuser oil. Not that I think the type of yeast used will have any effect on the use of the ethanol in cosmetics.

Cheers, Mac

Being the Devils advocate here I wud go for a yeast that produces low congeners like EC-1118 or similar.( many slight variations from different suppliers ) Keep ferment temps way down low and let it chug its way thru. Bakers yeast in my opinion has a really strong place ( in right proportions ) in brown spirits, and no place at all in white spirits. Unless of course you want to strip the guts out of it. They are all cheap as fk so really no issue.

Thank you "Dyno". Is there a ready source for EC-1118 or should I search on-line? Like is this a popular yeast that brew shop will stock? Unfortunately our local brew shop does not support on-line selling and so their products range is a "secret" unless I go/phone and ask.

Cheers,
Mac

I found it up at http://www.westbrew.com.au/showProduct/Wine+Making/Wine+Yeast/W0840010/YEAST+-+LALVIN+EC1118+125g. Thanks "Dyno". I will order on-line.

Cheers,
Mac

Arismac wrote:Thank you "Dyno". Is there a ready source for EC-1118 or should I search on-line? Like is this a popular yeast that brew shop will stock? Unfortunately our local brew shop does not support on-line selling and so their products range is a "secret" unless I go/phone and ask.

Cheers,
Mac

They pretty much all stock it. Just ask for Champagne yeast. Keep it cool an let it chug. Yr spirit will be relatively clean. There's100's of very slight variations if you want to get all mad scientist but this will sort you out.

Terrific, thanks "Dyno". I think, thanks to this thread and the wonderful assistance, that I am ready to make quite sure that my second attempt is a lot better than my first. I will certainly report results in about a weeks time.

My 2 cents worth is that having trialed many yeasts, for a TPW or even better my FFV the bakers yeast is more than adequate unless you have tricky temperatures.
EC1118 will work but is considerably slower. In all cases you are not seeking too much of and end flavour. The refluix process will take care of that. Brown spirits are a totally different story.

Secret in all these is to rehydrate first and have it "working" before adding to the wash

Bakers yeast and brewing/distillers yeast are chalk and cheese.

We aren't making bread...

I'm going to cop a lot of flack here for this I know, bakers yeast has a vast following here.

But in my experience a dedicated ale/distilling/champagne yeast (depending on what base material you're using) gives far less heads and tails, and an overall cleaner smoother spirit - it isn't all about flavour. Likely more yield too if your yeast is designed to like what you're feeding it. Less heads/tails to hearts ratio the more you get to drink!

There's a reason why distilleries don't use bloody bakers yeast.

As for the price argument... Non issue.
Plan ahead, buy a packet of your desired yeast and start making cultures. It's easy, and you can easy multiply a packet of yeast over and over again given you can keep it sterile etc.

Look up how to culture yeast if you're not sure on the old google.

But hey, make a batch of both?
Note the temperature range of each cut as you take it, and note which temp range you ended up using in the final product so you can make sure you cut them somewhat similar - and make the decision based on which suits your needs the most.
:happy-partydance:

Good points Matt, you've just got to be able to cut through the marketing BS as well... there's a decent chance that a 'vodka yeast' is just rebadged turbo shit.

Zak Griffin wrote:Good points Matt, you've just got to be able to cut through the marketing BS as well... there's a decent chance that a 'vodka yeast' is just rebadged turbo shit.

Absolutely.
I think anything branded "Still spirits" this could be the case.

For grain based spirits i think any kind of ale yeast is a good place to start.
US-05 has been working pretty well for me, and has a good alcohol tolerance for higher gravity washes.

If I made another TPW I'd probably steer towards an EC-1118.

My last couple vodka washes were my own take on a weetbix wash with malted barley for enzymes and I used US-05 with great success.
Made to me, a far better spirit than TPW.