Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

I purchased a 500g bag of Angel yellow from Amazon, went to use it today and it would not activate.
Tried multiple times with different amounts of water as well as varying the temp up and down from the stated 35 degC with no result.
Also tried adding a little sugar to help it along.
Disappointing to say the least!

What was the use by date on the packet

harold01 wrote:What was the use by date on the packet

3 months time

I bought some a year or so ago that was out of date and still works fine
It is slow to start though

harold01 wrote:I bought some a year or so ago that was out of date and still works fine
It is slow to start though

So how slow is slow, left it for an hour in a glass and all it did was go slightly milky?

Hi Pete how about you make a couple of more posts just so you can PM mate

OK I'll goud you :laughing-rolling: as you are learning how about coming up the hill and meeting me as I am a casual bloke :handgestures-thumbupleft: and you can learn a thing or three

RuddyCrazy wrote:Hi Pete how about you make a couple of more posts just so you can PM mate

OK

RuddyCrazy wrote:Hi Pete how about you make a couple of more posts just so you can PM mate

OK

OK mate now you can send me a PM :handgestures-thumbupleft: you are welcome to came up for a chat and hopefully this angel yeast will be a thing of the past :handgestures-thumbupleft:

How much “yeast” did you use ?
There’s very little actual yeast in angel yeast packs
The majority of the pack is actually the Enzimes
When rehydrating , you will need to add to warm water with sugar and leave for an hour or more before it will start to multiply and activate

I got given a half used packet that's 2 years or of days and still works fine.
I had some crushed wheat that went right off!
Corn is alot slower.

The Stig wrote:How much “yeast” did you use ?
There’s very little actual yeast in angel yeast packs
The majority of the pack is actually the Enzimes
When rehydrating , you will need to add to warm water with sugar and leave for an hour or more before it will start to multiply and activate

Used 12 grams into 300ml of sugar water at 35C, waited an hour and nothing happened.
Tried another batch with the same result, gave up and used bakers yeast as the wash was ready and waiting.
Revisited this morning with one teaspoon into the same mix and put it on a heat mat at 35C, 3 hours later it has just started to ferment!

For reference i use 70grams in a 54L mash with 10-15kg of grain.

If you arent using enough, the enzyme wont be able to convert the grain to sugars for the yeast to ferment. It won't ever get started.

I wouldnt bother hydrating the stuff like you would with normal yeast tbh.

Was your grain milled or whole?

Peteren1 wrote:

The Stig wrote:How much “yeast” did you use ?
There’s very little actual yeast in angel yeast packs
The majority of the pack is actually the Enzimes
When rehydrating , you will need to add to warm water with sugar and leave for an hour or more before it will start to multiply and activate

Used 12 grams into 300ml of sugar water at 35C, waited an hour and nothing happened.
Tried another batch with the same result, gave up and used bakers yeast as the wash was ready and waiting.
Revisited this morning with one teaspoon into the same mix and put it on a heat mat at 35C, 3 hours later it has just started to ferment!

my instructions for yellow angel state the amount of product per weight of grain, not per wash size.
for 10kg grain they recommend 50-80gms of YA.
so if we take an average of 65gms per 10kg grain, 12gms of YA is only enough for 1.8kg of grain.
i vacuum seal my 500gm block into 5 x 100gm bags to keep it fresh and use 33.3333gms for a 25l ferment with 5-7kg of grain.
i hydrate it as per manufacturers guide, but unlike bakers yeast which will try and climb out of the jug after 20 mins, YL will usually just have a small creamy head (if you're lucky)

BigRig wrote:For reference i use 70grams in a 54L mash with 10-15kg of grain.

If you arent using enough, the enzyme wont be able to convert the grain to sugars for the yeast to ferment. It won't ever get started.

I wouldnt bother hydrating the stuff like you would with normal yeast tbh.

Was your grain milled or whole?

This is only my 3rd attempt at a wash, have completed and distilled 2x20lt sugar washes with bakers yeast and it all went well.
Wanted to try something different and used 1kg of rolled oats, 0.5kg of mashed raisins, cooked that for an hour and added 3.5 kg of sugar.
Tried to hydrate the AY but it looked dead after two attempts, so started the wash with bakers and as an afterthought added the "failed" AY to at least use the enzimes.
The wash took off like a rocket and is still going very strong.
Tried another AY hydrate today and have got it fermenting but it took 3 hours to start?
So I think, and I stand to be corrected here, is that I need to use a lot more, add it directly to the wash and not expect fireworks as with the bakers?

howard wrote:

Peteren1 wrote:

The Stig wrote:How much “yeast” did you use ?
There’s very little actual yeast in angel yeast packs
The majority of the pack is actually the Enzimes
When rehydrating , you will need to add to warm water with sugar and leave for an hour or more before it will start to multiply and activate

Used 12 grams into 300ml of sugar water at 35C, waited an hour and nothing happened.
Tried another batch with the same result, gave up and used bakers yeast as the wash was ready and waiting.
Revisited this morning with one teaspoon into the same mix and put it on a heat mat at 35C, 3 hours later it has just started to ferment!

my instructions for yellow angel state the amount of product per weight of grain, not per wash size.
for 10kg grain they recommend 50-80gms of YA.
so if we take an average of 65gms per 10kg grain, 12gms of YA is only enough for 1.8kg of grain.
i vacuum seal my 500gm block into 5 x 100gm bags to keep it fresh and use 33.3333gms for a 25l ferment with 5-7kg of grain.
i hydrate it as per manufacturers guide, but unlike bakers yeast which will try and climb out of the jug after 20 mins, YL will usually just have a small creamy head (if you're lucky)

Cheers, will take all that onboard.

How have you stored it? Best kept in chest freezer (-17C) or fridge freezer for longevity/ I have some years old and it works well. Actually if it was stored in a hot truck then it could
well be dead, yeast wise, the enzymes might be ok so mix a little bread yeast in if the enzymes are doing their thing then bread yeast will pick up the sugars,.

chipboy wrote:How have you stored it? Best kept in chest freezer (-17C) or fridge freezer for longevity/ I have some years old and it works well. Actually if it was stored in a hot truck then it could
well be dead, yeast wise, the enzymes might be ok so mix a little bread yeast in if the enzymes are doing their thing then bread yeast will pick up the sugars,.

Yes it's been in the fridge since it arrived by post.
Looks like it does work, see previous posts, just took 3 hrs at 35C to see any fermentation at all.
I have another bag coming from a different supplier so it will be interesting to see if it's any different.

I recommend buying from https://enzymeking.com.au/