Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Yeast might even need it's own subtopic under Mashing and fermenting but maybe we can get it going for interest and see what happens.

Today i got 500g of Punkins yeast viewtopic.php?f=33&t=383 to try out (mostly out if interest and hopefully a better product)

normally i use dry yeast for both beer and spirits (this stuff is also dry) but many brewers use liquid yeast.
many also create starters from liquid yeast and maybe make starters from dry yeast
by starters i mean growing "stepping up" yeast colonies to increase the number of live yeast that get pitched.

after having a read and asking Mcstill what he was doing with the yeast i came across this link that i thought was worth posting
interestingly it discusses the idea that making starters from dry yeast might be "bad" and ineffective.

it also discusses using the slurry on the bottom after fermentation so is an interesting read called "re-pitching"

i am undecided if i will attempt to grow Punkins yeast from dry, but might step up the slurry to experiment.
it might also be worth making a 5L ferment to get slurry then just use that as a starter, but beginning with the appropriate amount of dry yeast.
the idea is to use less yeast thus saving money and utilizing the valuable asset that yeast is :)

http://www.mrmalty.com/pitching.php#s3

i would be interested in what others are doing and think about it

Haven't read the article, but i've never had any luck with starters and never use them. I always pitch dry at about two teaspoons to each twenty or thirty litres.

I also like to run ferments on the lees as i think that gives the best, fastest and safest results. A huge colony of yeast just waiting to be activated with some splashing and some sugar.

Another way to make your yeast go further is to dip a couple of cups full out of an active ferment and use that as your starter to pitch to a new ferment. ;)


I think it's best to plan your ferment cycle so you are putting fresh wash back on the lees for as long as you need to to get the amount of product you need in the long run. My Ujjssm is well over 50 gens and i've stopped counting.

Keep these principles and a 500 gm block will last for years, i'm still using one that i've had for 4 years and i sent large samples out of it all over the country. 8-)

5Star 50 Gens is massive

many in the beer world reckon that re-using the yeast that much would be "risky" to the flavors of the beer.
many "crop" yeast from the top of wash collecting foam and building a starter from that for the next, the theroy is that this is the most active and viable yeast.

now i don't know what effect it would have on our wash as we are not so particular about flavors (but they are still very important) and over gen's there would be change to what the yeast are doing (strongest survive ?)

i have a TPW with lowans i was going to strip today and intended to collect some slurry and try stepping it in a demi just to see how it goes as practice for the yest from you, boil some of the lee's for nutrients as well

anyway just hoping for interesting discussion on our little underrated buddies the yeast :)

That's a pretty interesting read maheel, thanks for the link ;)

Up until recently I was using Lowans bread yeast & found it to be pretty good, I've never had a ferment fail using it and always pitched dry yeast into the wash.

Lately I've been playing around with yeast bombs (boiled Lowans) and pitching starters for making rum, and in a new batch of UJSM I pitched a starter that's just about ready to run.

So far the ferments have been starting a lot quicker, and also getting a fairly vigorous ferment even in the cooler weather.

I'm still just messing around trying new things with yeasts and have a lot to learn ;)

I had a look at that link and it made my head spin :? :? :? It all sounds very complex compered to chucking some dried bakers yeast on top and giving it a stir.
I think Ill stick to the 5Star method when I get my new yeast, at least until I learn a bit more about yeasts and fermenting.

SBB wrote:I had a look at that link and it made my head spin :? :? :? It all sounds very complex compered to chucking some dried bakers yeast on top and giving it a stir.
I think Ill stick to the 5Star method when I get my new yeast, at least until I learn a bit more about yeasts and fermenting.

i know it gives me a headache a bit too, but worth the read a try to understand our little mates a bit more.

I'm currently reading a book called "Yeast - the practical guide to beer fermentation" by Chris White (founder of White Labs yeast) and Jamil Zainasheff (homebrewing legend).  This one: http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-F ... 0937381969

While aimed more at beer fermentation, the science behind it is the same no matter what the strain.  Highly recommended book so far.

maheel wrote:did you wash the yeast from that APA ?

if it's just the turb it might have some residual hops and hop oil that might impact the stilling of the wash later ?
especially if you dry hopped etc.

i was thinking of using some turb out of my current AG beer brew but i dry hopped it with pellets and not sure of effect up the still later....
i got to bottle it tomorrow :)

Nardy wrote:
I did wash the yeast, yes - but I never thought about what hop residue might do in the still. Good point.

Regardless, I might just run this wash as is anyway. In the last 24 hours the gravity hasn't dropped at all, even after pitching more baker's yeast. So I will let it go until the weekend and run it Sat morning. Next batch will get less dunder and fresh yeast and see how that changes things.

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=576
linking this from Nardys rum log about reusing yeast

last night i tipped into my micro "barley mash" sg 1040 some saved yeast cake from a all grain beer i did, the beer was dry hopped late in the ferment with Cascade hops. i kept about 300g of cake and that included some hop residue in a plastic bottle in the fridge about a week.

in the pic that green looking foam might have some hops in it as when sniffing the bottle it has that nice hop aroma beer brewers love but distillers might not want.
Not sure if it would carry over much in a bigger brew if i used this as a starter but i don't think i would risk it and have to scrub out my still and boiler for hop oils...

this mash was not boiled and sat on the grain about 4 hours in a stockpot and a couple of hours in the fridge to cool. I was wondering if i would get an infection and will let it ferment out just to see what happens and have a taste in a few days. it's only about 2.5L

Nardy wrote:I'm currently reading a book called "Yeast - the practical guide to beer fermentation" by Chris White (founder of White Labs yeast) and Jamil Zainasheff (homebrewing legend).  This one: http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-F ... 0937381969

While aimed more at beer fermentation, the science behind it is the same no matter what the strain.  Highly recommended book so far.

Top book that. lots of great practical info.

As far as stepping dry yeast, i would not bother. you're better off to simply use a little more & rehydrate.

Save stepping for liquids.

yeah the Mr malty calc us useful - scary how much yeast you really need for a lager!

http://hbd.org/brewery/library/SterileDW1096.html

I've used this, and gotten good results.