using wine yeasts. need tips and hints

[toddross]

Hi iv got to the point where im over just using turbo yeast. Its getting too easy. I want to start using yeasts like lavlin 1118 ect and theres a lavlin 1116 also. I tried using them last time and stuffed it up badly only ended up with 1.5 L of 40 % out of a 43 L wash the wash % must of reached piss all. If read about people hitting 15 % with these yeasts. How much sugar do I need to use to hit these targets and what are some tips to get these yeilds. Any positive tips are very much appreciated? These yeast strains seem as though there is more to them then just hydrating yeast and mixing with all of the sugar needed. Do I need to feed the sugar in as 1kg amounts maybe? Invest in a heat belt?

Cheers todd

[Shine NOLA]

READ HERE
http://homedistiller.org/calcs/sugar_sg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
AND HERE
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 14&t=47480
AND .....
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 14&t=50167

[Galeoturpis]

I too tired of turbo. Yeast needs pretty much everything a human needs to thrive.
Recipe for 24- 25 litres
Sugar 250 mg/ l - about 6 kg
Protein - aim for a Yeast assimilable nitrogen at 150-200 mg/ l so DAP is about 1/5 nitrogen so 24 g gives you 200 mg/l and 18 g makes 150 (or about 1/2 - 3/4 tbsp). Add 2/3 of the DAP initially and the rest after a day. 
Fat - needs omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. 1 fish oil capsule or a ml of flax oil and a ml of sunflower oil. You could go up to 6 ml of sunflower oil and 2.4 ml of flax. Ideally it should be mixed with a neutral soap/ detergent to make it a micelle ( labs use Tween but I use the anti-frothing detergent that you put in the still). Yeast hulls are also useful to absorb toxic fats - expensive by themselves so I add a tbsp of dead nutritional yeast instead.
Minerals - potassium chloride 3g (1/2 tsp), calcium ( I use 1/2 tspn of lime or gypsum), magnesium (1/2 tspn of Epsom salts), 
Trace minerals - I add a vitamin tablet so that the zinc level is about 0.2 mg/l
Ultra trace elements - all the little things like selenium, vanadium etc which aren't present in Australian human  multivitamins but are essential. I use an animal vitamin called anitone (20 ml - 1 tbspn)
Vitamins - in addition to the vitamin pill I add extra pantothenate and biotin just to make sure that the levels are above- Biotin 5 mcg/ L, Pantothenate 500 mcg/l, Thiamine 600 mcg/l, Zinc 0.4 - 1 ppm ( mg/l)  (<0.05 or > 10 = toxic)
Titratable acidity - should be 0.5-1 g/l , so 24 g citric acid (15 ml) mixed with about the same amount of bicarbonate of soda in water and added to the wort after it has stopped fizzing. 
Bentonite 2g - add on day 2. 
Yeast - at least 3g per 24 litres. Bakers yeast may not quite ferment out to the potential alcohol of 13% so I use EC 1118. 
I have doubled up on many vitamins ( because of the dead yeast etc) but as long as the zinc isn't in the toxic level, it should be OK. 
My most recent experiment was to use all the minerals, citric acid, fats etc. but instead of DAP I put a bromelain/ papain tablet into 70 g of nutritional yeast (the pineapple -papaya enzymes should chew up the protein so it's suitable for the ec1118 to use). didn't really work -it's a bit unpredictable and on days 2 and 3 I had to add 1/2 teaspoon of DAP.
The advantage of making your own yeast nutrient is that you can lower the FAN and make a few less esters or really crank it up if you're in a hurry. If you want to hit 19% with ec1118, make sure you have plenty of nutrients and you might be better off by stacking the sugar (e.g starting with 250 mg/l sugar - 11 kg in 43l and on day 5 add the next 5kg or so).

[moosemilk]

Hi iv got to the point where im over just using turbo yeast. Its getting too easy. I want to start using yeasts like lavlin 1118 ect and theres a lavlin 1116 also. I tried using them last time and stuffed it up badly only ended up with 1.5 L of 40 % out of a 43 L wash the wash % must of reached piss all. If read about people hitting 15 % with these yeasts. How much sugar do I need to use to hit these targets and what are some tips to get these yeilds. Any positive tips are very much appreciated? These yeast strains seem as though there is more to them then just hydrating yeast and mixing with all of the sugar needed. Do I need to feed the sugar in as 1kg amounts maybe? Invest in a heat belt?

Cheers todd

What exactly is your recipe? And are you looking for higher abv for a wine/cider or is it for a wash to distill? If it's for distilling, you don't want to go much higher than a 9% abv wash for grains, shooting for between 7-9% is best. You could go up to 11% for rums and sugar washes. Most fruit washes to still are also kept lower. Also, 1118 is ok to use for grains, but works better for sugar and fruit washes, and fairly well at lower temps, even around 18-20C. Nutrients could be a factor, but it could also be your recipe.

[toddross]

Sweet doesnt seem to dificult really. Alot more effort then turbos. Few questions though. The part where you mention using a detergent. Sounds a bit dodgy puting something made not to be drunken in the brew. Whats the deal around that? Also is the rule at thumthe more minerals oil ect along with sugar mean higher yeild or do I only need to increase the sugar? DAP is another thought. What are the recomendations on brands ect.

Cheers

[toddross]

My recipe just for a sugar wash. All I did was sugar 1118 and some yeast nutrient I got from makewine.co.nz. Definately distilling.

[Galeoturpis]

Toddross -I put distilling conditioner in my still to prevent puking and frothing. It doesn't boil off through to the distillate and is pretty harmless. I read a lot of scientific studies where tween was used and seems standard for yeast experiments. I wouldn't drink what remains in the still post-distillation. The oils are a counsel of perfection and probably unnecessary unless you want to re-use yeast or do a really high gravity ferment. The DAP and minerals on the othe hand are needed to grow enough yeast - my recipe is for sugar (which has next to no nutrients) - a far easier way is to use a tred and true recipe such as an all-grain. Sugar is tough to brew well. A 43 brew needs a 1.3 kg yeast (an animal the size of chihuahua ) and you have to put in all the ingredients! You make the wort- the yeast makes the alcohol. A failed ferment is really a failed yeast. If you make a good environment for a yeast, it will do you proud. That's what it does. As far as brands go- the cheapest.

[toddross]

Cheers thanks guys. Will start getting every thing I need together for my next brew. Cant wait to test it out. Was the exact help I needed

cheers

todd

[StillLearning1]

Look in the tried and true section at some of the cereal washes like the corn flakes recipe. Great alternative to turbos, very simple and usually ferment in a week or less. Using regular bakers yeast is stupid simple!