Using plant-food as yeast nutrients?

[Dec]

In Viktor's econ-o-wash (http://homedistiller.org/detail/econ-o-wash.doc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow) he recommends using plant-food as your yeast nutrients for a sugar wash to make neutral alcohol. I have no prob getting yeast hulls but it is the other nutrients (DAP etc) that I'm having real trouble getting locally. But plant food is in my local shop. Also I'm not a fan of turbo-yeast. When I thought about it, with plant food, all the essential nitrogen, amino acids and minerals would be there. Then with my addition of b-vitamins and yeast hulls would it be a good substitute for a yeast nutrient pack (I mean better than tomato juice?).

[Guest]

I don't know if plant food is safe (I know tomatoe paste is safe) I don't know if plant food will work (I know tomatoe paste will work). I also know that tomatoe paste is cheaper than plant food (12 cans for a dollar at my local market).

You can pay for it with food stamps too

[Dec]

hmm.. Interesting. I need a little more convincing though as this site doesn't seem to recommend tomato paste much tho. Holymackerel, are you distilling a neutral spirit? If so what % does your fermented wash get up to about? (also what yeast do you use?)

[Guest]

hmm.. Interesting. I need a little more convincing though as this site doesn't seem to recommend tomato paste much tho. Holymackerel, are you distilling a neutral spirit? If so what % does your fermented wash get up to about? (also what yeast do you use?)

MANY people in this forum use tomato paste. I use it in my fruit washes and my sugar washes. I use red star bakers yeast(usually ferments to 12-14%), sometimes I use ec-1118(and get 15-18%), and once in a while I use red star champagne yeast ( also 15-18%).





~Pothead

[Guest]

How much tomato paste should I use say in a 25L wash? Take into account I'll be using dead yeast also (I can get it very cheap). And I'll be using a mixture EC-1118 and KV-1116 (is it a good idea to mix them? It shudnt matter since yeast reproduces asexually but I'd like an experienced opinion)

[MyDBear]

How much tomato paste should I use say in a 25L wash? Take into account I'll be using dead yeast also (I can get it very cheap). And I'll be using a mixture EC-1118 and KV-1116 (is it a good idea to mix them? It shudnt matter since yeast reproduces asexually but I'd like an experienced opinion)

Dead Yeast!!!! This some kind of joke?
No wounder ya can get them cheep the bastards are "DEAD"
May be I just dont under stand whats going on here.
And yes ya can mix different strains of yeast.

[Dec]

Cheers MyDBear. Yeast hulls are just inactive/dead yeast afaik. They apparently provide a lot of essential nutrients to the cannabilistic litt le s.o.bs
I get 'em under the name "debittered brewers yeast" from my local health food store, like 5euros for a kilo, pure and powedered.
There are no home-brew shops in my city, so I gotta make do with what I can for as cheap and efficient as possible (buyin the active yeast off the net.).


On a seperate note: As a student my time isn't worth nearly as much as my money is. Alcohol is also severely expensive here in Dublin, this is part of my impetus to start distilling. For example in a pub/bar, a plain old double vodka and ice costs 7.50 - 7.80 EUR (about 10 USD). Ridiculous eh?

[level Joe]

You can pay for it with food stamps too

I hope youre joking, if not thats an argument just waitin to start.

How much tomato paste should I use say in a 25L wash? Take into account I'll be using dead yeast also (I can get it very cheap).

6 oz. can(170 gram) and any cost for the dead yeast is too much unless it'll speed up your wash, try a wash with it and one without, I bet you wont see a change.

[LeftLaneCruiser]

There are no home-brew shops in my city, so I gotta make do with what I can for as cheap and efficient as possible (buyin the active yeast off the net.).

In my hometown there are no brew shops too, but in the local supermarket i found dry yeast at the home baking section. Packed in 3 sachets for 1 euro.

Or you could go go to a bakery and ask for some yeast. I once bought 1 kilo for 5 euro's when i told i wanted to use it for brewing beer at home.

KJH

[Rickle]

I learning some thing new every day. Dead yeast makes good yeast food. There are on average two grams of yeast per liter of wash. So after racking (for those that go that far, and I plane to) the dead yeast can be collected, put in a shallow cookie pan, put in the oven on low heat to evaporate the liquids. Scrape off to powder and stored. Itwould be sort of like adding the tails to the next run on in this case it's the fermentation.

Now what I'd like to know is how you can grow your own yeast and dry it.
Is any one doing this?

From the lavlin site
"Allowing the yeast access to oxygen at the beginning of fermentation during the growth phase helps the yeast produce its own lipids. Another way to prevent the depletion of lipids is to add them just after the yeast inoculation in the form of yeast hulls. The cell wall portion of the yeast hulls not only contains lipids but significant amounts of polysaccharides, including chitin, as well. Chitin increases the surface area in the must, which helps keep the yeast cells from settling to the bottom of the fermenter where they may become weak and stressed. Improving the yeast’s ability to stay in suspension is especially important if you are fermenting clear juices or musts from concentrates, or in bentonite settling, high ameliorating or very cool fermentations"

[Guest]

Why would you want to grow yeast to kill? It would be cheaper and easier to just boil (and therefore kill) some bakers yeast. Its very cheap, I mean professional bakers use it by the bucketload.. Or u could just go to any healthfood shop and buy some dead brewers yeast by the kilo..

If you want to grow yeast for brewing (which is what I'm doing), you just don't put enough sugar in your brew so it gets alcoholic enough to kill the yeast. When it has eaten all the sugar (ie finished fermenting) it will settle into a thick scum on the bottom of your brew. Syphon or decant off your brew and scraoe the scum at the bottom, it will be a lot more than you originally put in.

[The Chemist]

Dead Yeast!!!! This some kind of joke?
No wounder ya can get them cheep the bastards are "DEAD"
May be I just dont under stand whats going on here.
And yes ya can mix different strains of yeast.

Dead yeasts provide the components needed for the growing yeasts to make more cell membranes (phospholipids, etc.). In a grain mash, they are not necessary because the grain supplies the needed compounds. In a sugar (only) wash, they must come from somewhere else, i.e, yeast corpses.

[Rickle]

If you want to grow yeast for brewing (which is what I'm doing), you just don't put enough sugar in your brew so it gets alcoholic enough to kill the yeast. When it has eaten all the sugar (ie finished fermenting) it will settle into a thick scum on the bottom of your brew. Syphon or decant off your brew and scraoe the scum at the bottom, it will be a lot more than you originally put in.

Yes this is what I'd like to do. How are you storing it?

[Dec]

Here is in a very good link about storing yeast, it helps you understand what the yeast needs so you usually don't mess up.
http://www.probrewer.com/resources/libr ... yyeast.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Here's another excellent site that outlines how to freeze yeast (how I store it) by mixing it with some glycerin. You need to do this or the ice-crystals will destroy the yeast cell membranes.
http://www.schwedhelm.net/brew/yeast_harv_freeze.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[rootiepatootie]

Ok, novice and new here (in a manner of speaking). I've read the posts here, not sure about this tomato paste thing but anyways, I've also read the 'Victor's econ-o-wash' blurb and tried something dumb. I used Debittered Brewers Yeast to a sugar wash thinking this will act as a normal bakers yeast, but, not so. Having let the wash sit for 3 wks, nada, nothing, nixx. Some stuff started coming out of the still but it was awful. Now, I haven't thrown it out yet, I'm going to put it back in the fermenting pot, as the sugar should still be there, and add normal amount of regular Bakers yeast. The way I read this, that wasn't such a bad move, the Debittered Yeat will act as a nutrient and should supplement the regular yeast. Anybody think that this should still work ? And, the other thing I read here, the light brown gunky stuff at the bottom of the fermenting pot, I should keep this and reuse it ? at least that's the way I read it here. And, $ 10 for a shot of Vodka in the PUB, Holy Crap, that's insane.......... ;>)

[Dnderhead]

yes brewers yeast is dead yeast that's used as a supplement,it can be used as yeast nutrient ,similar to
composting for a garden . if your wash has not become infected (bacteria etc) then it can be saved.

[rootiepatootie]

Yes, your right. Went out and warmed up the wash, 30'C and put it back into the fermentation pots, nothing was infected, and put some bakers yeast into one, to try and see if it was still ok. Tadaaaaaa.... checked an hr. later and it was brewing just fine, so, set off the the other two pots. Now, I've read some on this nutrient, but I'm still not sure what it is suppose to do. Does it improve the product, somehow ? In taste or Alcohol content or both ? Other question I have, at the intro page it mentions about making Rum. And it says, for using a sugar wash, if you want a rum, I guess, for look and taste (?) use 50% Sugar and 50% Molasses. Question I have here, is that 50% by weight or by volume ? And, what quality of Molasses to use ?

[RonH3154]

Checkout the Tried and True section there are Rum recipes there that should give you information to determine the ratio or just use one of those recipes since it has been proven to work.

[TOAD]

I take the trube/spent yeast out of the fermenter after i rack my wine to another carboy, bring 2cups of it to a boil and add it to the next batch of wine every time. And if im feeling cheep or forget to pickup more yeast, i toss the rest of the unboiled yeast in aswell to get things rolling along.