EC-1118 and Sweetfeed

[FreeMountainHermit]

Guys, warmer temps are just around the corner for our area and it's time to start some ferments going in anticipation of running outside in a tee shirt without my teeth bangin' against each other.
To the point. I'd like to start out the season with a good run of SF as I have quite a bit of it on hand as well as well as having ten packs of EC-1118 in my refrigerator . I've been doing a fair bit of reading about EC-1118 and noticed few if any posters using it in their SF washes which causes me to ask the forum why not. (??)

Initially I bought this yeast because of its low temp ferment characteristics as my ferment room is generally in the low 60s but now I'm having second thoughts.

Any sweet feed guys care to jump in and offer an opinion on this, please ?

Thanks, FMH.

[yakattack]

Reason being is most guys that are doing sf or ujssm are just using bakers yeast. Cheap and do the job well. It also lends to the "whiskey" flavor. Ec1118 is a good yeast. Very temp tolerant. But it will be lighter on flavor a bit (in my experince) otherwise it's a good yeast to use.

If you have it on hand put a batch down. Worse that can happen is you'll have to blend it into another batch with a different yeast strain if you don't like the flavor profile. But I think you'll like it use fine.

Yak

[still_stirrin]

FMH,

The Lalvin EC-1118 is a champagne yeast. It ferments clean with a high alcohol tolerance. It tolerates slightly cooler ferment temperatures without a high ester production. But, it is a slow fermenter and will take longer to attenuate. Originally cultured for fermenting high gravity wines, the champagne yeast is good for fruit ferments and works well in a sugar ferment too.

For a grain based recipe, bakers yeast or a beer yeast is often preferred. These yeasts ferment quicker (unless a lager yeast is used) and augment the grain flavors of the wort. They have a tendancy to produce more ester by-products, especially when fermented in warmer environments.

If you've got the champagne yeast...use it. There is no need to buy more yeast if you've got some aging in your refrigerator already. It'll make fine liquor for you. But pay attention to the environment that the yeast prefers, ambient temperatures and proper areation. And don't get too impatient with the ferment, ie - wait for it to finish before running the wash.
ss

[FreeMountainHermit]

still strirrin, thanks for the explanation on ec-1118. In addition to buying that yeast for low temp ferments I bought it for future apple adventures as well which I should have stated in my initial posting .

Thank you again for your reply, Sir.

[Shiny Coke]

I've used EC-118 for my UJSSM's and it takes usually a full week to ferment out. Last fall I did my first 2 all grain mashes using flaked maize, rye and malted barley. The first one I used bakers yeast after buying a pound from a local bakery; I can't remember how much I used but I added it to some cooled preboiled water to make a slurry before pitching. The second I used a pack of EC-118 and don't think I saw much of a difference.

@ Still Stirrin - I've been reading lots but just can't seem to find how much of this bakers yeast to add for a 6gal mash. I found a spread sheet earlier but think thats more aimed at vac pac yeasts with expiration date etc but as this is like a pound of butter, what qty of bakers yeast do you (or others) recommend?

[Kegg_jam]

SC, HD Google 'yeast pitch rate' or similar.

It's all over the place in terms of amounts and methods.

Or check out the tried and true and find one to your liking. For example the sweet feed calls for 8 tablespoons of bakers.

No right answer here but lots of different ways to get it done.

[still_stirrin]

...but as this is like a pound of butter, what qty of bakers yeast do you (or others) recommend?

KJ, thanks for the assistance.

Shiny Coke,
Cut off a couple of pieces roughly equivalent to a "butter patty"...6mm thick and 25x25mm. That would approximately equal a teaspoon each patty. That should be plenty of yeast for your batch (5 to 10 gallons).
ss

[Shiny Coke]

Cheers!