Best Yeast for Bourbon or Whiskey?

[Capspath83]

Hi all,

I am brand new at this distilling gig but an experienced Homebrewer. I mainly brew New England IPAs so I have a lot of Wyeast London Ale III 1318 yeast strains or White Lab WLP007. I see that alot of people are using bakers yeast for whiskey and bourbon. Is that the best option? I saw that not many people like using TurboYeast, so just trying to figure out the route I should take for my first run at this.

Appreciate all of your feedback with the questions I have had so far and love this Forum!

[Oatmeal]

"Best" is a complicated confluence of factors in each individual's practice and environment. Baker's yeast is inexpensive, readily available, and does a fine job. Turbo is bad in almost any circumstance. You might peruse Jimbo's recipes over in the tried and true section, he really like us-05 for whiskey, and suggests us-04 might make an interesting whiskey with more esters, but a smaller "keep"....

Run the same recipe with different yeasts and tell us what the best yeast is!

[still_stirrin]

For a whiskey, made with grains, a beer yeast strain is goodness especially if the strain is fitting for the style of beer. A good tasting beer will produce a good tasting spirit. But keep in mind that distillation will “collect” and “concentrate” flavors and that can be good or not depending on what you’re making.

I like bread yeast for my cereal grain spirits primarily because of price and availability. But the pandemic panic did aggravate yeast shortages at the local grocers. But things are back to normal and supplies are replenished. But in general, the bread yeasts produce good “bread” flavors which help the distiller’s “beer” flavor. Also, the operating temperature of the yeast fits well into my brewing processes.

But like the beer yeasts working well for grain beers, wine yeast are good for fruit fermented spirits. Again, it is the complementary flavors that augment the brandy’s flavor. Champagne yeast is a specialized wine yeast that will produce a clean and delicate flavor profile. As a result, it is often used for sugar washes where neutral flavors are the target.

Bottomline, different yeasts are “favored” by brewers for many different reasons. However, recognizing that the cost of the yeast is a small contributor to the cost of the spirit, it can allow some “exploration” to find what works best, or what produces the product you like.
ss

[subbrew]

I will throw in one other factor. Temperature control. I use a lot of US-05 for beer but am only doing 5 gal batches so can control temp. But for distilling I do 35 to 40 gal batches. Just the internal heat of that size batch will keep it 10 to 15 degrees above ambient. So using US-05 which likes 68F or so would need some cooling and I don't have a way to cool that large a batch. Something to keep in mind

[Deplorable]

+1 on the temperature factor.
I use US-05 in cooler weather, and as the mashing season comes to a close and temperatures rise, I'll use bakers yeast.
I can always apply heaters and blankets, but cooling a large ferment isn't an option for me.

[jonnys_spirit]

+1 on the temperature factor.
I use US-05 in cooler weather, and as the mashing season comes to a close and temperatures rise, I'll use bakers yeast.
I can always apply heaters and blankets, but cooling a large ferment isn't an option for me.

+1 on that. It's much easier to keep a ferment in the 80-85*F range (and use bakers) than keeping it cooler like 65*F unless it's cold and winter.

Cheers,
j

[Ben]

Agreed, select yeast based on your temp. There will be a number of options.

My house is 65° in the winter and mid 70s in the summer, but I have ferment cooling available so I stick with yeasts that like the 70° area. Remember yeast is exothermic, the bigger the ferment the hotter it will be.

I like S04/wlp004 for general purpose, gives some nice fruity esters. I repitch over and over and let the lacto and natural yeasts do their thing as well. This saves all the money on yeast, one packet has done hundreds of gallons, and provides nutrients (I dump my excess cake into the HLT during heat up). Makes an excellent rye.

US05/wlp001 is nice if you can ferment it near the bottom of the temp range, produces a delicious peach thing that goes really well with smoke. Otherwise I find it a bit neutral/boring.

WLP099 makes some nice dark pitted fruit esters, makes a good bourbon.

I ordered some Marañón Canyon Wild Cacao Yeast (wlp546) to try in my next bourbon project, I think its going to be unique and delicious. It is essentially a low temp farmhouse strain (65-75°f) If it doesn't give me dry ferments I will blend in either lacto or US05. I think any farmhouse style strain could make an excellent whiskey, all those weird esters are going to change and become magic at the still spout.

One yeast can also give many flavors depending on where you are in the temp range, what your pitch rates look like, nutrients ETC.

Play around, you will find good stuff.

[Capspath83]

"Best" is a complicated confluence of factors in each individual's practice and environment. Baker's yeast is inexpensive, readily available, and does a fine job. Turbo is bad in almost any circumstance. You might peruse Jimbo's recipes over in the tried and true section, he really like us-05 for whiskey, and suggests us-04 might make an interesting whiskey with more esters, but a smaller "keep"....

Run the same recipe with different yeasts and tell us what the best yeast is!

Thanks! Yeah, I figured it would vary between the individual, but thought that there was a few to lean towards. Ill definitely try out the same recipe with a few different strains. I will be sure to report back!

[Capspath83]

For a whiskey, made with grains, a beer yeast strain is goodness especially if the strain is fitting for the style of beer. A good tasting beer will produce a good tasting spirit. But keep in mind that distillation will “collect” and “concentrate” flavors and that can be good or not depending on what you’re making.

I like bread yeast for my cereal grain spirits primarily because of price and availability. But the pandemic panic did aggravate yeast shortages at the local grocers. But things are back to normal and supplies are replenished. But in general, the bread yeasts produce good “bread” flavors which help the distiller’s “beer” flavor. Also, the operating temperature of the yeast fits well into my brewing processes.

But like the beer yeasts working well for grain beers, wine yeast are good for fruit fermented spirits. Again, it is the complementary flavors that augment the brandy’s flavor. Champagne yeast is a specialized wine yeast that will produce a clean and delicate flavor profile. As a result, it is often used for sugar washes where neutral flavors are the target.

Bottomline, different yeasts are “favored” by brewers for many different reasons. However, recognizing that the cost of the yeast is a small contributor to the cost of the spirit, it can allow some “exploration” to find what works best, or what produces the product you like.
ss

Totally agree on this! I was thinking of approaching how I would with a beer. I definitely like the way the LAIII 1318 works with my IPAs. It would be interesting to see how it would do in a Bourbon or Whiskey. Maybe I will split a batch and use one packet of 1318 and 1 packet of US-5 and go from there! Thanks!!

[Capspath83]

I will throw in one other factor. Temperature control. I use a lot of US-05 for beer but am only doing 5 gal batches so can control temp. But for distilling I do 35 to 40 gal batches. Just the internal heat of that size batch will keep it 10 to 15 degrees above ambient. So using US-05 which likes 68F or so would need some cooling and I don't have a way to cool that large a batch. Something to keep in mind

Interesting...Thanks for this! I do only intend to start out at 5 gallon batches for distilling right now since I am just starting out. Same I do for my beer. But I do see what you are saying.

[Capspath83]

Agreed, select yeast based on your temp. There will be a number of options.

My house is 65° in the winter and mid 70s in the summer, but I have ferment cooling available so I stick with yeasts that like the 70° area. Remember yeast is exothermic, the bigger the ferment the hotter it will be.

I like S04/wlp004 for general purpose, gives some nice fruity esters. I repitch over and over and let the lacto and natural yeasts do their thing as well. This saves all the money on yeast, one packet has done hundreds of gallons, and provides nutrients (I dump my excess cake into the HLT during heat up). Makes an excellent rye.

US05/wlp001 is nice if you can ferment it near the bottom of the temp range, produces a delicious peach thing that goes really well with smoke. Otherwise I find it a bit neutral/boring.

WLP099 makes some nice dark pitted fruit esters, makes a good bourbon.

I ordered some Marañón Canyon Wild Cacao Yeast (wlp546) to try in my next bourbon project, I think its going to be unique and delicious. It is essentially a low temp farmhouse strain (65-75°f) If it doesn't give me dry ferments I will blend in either lacto or US05. I think any farmhouse style strain could make an excellent whiskey, all those weird esters are going to change and become magic at the still spout.

One yeast can also give many flavors depending on where you are in the temp range, what your pitch rates look like, nutrients ETC.

Play around, you will find good stuff.

Wow! Thanks Ben! I will take all of this into consideration. If I am using Lacto, I guess Ill have to get some dedicated lines and fermentation buckets because of the bacteria. Looking forward to experimenting!

[Duffbrew]

Wow, I guess this why you do a search before asking questions. I was going to ask this same question and got 89% of the info I need with this one thread. As I get more into distilling, I plan to use different Beer yeasts and when that happens, I shall post here. Thanks to all of you for the info.

[8Ball]

FermPro 917 is working out very well for me for Irish & Bourbons so far. The price is right too at around $12 a pound. But as others posted, experiment for yourself and decide.

You can always go to your local feed & grocery stores with $20 and walk out with enough grain and yeast to keep you busy and sipping good stuff for a long time. Or you can go to a home brew shop and spend $200 for basically the same results, my point being is you don’t have to spend much on grains and yeast to make a good sipper. Good luck.

[TwoSheds]

FermPro 917 is working out very well for me for Irish & Bourbons so far. The price is right too at around $12 a pound.

After much deliberation I went with the FermPro 921. I have exactly two all-grains under my belt and used this in both. Finished dry and quickly with the recommended dosing, and while I don't have anything to compare it to the flavors seem spot on!

[8Ball]

FermPro 917 is working out very well for me for Irish & Bourbons so far. The price is right too at around $12 a pound.

After much deliberation I went with the FermPro 921. I have exactly two all-grains under my belt and used this in both. Finished dry and quickly with the recommended dosing, and while I don't have anything to compare it to the flavors seem spot on!

FermPro 921 is also a very good yeast. I used it to fill the last half of my Gibbs cask with rum. Gave me good tropical flavors. The 917 seems to complement the grains very well and I wanted to avoid a fruity whiskey so …

[LWTCS]

used WL007 a couple few years ago for a rum because the feller at the brew shop said it was pretty temp tolerant at the higher temps we get here in the sub tropics.
Was not a good rum yeast. Made my rum taste a bit like whiskey.

[Twisted Brick]

For their bourbons Four Roses has just two separate grain bills, relying on 5 proprietary yeast strains to produce 10 distinct whiskies.

My go to yeasts for bourbon are US-05 and S-04, used in separate ferment/strips and added together for the spirit run.

[TwoSheds]

FermPro 917 is working out very well for me for Irish & Bourbons so far. The price is right too at around $12 a pound.

After much deliberation I went with the FermPro 921. I have exactly two all-grains under my belt and used this in both. Finished dry and quickly with the recommended dosing, and while I don't have anything to compare it to the flavors seem spot on!

FermPro 921 is also a very good yeast. I used it to fill the last half of my Gibbs cask with rum. Gave me good tropical flavors. The 917 seems to complement the grains very well and I wanted to avoid a fruity whiskey so …

If I remember I was between the 921 and the 917 and wanted to use the same yeast for rum, so landed on 921. Might have to buy some 917 next time to compare, but it'll be a decade before I run out of their enzymes!

[8Ball]

FermPro 917 is working out very well for me for Irish & Bourbons so far. The price is right too at around $12 a pound.

After much deliberation I went with the FermPro 921. I have exactly two all-grains under my belt and used this in both. Finished dry and quickly with the recommended dosing, and while I don't have anything to compare it to the flavors seem spot on!

FermPro 921 is also a very good yeast. I used it to fill the last half of my Gibbs cask with rum. Gave me good tropical flavors. The 917 seems to complement the grains very well and I wanted to avoid a fruity whiskey so …

If I remember I was between the 921 and the 917 and wanted to use the same yeast for rum, so landed on 921. Might have to buy some 917 next time to compare, but it'll be a decade before I run out of their enzymes!

I agree. Picked up a liter of each recently. Will last years. PM me your address and I will send you some 917 if you want. Your call

[vagabondmountainman]

I came to the distilling hobby through homebrewing too, and have experimented with lots of different ale yeasts in bourbon. My favorite all round beer yeast for bourbon or scotch is the white lap WLP 007 or Fermentis/Safale 04. They are pretty much the same Whitbread strain. They finish dry, and give a really good ester profile. I usually repitch after doing a beer with one of them, then I have plenty of yeast for a good ferment.
Safale 05 is great too. A little cleaner and less estery. If you want an unique bourbon, try a Belgian strain, and ferment warmer. I've had great results with Saison yeasts and Trappist high gravity yeasts like Westmale. The Belgian yeast produces some unique floral notes in the whiskey, just like it does it beer. If you want to try something made specifically for Bourbon, my go to for the last year or so has been Fermentis USW-6. Its produces a really good flavor in bourbon, scotch and wheat whiskey and seems to be pretty tolerant of higher temperatures. Its a little more expensive since you have to order a 1 pound block of it, but if you vacuum seal or put it in a mason jar in the freezer it will last you a long time. Its easy to repitch as well. Usually you can find it on Amazon if your local brew store can't get it.

https://fermentis.com/en/product/safspirit-usw-6/

[Capspath83]

I came to the distilling hobby through homebrewing too, and have experimented with lots of different ale yeasts in bourbon. My favorite all round beer yeast for bourbon or scotch is the white lap WLP 007 or Fermentis/Safale 04. They are pretty much the same Whitbread strain. They finish dry, and give a really good ester profile. I usually repitch after doing a beer with one of them, then I have plenty of yeast for a good ferment.
Safale 05 is great too. A little cleaner and less estery. If you want an unique bourbon, try a Belgian strain, and ferment warmer. I've had great results with Saison yeasts and Trappist high gravity yeasts like Westmale. The Belgian yeast produces some unique floral notes in the whiskey, just like it does it beer. If you want to try something made specifically for Bourbon, my go to for the last year or so has been Fermentis USW-6. Its produces a really good flavor in bourbon, scotch and wheat whiskey and seems to be pretty tolerant of higher temperatures. Its a little more expensive since you have to order a 1 pound block of it, but if you vacuum seal or put it in a mason jar in the freezer it will last you a long time. Its easy to repitch as well. Usually you can find it on Amazon if your local brew store can't get it.

https://fermentis.com/en/product/safspirit-usw-6/

Thanks vagabondmountainman!

This is helpful. I just did 2 batches : 1 with WLP004/S04 combo as well as 1 with WLP099 high gravity yeast. They have both turned out great. I will have to experiment with some of the others that you mentioned above when I am working on a new batch. I have read and heard good things about Fermentis and may look into some of those strains as well.

Appreciate it!

[vagabondmountainman]

No problem. The big takeaway I've learned is you'll get most of the same esters in whiskey as you do in beer from a particular yeast. In a lot of ways they will be more pronounced since they don't have to compete with hops. You definitely want to pick well attenuating yeasts though, and mash the barley low, so you get a good ferement down to atleast 1.01 if not 1.00. Adding low temp enzymes helps a lot with beer yeasts. And if the ferment does stall, I've had great success heating it back up to 100 or so and then pitching a big dose of bread yeast to get it to go the last couple gravity points.

Doing second runnings of your beer mashes and then adding enough sugar to bring the gravity up to 1.06 or 1.07 is a great way to test out new yeasts and end up with some decent whiskey as well. It won't be quite as good as all grain, but plenty good enough for mixed drinks and even for sipping on once its aged a year or so. If you have an extra fermenter or too, it only takes a few minutes extra to run off while you're boiling your beer wort. Second runnings of imperial stout make a surprisingly good whiskey--lots of chocolate notes come through and its excellent white or oaked.

[6 Row Joe]

I was just thinking about yeast yesterday and found this thread. I ferment in a utility room that is in the mid 80's in the winter and high 60's in the summer when the boiler doesn't run so some temperature options would be a good thing. DADY works good for UJSSM as long as the temp is right. I have done a few small all grain batches with bakers yeast with good results. It's time to branch out for more flavors and temperature options.

Thanks all for the informative thread. Cheers!

[vagabondmountainman]

I was just thinking about yeast yesterday and found this thread. I ferment in a utility room that is in the mid 80's in the winter and high 60's in the summer when the boiler doesn't run so some temperature options would be a good thing. DADY works good for UJSSM as long as the temp is right. I have done a few small all grain batches with bakers yeast with good results. It's time to branch out for more flavors and temperature options.

Thanks all for the informative thread. Cheers!

Mid 80's will work great for any of the Belgian yeast strains, or a Kveik strain. high 60's is perfect for any ale strain. Both the Fermentis 04 and 05 will be great. 04 for more fruitiness and character, 05 for dryer/cleaner, more grainy. If I was going to pick one yeast though, the Fermentis USW6 whiskey yeast is great from the mid 60's up to 90, and makes a really nice whiskey. You can't go wrong with any of them though. If you try the Kveik, let me know how it turns out. I've been meaning to try it as it likes high temps and ferments out dry superfast. Seems like it would be good to pitch around 95-100 degrees, and just let it cool down naturally during the ferment.

[6 Row Joe]

I was just thinking about yeast yesterday and found this thread. I ferment in a utility room that is in the mid 80's in the winter and high 60's in the summer when the boiler doesn't run so some temperature options would be a good thing. DADY works good for UJSSM as long as the temp is right. I have done a few small all grain batches with bakers yeast with good results. It's time to branch out for more flavors and temperature options.

Thanks all for the informative thread. Cheers!

Mid 80's will work great for any of the Belgian yeast strains, or a Kveik strain. high 60's is perfect for any ale strain. Both the Fermentis 04 and 05 will be great. 04 for more fruitiness and character, 05 for dryer/cleaner, more grainy. If I was going to pick one yeast though, the Fermentis USW6 whiskey yeast is great from the mid 60's up to 90, and makes a really nice whiskey. You can't go wrong with any of them though. If you try the Kveik, let me know how it turns out. I've been meaning to try it as it likes high temps and ferments out dry superfast. Seems like it would be good to pitch around 95-100 degrees, and just let it cool down naturally during the ferment.

Thanks for the info. lots of good options.

[6 Row Joe]

I was just thinking about yeast yesterday and found this thread. I ferment in a utility room that is in the mid 80's in the winter and high 60's in the summer when the boiler doesn't run so some temperature options would be a good thing. DADY works good for UJSSM as long as the temp is right. I have done a few small all grain batches with bakers yeast with good results. It's time to branch out for more flavors and temperature options.

Thanks all for the informative thread. Cheers!

Mid 80's will work great for any of the Belgian yeast strains, or a Kveik strain. high 60's is perfect for any ale strain. Both the Fermentis 04 and 05 will be great. 04 for more fruitiness and character, 05 for dryer/cleaner, more grainy. If I was going to pick one yeast though, the Fermentis USW6 whiskey yeast is great from the mid 60's up to 90, and makes a really nice whiskey. You can't go wrong with any of them though. If you try the Kveik, let me know how it turns out. I've been meaning to try it as it likes high temps and ferments out dry superfast. Seems like it would be good to pitch around 95-100 degrees, and just let it cool down naturally during the ferment.

Thanks again for the info. I have been busy doing other things and haven't ordered any yeast yet. I think I will try 04 and 05. I see the 06 is in 500 g. bricks for $65 or so. If I use it/reuse it in UJSSM I won't need much for many batches. Edit: I found a few envelopes of the 06 so I can try it as well.

[Demy]

One thing I have done with great success is to store the "slurry" or base yeast after fermenting a beer for later use for a distilled product. Bread yeast will also give a good product to distil.

[vagabondmountainman]

I do the same thing. 2 liter mason jars are great for storing yeast slurry in the fridge and repitching later. Just make sure you leave some head space, because the yeast will continue to give off some CO2. I've had a jar that was too full explode in the beer fridge before and they are a mess to clean up.

[Ben]

You only need about a cup of slurry per 5 gallons. Quarter inch of beer over the top.

[Evil_Dark]

It's been a while that I go all grain. ALL my whiskys have a special taste that I don't really like, and I was seaching for the cause...
Different mash bills have all this special acid funky notes At first I was suspecting my corn, but I made cornless mash bills with the same taste notes in the back. Then I realized that I use always DADY. That may explain these taste notes...
I ordered some Lalbrew VOSS KVEIK so I'll be able to do the test with one of the same mash bill made earlier and compare.
The only other option for this off taste if the yeast doesn't solve it is to add more copper contact in my setup. I actually have 2 rolls of copper packing in the vapor path just before the shotgun condenser.
DADY yeast gives nice results with UJSSM, rums and neutral. Maybe it's not the ideal one for whisky?