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I have been using fresh yeast from my local supermarket bakery, it comes in a brick but crumbles up very easily.
when I use it for a 20-25L wash, I simply put it into a stainless bowl and add about 50ml of wash to it, mix it up till it is a consistent slurry.
Sometimes I will cover the bowl with glad-wrap and leave for half an hour but find this is usually not necessary as the yeast does not need to rehydrate.
I started off using 300g of yeast per batch
Now have been using 200g
I still believe that this could be quite excessive and I could save a little money by using less per batch.
Does anyone have any recommendations with how much to use? or should I just keep trying less till I notice a change in my brew.

Gday mate, I've used this stuff a few times now http://www.fermex.com.au/products/?id=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow. There website says to use 3~4 times fresh than you would dried. I used 200g for 25L rum washes. I just chuck it in and stir it through. It seems to ferment out Nicely. And makes a nice lees, more volume. Have you noticed much difference to dry stuff?. But yeah, I'd do what you said and drop the amount till it's right.  

That fermex looks like the same stuff im using, although I don't know what brand I have as the bread makers at the market get it out for me.
I have not tried the dry bread yeast as the fresh stuff is half the price of dry yeast,
if I wasn't worried about price I would just go out and get the yeasts at the brew shop, but as it is I go grocery shopping each week so the convenience of picking up the fresh stuff at the same time works for me.
probly a week away from my next wash but will let you know how it goes,
I will go down in 50g steps, so next wash will start with 150g yeast

Dephlegmator wrote:I have been using fresh yeast from my local supermarket bakery, it comes in a brick but crumbles up very easily.
when I use it for a 20-25L wash, I simply put it into a stainless bowl and add about 50ml of wash to it, mix it up till it is a consistent slurry.
Sometimes I will cover the bowl with glad-wrap and leave for half an hour but find this is usually not necessary as the yeast does not need to rehydrate.
I started off using 300g of yeast per batch
Now have been using 200g
I still believe that this could be quite excessive and I could save a little money by using less per batch.
Does anyone have any recommendations with how much to use? or should I just keep trying less till I notice a change in my brew.

Less pitch rates mean there isn't as much yeast in anaerobic conditions. They have plenty of sugar from which to obtain oxygen and reproduce, so they spend time doing that. During reproduction they produce numerous esters. A lower pitch rate will mean more fruitiness - good if you like fruity Whisky, bad if you're trying to make Vodka and maximize neutrality.

Very Interesting, thank you for that fruity insight,
I will continue this experiment with yeast quantities and post results.

Under pitching gives rum a complexity that I really like. Might be worth a try.

Sounds like you are making a starter anyway. By making a good starter you don't need to pitch as much. The yeast colony will grow in the starter. Fresh yeast is hard to figure correctly. The percentage of active yeast in a given amount. Is not always the same. That's why many over pitch with fresh yeast. Just to make sure. But making a starter you will know how good it will take off.

If making a starter I would try 50g. See how it does. If it doesn't take off good in the starter. Add another 50g.

I have recently tried out 100g of yeast instead of my 200g,

It took a whole week longer to ferment, but otherwise no major taste difference. most of the flavour of this recipe comes from the wheat germ.

Yeast, for all they do for us, should be treated with proper respect. Dry yeast should always be re-hydrated with plain water at the temperature specified on the package. It should not be stirred, and should not be mixed with any other ingredients until fully dissolved. Once re-hydrated you can and should make a starter. Just add an equal amount of wash/mash to the re-hydrated yeast. Cover it with plastic and stir frequently or use a stir plate. The goal should be to pitch 1 to 2 billion yeast cells per 5 gallons of wash/mash. This will reduce lag time and excessive esters. There will be plenty of esters and congeners present to produce complex flavors. There is no need to purposely aggravate the yeast into creating more.

Starters should also be made with liquid yeast. You should use the same approach as above. Your starter should have half the sugars as, your wash/mash.

+1

I usually pitch the whole thing into the starter and then pull a new sample for the next batch. You can reuse yeast for 5-6 generations before it is time to buy fresh yeast. you
should use less fresh yeast after that see the change in brew. Its all up to in starting just make it only for yourself.

yey another Kiwi.

I pitch 150-200grams of yeast in my birdwatcher recipes, this includes making a starter from 1 litre or so

I find any lower and it starts taking longer.

I'm the same 1kg of yeast from pak'n'saves baking department will set ya back $10, and it will last along time (especially if you re-use yeast like me)

I am currently on vacation and don't have access to my saved links on my main computer but if you google Red Star and yeast comparison charts there is a good chart that converts the amounts to use that equal the different yeasts. I have used it when different recipes call for different yeasts.

I think 100, 150 or 200 grams is over pitching on a 25 liter batch. I'd go for less. More like 50 grams. Over pitching will make things a bit faster only. And you get much more off tastes, distilling all those yeasts that didn't get filtered/cleared out of the beer or wine ...

Odin.

This is a thread that should come back from the dead.
Ive been making some Neapolitan pizza, just like in Naples- as best as a Canadian can...lol. I got fresh bread yeast for this purpose from an Italian bakery. It sure was a blessing to have in the fridge after finishing a six gallon rum mash (hook line- of course), realizing the old fleshmans container was EMPTY.
I only had 60grams fresh stuff left- the ferment took off as usual. Its been three days since and still going strong.
Assuming it passes the taste test, I'm pretty sure fresh would be a cheaper way for.me to go vs dried.
When I taste- ill check back
Ciao