How much difference does type of yeast make?

[Bavis54]

I wanted to ask my friends here- just how much difference in taste and quality does yeast make? I've used bakers yeast a lot, it's all my father ever used, he made n sold moonshine likker all his life, just like his dad n so on. I love the hard work n hobby of distilling but I wanna make a truly great product- bakers yeast will make a decent drop. But is there a better yeast I could use?so just how much does yeast play a role? What's the best yeast for whiskey? Rum? Brandy? I started this topic to hopefully get you guys to tell me your opinion on this and what your favorite yeasts are- all your ideas n opinions be appreciated

[jedneck]

I would say that treating the yeast you use right has more to do with outcome than the strain does.
That being said I mainly use bakers cause I'm dirt cheap.

Semper Fi brother

[RedwoodHillBilly]

I mainly use bakers cause I'm dirt cheap.

I resemble that remark.

[Bavis54]

I have nothin at all against bakers, heck my father swore by it. He used bakers for all his corn likker. He used wild yeast for peach n plum brandy. I have used it for everything, it has a high temp resistance, n it works well, I jus wondered if I try a distillers yeast or ale yeast or some other type if that'll give me a better flavor or product. I'm cheap too, hard to beat 50-88 cents a pack. But I'm willing to pay tad more if it'll make a better product. I was jus curious to kno if the opinion of you guys n to see if the type or strain of yeast makes a notable difference

[HDNB]

I mainly use bakers cause I'm dirt cheap.

I resemble that remark.

i'm so effing cheap i re use it.

[Bavis54]

I've wondered if u can do that. How do u do it? I've done it by re using grains for sugar head but r u able to get it from spent mash n re use it that way?

[DBCFlash]

I was using Fleischmans Bakers yeast and recently switched to EC 1118 Champagne yeast. All of my products had a very slight "sweet" aroma with the bakers yeast and now, with the Champagne yeast that smell is gone. I think the taste of my stuff seems slightly "cleaner" now. It wasn't a huge change, but I like the EC 1118 results better.

[bilgriss]

Different yeasts can have a dramatic impact on the flavors in a beer fermentation; it seems more subtle in the distilled product.

Some yeasts also behave differently when clearing. For instance, WLP0007 ferments vigorously, and as it finishes, it clumps into a tight pile, clearing the wash really fast and making it easy to siphon without yeast into the boiler. YMMV.

[HDNB]

I've wondered if u can do that. How do u do it? I've done it by re using grains for sugar head but r u able to get it from spent mash n re use it that way?

depends. if i'm on a roll i just leave a bit of trub in the bottom of the fermented and fill it with AG again. Haven't done sugar in a long while but i ran a UJSSM for just over a year to 28 or so gens on one hit of yeast.
sometimes i just store it in a gallon jar in the fridge.
sorry no science or secrets, i find the shit is pretty hardy and i encourage lacto in the end of ferments so thats ok and no other infections have bothered them.

[still_stirrin]

I've wondered if u can do that. How do u do it? I've done it by re using grains for sugar head but r u able to get it from spent mash n re use it that way?

...if i'm on a roll i just leave a bit of trub in the bottom of the fermented and fill it with AG again...sometimes i just store it in a gallon jar in the fridge.

Agree...if doing ferments "back to back", often time scavenging some of the yeast cake for the next ferment is easy to do.

I typically pour it out into a jar and chill it in the refrigerator over night. You'll see the heavy stuff separate from the lighter liquid. Then I pour off the top portion and use the middle/lower (thicker) yeast slurry to repitch. If it is white, or mostly white like heavy cream and it smells healthy like fresh bread (not sour or vinegary), then it is probably good to repitch.

When working at the brewpub, I would always rinse the yeast cake collected with dilute phosphoric acid (to kill bacteria) before refrigerating it. But then again, the brewery has conical bottom fermenters with a yeast collection port so I could pull the clean yeast cake without getting other fermentation settlings, like the protein sludge (trub).

When brewing specialty beers which required a specific yeast, once the culture was up to the size necessary for pitching, saving the yeast through multiple generations would be not only cost effective, but also create stronger, healthier fermentations. The 3rd through 6th or 7th generations seemed to be the best. After that, attenuation would slow and the yeast would become less flocculant (more powdery) and would start to leave residual flavors in the beer....time to propagate a fresh culture.

For home use, keep things clean and try to be a little selective with the slurry you use. But you most certainly can reuse your yeast in multiple generations of ferment.
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