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Hey guys,

Most of the tried and true sugar wash recipes on this forum ask for no more than 1 teaspoon of DAP per 5 gallon ferment. Even Hook Rum with its nutrient devoid Mollases base calls for only 2 tsp per 5 gallons.

I have some yeast nutrient from a local brewing shop with ingredients listed as DAP and ammonium sulphate only. The instructions on the container ask for 1tsp per gallon for a wine or cider fermentation. This is a lot more than 1tsp per 5 gallons. Can anyone explain the difference?

Thanks in advance

Even for plants a teaspoon for 5 gallons would be on the low side. I'd go with the instructions that say to use more.


Quit using DAP myself, found that pressure cooked wheat germ, Espom salts, steady starting pH of 5.5 and mega aeration at the start produced better results and were very easy to repeat. Best of luck to ya!

The DAP I use is intended for distilling and says 1-TSP per gallon.
I believe the lower dose is a reference to making wine and beer and mead where you don't necessarily want a high nitrogen count.
Why it's lower in Hook's Rum is a mystery to me too.

Molasses has some nitrogen in it already. Don't need to add as much as straight sugar.

Mollases has pretty much all the nutrient in it bar magnesium . Thats why most Rum washes just use mollases and a pinch of Epsom salts ( Magnesium Sulfate ) .
Like bluefish said , its the sugar that needs the nutrients . An all mollases wash has enough going for it to not need DAP .
But if you read the ingreadients of most wine nutrients , they contain Magnesium Sulfate .... as well as DAP ... and a few other goodies in the B vitamin area

Yummyrum wrote:Mollases has pretty much all the nutrient in it bar magnesium . Thats why most Rum washes just use molasses and a pinch of Epsom salts ( Magnesium Sulfate ) .
Like bluefish said , its the sugar that needs the nutrients . An all molasses wash has enough going for it to not need DAP .
But if you read the ingredients of most wine nutrients , they contain Magnesium Sulfate .... as well as DAP ... and a few other goodies in the B vitamin area

Ok, maybe I was misinformed about yeast nutrient requirements in rum...

But what I am fundamentally trying to understand is why my DAP based yeast nutrient is calling for 1 tsp per gallon, rather than 1 tsp per 5 gallon as required in most "tried and true" sugar based washes. The ingredients as listed on my bottle of yeast nutrient are diammonium phosphate (DAP) and ammonium sulphate. In my pursuit of the best practice for my washes should I follow the wash recipe instructions or the instructions on my bottle of yeast nutrient?

Thanks in advance

Your nutrient is probably not 100% dap. I know most of the ones I have used are about 30% dap.

After doing some research it appears my yeast nutrient is 50:50 DAP and Ammonium sulphate.

Grab 2 lbs of bread yeast, boil the snot out of it for 15 minutes or so, put into a half gallon mason jar and refrigerate it.
It's a great nutrient for most all washes and only costs 5 bucks plus a jar, you won't need it all at once and will do just fine for nutrients.

Pro Tip from Shine on. I don't remember my great uncle boiling the bread but he often put slices of bread in the barrels. Almost forgot it until I read this. Think he used Wheat bread.