Home Distiller

I'm looking to make a neutral out of only all grains. Probably wheat. What's the best yeast to use for this? Plain ol bakers yeast, Dady or ec-118. Anyone tried the different yeasts with pure all grain mash?

I'd bet the house most will say bakers as it's fast and lends no flavor of its own.

Do you mind posting the recipe? I love neutrals for gins and random projects but have been doing only Birdwatcher's.
Been looking for a good grain neutral to eliminate traces of sugar bite.

Wheat malt and flaked oats would both make a nice neutral if you mash them together. I would definitely lauter them before fermentation however, so as to not carry over as much of the grain flavors into the fermenter...just the sweet wort.

As for the best yeast, yes I agree with fizzix’s input to use bakers yeast. You could use DADY, but that would cost a little more than the bakers yeast. And the champagne yeast (Lalvin EC-1118) is better suited for fruit ferments although it has a higher tolerance for alcohol than bakers. But you shouldn’t push your OG above 1.070-1.075 anyway, to avoid excessive production of the higher alcohols and byproducts.

With a grain base for a neutral, you should not need any other nutrients for a healthy ferment...except for oxygen to start the yeast properly. And tend to the temperature of the fermenter to keep it within the optimum range for whatever yeast you choose.
ss

Thanks guys. I ordered up a kit of enzymes from Pintos store. I'll give his recipie a go with a mash of soft white wheat, see how it turns out.

Can you control fermentation temps? If not, what are they likely to be. I actually prefer 1118 over bakers for neutral, but it is slower and is more neutral at lower temps. Baker's handles slightly warmer temps well, but IMHO is not as neutral as a moderate temperature 1118. Granted I don't remember ever doing a scientific comparison, it's just my impression from fermenting over the years so you won't go wrong with either really. Just don't expect bakers to work well if it's cool, and 1118 can be a bit slow. Baker's seems to appreciate being roused occasionally, and I'm a believer in the practice.

zapata wrote:....I actually prefer 1118 over bakers for neutral, but it is slower and is more neutral at lower temps...

What ferment base do you use, zapata? All bran, Birdwatchers, Death Wish Wheat Germ?

The OP is mashing white, unmalted wheat (using liquid enzymes). I believe that baker’s yeast will devour that quicker and better than the champagne yeast. Of course the Lalvin is a clean fermenter and especially good at accentuating the delicate fruit flavors in a must.

But baker’s yeast loves to make “bread”, especially whole wheat bread. The grain flavor will be very slight when finished fermenting...with a light “milky” flavor which will add to the smoothness off still. It won’t be sweet like corn would, nor grainy like you’d get from barley malt.

Again, I’d suggest to the OP to add 10-15% flaked “Quick Oats” to the recipe as it will help with the finished smoothness in the neutral spirit. It doesn’t add much, if any flavor...just how the spirit glides smoothly down the throat.
ss

> I'm looking to make a neutral out of only all grains. Probably wheat. What's the best yeast to use for this?


Some of my favorite batches were unmalted soft white wheat fermented on baker's yeast. Remarkably clean with a delightful back-of-the-tongue grain flavor when run slow on my reflux column.

That would be my go-to product but my current farmer/supplier grows red wheat but not white.

I have a place I'll be ordering my wheat from greggn. They sell 6 kinds of wheat plus any other grain you want. All organic BC grown. I figured I'd try the soft white first and maybe a few of the others as well as a rye neutral too.

Madshine wrote:... maybe a few of the others as well as a rye neutral too.

A “rye neutral”? Imagine that...

Rye is a very flavorful cereal grain. Even in small proportions of the grainbill its taste has a signature all its own. Most who make rye ferments target whiskey because of the rye’s bold taste. I can’t even imagine trying to get a neutral out of it, especially an all-rye grain base.

But maybe you can pull it off. Good luck getting the spicy pepper flavors tamed.
ss