Yeast choices

[mekks082]

I have been using Distila Max LS, its a good yeast but the cost is killing my per run average.

two yeasts I can get semi cheap are Redstar DADY (Amazon) $10/1LB and Redstar dry activated (Costco) $5.XX/2LB.

ATM I am only running bird watchers with an average ABV for 13-13.5%

Which of these should I try next?

[fizzix]

Regular, good ol' cheapie bread/ bakers yeast complements Birdwatcher's quite well.
You listed Redstar. Go with that. Research the best fermenting temperature for the Redstar.
Likely 75°F~ 85°F, but check.

You'll actually get a better product with less sugar and bring down that ABV to about 8%, 10% absolute max.
I know the dream is to get all that kick, but that comes at a sacrifice of quality.

Good luck, mekks!

[Saltbush Bill]

Fizzix is on the mark......excellent advice right there mekk

[8Ball]

Fizzix is on the mark......excellent advice right there mekk

+1.

[cayars]

ATM I am only running bird watchers with an average ABV for 13-13.5%

If you intend to stay in the 13-13.5% for sugar washes (IMHO too high) I'd use Redstar DADY as it will handle ferments in to the low 20s. I personally wouldn't push bakers yeast as it starts to take on off tastes at lower percents. DADY gives you a few percent points higher before the off tastes start on sugar washes from memory.

Most people try to aim for 8 to 11% in general as that seems to give most people the best results. Good taste, bigger hearts cut to ABV.

[StillerBoy]

Regular, good ol' cheapie bread/ bakers yeast complements Birdwatcher's quite well.
You listed Redstar. Go with that. Research the best fermenting temperature for the Redstar.
Likely 75°F~ 85°F, but check.

That's the yeast I use mostly for the sugar wash I do, and also buy from Costco for 1K for 5$, .. but it works best at a higher temp than recommended in the post..

Pitch the yeast at 94 - 95*F and let the fermenter un-insulated or no blanket wrap around it or no heating belt started until the fermenting temperature drops down to 85*F, then at that point, insulate or start the heat belt, and maintain the 85 - 86*F range, and your ferment will be done 3 - 4 days.. the same process also works for grain mashes..

Mars

[mekks082]

Thanks for the advise everyone, only have two runs under my belt so far and still so much to learn. I followed the BW calc and that is how I ended up with 13%. It started at 1.09 and ended at 0.990.

I will start with the lower cost yeast from costco and see how that goes, and move onto dady if needed.

[pope]

What is your pitch rate for the LS? I use a few of the distilamax yeasts and they range from 4-36g per 10 gal depending on style... at $40/500g it’s .32-2.88 per 10 gal, though 36 is the upper end of the GW and 18g is sufficient. Point is it’s not too pricey imo. If you use BW pitch rate I can see it getting expensive! But you only need a little, hydrated properly with the right water temp and 10:1 ratio. For BW the copious amount of yeast is acting as nutrient too so you’d need to replace that if you scale back your pitch rate.

[mekks082]

What is your pitch rate for the LS? I use a few of the distilamax yeasts and they range from 4-36g per 10 gal depending on style... at $40/500g it’s .32-2.88 per 10 gal, though 36 is the upper end of the GW and 18g is sufficient. Point is it’s not too pricey imo. If you use BW pitch rate I can see it getting expensive! But you only need a little, hydrated properly with the right water temp and 10:1 ratio. For BW the copious amount of yeast is acting as nutrient too so you’d need to replace that if you scale back your pitch rate.

I have followed the calc. 7 gallon wash = 75G of yeast. Seems like a bit much but being new to this I did not want to adjust a tried and true without knowing better. I did save some of my used yeast from the last run and might add that to a new wash with a smaller pitch.

[pope]

Just checked the instructions for LS, .96-1.53g per gallon or 10-15g per 10 gal (how I normally adjust it to hobby size). The spec sheet is grams per hectoliter so I divided grams by 26.4 to get my per gallon number.

[pope]

Also If you are rotating batches I see no reason why you can’t leave the yeast cake for the next batch. It’s over pitching but I think it will be fine! I do this a lot for beer yeast because it’s expensive, and I’ll just brew two styles in a row that are both complemented by the same yeast strain and go light>dark in style progression.

[mekks082]

I split the yeast cake from one wash into two and over a few days kept replacing the water on top. Added each to a new wash + 30gr of fresh yeast.

Both washes took about 10-11 days to ferment vs my normal 8 days. Both have a very sour/dry smell to them (have not ran em yet).

Both also started @ 1.085 SG and ended @ 0.088 SG.

I did not save the yeast cakes from them as I want to see how the distill turns out. If it ends up being good I might continue to do this for every wash and start fresh after the 5th.

I am wondering why it took longer to ferment though? maybe when making the wash the 90F water killed a lot of the reused cake?