Add nutrients to Rum or not

[Dougmatt]

Recently I’ve begun trying to keep my ferments as close to base products as possible and minimize ingredients to only what’s required, especially avoiding anything processed. To that end, I’ve removed all additives from my rum ferments (basically down to water, molasses, Panela, dunder and yeast) and have been happy with what seems to be a nicely flavored product. I felt ok with this as Molasses already contains a fairly significant amount of nitrogen and phosphate for the yeast as nutrients, but I wasn’t sure if it was enough. I began wondering a little more on if this is the right idea or not so I started digging into research and found a few things:

First it seems that nitrogen balance impacts ethanol creation and acetic acid formation, but phosphate doesn’t seem to have as big an impact. It also seems important to hit the perfect nutrient balance which goes against the theory “you can’t add too much” as having too much nutrient seems to reduce ethanol percentage and increase acetic acid.

Here’s the most detailed study I found: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2860142/

So then the question is, how much acetic acid do we want as it’s interaction with ethyl alcohol creates
Ethyl acetate which delivers fruity notes ( though some people perceive it as nail polish remover I understand).

I’ve found old Jamaican recipes that indicate the addition of vinegar to encourage more “flavor” and “heavy rum” as well.

So it seems like for those wanting a very clean rum, finding the perfect nutrient balance is very important. For those chasing “flavor” it seems better to either add no nutrients, or potentially even add too much or even some vinegar…

Curious if anyone has different experiences or thoughts on this topic?

[Yummyrum]

I only add epsom salts and on occasion have noticed no difference in either the way it fermented or perceived taste if product …. however , that maybe because the Dunder has residual Epsom salts from previous batches .

[Sporacle]

I just did 140L of all mollases as per the SBB recipe and had the best yeild and ferment yet, i think the molly was a very good grade.

Maybe the higher the sugar percentage of the mollases the more the Epsom and vitamins are required.

I'm pretty sure I over pitch my yeast as it's a cheap, it's about 2.60 for a 140L ferment compared to about 18 to 20 for a specialist yeast. So possibly the over pitch helps with the nutrients.

I'm not sure if I've contributed anything

[Dougmatt]

I only add epsom salts and on occasion have noticed no difference in either the way it fermented or perceived taste if product …. however , that maybe because the Dunder has residual Epsom salts from previous batches .

Very interesting. Magnesium sulphate and molasses fermentation impact seems to be a very deep rabbit hole…….

[NZChris]

I only add epsom salts and on occasion have noticed no difference in either the way it fermented or perceived taste if product …. however , that maybe because the Dunder has residual Epsom salts from previous batches .

Very interesting. Magnesium sulphate and molasses fermentation impact seems to be a very deep rabbit hole…….

I can't find that hole.

None of the Rum books in my digital library produce a result for Magnesium sulphate or Epsom salts.

I found magnesium mentioned as being an essential nutrient, but at the same time it said that there is sufficient in sugar cane molasses.

Magnesium chloride gets a mention, but I've never used that either, even though I have some.

[Dancing4dan]

Is it possible this is being over sold / over thought? Nutrients for Rum?

Molasses seems to ferment out pretty well with just some Fleischmann's yeast for me.... Am I missing something?

I am not very experienced at rum but seems it is the easiest ferment I have ever done...

[Saltbush Bill]

Your right Dan.....the molasses that I get here will ferment without added extras.
Mix up a wash and leave it outside without a lid for a few days and it will be fizzing away in no time......just from wild yeasts
The thing is though that imo.....it will be a more reliable and healthier ferment if you do help it on its way with a yeast of your choice and some nutrients.

[shadylane]

...as Molasses already contains a fairly significant amount of nitrogen and phosphate for the yeast as nutrients, but I wasn’t sure if it was enough. I began wondering a little more on if this is the right idea or not so I started digging into research and found a few things:

Not all molasses is created equal.
There can be a big difference in percentage of fermentable sugar and nutrients.