Pitching yeast using Go Ferm and Fermaid

[Jack Grimshaw]

Interesting paper on pitching your yeast.

http://www.yeastwhisperer.com/upload...Hyd_Nut_07.pdf

Just made 2 -5 gal batches of cyser following this procedure. SGs of 1.071 and 1.088 using Lalvin d-47 and hopefully will be ready to bottle before the hot weather.

[Bizzybee]

Interesting.

I'm not a wine or mead maker (yet anyway) but there is one thing wrong in this paper. I have no idea if it really means anything or not? But it is that tap water usually has a higher residual of both CL2 and Fluoride. They shoot for and are usually close in most areas at 1.5 ppm CL2 and 1 to 1.5 ppm Fluoride. Sometimes as high as 3.0 ppm CL2 and 2.0 ppm Fluoride.

[Swobee]

Kind of goes to what I was told years ago regarding RO water. Whilw all the bad stuff has been removed, so have all the goodies. RO water just isn't "healthy" for anyone. Water should be filtered to remove chlorines & basic contaminates before using in mead. Good article - thanks.

[Bizzybee]

That is if you spend the money and get a good filter system. These single cartridge filters designed to catch particulates and have a little carbon in them just don't get it. There shouldn't be any particles of any consequence in the water. But contact time is required with the activated carbon to absorb the metals and chemicals. And they need to be replaced often because the saturate fairly quickly.

I've worked in water plants all over the country and I've yet to find one that left me with that warm fuzzy feeling about drinking from their effluent. Some I would rather take my chances with their raw water.

Back to the article, what are the other additions that are being sold? Go-Ferm and Fermaid-K. Or is that 00 spy stuff?

I've not seen this gone into before in the mead making here? Not that it hasn't been.

[Ben Brewcat]

It's good information, thanks for posting! The most common mis-step is pitching dry yeast directly into must, or into orange juice or some similar "starter". The products mentioned can increase performance, but honestly dried yeast properly rehydrated (that, is in water at blood-warm temp) is very healthy and will perform in most any must. For more stressful musts (high gravity, pH off, low nutrient) then some of the doodads can be helpful to get the yeast to attenuate fully.

[Jack Grimshaw]

I kind of skipped over the water issue as I have a well.I'm not sure I would want to use tap water from the Public water supplyfor a batch of mead.

I should also add that I used no heat or Sulfites.The cider was not Pasturized nor was it treated with potasium sorbate

Aerated must using"Fizz-x" degasser on a cordless drill per Ken Schramm( presentation at EAS 2007)for about 30 sec on days 1,2&3

Racked into glass carboys on day 7

1.071 is now 1.000
1.088 is 1.006

Cloudy but tastes good

[AndrewSchwab]

I have been using this method for some time, with great results. It is worth the extra time.
Keep those yeast happy You will be happy with what they give back

[Aspera]

It's good information, thanks for posting! The most common mis-step is pitching dry yeast directly into must, or into orange juice or some similar "starter".

Dry yeast has been grown in high oxygen, high nutrient environments and is typically quite "clean". There is no reason for the hobbiest not to direct pitch into a cool (70 F), sanitary must. The other acceptable way is to briefly rehydrate dried yeast in cool (80 F) sterile water, then add to the cooled must.

[Ben Brewcat]

Dry yeast has been grown in high oxygen, high nutrient environments and is typically quite "clean".

True for sure. However, rehydrating directly into must rather than water can allow must elements into the yeast cell before it's really ready. It would be analogous to injecting a steak straight into your bloodstream rather than via the digestive tract (though certainly less damaging). The yeast's cell wall would prefer to enzymatically work on elements in the must before they're introduced into the cell. It's a minor point overall, but when it's as simple as rehydrating in water first it's not a bad practice to enhance yeast health and performance.

[Aspera]

True Ben, but I have *never* had a batch fail to grow following a direct dry pitch (dozens of pitches), while I have had the following problems with rehydration:

1) Yeast rehydrated too long resulting in lack of growth
2) Contamination as a result of improper rehydration
3) Temperature shock resulting in poor yeast performance

The average pack of dry yeast has so many more organisms that I need for a 5 gallon batch, that I'm not concerned if I'm killing 90% of them.

[Ben Brewcat]

I agree. I probably shouldn't have characterized it as a "mistake", in that it isn't likely to be a big factor in most ferments as you correctly point out. Just offering it as a data point for the geeks who enjoy such things.

...while I have had the following problems with rehydration:

[snip]
2) Contamination as a result of improper rehydration
3) Temperature shock resulting in poor yeast performance

How do you pin down the exact cause with such certainty in those cases? Contamination can come from a lot of sources. Poor performance can too (even from rehydrating directly in must), but the effects don't usually indicate their origin at least for me. I don't know that I could look at an underattenuation (for example) and say it was for sure temperature shock right at the point of rehydration and not any of a lot of other causes. What do you look for?

[Aspera]

Fair questions Ben. I have actually measured gas production from sterile musts innoculated with different amounts of yeast, following different lengths of rehydration. My conclusion was that rehydration does help, be only if the duration of rehydration is kept very brief. Temperature shock is a given of yeast biology, and heat shock proteins are well characterized.
The contamination issue is solely based on my personal suspicions. I normally have a very, very low of contamination, even with high gravity beer. The exception is when I used open fermenters or "rehydrated" using anything other than pre-boiled, pre-chilled water placed in a similarly prepared container. This is 100% harder than direct pitching dry yeast.