Can You Use Beer Yeast To Make Spirits?

You CAN use beer yeast to make spirits, but should you?

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#distilling #homebrew #whiskey

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[roycesjourney]

I don’t have the ability to produce enough to age so I drink my stuff as white dog, right after making cuts. A pound of corn half a pound of oats and a half a pound of malted wheat per gallon of water fermented above 90 degrees Fahrenheit with Hornindal kviek makes a good white dog. Edit: I also use enzymes to get better conversion from the corn and oats

[acevr]

dude, i started stilling after a mate did. i then found your gin recipe, told my mate and he said that's where he got his from. since then ive become addicted to your channel and methods, ps i add 1 teaspoon of crushed pepper to the gin. Thankypu for all of your knowledge and sharing . best stilling channel. also im from westport nz

[YaketyYakDontTalkBack]

Yes. Fermentation typically takes longer, but the greater benefit is more esters.

[zackwilson]

It would be cool if you could do a few small washes with different yeasts and do a side-by-side. I'd be willing to bet that the differences would be fairly drastic in all-grain washes and brandies.

[the_nothing]

Take one of the biggest things to consider when using brewing yeast is that they are not all designed to ferment dry. More often than not there is a residual sweetness that is very much desired for the beer. Therefore the yeast will not ferment dry, but rather around 1.020 or whatever desired sweetness. So it you're distilling, you're looking for a lower final gravity. The Brewers yeast you're using may not be able to do it. Take a look at the label and make sure the yeast is able to ferment dry.
I know I fell into that more than once.

[esposb]

Hello from up over.
Thank you for giving me the kick in the ass, called inspiration, that made me go all in for the dream i've had for years.
I started the chase 5 weeks ago😁
I have 3 buckets (25 liter) with wash that are coming close to being done.
1. is Jessie's silky smooth vodka recipe with M02 cider yeast.
2. is a birdwatchers with SN9 yeast.
3. is a blackstrap molasses / jaggery wash with Still Spirits dark rum yeast and nutrient.
BTW I live a 90 minute drive from Hornindal.
Kveik is an old yeast that was used both for baking and beer.
Kvelk that you can buy originally comes from old wooden dough trays that farms on the west coast used in the old days. They made bread all through the year and beer for Christmas.
So a BIG shoutout to the beerloving nerds that thought (probably while drinking late at night) that it would be a great idea to see what happens when they try to ferment wort using their great grandparents dough tray that had been lying in attic for a generation or 2.

[carrieanddavecoldwell-fras]

We live in Canada and love CTC, I would buy several hoodies if I could and would gladly prepay before they are made to help with your upfront cost output. Have a kick ass week, cheers.

[berkaberk]

I'd love to hear more about you using Kveik for whiskey!

[cigarsid]

I don't destill, just brew beer. But, I would think a clean fermentation with low amounts of higher alcohols would be desirable. Also you can absolutely get 500g packs of dry brewers yeast at least for the most common types..

Things to consider is also that some brewers yeasts have diatastic properties and can ferment more complex sugars like dextrins or even starch, thus giving higher yield, especially in a grain based fermentation. Some types also have a very high alcohol tolerance combined with diatastic ability.

Most saison yeasts are in this category. LalBrew Belle Saison avaliable in 500g dry packs would be something to consider. Diatastic and a alcohol tolerance up to 15%. Or the barley wine yeast WLP099 with a alcohol tolerance of up to 25% and a reputation for consuming absolutely all types of carbohydrates. The manufacturer White Labs actually recommend WLP099 for gin and vodka, so I suspect it would produce a very clean whisky also. Only avaliable as liquid yeast, but in various sizes from a 70ml pouch for a 20l batch, to a 10l can for whatever (and breaking the bank).

[seymourpro]

In the UK. Allinsons is one of the names in baker's yeasts, they work OK. Their Time Saver yeast contains additives and ferments at about twice the usual rate, which can be helpful.

[davidcooksey]

I used Saison Yeast to make a nice Whiskey. I did this because my favorite brew day during my home brew day was making a Saison. Loved the flavor of it and thought it would pair well with a whiskey mash.

[goatfiddler]

If memory serves, Bill Lark, Lark Distilling in Tasmania, would get stout wash from a mate of his, I think the head brewer, from Cascade Brewery when he first started out.

[Jake_B]

I love experementing with different yeast strains. You are right, though, that flavors change with age. I used Kivik Arset in my trbute panela rum, along with some coconut, banana, and pineapple. It came out as a pineapple bomb with a bit of banana guava and passion fruit, and a slight coconut like mouthfeel, very little actual coconut flavor. After some time in a badmo barrel, it has become mostly banana forward, that coconut like mouthfeel is ritcher but not really a flavor so much as a consistancy, and though it has a dustinct tropical fruit like vibe to it, banana is the only fruit I can actuality pick out anymore. I still have some of it white, and the pineapple is still in there, but the guava passion fruit thing that I think came from the yeast is gone.

[clwood]

Would have appreciated this more if there was some brewing going on and a product sampled off the still (or even force aged).

[nathanparry]

I used Lallemand Nottingham to ferment a bourbon because I had it to hand as I'm primarily a beer guy. It came out great!

I didn't ferment on the grain as it would have gummed up my fermenter, a conical designed for beer, so I mashed and sparged.

[Kangsteri]

It's always time vs money vs quality.. For personal use, the slower the better. But for selling faster is better. I reused my slow cider yeast: I put 30l water and 6kg sugar on it. It has been fermenting 9 months now and still bubbling :D

[applejames]

Holyrood distillery in Edinburgh have a range of new makes which use various yeasts. Usually the same malt bill with yeast changed they have one that used sake yeast which was cool. They also have new makes with the same recipe + same yeast but with different varieties of malt I bought the golden promise and chevalier was super interesting.

[thomashamann]

I was convinced commercial whisky distillers in Australia were using Lallemand Nottingham ale yeast! Also, I've had tasty results distilling cider made by fermenting supermarket juice using Lallemand Belle Saison yeast in the mid 20°'s.
p.s. an interesting topic you've selected and always a great show

[MrJason]

I'm not too sure how well it would go but Id absolutely love to see ya distill something from a Korean Cheong, maybe mint and cucumber or something

[tommygun]

Would love to see an experiment set up to test this. Make a 100L wash and split it up into 10 x 10L batches and distill each with a different yeast... S-04, Kviek, US-05, champagne yeast, Angel red/yellow, etc. Force age it and sample to see what different qualities, esters, oils, mouth feel and flavours come through.