"baloonon" > wrote in message
...
> "Dave West" > wrote
>
>> Many thanks. Would you be able to explain to a complete novice why the
>> dried baking yeast is not advisable? I've made a couple of batches
>> now using 125gm sugar per litre, one lot using baking yeast and one
>> using a wine yeast.
>>
>> For the life of me, i cannot tell the difference between the end
>> results of the two; either in terms of taste, length of fermentation
>> or anything else.
>>
>> The baking yeast is a fraction of the cost, so in terms of making this
>> simple low alcohol brew (6.0 ABV approx) brew; would you still suggest
>> I really need to spend the extra on the wine yeast? Thanks.
>
> Home brewing forums are filled with comments that it's horrible,
> terrible, no good, very bad idea, but more research says it's just not
> the best idea.
>
> Baking yeast has been used to make good quality beer. Here's a video on
> basicbrewing.com about using bread yeast to make beer (and beer yeast to
> make bread).
>
> http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.ph...007---trading-
> places-beer-and-bread-yeast
>
> They said the beer was good stuff.
>
> There are reasons not to use baking yeast though. The temperature ranges
> for brewing aren't clear, so there's sort of a roll of the dice as to
> making weird tasting stuff. It's also unclear whether the sanitation is
> as good for bread yeast as brewing yeast, so there's the possibility of a
> higher risk of spoiled brew. It also sounds like baking yeast tends not
> to settle as well as brewing yeast, and suspended yeast can give a bunch
> of unpleasant flavors.
>
> It's possible to reuse yeast several times, so it may be cost-efficient
> to buy a cheap packet of brewing yeast and then re-fermenting with the
> sediment left after a batch ferments. Google the words --> repitch yeast
> slurry <-- and you can get more information on good practices.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many thanks. All your information is like gold-dust to me as a beginner.
Somthing else i have been wondering about is that i've seen that raisins can
be used as a yeast nutrient. I've heard someone mention its a good idea to
chop them small and boil and cool before adding to the brew? Is boiling
really a good idea or might it destroy something essential in the raisins?
Thanks.