Choice of Yeast

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Jmattioli I have a question for you as well. Are there yeasts that you have discovered in your experience to be more susceptable to "gasahol" and tend to try to "push themselves" to their limit? Hence, yeasts to be avoided?

Are there any other yeasts besides the ones you mentioned that seem to be less susceptable?
 
Re: Hey Joe

Oskaar said:
Have you ever used the Lalvin D-47 or the 71b-1122 in a Sweet or Medium Show Mead?

If so what kind of characteristics did you notice, and what was the lead time for primary and secondary?

adTHANKSvance,

Oskaar
Have used 71B-1122 twice. Once in trying to duplicate an English mead.
Started Jan 15th 2004...Racked Feb 27 to secondary and Finished Mar 3 .. Clear and bright March 30th for bottling. I used more acid in this one and it slowed the fermentation.
Also used before that in straight wildflower mead Oct 24, 2003 that I racked to secondary only 5 days later and It was finished Nov 10th ( Only 17 days) but I sweetened and it took til Jan 5 to clear.
I found it much faster than Red Star Cotes de blancs or what some call Epernay 2 which I made a batch at the same time but took 10 weeks with same ingredients. I found 71B to be a fast starter and fast to full completion in a very short time. Had good aromas but flocculation ( compacting of Lees) not as good as some others for racking. It likes temperatures in the 60's so it was great for a winter batch. 71B is a great yeast and finishes pretty smooth. No harshness for being young. The problem is it will go to 14% and I prefer k1V as it will leave a little sweetness without having to stabilize and usually finishes around 12%. Also K1V is a competitive yeast and 71B is a sensitive yeast which means there is less likelyhood for unwanted strains with K1V as it is very domineering. (a real Killer) ;)
 
Norskersword said:
Jmattioli I have a question for you as well. Are there yeasts that you have discovered in your experience to be more susceptable to "gasahol" and tend to try to "push themselves" to their limit? Hence, yeasts to be avoided?

Are there any other yeasts besides the ones you mentioned that seem to be less susceptable?
OK . Here goes....
Rather than offend some others opinion on this subject that may have that yeast as their favorite. I will list the ones I've used without getting that "gasohol" effect. Also, as I stated before, I believe the "gasohol" is more a combination effect rather than just the yeast type used. Charts such as
http://consumer.lallemand.com/danstar-lalvin/refchart.html
will indicate sensory effects of a particular yeast along with other data to help you make decisions on selecting one.
However keep in mind I do not allow my alcohol content to get above 12% on purpose (that may be the most significant factor) and there are many other good yeasts to chose from. To keep it simple and since I have had such consistant results I personally find my experimentation days with other yeasts are over since I am satisfied with the two I listed in my first post. Here's my List:
1. Fleismanns Bread Yeast (however not recommended by the general mead community)
2. Lalvin EC-1118
3. Red Star Cotes de blancs
4. Lalvin 71B-1122
5. Lalvin K1V-1116
6. Munton Gold Yeast
Good Luck,
Joe
 
Thanks Joe

I'm thinking because the temperature here in So Cal is so frigging hot, that I'm better off with the K1V-1116 because of its robustness and "killer" nature.

Thanks,

Oskaar
 
I'm with you, Oskaar! In Florida we don't really have much of a winter in the central region.

Thanks, Jmattioli for sharing your knowledge.
 
I went with the Lalvin D-47 yeast in the batch I made yesterday. Let me tell you this stuff is some really agressive yeast. Less than 12 hours and it is a bubbling riot.

Anyhow, more as the batch progresses.

Thanks,

Oskaar
 
Oskaar,
Any report on the batch with Lalvin D47? I just started a few batches with it and was wondering what kind of result you got (I'm looking to steer AWAY from the gasahol flavor....)


Thanks

DE
 
I'm a little late, but I'll relate my experiences anyway. :) I use 3 yeasts for nearly everything, 71B-1122 for melomels, D47 for show meads and cysers, and EC-1118 for anything that I want stronger or sparkling. All do best fermenting in the 65-70 degree range, though I've found going up to 75 doesn't do any harm. As for harshness and aging, if you ferment at the right temps, harshness seems much more dependent on sweetness and the presence of other flavors than the yeast.