A question about using nutritional yeast as nutrient source.

[BernardSmith]

I have posted this question in another forum but have not received a satisfactory answer so I am hoping the folks here may have one.
Does anyone on this forum know whether nutritional yeast (NY) can be used as a good source of nutrition for yeast? Are the nutrients in NY accessible to the yeast (assuming I boil the NY for a few minutes). If anyone has experience using NY is it likely to create off flavors (I love the taste of NY but it clearly has a umami flavor). If I were to use NY how much NY should I add per gallon - a tablespoon? A teaspoon? less?
I am just about to experiment with NY (making a batch of mead and then splitting the batch in two adding lab cultured nutrition to one and NY to the second; pitching the same yeast in both and then allowing both to finish after which I will offer samples of both to some friends as part of a blind taste test.. But as with ANY experiment I want to have some idea what I should be expecting ... and here I have no idea... so has anyone used NY as their source of nutrition?

 

[stickman]

I have never used NY, but apparently it's all in the details of how the yeast is grown and processed. Experimentation is probably the best way to find out if it will work for your purposes. Some information is provided below.

 

[BernardSmith]

Wow!! Thank you . This is very useful.. I wonder if I can expect the NY to have far more nutritional value than say, boiled bakers yeast..

 

[AkTom]

You'll have to do a bigger batch and split it 3 or 4 ways.
I'm glad I could help...

 

[BernardSmith]

um... er.... why a bigger batch? and why split this three or four ways?

 

[AkTom]

You can try any number of yeast and styles. I have to say, I always enjoy your posts and comments.
Cheers

 

[BernardSmith]

Oh - I get it, AkTom... but my point was not to look for the best yeast to use with this nutritional source. It is only to see if a boiler plate yeast like D47 or 71B (I think it will be D47 ) can make use of the nutrients in nutritional yeast and whether at a lower starting gravity (so not much honey flavor) the flavors from the nutrient will be easily perceptible. So certainly, one could test this across a range of yeasts, starting gravities, temperatures etc.. but i will leave that task to others. This is just to see if this option is a non starter or has any value
... and thank you for your very kind words.

 

[winemanden]

I've posted this in a reply to a question about nutrients. We used to use Marmite donkeys years ago, never noticed the taste in the finished wine. That was before we could buy Yeast nutrients. Question is, why bother now when supplies are easily obtained. Nutritional yeast is possibly more expensive?
Just my twopennorth. Don't mean to be offensive, if you already started your experiment it's a bit late to ask. Anyway you'll be the final judge as to whether you like it or not!
Tasting notes in a few months please.