country wine yeast

[reeflections]

I have about 50 gal of wine made now and I kinda think I'm getting a handle on the basics. Very basics. So far, I've been making banana and blueberry and a few experiments, but the banana and blueberry is what I think I will be making the most of.

I have been using Red Star Premier Blanc yeast exclusively because that was recommended to me somewhere so I bought a bunch. The only thing I know about the various kinds of yeast is that they have different alcohol tolerances and that what I have been using will tolerate a lot. But I'm usually shooting for something like 11-13% with my banana and blueberry so I am wondering what yeast ya'll recommend for each. And why?

I have exhasted about all I have in stock and will be buying more soon.

 

[Johnd]

I have about 50 gal of wine made now and I kinda think I'm getting a handle on the basics. Very basics. So far, I've been making banana and blueberry and a few experiments, but the banana and blueberry is what I think I will be making the most of.

I have been using Red Star Premier Blanc yeast exclusively because that was recommended to me somewhere so I bought a bunch. The only thing I know about the various kinds of yeast is that they have different alcohol tolerances and that what I have been using will tolerate a lot. But I'm usually shooting for something like 11-13% with my banana and blueberry so I am wondering what yeast ya'll recommend for each. And why?

I have exhasted about all I have in stock and will be buying more soon.

For your blueberry wines, give K1-V1116 a shot, it’s a yeast recommended for fruit wines. Fast starter, good finisher, very high producer of floral esters at cool temps, pretty high ABV tolerance. This is my go to yeast when I’m doing non grape wines.

As for the banana wine, I’d definitely use 71B-1122. Why? Well, haven’t made a banana wine yet, but I plan to soon, and will be using recommendations from one of our WMT banana winemakers. Put simply, @dralarms says it’s his go to banana yeast, that’s good enough for me!!

 

[dralarms]

For your blueberry wines, give K1-V1116 a shot, it’s a yeast recommended for fruit wines. Fast starter, good finisher, very high producer of floral esters at cool temps, pretty high ABV tolerance. This is my go to yeast when I’m doing non grape wines.

As for the banana wine, I’d definitely use 71B-1122. Why? Well, haven’t made a banana wine yet, but I plan to soon, and will be using recommendations from one of our WMT banana winemakers. Put simply, @dralarms says it’s his go to banana yeast, that’s good enough for me!!

Actually trying something different this batch. I mixed rc212 and ec1118 to see the difference in flavor.

 

[Johnd]

Actually trying something different this batch. I mixed rc212 and ec1118 to see the difference in flavor.

You’re killing me!! LOL, let us know how that works out!

 

[reeflections]

For your blueberry wines, give K1-V1116 a shot, it’s a yeast recommended for fruit wines. Fast starter, good finisher, very high producer of floral esters at cool temps, pretty high ABV tolerance. This is my go to yeast when I’m doing non grape wines.

As for the banana wine, I’d definitely use 71B-1122. Why? Well, haven’t made a banana wine yet, but I plan to soon, and will be using recommendations from one of our WMT banana winemakers. Put simply, @dralarms says it’s his go to banana yeast, that’s good enough for me!!

Thanks John! Exactly what I needed to know.

 

[reeflections]

Actually trying something different this batch. I mixed rc212 and ec1118 to see the difference in flavor.

Guess I'll stick with your "go to" for now, but I look forward to your experimental results.

 

[sour_grapes]

Actually trying something different this batch. I mixed rc212 and ec1118 to see the difference in flavor.

Well, since EC1118 is a killer yeast, and RC212 is sensitive, I think you should assume that you essentially ONLY pitched EC1118:
https://www.lallemandwine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Quick-Yeast-References-Chart_2018_LR.pdf

 

[BernardSmith]

Some additional things you might also want to consider when selecting a yeast are:
1. the temperature of your make wine room. Some yeasts prefer lower temps and others higher temps. Some yeasts produce off flavors at temps they dis-prefer.
2. How well does the yeast flocculate? low flocculators can take a long time to clear and the yeast "cake" they leave may not be very solid resulting in problems if you need to move the carboy before racking and indeed, problems when you rack.

 

[cmason1957]

Oddly enough, Daniel Pambianchi just recently addressed this very idea over on Facebook. He was very strongly against pitching two yeasts into the same bucket and doesn't understand at all why the kit manufacturers ever send out two yeasts with one kit. He went into much more detail than this, but the main points to me seemed to be.

When you inoculate with different Saccharomyces strains, inevitably there will be competition for nutrients, depriving the weaker strain into growing and fermenting as it should. Neither strain really performs as it was intended to, and in fact, one strain might be so dominant that the weaker strain never has a chance to build up its biomass, which means it may never get involved in metabolizing substrates (sugars, amino acids, etc.). And the results could be very different with the same variety but with grapes from different areas, i.e., juice chemistry could alter yeast metabolism.

... If co-inoculated, RC-212 may not have a chance to metabolize properly and produce those desired aromas and flavors.

 

[BernardSmith]

What would happen if , rather than pitch multiple strains simultaneously, you pitched the weaker strain first and after two or three days (or more) you pitched the stronger yeast. Isn't this what commercial wine makers routinely do when in effect they macerate their grapes for days before pitching lab cultured yeast?

 

[reeflections]

Well, since EC1118 is a killer yeast, and RC212 is sensitive, I think you should assume that you essentially ONLY pitched EC1118:
https://www.lallemandwine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Quick-Yeast-References-Chart_2018_LR.pdf

I like that ref chart. I think using that - along with Google for some definitions - I can learn a lot from it.

Thanks!

 

[reeflections]

Some additional things you might also want to consider when selecting a yeast are:
1. the temperature of your make wine room. Some yeasts prefer lower temps and others higher temps. Some yeasts produce off flavors at temps they dis-prefer.
2. How well does the yeast flocculate? low flocculators can take a long time to clear and the yeast "cake" they leave may not be very solid resulting in problems if you need to move the carboy before racking and indeed, problems when you rack.

More about why! Thanks!

 

[dralarms]

Well, since EC1118 is a killer yeast, and RC212 is sensitive, I think you should assume that you essentially ONLY pitched EC1118:
https://www.lallemandwine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Quick-Yeast-References-Chart_2018_LR.pdf

The. Why are they including both in wine kits?

 

[DizzyIzzy]

The. Why are they including both in wine kits?

DR.....since it has been said that you are the "knower of all things banana" LOL, I would very much appreciate your banana wine receipe. Thanks.....Dizzy

 

[dralarms]

DR.....since it has been said that you are the "knower of all things banana" LOL, I would very much appreciate your banana wine receipe. Thanks.....Dizzy

its here somewhere. Let me see if I can find it


https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/new-banana-started.68832/

 

[hounddawg]

banana and pineapple wines taste good but since i don't bag my fruits they are very hard to strain, and takes a long time to get crystal clear, both take me 2 years before i bottle, i don't use fining agents,,, the only thing that takes me longer is my elderberry, but before i harvest my elderberries this year i got a elderberry/blackberry to see how that goes, last year i poured a glass half elderberry an half blackberry, it was really good, so i got what will finish to 18 gal, i think, if as good as that glass was last year, i'm thinking of blending my elderberries with blackberry, and maybe try a black raspberry and elderberry,
Dawg

 

[Vinobeau]

I have about 50 gal of wine made now and I kinda think I'm getting a handle on the basics. Very basics. So far, I've been making banana and blueberry and a few experiments, but the banana and blueberry is what I think I will be making the most of.

I have been using Red Star Premier Blanc yeast exclusively because that was recommended to me somewhere so I bought a bunch. The only thing I know about the various kinds of yeast is that they have different alcohol tolerances and that what I have been using will tolerate a lot. But I'm usually shooting for something like 11-13% with my banana and blueberry so I am wondering what yeast ya'll recommend for each. And why?

I have exhasted about all I have in stock and will be buying more soon.

IMHO, if you're interested in the differences in yeasts, pick a number of them and make the three or four batches each with the individual yeasts. Rack at the same times, sorbate at the same time, do them the same - after a year taste them and note the differences, and decide! Don't bother reading the adjectives that the yeast manufacturers use, its just fluff that doesn't compare yeasts, again IMO!

 

[reeflections]

That sounds like a solid plan and I appreciate the reply. For me however, starting this hobby at 70 years old, I'm trying to skip the long term research steps in favor of learning from those that have already done the research.

I have already ordered the 2 types of yeast suggested and I will be using them.

 

[hounddawg]

That sounds like a solid plan and I appreciate the reply. For me however, starting this hobby at 70 years old, I'm trying to skip the long term research steps in favor of learning from those that have already done the research.

I have already ordered the 2 types of yeast suggested and I will be using them.

i'm fixing to turn 60. skeeter pee and DDDB are both quick wine to make and drink, findings will clear wine much quicker then bulk aging, i'll have to look but super kleer and dura fine are really quick as long as you are not allergic to shellfish,,, DDDB can be made in many ways, i got 2 carboys of DDDB using black raspberry, tart cherry an blur berry and i had a half carboy of same that i topped off with strawberry, lol on yeast i use 2 kinds EC-1118 & K1V-1116
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

its here somewhere. Let me see if I can find it


https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/new-banana-started.68832/

hey darlarms i've made a few banana wines for my brother but not my first choice, this one now is peel and all black, then froze, 132 lbs, 40 lbs of granny smith apples, about 20 lbs of apple juice and 5 lbs of golden raisins, i don't know how my brother will react, lol ,, but i'm hoping to have some i like, hehe, when i do bottle if i disappear then tell them it was my brother,, hehe, i know i radically changed the banana profile, um that's why i did it,
Dawg