Yeast Nutrients

Hey guys, I've got a question. What do you use for nutrients?

I've been reading Ken Schram's book, and on pages 54 and 55, he has a table with some formulas for rather optimal nutrients (determined by Morse and Steinkraus). He also mentions that FermaidK uses about the same formula. Does anyone use this? I'm curious if it works well.

I've been using the stuff from ID Carlson. The energizer seems to be about what Schram recommends, but not the nutrient. The nutrient has urea and ammonium phosphate. All Schram says about urea is that some mead and winemakers find it "objectionable". He doesn't even seem to mention ammonium phosphate.

That's the stuff I use.
I do use both the nutrient AND the energizer...at Malkors recommendation. The Energizer smells terrible, but you only use like 1/4 tsp a gallon, and 1 tsp of the white nutrient. Ammonium Phosphate is just a nitrogen delivery method.

I have used it in a pretty lightly flavored peach wine, and I do not taste ANY of the "OFF" Flavors that some wine makers complain about when using this nutrient. It doesn't taste like Fertilizer or anything.

So some people think the nutrient can be tasted in the mead, huh? I do have to agree with you, BigK, I've used the ID Carlson stuff in my meads and I have yet to taste it.

I am curious about other products, though. I just wonder if better fermentation could be gotten from other nutrients. For example, I've always heard people who say they can get a mead to ferment in 2 to 3 weeks. I've never come anywhere close to that.

Does anyone use anything else?

I've used fermaid K in my apfelwein and have not noticed anything other than a quick and complete fermentation. No off flavors at all.

I used both the nutrient and energizer for almost a year before I tried the more expensive yeast extract and yeast hulls. Ive never seen a ferment go so fast as when I use the yeast extract, I made 5 gallons of mead that needed a blowoff tube and fermented in 5 days. after racking to the secondary I tried some and dodnt detect any off flavors but Ill see how it is after a year in the bottle. yeast extract costs more but it seems to be by far the best stuff for a health fast ferment.

You should only be able to detect energizer or nutrient if you over-use it. I've not used it in the past, and since I've started using it, I detect no negative flavors. if anything its better, because the yeast was happier from the get go.

when i'm out of nutrient and energizer I plan to get some fermaid.

I think I might give the FermaidK a try the next time I throw a mead together, just to compare to the ID Carlson stuff.

k1v1116 said:

Ive never seen a ferment go so fast as when I use the yeast extract, I made 5 gallons of mead that needed a blowoff tube and fermented in 5 days.

Click to expand...

Wow, that sounds like powerful stuff! I'll have to find yeast extract and give that a try as well.

Thanks for all the input!

I'm not a mead maker so I feel a little out of place, BUT...

Basic Brewing Radio has a recent podcast on mead that covers yeast nutrients in a lot of detail... what to do, what not to do. Definitely worth a listen: http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=radio