Yeast Fuel Experiment (Thanks, Forrest)

[Reno Homebrewer]

I am getting ready to brew a batch of Irish Red Ale that I brewed 6 months ago. Everything will be identical, except for the addition of BrewVint Yeast Fuel, generously provided by Austin Homebrew Supply. The ingredient list is 6 lb. Gold liquid malt extract, 12 oz. Caramel 40°L, 2 oz. Special B, 2 oz. Roasted Barley specialty grains, 1 oz. Cascade Hops, and 1 oz. German Tradition Hops.

I will be using my Journal to make sure I do it just like the last batch. I use a 6 gallon Better Bottle for primary, so I will be able to describe the action of the Yeast. More to follow.

 

[eschatz]

let us know how that turns out! i'm curious about that stuff as well.

 

[Reno Homebrewer]

Everything went well. The Wort is now sitting in the primary, and has been there since 11:30ish. I used Wyeast 1084 smack pack with a 3 day starter.

 

[Reno Homebrewer]

At 3:45, I saw some airlock activity, and now it is thumping away at 1-2 bubbles per second. Looking through my Journal, I have found that the average lag time for me has been 14 hours.

 

[Reno Homebrewer]

There's a good head of Krausen now, and the Wort is thrashing around. I'm going to remove the airlock and put on a blowoff tube.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

At 3:45, I saw some airlock activity, and now it is thumping away at 1-2 bubbles per second. Looking through my Journal, I have found that the average lag time for me has been 14 hours.

Are you saying 4 hours instead of 14 hours?

Forrest

 

[Reno Homebrewer]

There was roughly a 4 hour lag time on this batch. My journal shows that I had a 16 hour lag time on the Red Ale that I brewed without the Yeast Fuel. I have a Mix/Stir rod that I attach to a drill for aeration now, but I didn't use it this time to make sure that the only variable was the Yeast Fuel. By the way, I'm glad I attached a blowoff tube last night, there would have been a mess this morning otherwise.

After trying this out, I don't think I'll ever brew again without using the Yeast Fuel. I will post again on this topic in a few weeks, after the Beer is bottled and I've had a chance to taste it.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

It cuts your lag time drastically and you can tell it has a very healthy fermentation because of all of the krausen. Also, you will notice that the fermentation will be finished a couple of days sooner. Let us know how much quicker the fermentation was over last time. The yeast will fall out quickly and you will have a very clean beer.

Forrest

 

[Austinhomebrew]

How is the experiment going?

Forrest

 

[Reno Homebrewer]

The Krausen started to fall back in last night, and airlock activity is slow. I suspect that I will do a gravity reading on Thursday to see where we are at.

 

[solidghost]

What strain of yeast are you using for this?
I have done one with the Nottingham, it had finished vigourous fermentation in just under 36 hours.

 

[Reno Homebrewer]

I used a Wyeast 1084 smack pack with a 3 day starter. I use a 1000 ml flask, and on this batch, as in the first Red Ale I made, I only did a single-stage starter.

 

[Reno Homebrewer]

Update: I have been very busy the past couple of weeks, so I just got around to checking my FG last night. It is at 1.009, a full two points lower than my "control" batch. I racked it to a secondary, and plan on bottling in two more weeks.

 

[Evan!]

Given the potential for unseen variables between brewdays, I'd really love to see 5 gallons of wort from the exact same boil, split in two, and the exact same packet of yeast, split in two, and use the yeast fuel with one half and no fuel on the other. Then you've got yourself a true control. I've made the exact same recipe multiple times in the past and didn't vary anything, and still had different results. For instance, the health of the yeast culture could vary and you'd never know that. Only by using the same wort and the same yeast packet can you have a true control.

Not saying the yeast fuel isn't working (I'm curious myself), just saying that I'd like to see a tighter control.

 

[jpuf]

Just curious, does anyone know what's in that stuff? From 14 down to a 4 hour lag? Thats impressive. Great thread.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

Given the potential for unseen variables between brewdays, I'd really love to see 5 gallons of wort from the exact same boil, split in two, and the exact same packet of yeast, split in two, and use the yeast fuel with one half and no fuel on the other. Then you've got yourself a true control. I've made the exact same recipe multiple times in the past and didn't vary anything, and still had different results. For instance, the health of the yeast culture could vary and you'd never know that. Only by using the same wort and the same yeast packet can you have a true control.

Not saying the yeast fuel isn't working (I'm curious myself), just saying that I'd like to see a tighter control.

I am planning on doing this experiment and I will post it on Youtube for all to see.

Forrest

 

[Austinhomebrew]

Just curious, does anyone know what's in that stuff? From 14 down to a 4 hour lag? Thats impressive. Great thread.

Yes, I do.

Forrest

 

[jpuf]

Sounds like you've got a great product, I'll be trying some soon.

 

[Reno Homebrewer]

I'd really love to see 5 gallons of wort from the exact same boil, split in two, and the exact same packet of yeast, split in two, and use the yeast fuel with one half and no fuel on the other. Then you've got yourself a true control.

I totally agree. The one thing I will say is that given the fact that my lag time was so much shorter, there is no doubt in my mind that it most certainly helped quite a bit.

Part of the problem with doing the split method is that the Yeast Fuel goes into the boiling Wort with ten minutes left in the boil, so splitting it would have to be done just prior to that.

 

[Rick500]

I brewed 5.5 gallons of EdWort's Haus Pale Ale and used the sample capsule of yeast fuel Forrest was nice enough to send me.

I'm going to leave it in the primary for another couple days before bottling. I had a lag of somewhere between 3 and 6 hours (I checked at 3 and didn't see any appreciable activity, came back a few hours later and it was bubbling away).

This is the first time I've used Nottingham yeast, so I can't do any real comparison between using the yeast fuel and not using it. But I can say that there was a seriously healthy fermentation going on... 5.5 gallons in a 6.5 gallon carboy, and I had krausen blowing out of the airlock. I had to take off the airlock and clean and sanitize it twice. (Didn't have any tubing handy for a blowoff tube, unfortunately.) I haven't measured the SG since it started fermenting, but visually, the bulk of the fermentation was done in about 3 days.

I'm going to order stuff for my next couple of batches soon, so I'll be sure to order some more yeast fuel and try it with some yeast I'm more familiar with.

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

I have used both AHBs yeast fuel and yeast nutrient which I think are the same exact thing. I accidentally tasted some of the yeast nutrient and it tasted exactly like a multivitamin. It even looks just like ground of vitamins. Thats my guess.

 

[toastermm]

Sounds like a great product, I might have to try some soon.

In the lab I work in (just so happens to be a yeastie lab), we feed the yeasts "yeast nutrients" and they love it. The "yeast nutrients" we have are actually dead yeast cells. What better way to feed a yeast than with the exact stuff it's made of?

How exactly the dead yeast cells are cultivated/dried... not sure.

*edit: spelling- too late for me