Do I need yeast nutrient/energizer for mead?

[Firestix]

So I tried a one gallon batch of mead using harvested Nottingham yeast from my last cider brew and it worked brilliantly! However, I used some nutrient and energizer. The question I'd like to submit is: Is the nutrient and energizer really needed? Or can I use something in place of these two ... like say, raisins?

Thanx in advance!

 

[Maylar]

Never used energizer, I rehydrate the yeast in Go Ferm. But yes you need nutrient - raisins have very little nutrients contrary to popular belief.

 

[Firestix]

Never used energizer, I rehydrate the yeast in Go Ferm. But yes you need nutrient - raisins have very little nutrients contrary to popular belief.

Is there something I can use to supplement? I usually use L.D. Carlson stuff but I'm out, and I want to start a batch tonight... and the brew store doesn't open til Wednesday.

 

[de4dcore]

When you use nutrients and energizer the fermentation is going to be faster with a much lower chance of not starting/stalling.

That doesn't mean that you can't do it without them though, much depends on the initial gravity and the yeast you use.

I've just accomplished a full fermentation from 1.145 to 1.019 (final ABV ~17%) using DAP and boiled bread yeast, but I've used a champagne strain with very low nutrients requirement and anyway I've followed the staggered nutrients protocol.

I think that for high gravity meads using some kind of nutrients (raisins, boiled bread yeast) together with diammonium phosphate is a must, since honey alone can't feed our microbes properly.

On the other hand there are many brewers preparing show meads using only water yeast and honey, but reading about incomplete or slow fermentations is very common.

 

[botigol]

I have read where dead yeast was used as nutrient. It should be as easy as boiling water, adding yeast and once cooled add to the must.

 

[bernardsmith]

Short answer is - you can try. Yeast need a fairly wide variety of minerals (from zinc to nitrogen, magnesium to phosphates). Grapes are fairly high in most of the nutrients yeast need but you are not fermenting grapes. You are not even fermenting raisins. You are adding what? a handful of raisins? There may be enough of those minerals (and other trace elements) for the yeast to create the sterols and the enzymes the yeast need to repair their cell walls, transport the sugar solution into their cells and then metabolyze the sugars to produce alcohol. But there may not be - and that can create all kinds of problems from stalled fermentation to the production of hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans. If you cannot get lab produced nutrients you might simply go to your supermarket and purchase some bread yeast. Proof the bread yeast for about 5 -10 minutes in a cup of water with perhaps a tablespoon of sugar , all warmed to body temperature. Then boil the proofed yeast to kill it. That yeast will contain just about all the minerals your wine yeast will need and yeast are happy cannibals. They will make use of the dead cells.

 

[Firestix]

... and yeast are happy cannibals. They will make use of the dead cells.

So if I'm pitching a 100 mil slurry of yeast, will I need anything else?

 

[bernardsmith]

Perhaps others can give you a definitive answer. Me? I simply do not know how much of the critical minerals are in the slurry.