Yeast Energizer Needed?

[Satokad]

I found a fairly straightforward recipe for a traditional mead calling for yeast nutrients and yeast energizer. I have Wyeast nutrients but no energizer.
Is the energizer necessary?
The recipe calls for 3# of honey, water, nutrients and energizer for a 1 gallon batch.
Thanks.

 

[bernardsmith]

I dunno. To me energizer is the equivalent of coffee and donuts rather than the nutrition that the yeast need. If you are using wine or beer nutrients and the nutrients contain all the minerals and organic compounds - including nitrogen then I don't know what the energizer adds. Whose recipe was it and how successful has it been in major international and national competitions. That presumably would tell you something about the value of adding compounds that may make no difference to the fermentation but add all kinds of unwanted /unnecessary flavors to the finished mead...

 

[dmtaylor]

Your mead will turn out fine without it.

 

[Satokad]

Your mead will turn out fine without it.

Thank you. Would it make sense to increase the nutrient amount to replace the energizer?

 

[dmtaylor]

Thank you. Would it make sense to increase the nutrient amount to replace the energizer?

Depends who you ask. If you're asking me, the answer is no, it isn't needed.

 

[Satokad]

I dunno. To me energizer is the equivalent of coffee and donuts rather than the nutrition that the yeast need. If you are using wine or beer nutrients and the nutrients contain all the minerals and organic compounds - including nitrogen then I don't know what the energizer adds. Whose recipe was it and how successful has it been in major international and national competitions. That presumably would tell you something about the value of adding compounds that may make no difference to the fermentation but add all kinds of unwanted /unnecessary flavors to the finished mead...

Found it in a Google search. Viking Smash Brewing was the name of the guy's website. I doubt it made it to any competitions unless it caught a ride inside the dude's stomach.

 

[Satokad]

Depends who you ask. If you're asking me, the answer is no, it isn't needed.

Thanks. I appreciate the advice.

 

[bernardsmith]

Found it in a Google search. Viking Smash Brewing was the name of the guy's website. I doubt it made it to any competitions unless it caught a ride inside the dude's stomach.

The problem is that today anyone and their brother-in-law can self-publish a recipe and we all know how much good information is self published on the interweb compared to the dreck and how well the internet filters out garbage and how quickly rubbish, once identified, is removed from sites that house um... stuff

 

[dmtaylor]

@bernardsmith, great insights, sir.

I don't really mean to hijack but I think this is still relevant to the topic:

Question for you (and for anyone else interested): How essential do you think nutrients are in a relatively low-strength mead of say 7.5-8% ABV? I will be making such a mead tonight or tomorrow. I'm considering not adding any nutrients at all. What do you say about that? I have often used nutrients in the past, but I believe they're not very essential AND anyway I want the mead to end up as sweet and high gravity as possible, and I think by depriving yeast of nutrition, I might have better luck meeting this goal. I will be using Cote des Blancs yeast for the first time in a mead, based on my success using it in cider many times, and just like my ciders, I plan to ferment cool and rack early and often to remove much of the yeast in the first week or two after fermentation is going strong, aiming for an FG of about 1.005 or so at which point I'll keep it cold and/or add sorbate.

Thanks much for any opinions and insights.

 

[SKBugs]

Ricky from Groenfell has just posted an article talking (amongst other very interesting things) about the need for nutrients in a low alc mead. It is a very interesting read and worthy of consideration.

 

[dmtaylor]

Ricky from Groenfell has just posted an article talking (amongst other very interesting things) about the need for nutrients in a low alc mead. It is a very interesting read and worthy of consideration.

Found it -- thank you!

https://www.groennfell.com/blog

 

[Satokad]

The problem is that today anyone and their brother-in-law can self-publish a recipe and we all know how much good information is self published on the interweb compared to the dreck and how well the internet filters out garbage and how quickly rubbish, once identified, is removed from sites that house um... stuff

I suppose, but the recipe seems to fall in line with others that I have seen for a small batch mead. Also, I am really new at this and just working on the basics and experimenting. That is how I learn best.

 

[bernardsmith]

@bernardsmith, g


How essential do you think nutrients are in a relatively low-strength mead of say 7.5-8% ABV?

Thanks much for any opinions and insights.

Speaking only for myself, I generally aim for session meads (a starting gravity of about 1.050 - 1.065 (about 6 - 8% ABV) and I religiously add nutrients. That said, most of my meads are dry but if I am looking for a sweeter mead my preference, typically, to allow the yeast to fully ferment the honey , stabilize and then back sweeten. At the very least I have far more control over the final gravity than I would have trying to halt the train traveling at 100 mph on a dime (a specific FG)..

 

[Maylar]

And FWIW, I've never used energizer in any ferment. I'm not even sure what it's for. If I need a big healthy yeast for something, I'll do a starter.

 

[dmtaylor]

Great stuff, thanks guys.

 

[bernardsmith]

And FWIW, I've never used energizer in any ferment. I'm not even sure what it's for. If I need a big healthy yeast for something, I'll do a starter.

A starter - or if I am using dry yeast - I will add more than 1 package. You really cannot "overpitch" unless you are adding pounds of yeast to a few gallons of must. A pack a gallon can be almost underpitching if the ABV is high (1.120 or thereabouts).