Yeast Nutrient

[Moody_Copperpot]

How necessary is it? My local brew store basically told me it's only necessary when adding extra sugars like honey or something.
I've only been AG brewing for about a month, and I've never used it but am curious if I should be.

 

[bob1852]

For beers - with proper aeration and such, it's not really needed. It may help get your fermentation started faster though (I'm not going to debate what that means).

For wines/meads/ciders - yes, you want some nutrient as the ingredients for these tend to lack nitrogen and other stuff...

 

[avidhomebrewer]

I agree with az, but would also add that you should use yeast nutrient when you are making big beers. For a normal strength brew, the yeast will get all the nutrients they need from the malt. Definitely use them for meads and such.

 

[lumpher]

i keep a bottle around, but only use it for the big beers; imperial stouts, ipa's, etc. i agree with the others

 

[Moody_Copperpot]

So what type of OG are we talking for a good place to start with the yeast nutrient. 1.070? Bigger?

 

[lumpher]

i usually use the nutrient around 1.065 or 1.070; depends on the non-fermentables i use

 

[Calder]

Not necessary for any beers of any strength. Plenty of nutrients in the malt.

 

[lumpher]

Not necessary for any beers of any strength. Plenty of nutrients in the malt.

so you've never had a beer stall? i wish i didn't

 

[Calder]

I have batch #170 going right now, and as far as I can tell from my records, I have never had one stall. I have only done a few with a starting gravity above 1.100, so I guess I don't have much experience with very high gravity beers.

 

[johnnybob]

Wyeast nutrient is great, I use it on all my beers. The directions only call for 1/2 tsp. per 5 gallons during the last 10 minutes of the boil. It's cheap insurance. I've had strong fermentations since I've started using a yeast nutrient and using oxygen. Also add a pinch to your yeast starters. You will be rewarded.

 

[AKbrewer]

I also use the Wyeast nutrient in my starters and at the end of the boil. My fermentations start fast and are strong. Don`t know if its the yeast nutrient or not but somethings working. I do know that zinc is real important to yeast and there`s a healthy amount of that in the nutrient.

 

[kanzimonson]

I've been plowing through Jamil and Chris's book and they have made a strong case for using a bit of yeast nutrient in every batch. Yes there are a lot of nutrients in malt, but is every yeast cell getting everything it needs?

You can kinda equate this with humans: if you've ever done a diet analysis on yourself, you'll almost always find that you are deficient in quite a few vitamins. A vitamin pill every day easily solves this. And while most people would say about their health, "I haven't had a problem with what I've been doing" (sounds like something heard on HBT daily), the fact is that your body is not at 100% optimal performance.

So while the wort may be "good enough," why not give them their vitamin pill and have them do the best they can in your beer? Are you saying you don't care if your yeast optimally perform?

 

[MultumInParvo]

Yup, I agree with Kanzimanson. Its not needed, but it may very well help. A little bit of insurance as johnneybob said is always nice. Its cheap and my fermentations are pretty intense.