Wine No1 Yeast Variation

[Richard S]

I will see if Richard_s and Karl will come over (they dont need much tempting to taste wine)

Yup

I would seriously consider this kind offer, it's not often you will get the chance of feedback from 3 judges

And it gives us more free wine to drink

[koomber]

Yup

I would seriously consider this kind offer, it's not often you will get the chance of feedback from 3 judges

And it gives us more free wine to drink

: Thank you very much guys! I'll definaitly give it a shot.

I'm planning to start the experiment on Saturday. And I'll let you know in 2 weeks how it progresses, that way if I have any major disasters (get distracted by something shiny) I won't have wasted your time.

[goldseal]

We're waiting ....

[koomber]

Ah well. The thing is, the important thing is, that it went horribly horribly wrong

Of the yeasts I chose, all bar one stuck. The one that didn't stick was the bread yeast. It went off. REALLY off.

I think, looking back on it I can spot EXACTLY where I went wrong. Firstly the volumes were too small. 2 Litres was not big enough and any problems were magnified. Secondly, I chose Welch's Grape, apple and pear juice as both the apple and grape juice for wine number 1 (at the time it was 64p a litre). Having made several wines with this stuff I can safely say it is pretty dire for making wine. Every single wine I've made has stuck/stalled/taken AGES to ferment.

I've got a wine number 1 I made with it that is almost ready for bottling after 3 months.
Once I get some space (I keep finding threads like Christmas Pud and Mead and Lychee wines) I'll rerun the trial.
It wasn't a complete loss though. I poured the survivors into a DJ, added some tinned strawberry's and restarted teh ferment and got something that is orange and smells of sherbet (it will be getting bottled soon. It has finally cleared.)

Moral of the story: Before making 8 gallons of wine, make sure the juice you are using works!

[goldseal]

I wonder what preservatives are in the juice. Any potassium sorbate by any chance?

[Alans]

Yeast

I and my friends always use Gervin'C' or Gervin No 3 wine yeasts. The results speak for themselves in competitions local and national.

[lockwood1956]

There is no substitute for good quality yeast

it makes a vast difference to the flavour profile of the finished wine.

[SE11]

from a conversation in another thread that may be better here (thanks Pete)...

While we're on the matter of yeast, what's the thought on which for what? When it comes to rosé, should I be using yeast intended for white wine or red wine?

Also, are wine number 1 and its variants improved noticeably by the choice of yeast?

Lately I’ve been trialing some Vintner’s Harvest. Do you think I would notice an improvement over using something like Young’s (any thoughts on Young’s)?

Finally, as long as an appropriate strain is selected, is yeast brand significant or just down to personal choice?

Over to your collective wisdom...

Bill

[lockwood1956]

While we're on the matter of yeast, what's the thought on which for what? When it comes to rosé, should I be using yeast intended for white wine or red wine?

white wine yeasts for whites and roses (as a general rule...)

Also, are wine number 1 and its variants improved noticeably by the choice of yeast?

MASSIVELY!!!! experiment and see......you will pretty quickly bin your youngs general purpose yeast (its rubbish)

Lately I’ve been trialing some Vintner’s Harvest. Do you think I would notice an improvement over using something like Young’s (any thoughts on Young’s)?

see [previous answer...youmgs GP yeast is the work of Satan, and is totally a waste of time (personal opinion)

Finally, as long as an appropriate strain is selected, is yeast brand significant or just down to personal choice?

yeast brands are down to personal choice, they have different names for the same strains (i.e. lalvin EC-1118 and Gervin No 3 yellow label....same yeast different name)

but a good quality yeast makes a massive difference


regards
bob

[Musty]

but a good quality yeast makes a massive difference


regards
bob[/QUOTE]

Couldn't agree more

I've been making WOW (standard recipe) for a while now using Youngs yeast and the eggy smell has been pronounced an unpleasant both while fermenting and for some time after.

Just finished a WOW (but with Richard's modification of Tropicana "Tropical" juice). This time I used a Lalvin K1 V1116 (only "proper" yeast the HBS had in stock). Eggy smell almost absent during fermentation and by comparison the Youngs yeast wine at 10 weeks old has a distinct eggy smell compared to the newly clarified Lalvin wine with none.

Now here's the point where the variables prevent a good evaluation but the Tropicana/Lalvin has *very* pronounced fruitiness (possibly too much mango) and I am not sure how much of this is down to the juice and how much to the yeast. Anyway *too* much fruit can always be tuned out of the recipe and I intend to use 30/70 Tropical/Orange next time