Distilling Yeasts

Yeast decides more about a wash than most people expect. It sets how fast you ferment, how clean the wash finishes and how much work is left for the still afterwards. Pick well and the run is easy.

Broadly there are two paths. Turbo yeasts are built for speed and alcohol tolerance and suit a sugar wash you plan to strip and rectify: Still Spirits Turbo Yeast Classic 8, sold singly or in a 3 pack, Alcotec 48hr Turbo Yeast, and Pure Distilling Turbo Yeast. Character yeasts are the other path, for a wash you intend to run in a pot still and keep the flavour from. Still Spirits Distillers Yeast comes in 20g sachets for Whiskey, Rum and Gin, and the Still Spirits Pure Turbo Pack is made for pot distilling.

The clearing agents beside them are not optional extras. A clear wash runs cleaner, so Turbo Clear in a 130g sachet, Alcotec Turbo Klar and Still Spirits Turbo Carbon 140g all earn their place, and the Pure Distilling Premium Wash Pack bundles yeast, clear and carbon together. For afterwards there are Still Spirits Bourbon Staves 200g, Samuel Willards Whisky Soakers and Profiles Adjunct Glycerine.

Ferment cool and slow, at the low end of the range printed on the sachet. Hot fermentation is where the harsh notes come from. As always, check what applies to you before you start.

Find us at Laverton North and Epping, or see fermenters for stills, carbon and clearing agents and ageing and infusions.