If you are into home distilling, you likely know that you have to use yeast to get alcohol. However, if you understand why you need yeast, it can help you understand why it is important to get a good quality yeast. As you will see, knowing how yeast works and the role it plays in fermentation makes it much easier to see how important the yeast is, which in turn enables you to pay a bit more attention to the yeast you are buying.

How Yeast Works

Yeast creates alcohol by eating. That is rather simplified, but it is the truth. Yeast likes to multiply and grow. However, it needs food to be able to do that. When you add sugar to yeast, you are feeding it. This allows it to keep reproducing.

In order to get the yeast to convert the sugar to alcohol instead of just eating it and using it as energy to multiply, you need to play with the oxygen. If there is a lack of oxygen, the yeast is unable to multiply. Instead, it just converts the sugar into the alcohol you need. This is the process of fermentation.

When you are done fermenting, it is best to remove the leftover yeast, which when heated would leave bitterness. This is easily done with using a clearing agent.

The Type of Yeast Used

The yeast used in home brewing is not your standard baking yeast. You can’t just go to the kitchen and grab what you have on hand for making bread. The yeast needed for fermentation is a special yeast with nutrients added that are designed to create alcohol. The nutrients are chosen to complement the yeast and encourage it to ferment. They play an important role and need to be in the correct balance.

The yeast is also chosen carefully so it is specific to what is needed to create alcohol. You will find that turbo yeast, as it is called, comes in different strengths, which allows you to choose the level of alcohol you want to create. In addition, yeast is also often labeled for temperature, which should be considered if you are brewing large batches or in a place with high temperatures.

The Bottom Line

The main point here is that you need to choose your ingredients carefully when you are home brewing. It isn’t about just having all the ingredients you need. You have to have the right quality of ingredients to get the result you want. Brewing a wash or mash is a science, so you need to respect that aspect of the process. As with any scientific process, you need to be precise with your ingredients. That is why a good yeast is essential to your overall end product.

Home distilling can be a fun hobby, and in some cases, it can even lead to more. Regardless of your ambitions, you need to choose your ingredients carefully. Make sure that you are paying attention to your yeast. It is basically the engine in the whole process. If it isn’t up to par, then the alcohol you produce isn’t going to be either.