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Turbo yeast for Vodka


jrfalcon

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Turbo yeasts will lend a not-so-pleasant flavor profile to whatever product you're making.  Look for a yeast appropriate to your fermentable source. Add nutrients as needed. Watch your fermentation temp.

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On May 25, 2016 at 10:42 AM, indyspirits said:

Turbo yeasts will lend a not-so-pleasant flavor profile to whatever product you're making.  Look for a yeast appropriate to your fermentable source. Add nutrients as needed. Watch your fermentation temp.

Agreed, really better for fuel ethanol. But if you are going to do a very high proof vodka distillation (194+) with well over 20 plates, charcoal filtration, and a high wine distillation beforehand, you might try it, since you should strip out any residual flavor. Then again, why bother making that as a craft distiller?

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I'm not sure who your comment was directed, but I feel both contributors provided helpful feedback. There are a lot of reasons why, what both of them said is helpful and true. 

The simple answer is, as a one man shop, adding extra process steps to make a cleaner vodka is adding more work to get the same product. Changing yeast selection to something more appropriate would help eliminate that work and expense.

Bluestar's question about why would a craft distiller want to do that is also a good point. Vodka is extremely competitive, with new ones on the market every day, and overall is a decreasing market category. If a craft distiller wants to be involved in that space, especially a small craft distiller, they are going to have a challenging time making a product as clean as some of the GNS out there you can buy, and a hard time doing it for less than they could buy it for. So why make it when you can buy it? But buying it and cutting it and filtering and bottling, is that craft? Even buying it and bottling it you won't be able to do it as cheaply as the big guys are, so they can be at a lower price, or have a better margin, giving them both competitive advantages. These are questions any craft distiller needs to consider for any product. Every persons situation is slightly different, because every brand positions themselves differently, but that's the point. As a small distiller, craft distiller, micro-distiller or whatever term you want to use you have to remember, that we are competing in a marketplace dominated by large producers who are really efficient, really good at marketing, really well established and for the most part make some great products. This is not craft beer in the 80s when the big guys only made light lager. Product diversity and quality in spirits was extremely high in comparison before craft distillers got involved.

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11 hours ago, jrfalcon said:

I came to this site to seek helpful info, what you gave was nothing less than being a snob. Please keep all further commets to yourself as they seem to only benifit you.

If that is directed at me, sorry you feel that why. My reply was both serious and meant to be informational, and pretty much common wisdom among those of us that have actually tried to do what you are talking about (as I have). I tried to share what I learned from my experience as a craft distiller that makes a vodka (among other things). If you are a small craft producer, and you want to make vodka, then making it from an interesting source material, and distilling so that it has a mouth feel and a trace of flavor that the customer finds pleasant or intriguing, can be the features that make your product worth consideration to buy over mass-produced high-purity products that you can't compete with on quality or price (e.g., Absolut or Smirnoff). In that case, avoid turbo yeast, because it will generate poor flavor.  And if you are just trying to make something without flavor by getting to highest purity, then it would be far cheaper to redistill bulk NGS. Again, no need for turbo yeast. You asked for people's advise, I gave you my advise (no turbo yeast) and why. If you don't want people's advise, don't come on this forum and ask for it. And there is no need to be rude when they give it to you. Honestly, my comments don't benefit me in any way, they were meant to benefit either you or others who might read the thread. This is not a private thread, so neither should you be trying to censor me or others for answering your public question.

I suggest if you can not remain civil, you not use this site. 

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Here's my $0.02.

You're starting up a small, one man distillery.  Your reputation should be everything to you, which means you should be making the best product with the best ingredients possible (within reason).  A quick google about turbo yeasts will yield plenty of information on reasons why not to use them for anything but fuel.  If you need to flip your fermenters quicker, I suggest purchasing a couple more fermenters and using a standard distillers yeast.  

A turbo yeast will cut a day off your fermentation, but you'll probably make up that day at the end of the process trying to clean up the spirit.

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On 5/27/2016 at 9:59 AM, Skaalvenn said:

You're starting up a small, one man distillery.  Your reputation should be everything to you, which means you should be making the best product with the best ingredients possible (within reason)

Some of the best advice here. In today's social media world, opinions spread like wildfire. If you aren't being as ambitious as possible, with the best information you have, you're going to fall to the wayside.

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On 5/28/2016 at 6:50 PM, Silk City Distillers said:

Fermentation temperature is probably more important than yeast strain anyhow...

 A slight tangent...

Very good point. We started out using Lallemand's line of distiller yeasts and found the flavor was indeed much more representative of the product being produced when the fermentation temp was in the range of that specified in the yeast documentation. During winter we had a rum ferment that was in the low 60s that was nearly tasteless (sugar source was 68% TSAI molasses so pretty clean in and of itself) after the spirits run.  We found that fermenting in the upper 80s resulting in a drastically shorter ferment time and a better flavor profile.

 

 

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