Best yeast energizer for beer brewing

How to Fix a Stalled Fermentation A Guide to Using Yeast Energizer

Yeast is the 'live' part of a good beer. It's a living organism and just like your friends, you gotta treat them right. If the yeast is going to turn your wort's sugars into alcohol, it's going to need a nice home where it feels comfortable. When that home isn't perfect, fermentation can slow down or stop altogether—a dreaded "stalled fermentation."

If you think your yeast might need a helping hand either at the beginning of a high-gravity brew or due to a stall, then a 'yeast energizer' might just be the extra ingredient you'll need to add to your brew day shopping list.

⚡What is Yeast Energizer?

Key Takeaway:A Rescue & Revival Kit for Yeast

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At its most basic description, a yeast energizer serves two purposes: it's used to stimulate fermentation from the start or to restart a stalled one. The effect is more efficient fermentation, which can mean a faster time to completion and a better chance of hitting your target final gravity.

Energizers typically contain a blend of key ingredients:

• Diammonium Phosphate (DAP): A critical source of nitrogen for yeast health.
• Yeast Hulls: The cell walls of dead yeast, which provide fatty acids and sterols that help living yeast build strong cell walls, especially in high-alcohol environments.
• Vitamins & Minerals: Includes things like Vitamin B, magnesium sulphate, and tricalcium phosphate, which act as co-factors for yeast metabolism.

🤔Energizer vs. Nutrient

Key Takeaway:Nutrient is for Growth, Energizer is for Rescue

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A yeast nutrient is somewhat different from an energizer. Think of yeast nutrient as the daily "vitamins and minerals" to help yeast grow healthy and strong from the beginning. A yeast energizer, with its inclusion of yeast hulls and other components, is more like a catalyst or an emergency rescue kit designed to kick-start a sluggish or completely stuck fermentation back into gear.

🛒Recommended Brands

Key Takeaway:Popular Choices for Brewers

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Yeast Energizer Brand	Pros	Cons
LD Carlson Energizer	Contains essential nutrients like vitamins, amino acids, and minerals that help yeast thrive and ferment vigorously. Suitable for stuck fermentations.	More expensive than basic yeast nutrients, which might deter hobbyists or casual brewers.
Wyeast Nutrient Blend	Specially formulated to improve yeast activity and fermentation efficiency. Perfect for high-gravity beers.	Requires precise dosage; too much can lead to off-flavors, making precise measurement crucial.
Fermaid K by Lallemand	Offers a balanced blend of nutrients that supports yeast health and promotes consistent fermentation, recommended for wines and meads.	Not specifically tailored for beers, which might limit its appeal to beer brewers.
Brewcraft Yeast Fuel	Easy to use with a simple dosing system, enhances fermentation speed and completeness. Ideal for novice brewers.	Limited availability in some regions, which can make it difficult to source consistently.
White Labs Servomyces	Improves yeast sedimentation and increases cell viability. It's also known to reduce diacetyl and fusel alcohol production.	Premium priced product, reflecting its specialized application and high efficiency.

⏰When Should I Add It?

Key Takeaway:At the Start or When Fermentation Stalls

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At the Beginning of the Brew

If you are brewing a high-gravity beer, a fruit-heavy wine, or a nutrient-poor mead, adding energizer upfront provides the yeast with the resources they need to handle the stressful conditions. For an all-grain boil, it can be added in the last 10-15 minutes. If using a malt kit, you can pitch it at the same time as the yeast.

When You Have a Stuck Fermentation

If you are hugely confident that your fermentation hasn't completed (i.e., your hydrometer reading is stable but much higher than expected), then you may have a stalled fermentation. Before adding energizer, first ensure your fermenter is at a proper temperature (18-22°C / 65-72°F). If it's too cold, the yeast may just be dormant. If the temperature is fine, an energizer can help restart the process.

🧑‍🔬How Much Energizer Do I Use?

Key Takeaway:A Little Goes a Long Way

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A little goes a long way. The standard dosage is approximately **1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per gallon** of wort or must. For a typical 5-gallon batch, this means about 1 to 2.5 teaspoons total. To add it to a stuck fermentation, dissolve the energizer in a small amount of warm, sanitized water, then gently stir it into your fermenter. Always check the instructions on the package, as dosages can vary slightly between brands.

👅Does It Affect Beer Taste?

Key Takeaway:Not Directly, But It Prevents Off-Flavors

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There is a bit of debate amongst brewers about the effect an energizer can have on taste, but it seems to be fairly negligible if there is one. More importantly, it helps prevent off-flavors. Yeast energizers have been demonstrated to help reduce fusel alcohols (the "burning" sensation) and hydrogen sulfide (the rotten egg smell), which are produced by stressed yeast.

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⇒ How to use 'Baking Yeast' to make home brew beer

I was doing the weekly shopping and I came across a line row of baker's yeast and I wondered if you could use that to make homebrew. I took a photo of it! And the answer to the question is...

Turns out you can!

Can I substitute active baker's dry yeast for brewer's yeast?

 I'd heard of beer a craft brewer made from yeast found on his hipster beard, so why not use bread yeast?

So I did some research, and it turns out you can use baking yeast as it is an 'active dry yeast'.

The real question is should you use baker's yeast to make beer? 

Yeast is a wholly active part of the fermentation process, which is hugely relying on all kinds of factors to go right and a good yeast will make a good beer better.

Many craft brewers would probably shudder violently at the thought of using a yeast that's normally used to make bread but let's have a look at the idea.

You can totally use baking yeast for brewing, as both yeasts (beer and baking) are different strains of the same species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Which sounds like a good starting place!

A good question to start with is, what is the difference between baker's yeast and brewer's yeast?

The difference between the two kinds of yeasts is their cultivation.

Each has been grown for the attributes they bring to the final product. In the case of beer yeast, the popular strains have been cultivated for hundreds of years to hone their specific attributes being the beer flavour produced, attenuation (how well the sugars are fermented by yeast), and consistency.

I found a great comparison of the two: brewer's yeast was bred to produce more alcohol and less carbon dioxide while baker's yeast was bred to make more CO2 and less alcohol.

So be warned using baking yeast in place of brewing yeast is like driving a Ford and expecting to drive like a Ferrari!

There is, of course, nothing wrong with driving a Ford. First on race day eh?

How much baker's yeast to pitch? 

I've read that 11 grams of baker's yeast per 5 gallons or 23 liter fermenter drum are recognized by many brewers as a fair amount to pitch in.  Too much more will probably be redundant. 

What ABV alcohol does bread yeast make?

Bread yeast tends to ferment alcohol up to about 8% without too much effort which is a fine tolerance range for beer, but when trying to produce alcohol beyond this level, the bread yeast begins to struggle, very often stopping around 9% or 10%.

And that's actually because beers are generally brewed between 4 and 8 percent.

Clearing baker's yeast

When using this yeast, you just have to be conscious that your beer won't taste as clean or look as clear as the beer that you may have become accustomed to brewing.

This is in part because the yeast doesn't settle quite as well as most brewer's yeast does.

If you are bottle conditioning, another trick you could try to clear the baker's yeast is by cold crashing the fermented wort (often referred to as the primary) and then racking it to a bottling bucket and then bottling.

The reason is that the baker's yeast will likely stay suspended in the beer for a lot longer than brewing yeast does (it has a tendency to be awesome at floccing out and then sticking to the bottom of bottles). The cold temperature will force the baking yeast out of suspension and into the bottle of your beer.

You can of course also try and use finings to help clear the baking particles.

The careful pouring and chilling of the bottles before pouring will help alleviate this somewhat.

Can I use baker's yeast to make mead?

You sure can. Wine too! Some specific mead recipes state to use baker's yeast!

Can I use baker's yeast to make apple or pear cider?

You sure can use baking yeast with your homemade hard cider brewing. If you do things right, you should be able to get a 6 percent alcohol content. 

I'd recommend you always hydrate the yeast before you pitch it. 

Be careful about adding too much sugar. 

If you are really brave, you can even ferment apple juice with bread yeast. But you are getting into making the kind of hooch they make in prison at this point... I've done it - I made a bitter juice with a real punch - mix with lemonade 50:50 and it tasted fine.

Using baking yeast to rescue a beer that's stopped fermenting

If you're worried your pitched beer yeast has run out of puff, in a pinch you could add some baker's yeast to help get things going again.

Just remember by adding a second yeast, the intended nature of your beer's taste will change.

If you go down this path you may need to activate the yeast in water before you pitch it, just to give it a helping hand.

What baking yeasts can I use?

Anything from your supermarket is a good place to start. In New Zealand, Edmund's Sure To Rise suits fine. Fleischmann's active dry yeast seems a popular choice overseas.

Using brewing yeast to bake bread

Given brewing yeast is 'active yeast', you can also use brewing yeast to make bread products too! I imagine you could make a really heavy dough bread with some brewing yeast!

Some internet research tells me brewing yeast doesn't give off the same amount of CO2 as bread yeast so you will get a dense loaf of bread (the CO2 makes bubbles in bread, making it 'fluffy'. Here's a good discussion by brewers who've had success with this cooking method!

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