Yeast Nutrient

[carbon]

So the yeast nutrient that I get at the homebrew shop looks, tastes, and smells just like the nutritional yeast that I buy at whole foods for various cooking purposes. Does anyone know if these are pretty much the same thing? I ran out of yeast nutrient a couple weeks ago and was going to buy some more, but I'm thinking that I can just use the nutritional yeast that I buy in bulk. Opinions are greatly appreciated.

[backyard brewer]

Good question, I don't know. I do know that yeast itself is a great nutrient and a packet of yeast thrown into the boil at the last 5 minutes will kill that yeast but it becomes a nutrient for the yeast you intend to use.

So, based on that..... I'd guess it couldn't hurt, assuming there are no preservatives or other ingredients.

[brahn]

Check out Palmer's section on yeast nutrients http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-9-1.html . Dead yeast is one of the main ingredients in yeast nutrient, but there are other things in there too.

[carbon]

From Wikipedia-
Nutritional yeast, similar to brewer's yeast, is a nutritional supplement popular with vegans and the health conscious, who use it as an ingredient in recipes or simply as a condiment. It is a deactivated yeast, usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses, then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging the yeast. It is commercially available in the form of flakes,photo or as a yellow powder similar in texture to cornmeal, and can be found in the bulk aisle of most natural food stores.


Sure sounds like yeast nutrient to me. I used nutritional yeast last week in a starter because I was pretty confident they were they same thing. I'll probably continue to do that.

[Oskaar]

Stick with the nutrient you buy at the LHBS as it is designed for use in fermentation. The others are not, and while they may be similar they are not graded or manufactured to spec as a fermentation nutrient. Why does this matter? Simple, fermentation nutrient is made under sanitary conditions with the nature of the fermentation in mind. This takes into account that the nutrient will be used in conditions where possible infections can occur during the fermentation, and is inspected and produced with that in mind.

Cheers, Oskaar

[dhempy]

For those of you that don't know, Oskaar (Pete) has probably forgotten more about yeast than the rest of us (well certainly me anyway) will ever know. Getting nutrient from the LHBS, while perhaps inconvenient and more expensive, is probably the best way to go. I keep a supply with my DME for making starters. Typically, I don't use nutrient in my beer ... just the starter to get things off to a great start.

Dan

[carbon]

That's a pretty fair argument. Yeast nutrient at the LHBS isn't that expensive, so the savings might not be worth the risk. I appreciate the feedback.