Instructions for using wine yeast, how to choose and do it yourself at home
Home winemaking has been a popular hobby in recent decades. To simplify and improve the process of making wine, special balanced yeast was created, they are easy to use, and the set immediately includes biological supplements for the fungi and bacteria necessary for fermentation. Wine yeast is recommended to be used according to the instructions for use, where the necessary proportions and subtleties of handling the leaven are indicated.
What is it used for?
The fermentation process is an important biological and chemical reaction necessary to create a quality drink in winemaking. The main task of beneficial bacteria is to process sugar into alcohol; in this process, the winemaker must create comfortable conditions for the vital activity of bacteria.
It is important that the grape pulp begins to ferment as early as possible, otherwise the future wine will turn sour. You can "help" the mash to ferment with the help of sourdoughs or wine yeast, which can be conveniently purchased in a store or made by hand. Such bacteria work quickly, the fermentation process begins the next day.
Benefit and harm
Wine yeast is 60% protein, and also includes trace elements, vitamins and biologically active substances.
When eating foods containing wine yeast in moderation, normalization of digestive activity in the human body is observed. On the basis of wine yeast, a number of cosmetic products have been developed that improve the color and condition of the skin.
Wine yeast has no harm to the human body; when using and making a ferment for food, you must familiarize yourself with the instructions, the characteristics of the yeast strain.
The only contraindication for the use of products containing yeast is individual intolerance and allergic reactions.
Key Features of Wine Yeast Compared to Others
A distinctive feature of wine yeast from other species is its habitat. Beneficial fungi live on the surface of the peel of fruits and berries, receiving nutrients from fructose and sucrose. The task of the fungus is to convert sugar into alcohol.
Beer and bakery varieties cannot be added to the mash, they are designed to create medium-quality alcoholic beverages, when the wort matures, they create a lot of foam and spoil the taste of the final drink.
How to choose the right yeast for wine?
Yeast for wine is chosen depending on the purpose of use and the type of wine material used.Manufacturers offer various brands of wine yeast. It is important to remember that beneficial fungi affect the color, texture and taste of the created beverage.
Types of wine yeast
General classification of yeast and starter cultures for wines:
- For different types of wines: white, red, sparkling and others.
- Depending on the fermentation time, they affect the rate of wort formation and preparation of the finished drink.
- Resistant to cold or heat, they can save wine under adverse temperature conditions.
- For fortified drinks that can ferment in the presence of alcohol in the wine.
- Accumulating fermentation products to enrich the taste of young wines.
- For wort with high acidity.
- Foam resistant.
- Lightening.
- Highly attenuating, made from sugar up to 20% alcohol.
Colonies of fungi are selected for each wine separately, for example, malic ferments need bacteria that can process malic acid. There are universal strains suitable for use in all types of wines.
Wine yeast brands
Various brands of wine yeast can be found on store shelves. The most popular are: Gervin, Lalvin, SP, PuriFerm. The release form is different, mainly yeast strains are dried, they are made in the form of a granular powder, which must be diluted with water.
Instructions for use
If a person purchases a proprietary mixture, then the instructions for use for the yeast starter culture are attached, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with it in order to prevent technical errors.
Basic rules and methods of using and applying wine yeast:
- Prepare clean water and heat it to a temperature of 30 FROM.
- Dilute the powder in the ratio recommended by the instructions.
- Stir and leave to ripen for 40 minutes.
- Add the mixture to the wort.
- It is necessary to use the diluted mixture within a week.
Important! At the time of yeast maturation (before pouring into the wort), it is not recommended to cover the container with a lid.
The temperature of the grape must must match the temperature of the water in which the yeast is mixed. There should be no temperature differences during pouring and adding to the wort. After fermentation and precipitation, the suspension from the bottom is collected and dried, so yeast colonies are prepared for future use. You can save the resulting material only in dry form.
How to do it yourself
You can make a ferment for wine wort with your own hands at home. Wine yeast is prepared from raisins, peels of berries or fruits, fermented wort. The basic rule is that temperature drops are unacceptable, bacteria are sensitive to this factor, fermentation can be interrupted.
From the peel of berries (fruits)
Yeast is a natural fungus that lives on the surface of the fruits of berry and fruit crops. To prepare a sourdough for a 10-liter mash container, just take 200 grams of ripe berries.
The best raw material for homemade starter cultures is a handful of raisins, but wild yeast can be grown on plums, cherries, currants, and strawberries.
Important! Berries and fruits for making homemade sourdough must not be washed.
Selected berry or fruit material is crumpled by hand and sugar is added. For a one-liter jar of sourdough, 200 grams of berries, 4 tablespoons with a slide of sugar, 600 milliliters of water are used. The container with the mixture must be covered with thick gauze and placed next to the battery in a dark place. The bacteria will ripen for about 5 days.
As soon as bubbles and foam appear on the surface, the leaven is ready. You can use homemade yeast within 10 days.
If the leaven is added at the stage of mash fermentation, it is not necessary to filter it, if the wort is clean, filtered, then the leaven is passed through cheesecloth, the precipitate is thrown away.
From fermenting wort
If the wine-making system in the household is well-established, then there will certainly be a container with wine, in which the stage of active fermentation takes place. Such colonies of fungi and bacteria must be preserved, since they can be used to start fermentation in a new wash.
To prepare a fermenting wort-based starter, it is necessary to collect the top layer of the fermenting wine. For a one-liter jar, it is enough to use 80-100 milliliters of yeast foam, the container is supplemented with clean warm water, 3 tablespoons of sugar are added and placed in a warm dark place, covered with thick gauze for 4-5 days.
As soon as the mixture is actively bubbling, it can be used, the liquid is filtered and poured into fresh wort.
From sediment
A good winemaker doesn't waste anything in the process of making drinks. The sediment collected from the bottom of the matured wine can be collected, dried and made for future fermentation.
To do this, the liquid is squeezed out of the wine sediment, the remaining suspension is evenly distributed over the plate and dried near the battery. Avoid exposure to sunlight and exposure to temperatures above +35 FROM.
Once the sediment has dried, it is scraped off the plate and poured into bags or small jars, tightly closed with a lid. Homemade dry yeast in this form can be stored for up to two years.
To activate the yeast powder, pour the granules into a jar, fill it with warm water, add sugar and stir. After 4 days the sourdough is ready for pouring into the wort.
Raisins
Raisins are an ideal material for creating a quality starter culture; you do not need to use dry powders. The recipe is simple. It is enough to use a handful of dried grapes for a 10-liter container of mash. Raisins are not washed, clean water is used for sourdough, the optimum temperature for fermentation is 30 FROM.
Dried grapes are poured with water, sugar is added and placed in a warm dark place for 4-5 days. Once the foam is on the surface, the homemade starter culture is ready to use.
What can be replaced?
Factory wine yeast can be replaced with homemade strains grown at home from ready-made wine material. Homemade yeast will not surprise you, it is easy to get. With experience, each winemaker keeps several types of homemade yeast colonies in stock.
If a person does not have the opportunity to purchase vintage wine yeast, and he has not yet grown his own, they prepare raisin sourdough - this is the easiest and most affordable way to create a replacement for wine yeast. It is not recommended to use bakery varieties in winemaking. Special types of yeast strains must be added to alcoholic tinctures.
