Low Alcohol Tolerant Yeasts

[hobartbrewer]

You'd probably need to drop 1 to 1.5kg of xylitol into a 23L batch to have it properly sweetened I guess. It isn't "that much" sweeter than normal sugar and has a cooling effect on the tongue. I have 750G here and used to eat a lot of it when on a weird diet, it's certainly interesting that much is for sure. No real aftertaste though, just the cooling sensation which may be pleasant in some drinks, not so in others.

Compared to lactose though this thing will make anyone **** explosive water (literally) if they take too much. But it's usually without cramps or anything of that nature. So be warned I guess. Might be a fun drink to give guests .

 

[nuggetron]

xylitol is found in gum and candy, foods like mushrooms, lettuce, cauliflower strawberries etc, which is perfect cause i eat plenty of those which may mean i have a slight tolerance for it

 

[hobartbrewer]

xylitol is found in gum and candy, foods like mushrooms, lettuce, cauliflower strawberries etc, which is perfect cause i eat plenty of those which may mean i have a slight tolerance for it

Unlikely. Gum and candy have miniscule amounts. Once you get some, have 4 tablespoons and wait 10-15 minutes and you will see. I've done this to a few people.

For me personally over time I didn't gain a tolerance to it, if anything it got worse for me. This was over a 2 month period where I had it in every coffee I had (about 2-3 tablespoons a day roughly). Perhaps you need to wait longer to gain a tolerance or I was overdoing it. I didn't mind it too much personally, it's almost like a cleanse. Whereas excessive lactose is painful.

 

[nuggetron]

You'd probably need to drop 1 to 1.5kg of xylitol into a 23L batch to have it properly sweetened I guess. It isn't "that much" sweeter than normal sugar and has a cooling effect on the tongue. I have 750G here and used to eat a lot of it when on a weird diet, it's certainly interesting that much is for sure. No real aftertaste though, just the cooling sensation which may be pleasant in some drinks, not so in others.

Compared to lactose though this thing will make anyone **** explosive water (literally) if they take too much. But it's usually without cramps or anything of that nature. So be warned I guess. Might be a fun drink to give guests .

had to rain on the parade
i would ask how sweet you find it when mixed in a drink but sweetness isnt easily measured and varies between people too much
cooling effect is interesting, in a cider would it be a positive effect, i drink cider particularly when it is hot out side and the cider is freezing cold, so i suppose the cooling effect wouldnt be noticed or would appear to be extremely refreashing
this diet with xylitol, how much where you going through a day? did you experience a laxative effect? were they less frequent effects as the diet went on; assuming you lasted a few weeks on the diet

 

[hobartbrewer]

had to rain on the parade
i would ask how sweet you find it when mixed in a drink but sweetness isnt easily measured and varies between people too much
cooling effect is interesting, in a cider would it be a positive effect, i drink cider particularly when it is hot out side and the cider is freezing cold, so i suppose the cooling effect wouldnt be noticed or would appear to be extremely refreashing
this diet with xylitol, how much where you going through a day? did you experience a laxative effect? were they less frequent effects as the diet went on; assuming you lasted a few weeks on the diet

I would **** about 2-4 times a day on xylitol, all times very watery. So yes, it had a laxative effect. But instant coffee also has a similar effect and I had them together, so perhaps its slightly exaggerated. It would be regular, have xylitol+coffee, 30-60 minutes later ****. I'd usually have about a tablespoon per cup and maybe 2-3 cups a day.

You may be different though so no harm in seeing what your own tolerances are. There is no "aftertaste" as such with xylitol which makes it pretty unique. But it doesn't taste the same as sugar either. I have no idea how it will taste in a brew, I may find out soon.

 

[nuggetron]

may try a bottle with it mixed in and if its good im happy if not then its dry ciders from now on
cheers man

 

[staggalee]

Compared to lactose though this thing will make anyone **** explosive water (literally) if they take too much. But it's usually without cramps or anything of that nature. So be warned I guess. Might be a fun drink to give guests .

But that would mean going out of your way to give people the *****.You wouldn`t want to do that, surely?

 

[hobartbrewer]

But that would mean going out of your way to give people the *****.You wouldn`t want to do that, surely?

As a gag to your mates late on a Friday night when all shame is lost... would be pretty funny. As long as you weren't at your house because who wants to clean the toilet, lawn and floor up after that....

 

[nuggetron]

ok guys
soooooo i found out that xylitol is a prohibited import if you plan on getting it from overseas so just a warning

 

[GuyQLD]

I know this is a bit of a bump, but looking at doing my first batch of mead pretty soon and one of those annoying questions I couldn't find the answer to popped up. What happens to yeast when it reaches the upper limits of it's alcohol tolerance? Does it die or simply go dormant?

My reason for asking is simple, if I used something like Wyeast semi-sweet yeast, which goes up to about 12% in a must that has enough sugar to support a little over that, I end up with a sweet mead (at least as far as I understand). At which point, what does diluting then do to the mead?

For example, if I wanted to make a semi sweet of around 9% or so, can I simply make it up to say (and I'm pulling this out my arse at the moment) 15L instead of 20L with the same fermentables, wait until it's completely finished, 3 months etc... then dilute to the correct volume and age?

I couldn't actually find anything on google to that affect. It's probably idiotic, but hey! Sometimes you've gotta ask.

 

[barls]

theres always the possibility once you dilute the yeast will start

 

[GuyQLD]

That's pretty much what I figured, in fact it'd probably do such nasty things to the poor bugger it'd taste horrible afterwards. I guess I'll just cut back a litre or two and make it a bit stronger, that's half the fun right?

 

[barls]

the other option is to change your yeast to something clean like us05 and build it as a 15% but it will only go to about 9 at the most.

 

[GuyQLD]

Hmm, that's something to consider when you consider that 2 packs of Us 05 will save me stuffing around with starters, worrying about viability etc etc.. and cost me the same amount as a smack pack. I've only got enough honey to do up to around 12% at 19L or so, Even a steller US 05 probably wouldn't go that high I would imagine so should easily leave enough residual sweetness to keep the masses entertained. I personally would probably prefer it a touch dryer anyway, so that might work out well.

Anyone got any experience with US05 in this application? The US brewers seem to prefer the wine strains, but there's a few mentions of US05.

*Edit: Notto gets mentioned a fair bit as well.

 

[barls]

i used 1388 at one stage made a decent mead. never used us05 for mead. i do like D47 for a mead and want to try 71b next time.

 

[Airgead]

i used 1388 at one stage made a decent mead. never used us05 for mead. i do like D47 for a mead and want to try 71b next time.

71B is my goto yeast if I want to make something sweeter. it tops out at around 12%-13% from memory so I can make a sweet or semi sweet without needing to make rocket fuel to get there.

Cheers
Dave

 

[labels]

I used champagne yeast which will hit 18% under the right conditions.

My goal was to make a sweet mead with about the same alcohol as fortified wine and about the same sweetness - think port wine.

It took nearly two years, racking and adding fresh yeast from time to time along with nutrient. When the alcohol topped out I kept adding honey until I had the desired sweetness.

It ended up being a little cloying so I added 500g of citrus peel (from the supermarket cake section) for a couple of weeks. The citrus took away the cloying entirely without impacting on the honey taste.

In the end, a great mead that I sip from a port glass in winter.

-=Steve=-

 

[Airgead]

I used champagne yeast which will hit 18% under the right conditions.

My goal was to make a sweet mead with about the same alcohol as fortified wine and about the same sweetness - think port wine.

It took nearly two years, racking and adding fresh yeast from time to time along with nutrient. When the alcohol topped out I kept adding honey until I had the desired sweetness.

It ended up being a little cloying so I added 500g of citrus peel (from the supermarket cake section) for a couple of weeks. The citrus took away the cloying entirely without impacting on the honey taste.

In the end, a great mead that I sip from a port glass in winter.

-=Steve=-

Good way to do a really strong mead. The other (much quicker) way is to use a base mead which has the flavor you want then fortify it with a spirit (like brandy) and then sweeten with honey to taste. The fortification prevents refermentation if you fortify strong enough (over 18% usually works).

Cheers
Dave