Do I need to use a whole sachet of yeast for a 1 gallon batchp?

[arcticsid]

I did an experiment batch with one gallon of apple cider, I added enough sugar to make rocket fuel(thats what I want out of this one), I took a few ounces of the must and sprinkled about half of a sachet on it and let it sit for an hour or so. It started quite nice, I pitched it and a few hours later shes fizzing like mad.( I used premier cuvee, because it's what I had on hand.)

So... do I need to use a whole sachet for a one gallon batch? It doesn't appear so.

Please advise.
Troy

 

[gonzo46307]

Hey Troy,

I don't think I've ever used a whole packet for my one gallon batches, I don't think you really need to use a whole packet for a 6 gallon batch. The yeast will multiply given the right conditions, no matter how much you use.

Peace,
Bob

 

[smurfe]

It all depends on your starting gravity and the viability of the yeast. The higher the gravity the more yeast cells you need. If your yeast pack has a recent manufacture date on it or a long away expiration date and the yeast has been stored properly and you are pretty sure your vendor stored it properly you should have no problem measuring out percentages by weight of the pack and using it as such. If you are making numerous batches at once I could see doing this. If the opened pack is going to sit around a while I would just dump it all in.

 

[arcticsid]

kinda what I was thinkin too guys, thanks for the reassurance.
No sense to use a whole pack when you may be able to start 3 batches.

 

[Madriver Wines]

The problem with leaving some for later is if any moisture at all gets to the yeast it will activate and not be any good later when you need it.

 

[ffemtreed]

yeast is super cheap and you really can't add too much to start. I wouldn't risk trying to split it three ways, or even two ways. The risk doesn't outweight the benefit.

 

[Wade E]

1 packet of yeast is not too much for a 1 gallon bach but if you are doing a few like most pther people have said then by all means split it up. I dont think Smurfe could have said it any better, it all depemds on what kind of a strain youre going to put on this yeast.

 

[arcticsid]

You're absolutely right Wade, I only asked cause I wanted to start a couple quick gallon experiments and only had one pack on hand.

 

[smurfe]

Actually you can add too much yeast. While wine is much more forgiving than beer you can still get off flavors and fusal alcohols from too high of a yeast pitch. We have all read the posts where someone starts a kit and 3-4 days later the wine is at terminal gravity already. This was normally due to a healthy yeast count and in essence an over pitch.

Another disadvantage of over pitching is for example you have oak or other adjuncts in the wine during primary fermentation that you want to extract a certain flavor profile in that time frame. For beer I use a pitch calculator that takes into the account the fermentation temp, SG, and size of batch to calculate the amount of yeast needed at the initial pitch. I don't know if there is any calculators out there like that for wine though. If you have an average SG wine though there is nothing wrong with pitching half a pack in each gallon of wine.