Energizer/

[Pam]

Could anyone explain the difference between Yeast energizer and Yeast nutrient? Recipe calls for energizer and my friend does not have any.
Can you substitute anything else. She is making apricot wine. Hope I have given you enough info. thanks

 

[Wade E]

If you have the nutrient it will do but energizer works even better as it has a few more ingredients to help fermentation along. Here is an article from WineMaker Mag for you to read of them.

"Though they serve a similar purpose, the above additives are not one and the same.

Yeast hulls (sometimes called "yeast ghosts") are essentially yeast skeletons. They’re the freeze-dried empty shells of yeast cells that have had the water and other liquid elements sucked out of them. Sounds a little gruesome, but yeast hulls provide extra nutrients that are critical to a fermentation.

Yeast extract, on the other hand, is basically a concentrated slurry of dead yeast cells. It’s sold dehydrated or wet. This slurry is rich in vitamins, minerals, nitrogen and other elements, some of which yeast can use and some that they’ll simply excrete un-metabolized.

Yeast nutrient (sometimes called "yeast food") is a scientific, laboratory-formulated mix of good stuff (nitrogen, amino acids, certain proteins and minerals) that yeast need and actively metabolize in fermentation conditions. Yeast nutrient is the most expensive additive of the three and a little bit goes a long way.

It's up to each individual winemaker to decide which additives, if any, they choose to introduce into a fermentation. Mead and other fruit beverages, which may lack the proper balance of nutrients for a maximized fermentation, are classic cases where yeast nutrients, yeast hulls and yeast extract have been successfully used."

 

[Malkore]

Yeast nutrient is usually a blend of stuff.

Yeast energizer is usually a nitrogen based 'food'...often DAP (di-ammonium phosphate?). Yeast need nitrogen to live, and depending on what you're making you may or may not have enough free nitrogen (FAN).

Beer doesn't need energizer cuz malt (wort) is full o' nitrogen.
Mead needs energizer because honey is relatively low in nitrogen.

Wine...well I'm only on my first wine kit so I cannot say what specific wine types come from grapes (or fruit) with low FAN.

 

[Skyhawk]

Stores around here (in Ontario), usually sell diammonium phosphate as yeast nutrient. Yeast energizer can be just about anything depending on the store, but usually contains trace minerals and vitamin B complex, along with yeast hulls, magnisum sulphate, and sometimes tricalcium phosphate. The energizer I use doesn't contain any nitrogen salts, and is meant to be used along with yeast nutrient.

 

[Wade E]

I typically use nutrient along with energizer in all my fruit wines. I have never had any stuck fermentations or H2S problems doing this and I ferment all my whites and fruit wines at very cool temps to keep as much ester in them as possible.

 

[Paco]

So between the two, energizer is simply... better?!

 

[Wade E]

It has more stuff in it but is only recommended in the beginning unlike nutrient where you can step it in and by adding some in the beginning and some later like 1/2 way through or a little less. Dont add any right near the end though as your yeast may not use it all and you will be left with an after taste.