How much yeast

[David Engel]

Hello Everyone,

Might seem like an odd question... but I have reviewed "kit" instructions and they say "add yeast, or "sprinkle the yeast...", which is in a packet included in the kit. Say someone has a 20 vine harvest, or maybe a 3 vine harvest... how much yeast do you use? Is there a ratio of some kind? What is too little yeast or too much yeast?

Dave

 

[CDrew]

1-1.5gram per gallon is pretty standard.

 

[BernardSmith]

If yeast comes in a pack then I would use the pack if you are making a batch anywhere between 1 gallon and 5 or 6 gallons. You can not really add too much yeast if you are a home wine maker but a) you CAN add too little and too little can stress the yeast and b) if you use only part of a pack then unless you have some way of storing the opened pack in STERILE conditions (and a fridge is not sterile) then you can bet the farm that your yeast will be nicely contaminated by all kinds of bacteria. Yeast is not expensive in the US but honey and fruit (and certainly wine grapes) can be. Penny wise and pound foolish should not be what others call you.

 

[mainshipfred]

I also use the 1-1.5 as a standard but realistically the yeast will continue to reproduce until all the sugar is gone. If you used less it might just take a little longer to get a good fermentation going.