"I have been out of the hobby for a while but am jumping back in, life got in the way for a while. I have a couple questions on yeast. i understand that certain strains of yeast are more tolerant to alcohol and thus make a higher alcohol wash. When people state they are using bakers yeast, is the kind they sell in the store like ""fleishmans"" etc for baking? The ones in the little packets? Or am i way off here?

Second question. In the Alaskan bootleggers bible, the author writes about priming your yeast and then keeping some in a bottle in the fridge to use again on your next wash. Does this work? Any advice on the process?

Amount of yeast used- is there a specific amount or ratio to use or does it just take longer for smaller amounts used to create your wash, can you use too much also?

Thanks everyone. Glad to be able to get back into the hobby. Im gonna make a sugar wash this weekend, my family has been all over me for lagging. To many honey does.
Flipskid"

"flipskid,

Welcome back to the hobby!

Yes, Fleishmans is baker's yeast. You can get the small packets or find the 1 lb. bags. Several shopper's ""clubs"" sell the large bags at pretty low prices (like 2 x 1 lb bags for under 5 USD). I believe you'll find posts, etc. stating that the alcohol tolerance of baker's yeast is around 10% - 12%, and some claim they have been able to push it as high as 14%. I've used it many times, but my washes were never higher than 10% - 11%. I haven't used it much lately. Not because I don't like it ... only because I've been trying other strains. However, I have noticed that my baker's yeast washes don't clear as well as my washes with wine yeast strains.

As for the amount of yeast. That's up to you. When I use a wine yeast I just follow the mfr's recommendations. With baker's yeast I use a lot since it's so inexpensive (as much as 8 tbs in a 22L wash).

Regards,
--JB"