Yeast Co2 Question

[stevereade]

I was wondering today whether it would be a good idea to disolve the sugar in the water then add yeast to speed things along when changing bottle mixes?

 

[lljdma06]

What do you currently do? Normally, I'll add the sugar, then the yeast, then the water, close it tight, give it a good shake and then I get CO2 less than an hour later. But that might not be for everyone. I don't tend to get the yeast leaking, so I can give it a good shake like that and my container is the Nutrafin canister, which has a much, much smaller opening. This is probably what discourages the yeast from leaking.

 

[ian]

+1 for llj's method.

 

[mbsqw1d]

1st time round i just put in the sugar then added the yeast/water mix, then topped up with water. Days later I just found a large amount of sugar in the base of the bottle doing nothing.

From now on, I get the water from the hot water tap (reasonably hot) and add the sugar to that. Give it a good shake until dissolved. In the meantime the yeast is sat in a glass of luke warm water with a tiny bit of sugar, frothing for 10 mins . I then make sure the bottle of sugar-water is at the right temp for adding the yeast-water (by either adding some cool water). Most nights i'll try and give the bottles a gentle 'swirl' to ensure the sugar hasn't settled. Although I'm not sure if this is a bad idea, will I just be mixing the alcohol up and killing the yeast off quicker?

Has anyone heard that adding some bi-carb of soda helps in some way?

 

[lljdma06]

I used to add bicarb when I lived in IL, but I don't need it in Miami. I'm not even certain I needed it up there either, but it was in the common mixes of the time, so I just followed the recipe. It didn't hurt the mix and I got good results both ways. I kind of like the way the alcohol smells.

llj

 

[Ryefish]

i found dissolving the sugar before adding it to the bottle made the bottle last a really short time. The way i do/did it was adding the sugar to the bottle with a funnel, adding the yeast and water solution, then topping up with warm water. I used to shake it, but then just left the sugar in the bottom as it was. it eventually dissolves itself if the yeast works its way down

 

[mbsqw1d]

id have thought itd last th same time and if not then reducing the amount of yeast would make it last longer. however it would b less intense and so an extra bottle could be added..

 

[ian]

you only need to add bicarb if you water is super soft, the carbonates are present in medium-hard water.

 

[SuperColey1]

I put the sugar in first, then fill with very hot water to about 2" below where the water level will be when ready. Then I invert the bottle and shake it, let the sugar dissolve fully. May take a few shakes over several minutes.


then I mix a couple of piches of sugar in a small amount of WARM water then add the yeast. Give it a gentle stir. Let it sit for a few minutes, then another gentle sit and then I add it to the bottle. The very hot water will have cooled to warm by then and so won't harm the yeast.

Then I add more warm water to the jug I mixed the yeast in to get the last remnants into the pop bottle until it is fillewd to required level. Then its in position and screw the lid on.

Shaking the mixture up gives a faster but shorter output apparently. So I just pour the yeast mix in and let it do its own thing.

Similar time frame to Llj about an hour, sometimes less before I get bubbles.

AC

 

[Haveagojoe]

I do it the same way as when we bake bread, put the yeast and sugar in a cup or glass of warm water stir and leave for about 15-20 minutes until the mixture has a good frothy head on it, then add it to your container of warm sugar and water,it will start to bubble in less than 30 minutes, one thing to remember though is everything has to be spotlessly clean any remnants of old alchohol in your container will kill the active yeast cells.