Turbo Yeast v Tomato Paste : My Take On It From Start To Finish

[@highly-spirited]

A quick note - I’m from the uk, so our purée is also known as a paste in other countries

[@AnthonyBroady]

I’ve watched quite a few of your videos now and I find them really entertaining with useful information. Keep up the good work.

[@PompeyLearninated]

Great Video and loved the results. Nice one

[@budgetdadbbqbrewing268]

I really enjoy you getting in to the nuts and bolts of the craft with no nonsense. Well done and awesome video! Don’t lose that dry humor. 😂

[@highly-spirited]

I never like my videos that much, so it’s always nice to hear that, thank you 😊

[@LouwrensvanderMerwe]

Over the years I have compared these two washes many times and came to exactly the same conclusion as you have. Well done. Cheers.

[@highly-spirited]

Tbh I didn’t do a very good job with this comparison, but you could do it with a million different variations and still come out the other end thinking what is all the fuss about. Not sure if I’ve got the right attitude about it all, but if I’m happy with the journey, and the end product, then all is good in my world no matter how I get there. Thanks for your comment.

[@Prometheushighaf]

i have been learning about homebrewing and distilling, it was great listening to you use the lingo and me actually being able to understand it. fun video and i learned something thanks

[@highly-spirited]

I only know just enough to see me through, but that’s still nice to hear, so thank you.

[@MargaretLong-pg6it]

Useful - thank you. I've been a beer brewer for years, but am new to distilling. I only have a little pot still (Air Still). As cost is a factor for me, from your video, I'd lean towards the Tomato Paste wash! The Turbo yeasts are also trying to sell the clearing agents, the charcoal filtering etc. which really adds to the cost. I'm in full experimental mode at the moment, bran washes, apple juice, kale, cornflakes, etc. What I don't care for mellows into something much nicer. However, I'm comparing apples to oranges, as I don't have a reflux still. However, in my very limited experience, the BEST one I made was a failed batch of plum wine (fermented out too dry and thin), but it was lovely distilled!

[@keshwannaidu3943]

Great analogy. Over the years I have ran various different stills and recipes. Some recipes came out excellent some not so much. These days I run only sugar washes in a T500 and Turbo Yeast Pure for neutral spirits and the Classic 8 for making rum and whiskey by adding essence. It takes a lot less time and hassles and the quality is excellent every time. The key thing I find is temperature control.

[@highly-spirited]

I’m much the same. It’s not that a more traditional way to distill is any ‘better’, it’s just finding what suits you the best and that you can still enjoy the end product.

[@peterfinlay936]

in the birdwatchers in 100ltr wash i put half tspn of dap and half epson salt .really speeds it up and just dried active bread yeast . secret irish ingedient i like to through in is 2x tins of tesco pitted prunes as well as tomato paste . 100 litres done in 7 days at 28 centigrade every time .

[@Potter720]

Great video. This is the kind of experiment I wanna see!

[@highly-spirited]

Yeah I love doing them as well. And I do have a few more lining up soon, but it’s always trying to have the time to do it all. Stay tuned though 😎

[@torandresyltesether7832]

Have been doing turbo yeast a few times and can't really tell the difference other that it can handle higher abv. I always let the wash clear completely out and de-gass it completely before putting it into my still. Maybe my nose is "broken" and my taste is "broken" too, but I can't tell the difference from the finished product. I've only used turbo yeast for a neutral end-product. Thanks again for the entertainment, keep shining, and stay away from the covid-19.

[@anthonybarra2391]

Entertaining and insightful, great video thanks. I was going to try tomato paste, don’t think I’ll bother now as similar results. I use 2 spoons of dady yeast and 4 spoons of nutrient. Works great, 94% ethanol every time with no off flavours. Thanks for a good video. Nice still by the way

[@highly-spirited]

Thanks very much. Glad to hear you’re enjoying this hobby as well. 94% is impressive 👍 This vid was only my take on one attempt at a tpw, so please don’t take my word on the subject too seriously. If you can, have a go and see what you come up with.

[@robsalvv5853]

Just stumbled on your video. Thanks for the vid. I was pretty sure you weren't going to get much of a difference given your reflux still set up. I wonder what pot still mode would have produced? And I wasn't surprised that that the turbo yeast you used didn't throw off any off flavours. At 1.080 gravity points, the yeast didn't end up all that stressed. "Still Spirits" have a turbo yeast with which they recommend creating a sugar wash with a ridiculous amount of sugar, plus they recommend adding a carbon/charcoal product to the wash to help keep off flavours at bay during fermentation, plus clearing prior to distilling and then later filtering/finishing the distillate through an activated carbon filter to leave you with a genuinely neutral high ABV ethanol to be later flavoured as you like it. The yeast they use can apparently get you to at least 21% ABV in the wash. That's mental. But the turbo can't get you there without stressing the yeast so hence the need for the carbon in the wash. I think home distilling enthusiasts pour scorn on Turbo yeasts because there is no art in the way they are designed to pump out commodity volumes of ethanol and the fact that they can be up to $10 per packet. You're presumably familiar with George of the Barley and Hops Brewing channel? He lays it out that he used to make and sell his own "turbo" yeast, which was basically D.A.D.Y, DAP and yeast nutrient premixed and conveniently pre-packaged. No great mystery there.

[@highly-spirited]

Great comment there. I hear what you’re saying and I wish more people had your attitude and knowledge 👍👍👍

[@ardnfast]

I've got two batches on the go 1) the turbo wash that came with my T500 kit and 2) a Birdwatchers TPW. Everything is new to me but I can say that I measured off the ingredients to the gram for the TPW and it was bubbling away within the hour, faster and quicker than the Turbo product. Note, both are still going strong 7 days later so yet to test SG, taste etc.

[@highly-spirited]

Good job. I you can, please pop a message back on your findings of the end result. And good luck with your new hobby 😎

[@Cerevisi]

I'd like to see Voss Kviek at 90F vs Turbo... I might give it a go, I think my turbo is still viable.

[@wellyftw]

Interesting comparison! I'm pretty new to this game but have done a turbo yeast batch in my air still and a TPW batch for a cleaning run for my big still. I'm just about to distill my second TPW batch - which used brown sugar and black treacle. Both TPW batches went great guns and finished fermenting in a week. The latest one went from 1.078 to 0.094 in 5 days. Funny how yeast behaves in different environments.

[@highly-spirited]

It was a while a go and also as a ‘one off’ comparison it’s definitely not a definitive conclusion. But it’s what happened to me and my experience. Good to hear you’re having great results from your batches. Keep Shining 😎

[@paulsapper]

Ive done both the TYSW and TPSW. The main difference I noticed was the same as you, I can smell the Tomato paste ever so slightly and also can very slightly taste the TP and was a little sweet. Great video Cheers

[@highly-spirited]

Glad I’m not the only one that thinks that. Thanks for your comment 👍

[@mauistevebear]

well done! keep up the good work! I've watched a few videos on the tomato paste wash and now, because of your brilliant side by side comparison, will stay with the sugar/turbo wash ! Mahalos plenty!

[@jay71512]

Turbo wash is fine as long as you dont use too much sugar! Most packets instruct to start at way too high. Also its much cheaper to do tpw that turbos. I do 100 litre batches and it cost about £22 if i done 100l turbo it would cost more than double that!

[@T.Mitcbree]

Late to your video but. Doesn't TPW use Bakers yeast? Takes longer but is cleaner.

[@rogerblack4603]

I also found the Still Spirits "Distillers Vodka Yeast" to be very slow. In a TFFV recipe it took a month to get to a SG of .995 . At which point I lost patience and ran the wash. The result was pretty good, but I won't be trying it again... Normally when I have a TFFV , with ordinary bakers yeast, it takes well less than a week to ferment. I'd be interested a blind comparison of turbo yeast vs TFFV.

[@highly-spirited]

Thanks, that’s interesting and sounds ooh so familiar 😆 I’ll look into TFFV as another possible experiment, as I’ve never gone anywhere near bakers yeast for fermenting alcohol 👍👍

[@williampratt7595]

Morning Team after just watching this video yes you probably could of used little of nutrients such as wine nutrient commonly known as DAP diammonium phosphate this definitely improves time and yeast working though time is a factor on the other hand, Turbo Pure yeast is the ultimate yeast it improves the quality of finished spirit we only discard the first 50 ml as methanol alcohol is produced at a lower temperature also I still constantly get 93 - 49 % the addition of turbo carbon also gives you a cleaner wash though turns your wash black being carbon But then using turbo clear which drops all the unfermented and undesirables to the bottom of the fermentor as you well know there is a selection of turbo yeasts and I have tried them all but you cant really go past Pure yeast yes it takes about 5- 6 days but it is worth it

[@DripdropBrewing]

Omg what amazing video and always wanted to know the answers to this perfect and mad results. Hey your bubble plate are awesome. I got a d500 still and want one of those plates and the 4 channels mate. Will that one work on mine?? Also if not where do they do mine I don't even know what size hole it is because I know ali express got loads just need to know the screw on the condenser is

[@highly-spirited]

Cheers buddy. I don’t know what fits on a T500, but if it’s a thread then there might be some info on the web about what size it is. Then you would need an adapter to get from the thread on your lid to a Tri-Clamp fitting. There is also something called a Weldless Tri-Clamp that might be of some help. But good luck with that.

[@physcho84]

Temperature is an issue with TPW and yeast selection, I use bakers yeast and get to 0.99 in 5-6 days at high 20s centigrade.

[@jonathanedwards8913]

I second that. Mine is at 32C, at 48hrs we’ve gone from 1.076 to 1.030. (TPW)

[@aleccap5946]

Now the use of this 92% or even 42% how much would it cost to buy a litre in a plastic bottle ? I want to buy 90% vodka but too expensive for me to but flavours and mix with sugar into liqueur ? Can you buy this ????

[@stephenshaw6244]

Not a birdwatchers, its a version of a tpw.. Should have used Paste, puree is half or less the strength but still seems to do the job others say.. 70g of bakers yeast and keep the PH in check as it drops down to 3ish after 24 hours. SG should have been 1.070 but it will ferment at 1.080 in 14 to 21 days if the ph is kept above 4 otherwise it stalls out s it did.. You might have got a cleaner taste with the original recipe but saying that I also found it had a slight twang which is why I do kale washes now..

[@gordslater]

Any idea what your fermentation hemps were? Turbo yeast generates quite a bit of heat - this of course means it runs hotter as it consumes sugar than the TPSW and this speeds up time to completeion - in summer it can easily overheat. The TPSW seemed very slow - I suspect a starter might have been helpful to give it a more rapid start, maybe it also needed some extra heat or a wooly wrap around it.

[@gordslater]

Oh and for yeast nutrient, Sainsburys low-salt yeast extract (marmite-like) works OK - 1 level teaspoon per gallon. Or 2-3 teaspoons per gallon of Morissons nutritional yeast flakes (not all stores carry them) - basically dead dried yeast. Or save an boil up some yeast from the previous batch to kill it and add some (amount will vary depending on how thick your trub slurry is and how you dilute it) A bit too much hassle for me so low-salt marmite and a handful of yeast flakes fits the bill. All these things mainly just add vitamin B, so you can crush some pure vitamin B complex tablets as an alternative.

[@dack4545]

I stressed my yeast out last week to high temp at 35c forgot to take the heat belt off smelt like farts for a few days the smell went away after I dropped the heat belt and the wash tastes the same as all my others, the yeast did die but so I've added two more teaspoons of 48 TY and it's cranking again at 25c, I'm like you mate off flavours what are they doing having a crap in there fermenter 🤣👍🏻🇦🇺

[@Teddysad]

Try a TFFV for a better ferment and taste

[@peterbartley9777]

Did you run either of the products through Activated Carbon?

[@chuckdock4436]

I've always done sugar mashes with turbo yeast but just did my first tomato paste one yesterday. I did use regular bread yeast as well for the first time. It started fementing instantly and did it with a fury for the first 24 hours! In my 6 gallon mash I used 54 grams of yeast though which seems like a lot more than that packet of vodka yeast you used. Maybe that was the reason for the crazy long time to ferment? I hope thats not the case with my batch but time will tell. Great video, to the point and clear for sure!!!

[@highly-spirited]

Thanks for your kind words. I’ve got some bread yeast, as I’ve always wanted to have a go at using some in a sugar wash, but I’ve not got around to it yet.

[@ricky4497]

I'm curious, how did that fermentation proceed after you wrote last?

[@chuckdock4436]

@@ricky4497 From what I recall, it took a while to finish fermenting but then when I distilled it, the yield wasn't that great. Sadly I didn't record the start or finish gravity. After that I did go to a bigger fermenter and turbo yeast, and lots of sugar for some outstanding yields! The trick to make it taste good is doing the double distill. I'll always do that going forward.

[@hornetlm42]

That's good to know there's not much difference in taste When fermenting did you not use a heater

[@highly-spirited]

There wasn’t any discernible taste difference between them, for either us, at all. And no need for a heater, as I covered the fermenter and it was in an airing cupboard. So this kept it at a consistent 20-25°c.

[@PaulSmith-jr1qe]

Try the Shady's sugar shine recipe off the home distillers forum you won't want anything else after that.

[@sarmatiko]

Thank you for comparison, I was wondering if it's relay better than dedicated turbo yeasts and found my answer here. I think it makes sense to use TPSW for budget reasons or in locations where turbo yeasts are hard to find or unavailable, or as experiment (heck i will try this recipe for myself too sometimes). But I just happen to live 30 minutes away from local yeast factory and 0.5 kilo of fresh turbo yeast cost less than 1$ here, so there's really no excuse not to use it. On an unrelated note, have you tried walnut internal shells infusion?

[@highly-spirited]

Yeah, this was just what I thought, and my experience of it all. There’s no real right or wrong conclusion to something like this, other than what ‘you’ decide for yourself. 👍👍 Not tried the nut shells. I’ve come across it online a few years back, but never got around to actually doing it. Have you made some before?

[@sarmatiko]

​@@highly-spirited yeah my uncle likes to infuse wash with walnut partitions (those thin inside parts). He takes partitions from ~15-20 dry walnuts per 500ml of wash, infuses those for 10 days, filters and then lets it sit for few more weeks in dark place for best results. Partitions give rich "black tea" coloring (if you let it sit for too long, color can become too dense and dark) and earthy\tannic aftertaste. It may also add some bitterness (depends on the amount of partitions - too much of them will give over-concentrated taste) so some people also add little amounts of sweeteners like caramel or honey and citrus skins.

[@highly-spirited]

@@sarmatiko lovely, thanks ever so much for the details. I’ll put that in my ‘black’ book of things to try. Nuts are known for their oils, but I guess there’s no issue with the shells in that respect then?

[@sarmatiko]

@@highly-spirited no, I don't think there's much (if any at all) oils in partitions, at least if infused for 7-10 days max. Some say there's high iodine content, because it's walnut, and also this infusion frequently mentioned as traditional\folk medicine remedy (although there's no scientific evidence about its effectiveness). This infusion comparable to wooden chips infusions but with noticeable walnut aroma and aftertaste.

[@ianga1960]

Good video. The TPW would have fermented faster with tomato paste rather than puree. Paste is around 3 x more concentrated.

[@highly-spirited]

Thanks. But a tomato paste (here in the uk) is just watered down mushed up tomatoes and a purée (double concentrated) is what’s needed for the nutrients.

[@ianga1960]

That's true. You can buy tomato paste online. My tpw ferments to dry in 6 or 7 days using just cheap bakers yeast. I find ffv much faster, often done in 72 hours.

[@PSYCHOPATHiO]

I found this video again on my youtube stream while researching "DIY turbo yeast" . I made 2 new batches of 20 liters & added 2 teaspoons of DAP & 2 multivitamin tablets "Two-Per-Day" brand, it has high daily values of vitamin B. The yeast is going crazy and went down 25 points in 48 hours. Might be a good idea for a future video "DIY Turbo Yest"

[@highly-spirited]

Thanks. I’ve printed it and it’s now put into the book of things to do 👍

[@PSYCHOPATHiO]

@@highly-spirited just a follow-up another 24 hours, 10 points down. Im learning from you & its nice to share my knowledge that I've learned with you so you can pass them through to the community.

[@highly-spirited]

@@PSYCHOPATHiO I’d be well above my station if I thought I was teaching anything to anyone. But thanks for the info and, if you can, please keep me updated with your progress 😎

[@hlwehlwe7106]

If there is no discernable difference in the taste, what was the cost comparison?

[@TheAlbiCollier]

Only a few dollars really... I tried tpw. Took ages for less spirit and after secondary and double filter couldn't justify the losses hahaha

[@carlhakanson1698]

I only do TPW because its the cheapest for me, I can do a whole TPW wash - 5kg sugar, 200gm tp, 80g yeast for the same price as just the turbo yeast so i stick with TPW. I think maybe in this video your 20g of yeast was not enough, the recipe i use from aussiedistiller uses 80grams of bakers yeast, for me its normally completed fermentation and dropped out of suspention in about a week. I might give turbo a go if I can find the yeast cheap in a big pack like you have, seems easier to me then fussing about with tomato paste.

[@highly-spirited]

I’m sure you’re absolutely correct about the quality of Yeast I used 👍 Its always a case of ‘Each to their own’ and if it works for you then thats all that matters. But I mostly do use Turbo Yeast for Sugar Washes, as like you’ve just said, it’s easy and a whole lot less of a faff. So sometimes there’s a bit of give and take 😎

[@tony0x48]

Hmm, the Still Spirits Distillers Vodka Yeast has nutrients, vitamins and enzymes in it according to the Still Spirits website, a bit like a turbo yeast in fact, so maybe it would have done better without the tomato paste etc, it's already got what it needs in the pack. I'd like to see how that yeast does with just sugar and water like you did with the turbo. For a tomato paste wash, I'd think you want to use a plain yeast without nutrients, because that's what the tomato paste is there for. Maybe a champagne yeast would get an ABV not too far below the turbo. (Says the guy who's only been distilling for less than three months, so take it how you will.)

[@highly-spirited]

That’s odd as the ingredients on this packet state only yeast & E491. And my research I found “These yeasts have been reformulated and no longer contain nutrients. You will need to add nutrient and enzyme (so you can create a totally bespoke fermentation) but please read the guide in the booklet provided depending on the mash you are doing. This is really important as the yeast on its own will produce very poor results.” 🤷‍♂️

[@tony0x48]

@@highly-spirited I think I misinterpreted a chart on the Still Spirits website showing what the yeast needs, not what it contains, my bad. Keep up the good work!

[@fourdeadinohio8303]

Tony A....For a tomato paste wash, I'd think you want to use a plain yeast without nutrients, because that's what the tomato paste is there for...you are correct.. if you use real turbo yeast all it is mostly is EC 1118 {DADS} with nutes. i can't say any thing about the yeasts he's using cause i never tried them,,, says a guy who's been stilling for 5 years...lol

[@gordslater]

every TSPW I've seen done just used dried bread yeast (the hand-knead stuff, not the breadmaker stuff - there's a slight difference - maybe the the breadmaker stuff has a coating to prevent it starting straight away)

[@TheNumbers400]

I think you should do it again but using way more yeast in the tomato wash to give it a more even race to the Turbo

[@highly-spirited]

The quantity of yeast was actually double the amount needed to ferment the wash. There are a few things that could have slowed it down, but the point of having a slow ferment (according to some) is that you can avoid ’off’ flavours, like the turbo yeast packs are supposed to do.

[@TheNumbers400]

​@@highly-spirited Then how about using multi vitamin tablets and epsom salt as well to bring it closer to the Turbo? I really need to bring my old still out of storage. You youtubers are fueling the longing to make this a hobby again. I like the process more then the end product

[@highly-spirited]

@@TheNumbers400 the idea was to see if I could tell any difference from the 2 types of sugar washes, and not to make them the same when it came to the fermenting side of things. After distillation, I only found them to be different but neither really good nor really awful. Just different. And, get your Still out again! I love this hobby 😁😁😁

[@Philmoon69]

Soooooooooooooo. I have always done turbo yeast and was very happy with my product at 95 percent. But recently while drunk i allowed my product to be produced at 87 percent.... Afterwards I could clearly taste a difference between the 95 watered down to 40 and the 87 down to 40. Disgusting ! like honestly very gross. I now can taste the off flavours like they are jumping out at me to the point i feel sick if I taste it. I'm still using the turbo but I am much more careful to not allow my product numbers to drop. Try this again but maybe brew to a lower ABV as some of these guys are with their cheaper stills than ours (an air still can only produce 70% etc). This could possibly explain the huge hate for turbo ?! Shine on !

[@highly-spirited]

Great comment! That highlights the carryover of flavours in the percentages of distillation and how efficient/effective you are using your Still. There’s also other possibilities, like running a Pot Still too hard could mean that some Heads and or Tails have tainted the final product. Mind you, I’m no expert, I only have an opinion and like most, I use what works for me. Keep Shining buddy 😎😎

[@Philmoon69]

I have only made turbo yeast washes. I get about 93 -- 95 % distillate. I honestly cannot taste anything horrible at all in my watered down to 40 % drinks

[@highly-spirited]

Glad I’m not the only one then, as that’s the same attitude/results I’ve found 😁👍👍

[@satmuts]

did you filter ?

[@highly-spirited]

No, not at all.

[@williampratt7595]

OOPs sorry guys i meant to write 93-94 5 not 49 cheers

[@gordie141]

Good stuffs, so much stigma around turbo yet it just ferments soo damn fast and tastes pretty much the same.

[@BigEdsGuns]

Stigma comes from using turbo yeast with all grain/molasses batches or "tried and true" recipes that use a certain style yeast. As HSpirited stated some can smell and taste the difference, some can not. Everyone's opinion will be different. I use bakers yeast because it's cheaper than turbo. Cheers Gordie!

[@TodmordenFred]

Not a fan of tpw. Would be nice you doing comparisons with Tsffv and a kale wash. Also not using a still spirits 👎 yeast (which is still their turbo yeast but without the packaged nutrients). But either std bakers yeast or Dady yeast.

[@rogerblack4603]

I tried the Still Spirits "Distillers Vodka Yeast" once in a TFFV and it took a month. Based on that one experience, I'm guessing its not a turbo. Would be interested to know other peoples experiences with it.

[@TodmordenFred]

@@rogerblack4603 it’s not turbo. As turbo is packaged with a heap of other nutrients etc. But it’s the same yeast. So will give similar flavours but longer fermentation

[@letmelooktv]

that stuff would be great for making essential oils.

[@vrtsgme]

Now go Kale. Leaves the rest behind, cleanest wash ever.

[@highly-spirited]

I’m sure I’ll give it a go, as I’m open to trying most things 👍

[@PSYCHOPATHiO]

This is the video everyone wanted but no one asked for it looooooooooool.... you could filter the 40% and that will take out any off flavours.

[@robertfontaine3650]

If strongly suspect the drama with turbo yeast comes from people pushing the yeast to high alcohol percentages and creating a bunch of off tasting esters. People who ferment at 10-12% don't seem to report a big difference between bakers, dady, "turbo" yeast - which is just dady with a lot of nutrients to support a higher percentage, and ec-1118. There is a huge difference in price of the yeast though. It is my understanding the Distillers yeast is faster to clear and ends up being about the same price as you end up using about 1/4 the yeast but that is just based on reading the wineos sugar wash thread. Dady or Baker's are just a whole heck of a lot cheaper than a package of dady + nutrients and with a "turbo" sticker.

[@highly-spirited]

Absolutely! Couldn’t agree more :) A horse could get you from A to B, or a bike, or a bus, or a car etc. etc. If it works for you then it works. And that’s all it needs to do.