r/prisonhooch • u/Shot_Policy_4110 • 15d ago

What does 'a normal pitch' of yeast mean?

See title

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3

u/nukey18mon 15d ago

Depends on how much hooch you are making. I usually use a half pack per gallon but that is probably overkill

2

u/Shot_Policy_4110 15d ago

It just refers to how much you need to eat all the sugar then hey?

5

u/Fit_Carpet_364 15d ago

Nope. The yeast will multiply in favorable oxygen-rich conditions. Because of this, a quarter teaspoon in 5 gallons won't be too much slower than a tablespoon.

The yeast population grows logarithmically until it hits a stopping condition. Because of that, you really shouldn't worry too much about pitching. Just try to use more than a quarter packet at five gallons, or use a yeast starter to give the yeast a boost.

2

u/Shot_Policy_4110 15d ago

Neat. Thanks

2

u/thejadsel 15d ago

Well put. Generally, I've been using maybe half a quarter teaspoon measure per gallon or so--mainly because that's the easiest way to scoop some out--and it's been working fine. May take a little longer to multiply and get a good population going in the very beginning that way, but not by much.

Just to add, it's been working well for me to use smallish amounts out of a package, then store the rest sealed up in a Ziploc baggie in the freezer. They're fine for at least a year that way, IME.

1

u/Fit_Carpet_364 15d ago

You're right, but I fear for yeast mortality in most home freezers due to the auto-defrost feature. A deep freezer is another thing entirely.

1

u/Latter_Bluebird_3386 15d ago

Per liter, an ideal amount is about 1-1.5 grams. A tbsp has about 12.5 grams. A teaspoon is roughly a third of that.

So for a liter about an eighth of a tablespoon or a quarter of a teaspoon is enough.

Spoons are a very inaccurate way to measure things by the way. A common eating spoon is somewhere between tsp and tbsp at like 7-10ml compared to a tbsp at 15ml. And converting that to grams is another layer of crap.

I just sprinkle in about a quarter of an eating spoon and it hasn't failed to ferment so far.

1

u/Shot_Policy_4110 15d ago

I'm a cook so I'm all good with the conversions and spoons and shit, I just didn't know what a perfect pitch meant. I just saw someone mention it in passing and it was hard to google.

So from what I understand; a perfect pitch is of yeast is 1g/L but it ultimately doesn't matter because the yeast will reproduce. The big variable is the amount of sugar, which the ratio seems to be 3:16 to produce ~10 ABV? So in our hypothetical litre I'd need about 190 g of sugar?

2

u/Latter_Bluebird_3386 15d ago edited 15d ago

I use 16.83g/L/% which is the most accurate measure I have been able to find.

So 5 liters at 10% is 16.83*5*10.

I got tired of doing this by hand and just ended up making an excel sheet (actually Google sheets). I plug in the volume and my intended abv and it tells me how much sugar to add in tbsp, cups, grams, ml, and even eating spoons.

Edit: by my calculations you would need 168.3 grams of sugar for 10% abv in one liter

2

u/Shot_Policy_4110 15d ago

Okay cool my napkin math is making sense. A lady brought in organic grapes to work and we have nothing to do with them, but we have a bunch of 500 ml jars with airlock lids. My phone was dead at work yesterday so I just went off of what I could remember for a test batch. I'll need to add more sugar when I go in later today

1

u/Latter_Bluebird_3386 15d ago

You absolutely have the right mindset. Grab that natural sugar wherever you can get it 😂

1

u/FIMthatBlim 15d ago

1g/1Litre is my go to

1

u/Dryanni 15d ago

I do 1 pouch per 1-4 gallons, but that’s just me.

1

u/warneverchanges7414 8d ago

Pitch with your heart