What is the Best Yeast for Air Stills?

ByDistillin' Craig First Published Updated on

Every distillation starts with a good wash, and the heart of that wash is the yeast. There are several contenders for the best yeast for air stills, and it comes down to what you are trying to achieve. There are excellent yeasts for sugar and rice washes, and then different ones for fruit and whiskey. Of course, there are also turbo yeasts, like the starter pack you likely received with your air still companion pack.

Does yeast go in the air still?

No, yeast does not actually go in the air still. Yeast is used to ferment alcohol before it goes into the still. This product is called wash.

So in this article, we’re looking at the best yeast to use when fermenting wash to go in an air still. And yes, these yeasts and washes will work for all other types of still too.

What type of wash do you want?

The best yeast depends on the type of wash you want to achieve. I’ve outlined 5 different goals for fermenting your wash and the best yeast for each one.

I’ve used each of these yeasts in washes that I have run, and I’ve normally iterated through a few recipes. To pick alternatives, I’ve chosen yeasts that have been recommended on forums, youtube, and also through interviewing distilling contacts.

Goal Ferment Time Yeast type
A fast-fermenting sugar wash with high alcohol (ABV) 3-5 days Turbo Yeast
A fast-fermenting rice wash with a high ABV 3-5 days Angel Red Label
A basic sugar wash with a reasonable ABV 7-10 days Angel Yellow Label or Bakers Yeast
A smooth sugar wash with a reasonable ABV 7-10 days Angel Yellow Label or Bakers Yeast
A fruit wash for brandies 10-15 days Fruit yeast
A whiskey yeast for malts and corns 10-15 days Whisky yeast
Different ferment types and recommended yeasts

Each yeast is broken down below:

What is the best yeast for turbo wash in an air still?

The best yeast for doing a turbo wash in an air still is Still Spirits classic turbo yeast.

Turbo washes are fast and furious with fast-feeding high ABV yeast! They’ll often take just a few days, but the pressure that puts the yeast colony under can cause significant ‘off-flavors. These can be mitigated during ferment and after distillation by using clearing and carbon filtering.

The Classic Turbo Yeast would have come with your Air Still companion pack if you got one with your still.

Alternative: If you can’t get Still Spirits turbo yeast, try Alcotec Turbo yeast.

What is the best yeast for a neutral sugar wash in an air still?

The best yeast for doing a sugar wash in an air still is Angel Yellow Label. And if you’re on a budget or want to start right now, baker’s yeast from any supermarket will do the job a bit slower.

Sugar washes are used to make ‘neutral’ or ‘sugar shine’ – a base spirit which is normally macerated and re-distilled for gins and flavored vodkas, or flavored after distilling through essences or maceration. They are slower and produce much fewer esters than a turbo wash. I prefer a Birdwatcher’s tomato paste wash to a pure sugar wash – see below.

Alternative: If you can’t get Angel Yellow Label, use bakers yeast from the supermarket or dry goods store.

What is the best yeast for a Birdwatchers Tomato Paste Wash (TPW) sugar wash in an air still?

The best yeast for doing a Birdwatchers Tomato Paste Wash (TPW) in the air still is Angel Yellow Label.

Yes – the same yeast combo as the simple sugar wash, to produce a similar product. A tomato paste wash is just as simple as a sugar wash and tends to crash less. I prefer the end product of a tomato paste wash, and it’s my go-to wash for every day.

Alternative: If you can’t get Angel Yellow Label, use bakers yeast from the supermarket or dry goods store.

What is the best yeast for a rice wash in an air still?

The best yeast for doing a rice wash in an air still is Angel Red Label.

I must admit that I haven’t tried a rice wash yet, but it’s on my list. Copious amounts of research and conversations have me convinced that older and wiser heads than mine recommend Angel Red Label all the time.

To buy: Angel Red Label Yeast.

What is the best yeast for a fruit wash in an air still?

The best yeast for doing a fruit wash in an air still is Alcotec Turbo Fruit Yeast.

Yes, I know what I said about turbos!

At the end of the harvest season, I often get piles of damaged or excess fruit from friends’ trees: the more sugary, the better! But fruit needs pectic acid to break down the sugars and nutrients and allow the yeast to really get through everything. That’s where the Alcotec fruit yeast comes in handy: it contains those enzymes and some nutrients to help support the yeast through those early stages of the ferment.

Alternative: If you can’t get Alcotec Turbo Fruit Yeast use a pectic enzyme and then a wine yeast like Lalvin KIV-1116.

What is the best yeast for a whisky wash in an air still?

The best yeast for doing a whisky wash in the air still is Distilamax XP Whisky Yeast.

For a malt whisky or corn whiskey, you want your new make spirit to have a lot of cogeners and flavor compounds, so pick a yeast that allows for it. Whisky yeast works well at higher temperatures than baker’s or brewer’s yeast.

I’ve had great success with the Distillamax XP whiskey yeast, but found it even better with a mix of that and some spare EC1118 – add the same amount of dry yeast, just half and half the yeasts to your malt mash. I got a slightly drier new spirit that matches my palate well.

Alternative: If you can’t get Distilamax XP, then try Safspirit whisky yeast instead.

With so many yeasts and flavor profiles to choose from, there are no wrong answers, but I hope this breakdown of the best yeasts to use for the air still helps you to plan that next wash and try some new flavors!