The Best Yeast for Distilling Brandy, Schnapps and Pisco (Our 5 Top Picks!)

With more than 1500 varieties of yeast available to choose from, knowing the right type to use when making brandy, schnapps or any other fruit spirit can be confusing. And, because any type of yeast *can* be used, there is no bad or good option. It all depends on your taste, preference, and budget.

However, some yeast types perform better than others. Brandy is all about flavor and sweetness, so we need to ensure that fermentation adds and enhances the right flavors in the wash. We want a yeast that results in the right phenolic compounds, aldehydes, and esters that give brandy it’s quintessential taste.

However, some yeast types perform better than others. Fruit-based washes can be difficult to ferment because they have a high level of fructose and lack some vital nutrients for the yeast. similar to tequila, fruit washes typically perform better using fructophilic yeast. Therefore, we recommend the following yeasts when trying to make the perfect tequila or mezcal at home:

1. Cheap Option – Lalvin EC1118 Champagne Yeast
2. Best Brandy Yeast –  DistilaMax® LS
3. Runner Up Yeast –  SafTeq Blue
4. Best For Flavor–  DistilaMax® TQ

Read on as we explain why we chose these, and what to look for when deciding for yourself what yeast to use.

What is yeast?

Yeast is a single-celled organism used in baking and brewing because of its fermentation and leavening properties. Yeast is tiny living fungi microorganisms that occur naturally, and it is common in soil, plants, and sugary mediums like flower nectar and fruits. Yeast has been used in cooking and manufacturing for years. It is one of the main ingredients in baking bread and manufacturing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. There are various species, and the one you use depends on the final product that you want.

Why is fermenting fruit washes difficult?

The first thing you’ll hear when you embark on the tequila-making journey is just how hard it is to make the wash. Working with agave is messy, and extracting its sugars is hard work. But once this is all done all your hard work may all be in vain as getting this mixture to ferment properly is almost impossible!

The problem:

Agave nectar is typically 80% fructose. Remember: table sugar or sucrose is 50% fructose and 50% glucose.

The high concentration of fructose in agave juice has been associated with reduced ethanol tolerance of commercial yeasts used for tequila production and low fermentation yields.

Yeast isolates have been screened to identify strains tolerant to high fructose and to ethanol. This resulted in being able to select only the strongest and most resilient yeast strains.

Agave nectar is also nutrient-poor, and even contains compounds that are toxic to some yeast strains.

This is why we need to be extra careful that we choose the right yeast for the job!

Do you need a pectic enzyme when making a fruit wash

Pectic enzyme is a key ingredient in the wine making process

It is a protein that is added to break down pectic which occurs naturally in fruit, in particular the skin, stem, and leaves.

In winemaking, this is used to avoid pectin haze which can make the finished wine appear cloudy due to the proteins in solution. it also forces the pectin to drop out of solution so the wine can be racked off the trub and therefore there’s much less material to filter later on.

But do we need to add pectin enzyme for making brandy?

No, since the final product is distilled it doesn’t matter if the wash is cloudy or not.

What to look for in Yeast?

In every distillation process, the yeast plays a fundamental role in bringing out the kind of product you want. Yeast is the one that is responsible for converting sugar into alcohol by allowing fermentation to take place.

#1. What content of alcohol are you aiming to get and what flavor?

#2. What sugar type are you using in the distillation process? i.e. Molasses, Dextrose, starch converted to grain, or Glucose Syrup.

#3. What temperature level are you using in the fermentation process?

That process is the one that determines the aroma and the color of the distilled product. It also affects the taste of your distilled spirit, and therefore you will have to choose the spirit depending on the kind of product you want. But your distilling yeast must have the following attributes:

• High ethanol yield
• Rapid fermentation of variable sugars
• Tollerance to fructose
• Able to produce the correct balance of flavor
• Be tolerant to ethanol, heat and high sugar concentration
• High storage viability
• Non-flocculent chemicals

What about flavor compounds?

Brandy is all about flavor, and some of these flavors are created during the fermentation phase of the process. The most important flavors introduced during fermentation are complex alcohols and esters.

• Esters – such as ethyl hexanoate
• Alcohols – like such as 2-phenyl ethanol and isoamyl alcohol

There are many factors to consider when selecting the suitable yeast for your needs, and it is impossible to provide a guide that suits every situation.

Temperature

How you adjust the fermentation temperature of the yeast determines the turnaround time for the fermentation process. This is because certain types of yeast will need to be kept at a higher temperature. Moreover, this is the best way to ensure that they can complete the fermentation process in the shortest amount of time.

Cost

When selecting yeast, you must consider the cost of a batch. In most cases, ensure that you choose the right type of yeast if you are hoping to produce a batch of alcohol that will actually taste good.

Brand reputation

Always go for quality yeast from a trusted brand. Furthermore, this will ensure that the yeast strain will be in high demand, which will help the fermentation process go more smoothly.

What ABV and Attenuation to Aim for?

In brewing, attenuation is the conversion of sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which is the rough fermentation process. For example, if you have 50% attenuation, it means that out of the products you are using for the production of beer, 50% has been converted into alcohol. The greater the attenuation, the more the amount of sugar converted to alcohol. Also, the alcohol concentration in the final product is higher. Therefore, when you have a more attenuated beer, it will be drier than the others and have more alcohol concentration than the less attenuated beer made from the same wort.

Attenuation is much dependent on your yeast, your wort, the temperature of fermentation, and oxygenation of the wort. Ordinarily, you’ll measure original gravity (OG) and estimate a percentage of apparent attenuation, which allows for the estimation of Final Gravity (FG).

Typically for distilling, we are only interested in high attenuation yeasts, as any residual sugars that are left in the fermentation won’t make it through the distillation.

So, What are the best yeasts for making Brandy, pisco, metaxa, grappa and schnapps?

Brandy is all about flavor and sweetness, so we need to ensure that fermentation adds and enhances the right flavors in the wash. We want a yeast that results in the right phenolic compounds, aldehydes, and esters that give brandy it’s quintessential taste.

Fruit-based washes can be difficult to ferment because they have a high level of fructose and lack some vital nutrients for the yeast. similar to tequila, fruit washes typically perform better using fructophilic yeast. Therefore, we recommend the following yeasts when trying to make the perfect tequila or mezcal at home:

1. Cheap Option – Lalvin EC1118 Champagne Yeast
2. Best Brandy Yeast –  DistilaMax® LS
3. Runner Up Yeast –  SafTeq Blue
4. Best For Flavor–  DistilaMax® TQ

Best Value: Lalvin EC1118 (General Purpose Champagne Yeast)

The key is finding a yeast that has a high fructose tolerance, as most general-purpose yeasts won’t survive the duration of fermentation. Fortunately, a general-purpose champagne yeast actually has a high fructose tolerance since it’s designed to ferment grapes whixh contain high levels of fructose.

Lalvin EC1118, Saccharomyces cerevisia is commonly referred to as a general-purpose Champagne yeast. This is an all-purpose yeast strain suitable for both red and white wines. High alcohol tolerance and very temperature tolerant. A good choice for the new winemaker, cider maker, ginger beer, and mead maker, but also for the brandy, pisco or schnapps maker.

Pros:

• Cheap and readily available in most brew shops.
• Wide temperature tolerance
• Good fructose tolerance.

Cons:

• Not designed for high ABV washes.

Best Overall: DistilaMax® LS (Fructose / Brandy Yeast)

This is probably the best all-round brandy yeast we’ve found. It’s been designed for high fructose washes which means it can be used for brandy, schnapps, and other fruit distillates as well – its also a great tequila yeast. If you are looking to make a variety of styles, then this is the yeast for you.

DistilaMax® LS is a fructophilic yeast recommended for use in the production of fruit washes. It produces a broad spectrum of flavor congeners well suited to these types of spirits.

Pros:

• Designed to withstand harsh conditions of a fruit wash
• Wide temperature tolerance
• Displays a good alcohol tolerance of up to 15% v/v.
• Selected especially for its ability to ferment fructose in high-stress conditions.
• Works well on a wide pH range.
• Good temperature tolerance and a short lag phase which limits the development of wild microorganisms.

Cons:

• Expensive.
• Only available in 500gram pouches.

Runner Up: SafTeq Blue (Blue Agave Yeast)

Fermentis SafTeq Blue yeast is a purpose-built saccharomyces cerevisiae specifically selected to ferment blue agave for the production of tequila. This will work great whether you want to ferment 100% agave or supplement with other sugars.

Its excellent performance in this environment is due to the ability to tolerate toxic substances such as furfural, normally present in agave juice. It has also increased tolerance to osmotic pressure and alcohol and can work in conditions of extreme temperatures.

Recommended minimum dosage rate 0.5 g/L. Recommended fermentation temperature: 32°C (89.6°F) 500-gram pack

Pros:

• Designed to withstand harsh conditions of agave nectar.
• Wide temperature tolerance
• High ABV tolerance.
• Lower pitch volume than the DistilaMax varieties

Cons:

• Most expensive of our 3 options.
• Only available in 500gram pouches.

Best For Flavor: DistilaMax® TQ (Tequila Yeast)

DistilaMax TQ active dry yeast is a selected strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae selected for use in the production of tequila, mezcal and fruit brandies. It displays aromatic profiles which are well-suited for tequila and mezcal such as increasing complexity and fruity characters.

Fermentis SafTeq Blue yeast: A saccharomyces cerevisiae specifically selected to ferment blue agave for the production of tequila. This will work great whether you want to ferment 1–% agave, or supplement with other sugars.

Now, why are we recommending tequila yeast to make brandy? Because Agave nectar and fruit washes are quite similar.

Its excellent performance in this environment is due to the ability to tolerate toxic substances such as furfural, normally present in agave juice. It has also increased tolerance to osmotic pressure and alcohol and can work in conditions of extreme temperatures.

Recommended minimum dosage:

DistilaMax TQ should be pitched at roughly 1g/gal in an average fermentation. However, if your fermentation is stressful, high gravity, or lacking in nutrition, you should look to pitch at 1.5g/gal + to allow for efficient fermentation.

Recommended fermentation temperature

32°C (89.6°F)

It can withstand a wider temperature range between 25C and 33C. Better still, it is well known of an alcohol tolerance of about 15%.

Pros:

• Designed to withstand harsh conditions of agave nectar.
• Designed to generate additional flavor compounds which may create a more interesting brandy.
• Wide temperature tolerance
• Produces a spirit with a broad general tequila flavor profile
• Displays a good alcohol tolerance of up to 15% v/v.
• Selected especially for its ability to ferment fructose in high stress conditions.
• Works well on a wide pH range.
• Good temperature tolerance and a short lag phase which limits the development of wild microorganisms.

Cons:

• Expensive.
• Only available in 500gram pouches.
• Technically designed for tequila making rather than brandy

Frequently Asked Questions

We realize this is a complex topic, and one fraught with subjectivity and personal preference.

Here are some of the most common questions and answers we get, so you can decide for yourself which yeast is right for your needs.

Type	Unrefrigerated	Refrigerated	Frozen
Dry	12 months	24 months	2 years+
Liquid	Use Immediately	6 months	Not Possible