Originally posted by NJ Devils Fan
What have you been struggling with? What has been your problem?
The first two go arounds I just took a 2 liter Powerade bottle, addded some water, sugar and Fleischman's Yeast I got at the supermarket. Didn't really last very long or give me very good production. I don't think Powerade bottles seal as well as soda bottles for one thing (I know this is the case with my DIY bubble counter, which took quite a bit of epoxy and silicone to seal). And aside from the leaks, I just wasn't satisfied with the production.
I got inspired by some experiments being carried out by some of the folks at AquaBotanic and started studying yeast and winemaking techniques. (One of the guys over there has been trying to recreate the Hagen mix and I think he was getting somewhere). I hit a winemaking store and set up the über-yeast generator. A stout 1 gallon glass jug, champagne yeast, gelatine and sugar rich water. I think my biggest problem was that I managed to overdo the sugar.
I followed some directions I found on a winemaking site about creating a yeast starter culture. I was at 50+ bpm after 24 hours, topped out in the low 60s on day 3, was back to the mid 40s after a week. The jug was completely dead after about 3 weeks. Too much work and too unstable, too variable. I've been thinking about trying less sugar, more gelatine, and even adapting some sake making techniques. There is a fantastic amount of info available that I think has been largely untapped by the DIY crowd. And I generally am very pro-DIY. But I've been running around the clock for weeks and have more money than time.
The cost had scared me off at first but I want to add another 30 alongside the first and the convenience and predictability of pressurized is becoming irresistable. For me, it seems like the best approach. Your Mileage certainly May Vary.
