It is well known that fermentation of sugars produces ethyl alcohol, or ethanol as it's often called, and that this is accomplished by yeasts. Brewers of beers, ales, wines and meads go to extraordinary lengths to procure the right yeast for their fermentation as different strains not only work at different speeds, but also produce marked differences in flavor. This is important too if distilling for flavored spirits, but it has often been claimed that it is of little consequence if aiming for a flavorless spirit like vodka. Ordinary baker's yeast has therefore been advanced as the yeast of choice for the vodka maker, based on the premise that as distillation will remove all the flavor-producing side products, it is a waste of time to use anything more sophisticated.

We show that this is poor advice to give any distiller, as baker's yeast cannot survive alcohol concentrations much above 8%, thus placing an unnecessary ceiling on how much sugar can be processed in any one batch. With a little knowledge about how fermentation works, this limitation can be easily overcome, and we show how anyone can produce fermentations that produce anything up to 20% alcohol.

Every aspect of fermentation is covered, from the raw materials through to the final product. The way that the so-called 'turbo' yeasts work is explained, and details of two protocols that enable you to match their performance are given. Along the way, many of the myths that have grown up over the years are exposed for what they are, and common sense applied to explain what really really occurs. In particular, we deal with the question of methanol and how it may be avoided.

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