Do you sanitize (boil) your yeast nutrient before you pitch it? Do you worry about contamination risks from it? Do you worry about nutrient degradation from boiling it?
Yes, no, no. From Wyeast: Dissolve Wyeast Nutrient in warm water. Add solution to kettle 10-15 minutes prior to end of boil.
Sometimes, no, no. I don’t boil if adding mid-ferment to cider.
I got contamination from my last use of nutrient, where I “dry nutriented” into a stalled fermentation. Clearly I should have heated or soaked in a half ounce of vodka to sanitize. So, yeah, contamination is certainly a possibility.
I toss it in with my Whirlfoc tab at 5-10 minutes left in the boil. Not sure if I had any nutrient degradation but I’m not overly concerned either.
same
+2
I’m thinking more about staggered mead additions and mid-fermentation additions in high gravity beers, not end of boil additions. Do you bring nutrient to a full boil or just use warm water?
For those cases, I’ve never had an issue with just adding it to the must/beer. At that point the alcohol and pH are generally in a safe spot where contamination risks are minimal.
But as a general practice on beer, I do add it with my whirlfloc at 10 minutes left in the boil. For meads, my SNA’s go right into the must dry.