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Cellar Science

REAPER High-Gravity Yeast

REAPER High-Gravity Yeast

  • Reaper is the best yeast for ultra-clean, fast sugar base ferments up to 20% ABV.
  • Create a neutral craft-cocktail base, or dilute to 5% for seltzer, tripling yield. Also well suited for distillation.
  • Pair with Slayer 800 yeast nutrient for the fastest, cleanest fermentation possible
  • Ferment between 75-95°F

Reaper the Harvest Strain
Picked for one job: pull clean alcohol out of high-gravity sugar washes fast and finish without dragging a bunch of extra fermentation personality along for the ride. This is a Very High Gravity yeast built for high-alcohol scenarios up to ~20% ABV, with aggressive kinetics that keep moving when typical strains start to slow, stress, and produce off-flavors. Reaper is also comfortable running warm, and it’s right at home in real-world distilling temperatures. 75–95°F is a sweet spot for speed and cleanliness.

And yes, it’s called Reaper for a reason. When the wash is heavy and the clock is ticking, it shows up to collect the yield, finish the job clean, and leave as little behind as possible.

  • VHG Yeast (Distillation + Clean Base Ferments)
  • Perfect for high-gravity seltzers Cocktails & distilling washes
  • Pairs with Slayer 800 Nutrient
  • For fermentations up to 20% ABV
  • Clean base flexibility: Ferment ultra-clean, especially with Slayer 800, for a neutral cocktail-ready base, or ferment strong and dilute back to hard seltzer strength for a crisp, clean canvas for flavoring.
  • High alcohol without drama: Designed for high-gravity ferments where you want to push hard and still land clean.
  • Fast sugar-wash kinetics: Reaper ferments sugar washes aggressively and finishes strong, especially when properly fed.
  • Neutral, exceptionally clean profile: Less unwanted fermentation character means a cleaner base and an easier day on the back end.
  • Wide temperature range: Flexible across a broad range, but genuinely thrives in the 75–85°F zone.
  • Like all CellarScience yeast, Reaper is PCR-verified for purity and consistency.

The Cleanest Reaper is Reaper + Slayer 800
Sugar washes are nutrient-poor by nature, and that’s where many clean-ferment plans fall apart. Pair Reaper with CellarScience Slayer 800 to give the yeast the nutrition it needs to stay healthy under high-gravity and high-alcohol conditions. The combination helps Reaper ferment fast and steadily while keeping unwanted fermentation byproducts in check.

A Clean Base You Can Actually Use. Reaper Isn’t Only for the Still.
When paired with Slayer 800, Reaper can produce a clean, neutral base for cocktail-style builds, creating a crisp blank canvas that works well with citrus, botanicals, and flavor systems without bringing unwanted yeasty or funky character.

For seltzer, Reaper is equally at home in high-gravity sugar ferments. Ferment clean, dilute down to your target hard seltzer strength, carbonate, and flavor. The same high-gravity capability that makes Reaper useful for distillation makes it possible to produce a clean base efficiently and take it in several different directions.

Dosage:
One 15-gram sachet treats approximately 5 gallons of wort. For larger volumes, use at a rate of 3 grams per gallon, rounding up to the next full sachet.

For professional brewers, use at a rate of 90-130 grams per barrel, depending on wort temperature and gravity.

Optimum Fermentation Temp: 75-85°F
Flocculation: Medium to High
Alcohol Tolerance: 20% ABV
Attenuation: 78-93%

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