Can anyone help me with yet another homebrew question?

Question

What are the following ingredients, what do they do, are they really needed and are there a non-chemical alternatives? Yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme and other enzymes that i can't remember?

Answer 1

Whew, this is a big question:

Yeast nutrient - this gets your yeast going when you pitch it in the wort. I start my yeast several hours before pitching it so I don't often use yeast nutrient. As long as you have good  healthy yeast and plenty of sugars in the wort, you don't really need the yeast nutrient.

Pectin enzymes - takes out the cloudiness in your finished product whenever you use fruits that have a high pectin content (like apples). You do need this if you want a clear product. Enzymes are naturally occuring.

Answer 2

Yeast requires various things to be able to reproduce well. This is not a problem with beer but may be one for wines. You can substitute dead yeast cells for it.

Pectin is what makes your jelly gel. This is not something you want in your wine, so you add a couple of drops of pectic enzyme. I know of no substitute.

Answer 3

The products are all natural, none are invented by man. The yeast thrives much better if it has a nutrient base and the enzymes occour naturally in nature and help break down the fruit releasing more of its natural flavour. All you are doing is giving mother nature a helping hand. If you were to brew your wine in large quantities, ie over 15 gallons at a go, you would not require any additives as there would be sufficent for a good brew in the natural fruit quantities required.