sweetfeed whisky

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ammo man
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by ammo man »

I just took the plunge. I mixed a couple 25L's of Sweet Feed mash. I bought a 50 lb bag of Producer's Pride 10% Sweet Feed from Tractor Supply. I have no idea what is in it. I looked on their site and the listing they had for ingredients did not tell me much.

I use those 30L fermenter's you buy from the brew supply houses. I filled two each with 5 L's of the Sweet Feed, and then covered with very hot water. I added 7 lbs sugar to each, and then added some more hot water stirring each until everything was dissolved. Then I added cold water to each to bring the mash level to 25 L's. After the water cooled to the point I could comfortable submerge my hand, I added to each 3 packets of Fleishmann's ActiveDry yeast.

At this point I plan on only doing this and one more generation, distilling spirit pot type. I will post the outcome.

Bert
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Kentucky shinner »

I look forward to hear your results and how well you like it. If you will let your hootch age about 1-2 months it really gets a good smooth flavor.
ammo man
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by ammo man »

Thank you Kentucky shinner. I have learned for me that if I let it age for about a month, I usually get a smooth taste. However, my problem is that most of the time the angles and me drink it all before a month passes. :D This time I am going to run off enough so maybe some will make it a month.

I will keep all posted. I just have a gut feeling I am going to like this taste. I have made several batches of moonshine with chopped corn, a few batches of all grain, and several batches of rum using fancy molasses. But to date none really fit my taste although as said some have been smooth.

Bert
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Kentucky shinner »

I am on a 8th generation of this and the stuff just seems to keep getting better. :ewink:
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Samohon »

Hi yaw'll. Now on my 4th generation of this great recipe, just keeps gettin better an better. I'd love to age some for a year or so in an oak barrel and really see what sort or beverage is at the end of the wait. Gonna really try and get a 10L or 20L barrel made.

In the meantime I have come up with a great way to colour our Sweet Feed Sour Mash. Its a wild plant called, 'Saint Johns Wort'. My father in law is Ukrainian and makes a lovely smooth neutral vodka from nothing but a sugar wash similar to Birdwatchers recipe. He goes to the river and picks this wild plant, dries it thoroughly, then soaks 70%abv + on top of the dried plant for 3-5 days, until the desired colour is achieved. He then filters the liquid through coffee filters, dilutes to 45%abv and chills in a fridge. Really adds a nice golden reddish glow to the vodka, not unlike my avatar.

Image

It does not add any aftertaste, smell or un-pleasant discolouration to the liquid, just colours it. I have drank it both clear and coloured and saw no difference between them. I am now wondering if I could colour my sweetfeed to resemble other off the shelf brands. Ofcoarse is purely to make the likker look good, has no chance of doing the same thing a good white oak, sherry tainted barrel would produce. But for those looking to colour their hooch, its certainly one way of colouring it naturally.

I'll let you know how I get on... In the meantime...

Heres a link to the wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_John's_wort

Thanks again KS for this great recipe, now i'm off to do some sippin :D
♦♦ Samohon ♦♦

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Grabasstic
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Grabasstic »

Other than a couple of sugar washes and a run of boxed wine all of my washes have been made with sweet feed. I put about three or four inches in the bottom of a six and a half gallon bucket and pour boiling water in on top of it. Then add sugar. The first time that i made it I used way to much sugar, almost 20 pounds. I let it ferment until it stopped bubbling and then transfered to a carboy. When transfering it i used a pair of panty hose (new, not old ones) to keep the grain out of the carboy.
I am just now starting to keep notes on my runs and dont remember exactly how much i got from it, seems like out a 4.5 to 5 gallon run i was collecting just under a gallon and a half with an average of about 130 proof.
I didn't know anything about making cuts, (still dont know a lot, but learning), so was keeping everything after the foreshots that got dumped.
Even with out making cuts after it was cut down to 100 proof it had a pretty good taste. Was a little bit sweet with the first taste and then you got the alcohol taste. People i gave it too seemed to like it pretty well. What i kept for my self i soaked on charred oak in glass jars and to me that really helped the taste of it, really mellowed out the harshness.
Sweet feed around here was $7.00 for 50 pounds and where i bought it has cracked corn for about 5 dollars for 50 pounds.

It is definately worth trying out, and makes some decent likker.



Grab
mikeofa2
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by mikeofa2 »

I have some pitchable liquid Champagne yeast hanging around. It's not 8 tablespoons, just one of those glass vials. Would that be enough for this recipe or should I stick with the bakers yeast?
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Dyce51 »

Be sure if you are distilling in a pot still you pour it through a pillow case or some kind of filter/strainer otherwise the grains and fines will burn to the bottom of your pot. I do a double distill unless I have a thumper then I only run it once. After making pintoshine's rum recipe I only use rain water (just seems to work alot better). Just a couple of thoughts.....
Yungin
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Yungin »

Is there any negative or positive effects that would come from boilin this for a little while? My thoughts were that if I boiled as you do many of thesugar washes on here maybe it would help convert the sugar better and the grain a little. Give me some feedback on what you think.
Kentucky shinner
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Kentucky shinner »

I personally have never tried boiling it. It would not hurt anything and I would like to know how it comes out. As far as the question on here about the champagne yeast, I have no idea if it would make any difference. I would not think so but just have never used champagne yeast before. Let all of us know how these turn out.
KS
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by ScottishBoy »

I would wonder if the boiling would not destroy some of the nutrients.
Its my understanding that boiling will destroy many nutrients and especially vitamins, so it MIGHT reduce the overall nutrient value of the wash. But on the other hand it should free up many of the starches in the grain base. Im thinking those people with a tendancy towards enzymes/malting might like that effect. I still get a gut feeling that they may need to supplement SOME nutrients.

To play devil's advocate...
Some of the sweet feed mixes are designed for older horses and are designed to have water added to them ( it doesnt mention boiling or not) to aid in digestion. (Random Thought: Anyone ever tried horse vitamins as a nutrient mix for yeast?). Practically all the vitamins in the horse feed are water soluble. They could easily be destroyed by boiling. But molasses gets boiled in making rum...hmmm. This might need a little experimentation

I bet boiling 1/4, or maybe 1/2 of the sweet feed with a comparable dose of malt might make this recipe even better.

So the methodology would be:

Boiling 1/4, no nutrients
Boiling 1/2 no nutrients
Boiling all, no nutrients

Boiling 1/4, nutrients
Boiling 1/2 nutrients
Boiling all, nutrients

Standardized nutrient dosages for each group. Standardized sugar and yeast application. SG reads daily to finish or inactivity, whichever comes first.

Control = Standard recipe.

I also think I am starting to see the possibility of a 50 pound bag of sweetfeed in my future...;)
I need some gallon jugs, caps, seven medicine bottles, seven hollow shafts and seven smaller medicine bottles...and a hot glue gun!

SB
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Kentucky shinner
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Kentucky shinner »

I think I am going to try a 30 Gallon ferment of this. I just got a 30 Gallon food grade drum and think I will see how this does when done in a large batch at one time.
heeler
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by heeler »

Hey ammo man ( Bert ) just wondering how that sweetfeed mash came out?? From the date on the orig. post it should be done by now??
I have done it twice and both times it came out rummy like. I guess cause of the mollasses. I used a pot still with a goose neck tower to keep all the flavor cause thats what I was after. Maybe I should'nt have -- hmmmmm maybe that was the porb. All advice is excepted and appreciated. Please chime in.
Yungin
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Yungin »

Thanks Scottishboy and Kentucky shiner for the replys
I have a 50 lb sack of 12% sweetfeed and 50 lbs of sugar plan on boilin this for 45 minutes and then topoin up to 50 gallons this weekend I'll keep you posted on the outcome.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Kentucky shinner »

Hey there Heeler, sometimes I will save alot of low wines from my sweet feed then run a batch through my reflux tower. If I let it age for about a month when you have a drink there is just a hint of sweetness right at the end of each sip. I have some oaking now to see how it is. I will let you know. but this will be a while. I have promised myself not to try it for a year. We will see if I can make it. It has been 3 months so far.
KS
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by ScottishBoy »

mikeofa2 wrote:I have some pitchable liquid Champagne yeast hanging around. It's not 8 tablespoons, just one of those glass vials. Would that be enough for this recipe or should I stick with the bakers yeast?
You might want to stick with the bakers yeast the first time, just so you can get a good idea of the recipes results. The yeast you have is designed for a higher alcohol concentration. IIRC (dont quote me on this) it can go as high as 18%. If you wanted to get this into the mash, I would think you would want to farm it up a little before you put it in. Get all the yeast going with some food nutrients and oxygen so the start multiplying.

Some folks like them and some folks feel they produce off flavors. I think a lot of it has to do with the wash you are doing and your water chemistry. Water with higher sulphar compounds might contribute to that effect. I would try it and see how it works for your situation. Worst comes to worst, you have thrown a few bucks and some time at it, but you have your answer.

I would be curious to see how it works with this wash.

SB
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by heeler »

Ken.Shner... thanks for the reply,hmmmmmm, if you reflux it wont that take out all the sweetfeed flavors you were after to start with???? And with ageing - are ageing highproof or cut to 50%. (or low wines dont need to be cut)
You said low wines, that which you dont want to drink but add back to the next run??? (Lower proof -the end of the run)
You are ageing the low wines JUST to see what the outcome is???? Why not the hearts of the run?? sorry for being stupid but thanks for all the advice of your experience.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Kentucky shinner »

when I pot still I keep the heart of the run and cut it to about 65% ABV if I am going to age it. If I am going to drink I cut to 55% ABV, It is really good after a good airing and age it for at least one month. The rest of the run I save ( Heads and tails) when I get enough that is what I reflux, it does take most of the taste out but it is still not a true neutral, some of the sweet flavor carries over.
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Teddysad
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Teddysad »

For those in this part of the world ( New Zealand) I have been out today and found a likely product NRM Sweetfeed. In a 25kg bag it cost me about $32.00
From the packaging/ suppliers website:
Brief Description:
NRM Sweetfeed is a highly palatable textured feed, designed to meet the needs of racehorses and sporthorses in moderate to heavy work.

Suitable For:
Horse in moderate to heavy work such as eventers, hunters and racehorses.

Special Features and Benefits:
• Highly palatable - ideal for slow or fussy eaters
• Steam flaked grains for higher energy utilisation to meet the
demands of increased workloads.
• Balanced and complete - less mess and wastage than mixing
individual ingredients

Analysis(approximate on a DM basis):
Crude Protein: 12.0%
Crude Fibre: 7.0%
Crude Fat: 4.0%
Salt: 1.5.%
Calcium: 0.75%
Phosphorus: 0.65%
Copper: 55ppm
Zinc: 150ppm
Selenium: 0.8ppm
Digestible Energy: 13MJ/kg

Ingredients selected from:
Steam flaked maize, barley By-Products, steam flaked barley, steam flaked oats, wheat, maize, wheat by-products, maize by-products, barley by-products, extracted soyabean meal, peas, lucerne meal, molasses, limestone, dicalcium phosphate, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine Hydrochloride, salt

Includes KER vitamin and mineral premix.

I grabbed a bag and plan to try this over the next few days
Edit: Couldn't wait and got the first ferment going. Prepared as per recipe (almost!!) added cold water and pitched yeast straight after adding the hot water. ( I missed the part about waiting 90 mins in my eagerness) However the bubbler started within 5 mins. Glorious smell!

I have started a second batch and this time I left it for the 90 mins. It also took off
Both are furiously now active (as fast as anything I've seen). I suspect this sweetfeed has a good load of nutrients and vitamins.

I'll be interested to compare in due course the difference if any

All great fun!!

Ted
You can lead a horse to drink, but you cant make it water!
You can lead a horticulture but can you teach a prototype?

Proverbs 31:6-7
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Kentucky shinner »

It will slow way down after a couple of days. Just let it work until there is no more activity in the fermenter. It will clear very well when it is finished. I rack it straight to my boiler when it is finished. I think you will really like it.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out for ya.
KS
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by NineInchNails »

Kentucky shinner,

Thanks for sharing this recipe! I'm a newb and have been reading MANY recipes, but I think that this one is going right to the top of my list.

I noticed that you were talking about doing a 30 gal ferment. I was just wondering ... have you ever weighed out the Sweetfeed in order to work out a ratio for this recipe?

When I find an interesting recipe, I usually like to enter the ratios of the recipe in Microsoft Excell in order to scale the recipe up or down to any porportions depending on the size of fermenter I have/how large of a wash I want to make. I know this is not rocket science or anything, but if ya happen to have the weight worked out I'd love to know what it is.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Yungin »

NineInchNails wrote:Kentucky shinner,

Thanks for sharing this recipe! I'm a newb and have been reading MANY recipes, but I think that this one is going right to the top of my list.

I noticed that you were talking about doing a 30 gal ferment. I was just wondering ... have you ever weighed out the Sweetfeed in order to work out a ratio for this recipe?

When I find an interesting recipe, I usually like to enter the ratios of the recipe in Microsoft Excell in order to scale the recipe up or down to any porportions depending on the size of fermenter I have/how large of a wash I want to make. I know this is not rocket science or anything, but if ya happen to have the weight worked out I'd love to know what it is.
NineInchNails i jus put on a 50 gallon batch tonight and measured it out with the feed I have it's 7.69 lbs. Per 4 inches in a 5 gallon bucket. Will keep everyone posted on the outcome. Was goin to boil the sweet feed but didn't have the time to stir for that long. My boiler is a keg and would have taken two boils. But will keep u posted
NineInchNails

Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by NineInchNails »

Thanks Yungin! That's awesome ... just what I was hoping for :ebiggrin:

I'd love to hear how it works out for ya.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Kentucky shinner »

I just started a 30 gallon ferment yesterday. I will let you know how it goes.
KS
Yungin
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Yungin »

Has anyone here that has made this ever made dwwg? Does it ferment about the same speed?
NineInchNails

Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by NineInchNails »

Kentucky shinner said in his first post that it can take approx 6-7 days.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Yungin »

yes he did but that was also for a 6 gallon batch I should have clarified has anyone done a big batch of this and also done a big batch of dwwg?
blanikdog
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by blanikdog »

Just do it yungin then you can tell us all how fast it ferments. It will always be different anyway depending on any number of variables.

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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by WalkingWolf »

blanikdog wrote:Just do it yungin then you can tell us all how fast it ferments. It will always be different anyway depending on any number of variables.

blanik
Ths one for begging for that reply I'm just surprised it took this long to get it. :roll:
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by blanikdog »

I just couldn't stand it any longer, WW. :lol:

Everything - well almost everything - of a basic nature is covered in this forum and yet we still get posts proving that no inititive has been shown and no personal research has been done.

It's the only way to learn, fer crissake. :roll:

blanik
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(50 litre, propane heated pot still. Coil in bucket condenser - No thermometer, No carbon)
The Reading Lounge AND the Rules We Live By should be compulsory reading

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