Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

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UCclear
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by UCclear »

Oh Yea will let y'all know how it goes when I run it
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Ghostpepperman
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by Ghostpepperman »

This recipe I tried and it is very good and tastes really smooth even off the 1st run in the hearts :-)
Very easy to do and run
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Shine NOLA
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by Shine NOLA »

I did this without boiling it
8 lbs sugar stright into the carboy (5gal)
8 0z wheat germ
1 tsp dap
4 gal hot water from tap
Aerated for 30 minuets
pitched tsp dady
SG 1.082
after 3 days the cap fell
2 days later FG .0980
racked into another carboy
is crystal clear
left half gal on top of lees
repeat:
Added 8 lbs sugar
topped off with 4 gal hot water
Aerate

next gen i'll add
4 0z wheat germ
tsp of dap
for everything bad, whiskey; for everything good, the same
Captb
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by Captb »

I will be making a batch of this very soon. My question is this: Is it more volitile than a sugar wash with Turbo yeast? Everyone mentions that there air lock blows right out almost instantly. I would more than likely just use a blow off tube in a jar of water Any suggestions?
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by jackfiasco »

I have a question about this recipe. Is it necessary to boil the sugar? I always make a couple batches at a time and combine them into one big fermenter and it can get messy sometimes if it boils over. Just wondering if the boiling is just to break down the germ, couldn't I boil that alone and then add the sugar after? Or is inverting the sugar necessary for some reason?

Also I too am in the camp of never having this thing blow an airlock - every time I have ran it it takes 2-3 weeks to finish fermenting. I usually use Red Star Champagne yeast or EC-1118 yeast. I think next time I will try bakers yeast and add a whole bunch to get it started quicker (since I have a huge costco package of it).

*Edit - I read the info on the parent site about inverting sugar. I think I wasn't adding enough lemon juice (didn't realize that you need to sub so much juice for citric acid) to properly invert it in the past, this time I'll add more and hopefully it will help it ferment faster. Also I am going to boil the wheatgerm and the sugar separately, since the sugar doesn't need nearly as long to invert. We'll see how it goes!
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by jackfiasco »

So much easier boiling them separately! I have done a few batches now this way. I boil the germ in one pot for 90-120 minutes and boil the sugar in another pot with citric acid or lemon juice for 30 minutes til inverted.

Pitched 4 oz baker's yeast into a 12 gallon batch and it was done in less than a week!
casper the Irish
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by casper the Irish »

Maybe I missed it but can anyone tell me if you can see any change when boiled enough? Rad has said to boil separately, quicker and easier in smaller pots.

I can tell when the sugar is inverted I think. But how does the WG change? Even after 2 hrs it froths up and has scum
I notice a yellow colour leached out so I did a decant and refill a few times, 20' each boil.

Is it boiled just to speed up fermentation, will the goodies still get out "fermented on grain" ?
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by rad14701 »

casper the Irish wrote:Maybe I missed it but can anyone tell me if you can see any change when boiled enough? Rad has said to boil separately, quicker and easier in smaller pots.

I can tell when the sugar is inverted I think. But how does the WG change? Even after 2 hrs it froths up and has scum
I notice a yellow colour leached out so I did a decant and refill a few times, 20' each boil.

Is it boiled just to speed up fermentation, will the goodies still get out "fermented on grain" ?
If you look at the original recipe you will see that the wheat germ itself is removed before fermentation, so you're not fermenting on the grain... So boiling separately allows for the nutrients to be extracted into the water... I do ferment on the grain (wheat germ), however... If you added wheat germ to sugar water the extraction wouldn't be as efficient due to the thicker viscosity of the sugar water compared to straight water...
casper the Irish
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by casper the Irish »

Yes I got that from your first post, and have followed your advice. Oh I didn't notice the removal of WG and have been brewing with it in. Does it matter, my nylon BiB won't filter it out and decanting is not an option.

I can see visually when sucrose inverts to dextrose/fructose but I can't SEE any difference in boiled WG. How do you know when it's done, what is it doing to boil it. And the ferment is vicious, froths and spills all over the kitchen floor. Maybe if I don't boil it will behave itself and produce all the goods in good time.
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biggybigz
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by biggybigz »

Good Evening!

With the winter months coming and old man winter making it blue ass cold outside, I need to find a recipe that will hit the "WAF". Wife acceptance factor. I need to ferment in the house. How does this recipe smell when fermenting!?!?!? I see lots of folks are oaking this recipe. With it being a sugar based wash, is it more neutral than grainy? Looking to make something for flavoring other than aging. Any input? Thanks!
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by heartcut »

I followed the original for several batches a few years back. This recipe smells nice while fermenting (to me), the wash tastes pretty good before distilling and the distillate is good white and very good after a while on charred oak chips. Still at >90% and it's a grainy vodka, aim for 70% and the grain flavor increases.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by greggn »

> I need to find a recipe that will hit the "WAF". Wife acceptance factor. I need to ferment in the house. How does this recipe smell when fermenting!?!?!?


Regardless of the recipe used, my wife complained about the smell of the ferments. So, instead of using a standard airlock, I ran a blow-off tube into a milk jug full of water with a few ounces of bleach. No smell ... happy wife.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by rad14701 »

Mouthwash in airlocks has been known to help with off smells...
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by aceswired »

My latest is this recipe with a generous handful of chocolate rye. I dare say, after just 2 months on white oak, it's the best I've made yet. My next experiment is with peated barley malt.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by JebDude »

Well, I ran a 2 gallon batch of this to try it out. Very nice right off the still. Aged some for a few days white, very nice. Put a couple of used oak cubes in one pint and ran it through several cycles of in the freezer and on top of the freezer. First time I left something long enough to actually taste the oak in the final product. May have to try the barley pepper trick, but it's so nice on it's own I don't know if I want to mess with it. Got another 1.5 gallon wash ready to run. Just waiting for the time. My wife has probably another pound and a half of wheat germ. She used it a lot in baking, but we are cutting sweets and breads, so the stuff just sits in the freezer. I'll just have to make the sacrifice to use it up I guess.

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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by m314 »

I started a 32 gallon batch in late December, my first time with this recipe. This is probably my favorite liquor I've made so far.

I mostly followed the recipe with wheat germ, citric acid, sugar, and baker's yeast. I cooked the wheat germ a little differently. I boiled a big pot of water, added the wheat germ, then covered the pot and turned off the heat. I let it sit for 90 minutes before adding it to the buckets with sugar.

I topped them off with tap water and pitched the yeast. The airlocks started bubbling within minutes, first time I've seen that. They didn't overflow like some of the stories here, but for the first day or so there was a constant stream of air coming out. Also the first time I've seen that. Each 8 gallon bucket finished fermenting in under a week.

I ran the results from 5 stripping runs (6 gallons) in one spirit run with my pot still. I got 17 quarts. I saved 4 quarts of the hearts at around 155 proof, 2 quarts with oak chips and 2 without. The white dog and the oaked version are both outstanding after 2 months of aging.

I ran the rest of it though my reflux column last night. I ran into some technical difficulties. Probably from how I packed the column. The whole run was over in 2 hours instead of the 6 I was expecting. More flavor came through than I wanted. I still got 6 quarts of semi-neutral spirit at 180 - 186 proof. It tastes like a mix of the white dog whiskey and actual neutral vodka.

I'm sipping on some of the white dog whiskey on ice right now. :) Getting ready to start 16 gallons for the next batch. I'll start another 16 gallons tomorrow. I plan to save this batch as double distilled whiskey. I'll try the vodka thing again with the batch after this.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by m314 »

http://imgur.com/HE4k8b8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

2 8 gallon buckets before pitching the yeast. :) Each bucket has 1 pound 6 ounces of wheat germ along with 14 pounds of sugar.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by m314 »

http://imgur.com/gRPmJ3T" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

These buckets are bubbling fast already. :) The other 4 buckets are Buccaneer Bob's rum recipe, 3rd generation. The 2nd generation made the most full bodied rum I've ever tasted.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by m314 »

Is it possible to drink so much of your own booze that you can't make more? A question for the ages. I thought that might be the case a couple hours ago. Nope. :)

Another 16 gallons of Deathwish wheat germ wash. It's fun to pitch the yeast when it's still spinning from the drill.

http://imgur.com/AlZQocG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I'm pretty much operating at capacity here. 8 8 gallon buckets.

http://imgur.com/V8ROcTQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

The 4 rum buckets will take 6 runs in the pot still. 5 stripping runs and one spirit run. Same with the 4 wheat germ buckets. I've got a lot of work and a lot of rum and wheat germ whiskey to look forward to. :)
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by JebDude »

Just finished a second batch of this. 1.5 gallon wash yielded 2.5 pints of really good stuff. Oaked two pints with 1 cube of medium toast each, four trips in and out of the freezer. Not so much oak taste this time. Just smooth lightly colored likker. Love this in the white, too. Will definitely be keeping some of this on hand if I can keep from drinking it faster than I can make it. I have GOT to get a bigger boiler so I can do larger washes.

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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by m314 »

What size boiler do you have? You could start a wash 5 times the size of your boiler, then do 5 quick stripping runs. Then 1 big spirit run at the end.

I started with a little 1 gallon air still, but I upgraded to a 6 gallon boiler early on. I plan on upgrading to a 15 gallon keg boiler at some point. I just don't have room for it where I'm at now.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by shadylane »

JebDude wrote:Just finished a second batch of this. 1.5 gallon wash yielded 2.5 pints of really good stuff.................... I have GOT to get a bigger boiler so I can do larger washes.JB
You'll really like having a bigger boiler. :thumbup:
The Deathwish Wheat Germ is the best recipe for small stills.

On a side note. And this is only my opinion. :lol:
Instead of lemon juice for inverting the sugar, use 5% backset.
That way you get the left over nutrients from the boiled yeast.
A little bit of crushed oyster shells when the ferment starts for pH control doesn't hurt either.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by aceswired »

JebDude wrote:Just finished a second batch of this. 1.5 gallon wash yielded 2.5 pints of really good stuff. Oaked two pints with 1 cube of medium toast each, four trips in and out of the freezer. Not so much oak taste this time. Just smooth lightly colored likker. Love this in the white, too. Will definitely be keeping some of this on hand if I can keep from drinking it faster than I can make it. I have GOT to get a bigger boiler so I can do larger washes.

JB
Yeah, and bigger boiler = better drop, because the cuts are much easier. Mine is 10 gallon and wouldn't want any smaller.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by m314 »

My last batch has been done fermenting for a while now. I've gotten backlogged with distilling lately. I'm doing the 3rd stripping run tonight. I'm planning on doing the spirit run this weekend.

The hearts from the stripping runs are pretty damn good right off the still. I didn't notice that with my first batch. The spirit run will be even better.

I'm starting a new 32 gallon batch this weekend specifically for vodka. My first batch made the best batch of vodka I've made so far. My first top shelf vodka. Smooth with a hint of a wheat aftertaste. I want to make one big batch before I move on to trying other recipes.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by jackfiasco »

Has anyone ever tried this with cereal instead of wheat germ? This is my go to recipe and I've made dozens of batches of it. A couple times though the store didn't have wheat germ so I used a box of wheat bran flakes instead. Just crushed em up real well before boiling. Seemed to work just fine. Much cheaper, and fortified with vitamins already too.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by jackfiasco »

I just realized that Rad posted an All Bran cereal recipe in the forum a while ago.. pretty much the same thing I'm doing here.
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by jdetechguy »

Can you use the toasted wheat germ or do you need to use raw?

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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by rad14701 »

jdetechguy wrote:Can you use the toasted wheat germ or do you need to use raw?
Pretty sure the original recipe calls for toasted... That's all I've ever used... Kretschmer Wheat Germ Original Toasted 12OZ...
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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by jdetechguy »

rad14701 wrote:
jdetechguy wrote:Can you use the toasted wheat germ or do you need to use raw?
Pretty sure the original recipe calls for toasted... That's all I've ever used... Kretschmer Wheat Germ Original Toasted 12OZ...
Thanks Rad. I was able to find toasted at the grocery store.

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Re: Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

Post by jdetechguy »

I decided to use EC1118 with this recipe. I think it needs a boost with some Fleischmann's. I should have listened to the very first post and stuck to basics.

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