Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

[rubber duck]

Good to know thanks dunder. Ill try it in the wash.

[Dnderhead]

Iv tryed all kinds of weird and not so wonderful things. each time I hear or think of something I have to try most do not work.
so I keep returning to the "old ways"

[gary.angie]

Hi just wanted to say thanks for recipe.
Followed your instructions and it was a heap fun coooking up lentils and sugar , made the shed smell great.
so much more fun than turbo packets.
Worked out well ( a bit slow as i had only a small heat pad and it was in a 50 liter drum ) and we had a week of cold temps.)
but now i have twin lights in brew box with auto thermostat (yay)
Any way ran a strip and all went well , and i love the smell of the low wines. added backing soda , reduced the smell but still left a little aroma and i love it
mixed it to 40 ABV and have to stop my self from sipping it.
Cant wait to do final run and drink some of this.

Gary & Angie

[elec]

First time I've joined in a thread on this forum, so here goes.
I knocked down a batch of this stuff on the weekend,its going off like a frog in a sock, but had to use raw sugar instead of white, due to a mixup with purchasing instructions
My questions are : what difference the raw sugar might make to the end product, and would I need to use WG every boil if I was pitching onto the last yeast cake, or would enough nutrients still be present in the trub.??

Thanks in advance

Regards

elec

[lugnutz]

Hey elec welcome to the forum. I just started "stillin my own just a few months ago and have spent a lot of time reading on here about various stuff. I dont think its going to make that much a difference about the kind of sugar that you use. I am on my forth batch of this just because I like it so much didnt see no need to make anything else, just keepin it simple I guess. I just experime3nt with somethind a little differen in the receipe each time but so far I like the taste that the ec-1118 give to the product, others may have found they like something a little different. My las batch I made I plan to run this weekend I used turbo just cause I had it layin around and didnt want to waste it but after I racked it off the solids I went ahead and made up my sugar water mix with the juice from a lemon and just added it back into the solids from what I just made. Dont know how it will be but like I said just trying something new and if I like it this will cut my final product cost down a little bit more. All I can say is read how to be safe doing this, experiment a little, enjoy...enjoy !!

[ScottishBoy]

So I started abatch of this Saturday night.

16 OZ Toasted Mothers Wheat Germ
2 gallons of water. Brought to a boil and then turned down so it wouldnt boil over. Let it simmer for about three hours and then let it sit on the stove overnight. I should mention that the boil I used was a recycle boil. Rolling boil, but low enough for it not to boil over and all water vapor being returned to the pot by the lid.

Next day I brought it up to a warm temp, added 5 lbs of sugar and 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/8 tsp magnesium sulphate. Dissolves and dropped it in the fermenter. I used the water from my column to areate the beast and top off with smooth warm water. Added the next 5 lbs and stirred it until it was all dissolved. Mean while I used 1 cup off wash, 1 cup warm water and 1/8 tsp of Lemon juice and packet of Pasteaur yeast. It took off nicely and was getting ready to burp when I added it to the 5 gallon mix. Stirred the hell out of it, pitched two tblsp of baker's yeast just because I had it left over, and covered and locked.

Its not producing a "freakishly fast ferment"... Ideas? Im thinking it might need more heat. Smells really nice though.
My batch of Gerber came out so nice I kept the hearts in a seperate bottle than my others. Hoping to do the same with this.

SB

Recipe Summary
5 gallons water, 10 pounds sugar, 16 oz Toasted Wheat Germ, 1/4 cup lemon juice ( hard water, Alkaline) 1 packet Pastuer yeast, 2 tblsp bakers yeast. 1/8 tsp Magnesium Sulphate.

[rad14701]

Recipe Summary
5 gallons water, 10 pounds sugar, 16 oz Toasted Wheat Germ, 1/4 cup lemon juice ( hard water, Alkaline) 1 packet Pastuer yeast, 2 tblsp bakers yeast. 1/8 tsp Magnesium Sulphate.

Even with hard water it sounds like a lot of lemon juice... I'd also question the use of lemon juice in your yeast starter...

Most Wheat Germ washes kick in pretty quick with a very large krausen on top...

It might be worthwhile to check your pH...

Also, what is the wash temperature now...???

How many grams of Pasteur yeast was in the sachet...???

What was the yeast pitching temperature...???

[ScottishBoy]

Recipe Summary
5 gallons water, 10 pounds sugar, 16 oz Toasted Wheat Germ, 1/4 cup lemon juice ( hard water, Alkaline) 1 packet Pastuer yeast, 2 tblsp bakers yeast. 1/8 tsp Magnesium Sulphate.

Even with hard water it sounds like a lot of lemon juice... I'd also question the use of lemon juice in your yeast starter......

Its pretty hard. Even a few days running the shower leaves white streaks all over the place.

Most Wheat Germ washes kick in pretty quick with a very large krausen on top...

Thats what I was expecting.

It might be worthwhile to check your pH...

My PH comes out on the high side of Alkaline..thus the lemon juice. I think I measured out at 5.9.

Also, what is the wash temperature now...???

Right now it should be between 68-70 degrees F. Unless the dishwasher has been run in which case we can add a few degrees on..

How many grams of Pasteur yeast was in the sachet...???

That I dont know. But the packet was active and produced a nice bubbly head within 10 minutes.

What was the yeast pitching temperature...???

I pitched it at somewhere around 104 F. I always try to follow my teachers suggestion of treating pitching yeast like warming up a baby bottle.

Im very tempted to go buy a heating pad and wrap the barrel with it.

SB

[rad14701]

Yeah, 68 - 70 is s bit cool for bakers yeast... It starts getting sluggish below 75F, at least from my own personal experience... At least it's fermenting, albeit slowly, by your description...

You should have gotten an initial krausen if you pitched at 104F, unless the temperature spiked and killed some of the yeast... Or you boiled the living piss out of the wheat germ... I've never gone much beyond a 30 minute simmer...

[ScottishBoy]

Its a 5 gram package, typical of wine and brew shops.
Im thinking I might have to switch to Ec-1118. Its supposed to ferment well at lower temps.

[rad14701]

Its a 5 gram package, typical of wine and brew shops.
Im thinking I might have to switch to Ec-1118. Its supposed to ferment well at lower temps.

Yeah, Lalvin rates EC-1118 for temperatures between 15C/59F - 25C/77F and up to 18% ABV...

From their technical specification sheet...

Saccharomyces cerevisiae bayanus
Competitive factor
High alcohol tolerance up to 18%
Short lag phase
Fast fermentation rate in a wide pH range
Wide range of temperatures for fermentation including low temperatures (Optimal between 15°C to 25°C)
Low requirement in assimilable nitrogen
Low O2 requirement (especially at low T°)
Low to average production of volatile acidity
Average SO2 production
Low H2S production
Low foam formation

[Squint]

I got a 5 gallon DWWG on the go at the moment,
didn't use any Lemon juice at all

just W/germ, 7lbs sugar 2tsp citric acid 2 gall rain water from the outside tank a rolling boil for 90 minutes

added another 3 galls cold tank water @ 75c
pitched EC 1118 2 sachets enough for 10galls but have only made 5 galls, airated for 15 mins put in the heater set at 70c and covered with a loose cloth left it till morning had, a look it must have had a 6'' crust / cap on the top, gave it a real good stiring put a lid with an airlock, I stir it every day and it
has been glugging away nicely for 3
days now.