Gerber

Refined and tested recipes for all manner of distilled spirits.

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rad14701
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Re: Gerber

Post by rad14701 »

I have used both Gerber and Beechnut multi-grain cereals and they work well... Remember, the cereal is used more for the vitamin and mineral fortification (yeast nutrient) than for flavor... But the flavor is darned good, too...
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Re: Gerber

Post by JFlipz »

Ya- exactly.
I've done your all bran and was pleased with that, but I also recently did a cornmeal/steel cut oats that I ran thru the coffee grinder on a sugar head.
I feel like the oats carried some "apple-y" aromas and notes through; and was therefor wondering what the grain mix in this would offer up.

I was thinking a neutral with "apple-y" notes might be PERFECT for putting up some Apple pie for the 4th!
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Re: Gerber

Post by JFlipz »

Thought y'all might find this amusing...
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Re: Gerber

Post by JFlipz »

Well- started a batch last night; ended up using the oatmeal version.

I followed Rad's 4 gallons variation:
8lbs sugar
Whole box Gerber Oatmeal
4 gallons of water by measure not total volume
3tbs Fleischman's
(did not use Epsom, 20-20-20, and/or baking soda)
DID ADD HIS TBSP boiled yeast he uses in this recipe sometimes.


I inverted HALF of my sugar (using the 2:1 method RAD has posted multiple times in this thread.)
I boiled my cereal for 5 minutes along with the Tbsp of yeast.

I rehydrated my 3tbsp yeast in 2 cups of 100 degree water, and it had outgrown the bowl I started in it by the time I pitched it in the cooled mix.
6 hours later she's firing like crazy; tons of tiny bubbles and full speed ahead!!!

I don't know it's starting gravity- mentioned elsewhere I broke that Hydro- but she's definitely rocking and rolling along!!!

Thanks Rad for another easy "turbo"!!!!!
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The KYChemist
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Re: Gerber

Post by The KYChemist »

After yesterday, my 5th run of Gerber is in the books. First run with the rice version. Smell and taste were identical to the multigrain runs, as far as I could tell. I'll probrobably be going back to the multigrain, only because I prefer the smell of the ferment.
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Re: Gerber

Post by madmattie »

Following up on this run from a previous post on this thread:
madmattie wrote: 5 gallons of water
10lb of sugar
3 cups of Gerber rice
1/2 cup of Gerber oatmeal
1/4 cup and 1 tpsp of yeast
1 cup of sugar for a yeast bomb

OG @ 1.100! :esurprised:

I boiled the sugar and Gerber similar to my first run. I ended up "aerating" this time by pouring/splashing around the wort between the bucket I use for fermenting and the stock pot.
This run took almost 2 weeks to run dry. I didn't add any nutrients other than the Gerber and I added half the yeast compared to my first run which ran dry in about 4 days. Lesson learned. The stripping run went well and I'm looking forward to the spirit run. :P
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Re: Gerber

Post by The KYChemist »

Check your local Target stores... The large containers were on sale for $3.08. Wal-Mart, the only other place I've gotten them, charges $3.38. I'm going, to take advantage, tomorrow.
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Re: Gerber

Post by Stonemull »

First wash attempt, few questions.
I am using a 20 litre plastic drum. sealed lid (airlock added)

first question, what is the correct amount of airgap to leave above the wash ?

I used triple the recipe, so 12 litres of water, 2.5kg of sugar, 1 packet of baby porridge (we don't have gerbers here i know of), inverted sugar with juice of a lemon and 20 minute simmer. 6 tblspoons of yeast. So I reckon the volume was around 15 litres or 3/4 full. SG was about 1.045 (my hydrometer is for beer and onky goes to 1.040)

this went nuts for about 12 hours, 10mm silicon hose was bubbling at up to 10 a second I estimate. after 2 days its pretty much stopped. its winter here so I have sitting in front of a bar heater controlled by a PID controller, keeping the mash at about 26C.

if ferment is determined by available oxygen in the air and aeration stir, should I ..
a) pop the top, measure the SG. not sure what I am aiming for.
b) pop the top, stir madly, replace the top and see what happens.
c) its done. chuck it in the still (not quite finished yet)

sorry for noob questions, first ferment other than home brew and ginger beer, i could not find the air amount question answered anywhere. I get the feeling its a long way from complete.
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Re: Gerber

Post by rad14701 »

Stonemull wrote:<SNIP>
if ferment is determined by available oxygen in the air and aeration stir, should I ..
a) pop the top, measure the SG. not sure what I am aiming for.
b) pop the top, stir madly, replace the top and see what happens.
c) its done. chuck it in the still (not quite finished yet)
a) Yes... SG should be 1.00 or lower for this recipe...
b) No...!!! You don't need to add more oxygen into the wash because the yeast colony has already been established and switched from aerobic to anaerobic fermentation...
c) If the SG shows it to be done, which it very well may be, let it clear and then rack it and run it...

If the SG is still well above 1.000 then you'll want to check the pH and adjust as necessary... I'm leaning towards it being done...
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Re: Gerber

Post by Stonemull »

heh, pity you didn't reply INSTANTLY rad :)

cause I went for B) doh !
then I read this entire thread instead of just the first 10 pages or so and saw posts about aerobic and anaerobic etc.

SG is currently 1.012, temp measured directly with my IR thermo, 24.1C .. a little cool.
now I know, its not yet finished, perhaps stalled, will see what the morrow brings. if no activity I will find a pH test kit and perhaps a dose of bicarb soda will sort it.

I suspect my initial estimate SG of 1.045 is way out, its a beer hydrometer and it was sitting with just a tiny part of the taper sitting out of the liquid, its probably an OG of 1.050 plus ?

now I know better, but whats a worst case scenario of doing what I just did. infection obviously but can it simply stuff up the ABV by going acetic ?
I am patient and happy to wait as long as it takes, I just thought it may have been done.

damn it smells good at the moment, tempted to give it a sip ;)
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Re: Gerber

Post by The KYChemist »

I wouldn't give it a sip... Mine kind of reminds me of a bad summer shandy. Its not horrible, but smells way better than it tastes. I didn't do the c to f conversion, but I wouldn't overly worry about the temp. Mine usually ferment out, anywhere from 4-6 days, with a house temp between 68-72° f. I originally thought they would take longer.
While it probably didn't hurt you, I might invert sugar for a little while longer. My research has led me to believe 30 minutes minimum. I usually go 35-40 min.
Sipping Gerber as I type this, actually. I actually found out today, if you add it to a bourbon bottle, that has less than an oz in it, it actually gives you a nice flavor. Vanilla and caramel, here. Just a hint.
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Re: Gerber

Post by Stonemull »

well I hardly saw a single bubble today, been reading all about stalled washes and in desperation considered dropping in a multivitamin tablet as I used only baby porridge, sugar and the lemon juice I thought perhaps nutrients were down a little.

popped the top and checked SG and its under 1 now, just above the scale on my beer hydrometer but looks about 0.996 or so.

what the hell, lets see what happens. I added the last 700g sugar from the 3kg packet with a litre of water, simmered briefly, poured in hot.

SG back to where it was yesterday, about 1.012
if it converts that its about 12.2% I reckon.
not trying to be greedy, I always wanted to use up that 3kg bag of sugar and 12.2 should be doable.

hour or so in and it seems to be bubbling away nicely, I had to reopen, I couldn't find my hydrometer and figured I had left it floating around in there.
I was going to leave it but figured it may well sink now and then I am sure to forget about it.
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Re: Gerber

Post by rad14701 »

Stonemull, stop dicking around with a good thing... You had a very fast and efficient ferment and now you're tempting fate... If the Gerber finishes again, let it clear and then run it...

Why you didn't have airlock activity is a mystery without more information... Are you using a carboy, a plastic bucket, a garbage can, or what...???
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Re: Gerber

Post by Stonemull »

:) its back down to 1.006, fitted a hot water element into my keg today, the stills not quite ready.

20 litre platic bucket with a snap on lid, silicon hose poked through a hole and sealed with a good dollop of hot melt glue poked into a coffee jar full of water.
Its brand new, looks like the type of bucket bulk mayonaise might come in.
here ya go http://www.bunnings.com.au/maxipail-20l ... d_p4475875" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
all I can assume is the lid is no longer airproof somewhere. its fizzing away gently with still no airlock movement.

edit: its just a pressure thing, I had the hose a good inch into the water and the level in the hose stayed at about 1/2 inch below the water surface, if i lift the hose so the end is just a few mm below the water, its bubbling continuously still.
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Re: Gerber

Post by The KYChemist »

You're seriously over thinking this. How do I know? I have almost the same fermenting setup. Except, I have actual airlocks on my buckets. My lids have developed cracks, from repeatedly being put on, and taken off. But, they still seal enough to keep the bugs out. I just put my ear up to them, now. Once I hear no more fizzing, I wait another day or two, before racking and clearing. Hydrometer reading comes in at under 1, each time. Its like the Ronco Rotisserie... Set it, and forget it.
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Re: Gerber

Post by Stonemull »

I know, I cant help myself. I hope I am not testing your patience much, I intend to be a contributor as well as a nuisance one day.
its my first wash, first still. I like to understand things and if this lot goes out to water the grass in the back paddock I can live with that and guarantee I will have learned a lot in the process.

personally, by sheer luck perhaps, it seems to be going swimmingly.
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Re: Gerber

Post by The KYChemist »

Nah... You're okay. I was the same as you, with my first wash. Resisting the urge, to open it up was hard.
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Re: Gerber

Post by dan_buddy »

i couldn't find any barley gerber so i tried "wheat and mixed fruits" i done the striping run today what a nice wash the fruity taste has come over a little bit its realy nice
thanks forthe recipe
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Re: Gerber

Post by Swedish Pride »

This sounds too good to be true

Anyone in UK Ireland who knows if Aptimel would do the trick?
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Re: Gerber

Post by rad14701 »

dan_buddy wrote:i couldn't find any barley gerber so i tried "wheat and mixed fruits" i done the striping run today what a nice wash the fruity taste has come over a little bit its realy nice
thanks forthe recipe
Unless I'm mistaken, they no longer make the barley flavored cereal... Might still be some kicking around that a Google search might uncover... I have been using the Rice and Mixed Grain flavors as it's actually just the fortification we're after more than the flavor... Beech-Nut brand also works well...
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Re: Gerber

Post by rad14701 »

Just Googled Aptamil (Aptamel) and it is artificial milk... This recipe uses baby cereal... No clue whether artificial milk would work but I'm somewhat doubtful... But, you never know...
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Re: Gerber

Post by The KYChemist »

rad14701 wrote:Just Googled Aptamil (Aptamel) and it is artificial milk... This recipe uses baby cereal... No clue whether artificial milk would work but I'm somewhat doubtful... But, you never know...
I was searching last night, and I did find that they do make cereal. It looks comparable to Gerber. But, my Google-Fu is weak, and couldn't find a complete nutrition label. If I was a betting man, though, I'd say it should work. I was hoping someone else would've come along first with more conclusive evidence.

EDIT: http://m.tesco.com/h5/groceries/r/www.t ... =283467705" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
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Re: Gerber

Post by rad14701 »

That cereal would work but I'm not sure how it compares, nutrient-wise, with Gerber or Beech-Nut... Worth a shot... :thumbup:
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Re: Gerber

Post by coastershiner »

Just making this for the first time now. Used gerber wheat cereal, and a box of wheat honey amd flakes gerber. Also added some honey to the suger. Making enough to fill my 10 gallon fermemter. Will keep updates on progress. Ferments are slow these days as my room is about 16 celcius.
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Re: Gerber

Post by rad14701 »

Easy on the honey as it can have negative effects on the fermentation process, slowing it to a crawl... Also, if you can get the wash up to 24C - 30C it will move along quicker... No need having two strikes against it right from the get go...
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Re: Gerber

Post by coastershiner »

Thanks for the tip on not using honey. I tasted both washes today, kinda fizzy, no suger taste whatsoever. How can that be?Impossible to be finished after 24 hours right? Just using fleishmans bakers yeast. The wash temp is around 14 celcius today, so I moved them to the warmest room in the house, should be a decent 20 by morning. Does a yeast below 20 feel stressed? I was assuming that it just slows but stays happy, am I wrong? Trying to do these runs with the least amount of conagers, but im just a noob!
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Re: Gerber

Post by rad14701 »

Many yeasts, especially bakers yeast, go dormant in the low 70's to high 60's... But I have seen this recipe, or an experimental variation, ferment in as little as 36 hours...
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Re: Gerber

Post by Swedish Pride »

Rad and The KYChemist

Thanks for your advice on Aptimel, will give this a shot as soon as I get my still built.
I'm still researching design and washes, it's all-consuming at this early stage, I fear I'll get e disciplinary talk son in work :)

There should really be a disclaimer in this forum for that reason :D
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Re: Gerber

Post by The KYChemist »

Welp!... Looks like I finally got my first infection. . My buckets normally look like the majority, in the pic. I didn't have anything funky growing on the surface, and didn't cross contaminate. It looks like I just added Gerber-sediment to the clearing bucket. Ill update with a pic, after they have cleared. This poc was taken after racking...

EDIT: I know, I know... Orange buckets, not white... They're #2's, and I keep my mixing temps low to prevent against any kind of leeching.
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Re: Gerber

Post by The KYChemist »

Okay... So what I thought was a possible infection turned out to be an incomplete ferment. I was about three cups deep, when I started clearing my washes, and didn't notice it. I haven't used a hydrometer on my washes, before clearing in awhile, since they have always finished off nicely... With the exception of this one. I just checked the cloudy bucket, and its at about 1.025. My plan is to cook up a little Gerber, warm the bucket back up, and pitch some yeast. I was considering running it, but didn't want to risk foaming and puking. Lesson learned. Use the hydrometer dummy! That's why you have it, and don't start drinking till the work is done. Just a note... I don't drink while stillin'
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