Gerber

[LWTCS]

The All-Bran recipe will yield more of a faux wheat whiskey flavor, especially if pot stilled... I still need to finalize experiments for ingredient proportions for All-Bran/Total...

All Bran (styled) cereal washes are my favs as I am potstilling.

I have not tried to "Amp Up" from the original recipes as I find them very adaquate in their original publisized versions.

I recon you reflux guys should at least detune once to try the carry over flavor.

That All Bran on alligator chared white oak for a month is perty good for some green ass hooch.

[theroyal]

i apologize as i cant find in the search and i will keep searching, but if you guys dont mind i have a newb ?.

as for aerate for an hour, what are you actually doing? are you leaving the lid of...stirring....?

thanks, im gonna keep looking also


EDIT found ppl saying to stir, mix or shake. for this recipe you want to do this for 1hr?

[LWTCS]

as for aerate for an hour, what are you actually doing? are you leaving the lid of...stirring....?

Some gents use a drill motor and a paddle mixer (or the like).

I use a large kitchen wisk. Whip it up every few couple of 5 minutes or so.

Also Pour your water (that brings you up to volume) in to the fermenter kind of aggressively.

That will push some air through the wash also.

[rad14701]

i apologize as i cant find in the search and i will keep searching, but if you guys dont mind i have a newb ?.

as for aerate for an hour, what are you actually doing? are you leaving the lid of...stirring....?

thanks, im gonna keep looking also


EDIT found ppl saying to stir, mix or shake. for this recipe you want to do this for 1hr?

I think I mentioned it somewhere here in this topic that I when doing 4L experimental washes I usually give about 40 shakes every 10 - 15 minutes for an hour... For my larger fermenter I use a homemade whisk instead of shaking but for about 30 seconds at the same intervals...

[theroyal]

Thanks guys u r all awesome. What temp do u let this mash settle till before you pitch the yeast?

[rad14701]

Thanks guys u r all awesome. What temp do u let this mash settle till before you pitch the yeast?

Personally, I pitch anywhere below 95F... My Fleischmann's yeast kicks in almost immediately... The kraeusen is already forming well before the next aeration cycle...

[theroyal]

pitched the yeast last night, aerated for about 45min or so, and everything seems to be a go so far!

thanks everyone. everyone is very helpful

[theracenut]

I started a Gerber wash 5 days ago and am still getting activity through the air lock. About 2-3 seconds between burps. This is my first batch ever, do I wait until there is no activity at all? Or do I take a reading to see where sg is? I was planning to run this batch tomorrow but with activity still present I am holding off for now. Am I on the right track?

[kiwistiller]

Just wait until all activity ceases. I know, its hard

[Hawke]

4 burps per minute should signal that the wash is done. Give it a hell of a stirring, then if it doesn't continue to off-gas, it's done.

[theracenut]

Thanks for the quick replies. I quess I'll put it off till next weekend. That should give me time to build a parrot. I don't see a need to rush anything.

[rad14701]

You can check the SG but if it's still bubbling you might as well wait for it to stop fermenting... It'll keep fermenting until all of the sugars have been converted to alcohol... It should be done by the end of the weekend I'd imagine... No need rushing...

Got sidetracked watching a movie while replying and I see you've already gotten some good advice...

[HookLine]

A ferment is done when it has no sweet taste left, and there are no more bubbles.

[Bulldog]

The Gerber Cereal is a enriched hot cereal. If you look on the corner of the box it says With Vita Blocks probably a balanced mixture similiar to a baby vitamin. I have been making Gerber wash using the Rice cereal I never measure the SG as I allways do a strip run, you get what you get. I let the wines sit with a TBS and a half of Bicarb per gallon for about two or three weeks. It makes a very clean neutral when ran in my VM rig.

I am glad this recipe got promoted to Tried and True, Congrats.

[ibfestus]

I have read all the threads again and I still can't find what the PH of the wash should be. In addition I am still not getting the SG everybody else seems to be getting. I boiled then simmered 24 cups sugar in 3 gallons of well water along with 3 oz lemon juice and a 8 oz box of Gerbers Barley. I let it cool to 90F pitched 1 C Red Star bakers yeast, let it sit for an hour then added 3 gal. cool well water and vigorously stirred. The SG at 77F was 1.035 and the PH was 6.0. I only have litmus to test the PH and my reading might be just a bit off.

Thanks for any suggestions in advance.

[rad14701]

Something is off, ibfestus... A wash made with 24 cups of sugar and 6 gallons of water should have an SG around 1.092 and a Potential ABV of 14.1%... That's for a wash with a total volume of 6 gallons... The pH should be in the range of 4 - 5.5, but 6 should be alright... A bit more lemon juice would drop it down...

You should have pitched the yeast into the final volume rather than the half volume of 3 gallons... At this point it's hard to say if that will cause problems with your yeast...

[ibfestus]

Thanks guy. Actually I did not describe what I did accurately... perhaps I drink a bit too much. My stainless boiler only holds about 5 gallons. I reasoned that if I used 3 gallons of water and 24 C. sugar that would be 4 gal. total. I am having trouble finding fermenters. Shipping costs makes ordering from the distributors pricey. I was able to come up with some food grade buckets with good lids from a local bakery but they only hold 4 gallons. 6 Gal. of water + 24 cups sugar = about 7 gal total... just right for 2, 4 gal buckets. The lids are air tight so I drilled a 1/4" hole in the lids and inserted a 1/4" hose into the hole and sealed it with candle wax. My thinking was to put all the ingredients in then split the product into half and add it to the buckets along with 1 1/2 gal water. It would have been easier to put 1/2 the yeast in each bucket.

The SG is another issue. I need to test my hydrometer. Maybe it is wrong or I am reading it wrong. In any event those two buckets are bubbling furiously.

[theroyal]

on my 4th night tonight around 9PM east coast time. still bubbling away. im getting excited!

[rad14701]

ibfestus, 24 cups sugar in 7 gallons is more like an SG of 1.079 and a 12.1% potential ABV which is a very good number...

Yes, either your hydrometer is off or you're reading it incorrectly... Check to see what it reads in straight water at the calibration temperature...

[rad14701]

For anyone having difficulty in finding Gerber cereal I have found substitutes... Beech-Nut cereals and Malt-O Meal cereals can be used in the same proportions... Beech-Nut cereals actually contain more nutrients than Gerber... Malt-O Meal lies between Beech-Nut and Gerber with regard to the amount of nutrients it contains...

[moose]

Rad,

I'm on my second batch....first one ran in about a week, this one is taking just a bit longer, but all I did was add water/sugar back to the remains in the fermenter...I used brewers yeast, so I felt that was fine, and I couldm't imagine all of the Gerber being eaten up, but maybe I was wrong? Do you run multiple washes using the same yeast/nutrients?

[rad14701]

Rad,

I'm on my second batch....first one ran in about a week, this one is taking just a bit longer, but all I did was add water/sugar back to the remains in the fermenter...I used brewers yeast, so I felt that was fine, and I couldm't imagine all of the Gerber being eaten up, but maybe I was wrong? Do you run multiple washes using the same yeast/nutrients?

I consider the amount of nutrients in the Gerber as expendable... I don't add any more than I figure the yeast will use up in a single wash which is why I have stated that you can back down to 3/4 cup per gallon, especially if adding a multivitamin and Epsom Salt... I never re-use any part of my previous wash in a new wash, but have wondered what effect it would have on subsequent ferments...


I was actually just now sitting down to add a post here when I discovered your post... Haven't gotten all of todays posts read through just yet...

I just finished throwing together what I consider to be a basic Gerber wash...Just finished this basic recipe to see how well it goes... It's about as basic as it gets...

1 gallon of water
4 cups white sugar
1 cup Gerber Rice cereal
1 tbsp Fleischmann's dry active yeast

As you can see, this is basic... But, beyond that, I just used hot water from the tap to dissolve the sugar... I didn't invert the sugar at all, just tossed it into warm tap water... Then I mixed in the Gerber Rices cereal... Next, I added the 1 tbsp of yeast... Then I just shook the jug for about a half minute... I'll keep shaking it every 15 minutes for about an hour and then I'll add the air lock... We shall see how long it takes with no additional nutrients and only 1 tbsp of yeast... I'm gonna guess 7 - 10 days, but hoping it'll be less...

This is a 14.1% potential ABV wash after all, so I'm debating whether or not I should add a multivitamin or a pinch of Epsom salt... Nah... Gotta do another baseline wash... I'm gonna resist every temptation to fuss with it once the air lock is in place...

[moose]

Unfortunately, I was out of Gerber when I racked the first gerber wash to the still and wanted to used the "slush" left over, so I gave it a shot ...it's been running about 10 days and is down to just under 1.0 from 1.07....I have a good bit of aquarium stuff laying around, so I gave it about an hour of heavy airation (airstone/pump) and circulation to pep up the used yeast when I added the water/sugar.

I didn't invert the sugar in this wash, but did in the first....great results with the first

Thanks for the help!

[rad14701]

Unfortunately, I was out of Gerber when I racked the first gerber wash to the still and wanted to used the "slush" left over, so I gave it a shot ...it's been running about 10 days and is down to just under 1.0 from 1.07....I have a good bit of aquarium stuff laying around, so I gave it about an hour of heavy airation (airstone/pump) and circulation to pep up the used yeast when I added the water/sugar.

I didn't invert the sugar in this wash, but did in the first....great results with the first

Thanks for the help!

Sounds about right for your recipe... Inverting the sugar may have reduced fermentation time... Adding some new Gerber may have also helped... At any rate, given that the wash is testing below an SG of 1.000 means that it's almost completely fermented to dry... If time isn't a big factor then a ferment that finishes and clears within 14 days is a winner in my book, especially if it distills to clean neutral spirits in a single run...

Good luck...

[JeepJunkie]

sounds like a winner, i've been using the DWWG, this will be less expensive. can I use Distiller's yeast for this? or should i stick with baker's yeast....

[rad14701]

sounds like a winner, i've been using the DWWG, this will be less expensive. can I use Distiller's yeast for this? or should i stick with baker's yeast....

Distillers yeast should work just fine if you have it... The reason this recipe suggests bakers yeast is so all ingredients can be sourced at the local markets rather than brew shops or online...

[DrTorque]

All right - I decided to try this today, and I just pitched the yeast.

5 gallons
About 7-8 lb. of sugar
A few squirts of lemon juice
3 cups Rice & Apple Gerber (no Barley available)
1/2 cup bakers yeast

Heated enough water to dissolve my sugar in a pot. Simmered that for maybe 10-15 minutes with the lemon juice. Dumped in 2 cups of Gerber. Forgot that I had the burner on high. Watched as it boiled over. Quickly transferred everything to a clean pot on the back burner and spent the next 1/2 hour cleaning the ceramic-top stove. That sucked. Lesson learned.

Got the pot back to a simmer and added the 3rd cup of Gerber. Added a little more sugar because I figured I lost some. Simmered for 10 minutes or so.

Dumped that into my fermenter that had a couple of gallons of cold water. Added more water to bring it up to 5 gallons. Felt the sides of the fermenter - it was in the 80's, no more than 90 degrees. SG = 1.070.

Sprinkled the yeast on top.

I'm just about out of Gerber, so I'm going to make a WPOSW in my other fermenter right now and compare the two throughout the process...

EDIT: The WPOSW is in the fermenter next to the Gerber. The Gerber is bubbling at a rate that I haven't seen since I used a turbo. By the time I typed the above message, the Gerber had already started bubbling a little, and I hadn't even stirred the yeast cap in. I did, and the batch took off nicely. The WPOSW is bubbling along as well, albeit a little slower. I forgot to factor in temp in the SG before. Corrected:

Gerber, about 1.073
WPOSW, about 1.069

This will be an interesting comparison for me. Hopefully, I'll have two nice, clean stripping products that I can mix and double distill together.

ANOTHER EDIT: Overnight, and they're both the same - about 1.061.

EDIT 3: About 20 hours, Gerber = 1.050, WPOSW = 1.055

[rad14701]

Just thought I'd post an update on my experimental Gerber Rice washes... Yeah, I had to start another one that's identical except for using double the amount of yeast... Both are still going today, 10 days later for the first and 5 days later for the second, and they both still have a ways to go... I'm now guessing the 14 day mark for the first and at least the 7 day mark for the second... Doubling the yeast has made a big difference...

So, while both washes are bubbling along, steadily, towards 14% ABV, it appears that additional nutrients will help reduce fermentation times... Or is it a valid case for inverting the sugar, boiling the cereal, dead yeast, epsom salt, or 20-20-20...??? I guess I'll just keep experimenting until I know what few tweaks it takes to get 36 - 72 hour ferments... I'm looking for bare minimums here... I'd like to get this set of experiments completed so I can move on to a few other recipes I have in the hopper... A fast no-boil recipe would be great, but I'll boil if I have to in order to attain the speed I'm trying to achieve...

Stay tuned...

[ORR]

Thanks for the update Rad,im going to do yer recipe first.Over the weekend i got my still all piped up and done.Gotta do the wiring and condenser and then im all done.

[DrTorque]

It's been exactly eight days for the WPOSW and the Gerber made side by side and fermenting under the same conditions...

The Gerber started at 1.073 and is at 1.004
The WPOSW started at 1.069 and is at 1.032

So - same water, same yeast, same temperature, almost the same amount of sugar, and one ferments considerably faster because of the other ingredients.

I can't wait for the taste test.