All Bran Recipe

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1960redfish
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Re: All Bran Recipe

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A(
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by 1960redfish »

1960redfish wrote:A(
Sorry folks, I shouldn't carry my tablet around without the cover on!
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by Bert13 »

Hi there, Bert13 here and very pleased to meet y'all.

This is my first post so please forgive me if I'm not following established protocols.

I put on a wash using locally obtained 'All Bran Recipe' ingredients last night and, as the All Bran recipe looks to be one that is embraced by recent starters like me, I thought it might be useful to some to see how my Manchester UK version of the All Bran recipe performs.

My 24 litre wash used
• 12 teaspoons or 60ml of lemon juice
• 6 kilo of *inverted sugar
• 6 cups of Asda own brand All Bran flakes
• My boiled yeast component was 7g of 'Allinson Easy Bake' baker’s yeast which was thrown in with the bran boil and cooked for all of the 30 minutes
• Instead of 20-20-20, I used 9 teaspoons of Young’s Yeast Nutrient (1.5 tsp per kilo sugar) which is comprised of diammonium phosphate & ammonium sulphate (so effectively is nitrogen, phosphate & sulphate)
• 9 tablespoons of Young’s Dried Active brewing / wine making yeast

*Inverting the sugar used 2 teaspoons (10ml) of lemon juice per kilo (which looks a bit low compared to the wiki advice - I was worried about the ph plunging but I may increase it next time depending on end results).

Process
1. Invert (simmer) the 6kg of sugar with an equal volume of water and 60ml of lemon juice for 30 minutes
2. Simmer cereal with 1.5 x the volume of water and the boiled yeast component for 30 minutes
3. Mix the invert sugar solution with the cereal & boiled yeast component
4. Top the fermenting tub up to 24 litres using filtered water and allow wash to cool to 95F (35C)
5. Hydrate the yeast by adding filtered water and mixing to a thin paste.
6. Add 3 teaspoons of Young’s yeast nutrient to the hydrated yeast, mix in, cover and leave to rest for 10 minutes in a warm place to give it a chance to get started
7. Pitch yeast with another 6 teaspoons of Young’s Yeast Nutrient and aerate by stirring the whole lot like mad for 2 minutes
8. Fit cover to fermenting tub and fit airlock.

I started putting the wash together late yesterday afternoon and had it completed and in the fermenting tub by 8pm so that I could watch the Switzerland v France football match. I checked the fermenting tub after the game and it was working so hard that it had blown the water out of the airlock. I topped the airlock back up with previously boiled water and left it overnight. It was still working away like mad this morning and the CO2 coming off smells slightly sweet but mostly yeasty and certainly healthy.

I've only ever done turbo washes prior to this and they were not as quick as this to get moving.

My 'turbo' washes produced a good clean spirit (as was judged by inexperienced me) but they were over 3 x as expensive compared to this method. Sugar from Lidl at 48p a kilo (6 x 48 = £2.88) compared very nicely with the cost of the dextrose used in the turbo's at @ £2.65 a kilo, and the lemon juice (say 25p) / yeast nutrient (£1.80) and yeast (say £2) probably took the total cost for 24 litres of wash to less than £10 if I include sanitising products and the cost of gas to boil the components etc.
If I get 10 bottles of decent spirit out of this then I'll have reduced production costs by about 70% and I'll hopefully have a better product at the end of the experiment.

I'll post again to let everyone know if this is a miserable failure or a success and to what degree. I'm hopeful because it's working so vigorously and smelling so good that it just seems right.
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Mikey-moo
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by Mikey-moo »

Howdy Bert13! Alright our kid?

You should head over to the Welcome Center and introduce yourself properly, introduce your still and maybe a picture or two for the old timers to critique from a safety p.o.v... sounds like you've got some experience under your belt, albeit perhaps a bit questionable with the Turbo.

6kg of sugar in a 24L wash is shooting a bit high for top quality booze, but you're going to love the product compared to what you've been making before, and you're not wrong with the price difference, this is why we love this forum :-)

Looks like you're aiming for about 14.5% alcohol in a 24L wash. Assuming you lose 1L as trub then 14.5% of 23L is 3.33L of pure ethanol. Lets assume you can get 80% of that out of the boiler you're looking at 2.6L of alcohol. Depending on how you make your cuts (and from the sounds of it that's not something you've worried about as yet) you could be looking at 1.9L of alcohol, which I make out to be about 6 bottles of 40% booze. Still not a bad return on your less than £10.

Those are just rough guestimates by the way, your mileage may vary depending on how picky you are.
Best place to start for newbies - click here - Courtesy of Cranky :-)

If you have used this site to save money by making your own top quality booze at home then please consider donating a couple of dollars to help keep this site running. Cheers!
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by Bert13 »

Hi Mikey-Moo and thanks for your kind comments. I kinda guessed I was likely to be going about the intro's in a clumsy fashion and I'll gladly take your advice to start again via the welcome centre.
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by apdb »

As a rule I've been potstillin my 15.5 keg to 10 Gallons with this recipe with no pukes (after a full ferment, no sugar left). I'm thinking of increasing up to 13-14 Gallons. Anyone think I might be pushing it? Anyone else run this much at a time?

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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by Swedish Pride »

go for it, I always fill her up
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by apdb »

:thumbup:
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ga flatwoods
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by ga flatwoods »

13.5 all the time!
Ga Flatwoods
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cranky
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by cranky »

ga flatwoods wrote:13.5 all the time!
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Me too.
bonnieblue
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by bonnieblue »

Just started my first batch, ever, and decided on the All Bran. Here is how I did it:

Used the following ingredients:

4 gallons of water.
16 cups white sugar.
4 cups, crushed, All Bran.
8 tablespoons Fleischman Dry Active yeast.

Inverted the sugar using a a 5 gallon stainless steel cooking pot with 2 gallons of water and 8 lbs of sugar heating it with a vigorous simmer not a full boil. When the sugar solution went clear I then added 1.5 teaspoons of Cream of Tartar. Continuous stirring it, while temperature was 152°F, for a total of 30 minutes.

At same time in a separate pot mixed 1 gallon of water with the 4 cups of crushed All Brand at 170°F and stirred it for 30 minutes.

Mixed the smaller pot into the 5 gallon pot and added the remaining 1 gallon of water and waited until temperature was 95°F.

Pitch the yeast straight in.

Stirred it at 15 minute intervals 3 times to provide aeration. It is bubbling crazy ! During the 15 minute stirring it would clear the head and when I came back each time had a new 1 inch thick crust bubbling noisily.

Here is my dilemma, I covered it with a loose lid and after 15 minutes it had raised to 99°F. I took the the lid off and it is back to 90°. It's inside the house, so if I cover it will it get so hot as to kill the yeast? I am thinking I should leave it uncovered.

UPDATE:

Left it uncovered overnight and the crusty stuff of top settled, now it is just a cloudy greenish yellow color, with still lots of bubbles. Temperature is 92.7 F. Air temperature in the house is 73-75 F. So still wondering if I should cover it or leave it open.

Here is a picture a picture after 1 hour.
Bubbles-1 hour.jpg
Here is it at 21 hours.
Bubbles-21 hour.jpg



Thanks,
Pat
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by bonnieblue »

Okay - so at approximately 63 hours in, it is still bubbling. I covered it with a lid and left a small crack to let excess pressure out. Temperature down to 82.6F. It is now a yellow-white color. Consistence is a thin liquid. I dabbed a taste and it no longer tastes sweet. Actually it is a little sour. Is that normal ? Was concerned about possible vinegar infection, but have no basis of comparison.

Pictures below.

The Lid-
Bubble3.jpg
The New Color after 63 hours.
Bubble4.jpg
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ga flatwoods
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by ga flatwoods »

Looks good. Do you have a hydrometer to check specific gravity?
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Kegg_jam
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by Kegg_jam »

Sour is normal when fermenting dry. PH probably going low.

Time to check SG like Flatwoods says.
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by bonnieblue »

ga flatwoods wrote:Looks good. Do you have a hydrometer to check specific gravity?
The hydrometer I have is actually an alcoholmeter and I also missed the boat because didn't take a reading before fermenting began. I guess I need to buy a traditional hydrometer for then next batch.

Thanks,
Pat
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by rad14701 »

bonnieblue wrote:
ga flatwoods wrote:Looks good. Do you have a hydrometer to check specific gravity?
The hydrometer I have is actually an alcoholmeter and I also missed the boat because didn't take a reading before fermenting began. I guess I need to buy a traditional hydrometer for then next batch.

Thanks,
Pat
You need both an alcoholmeter (alcometer) to measure alcohol content (%ABV) and a hydrometer to measure specific gravity (SG)... An alcoholmeter is useless for anything but distilled spirits...

Looking good so far...
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by bonnieblue »

rad14701 wrote:
bonnieblue wrote:
ga flatwoods wrote:Looks good. Do you have a hydrometer to check specific gravity?
The hydrometer I have is actually an alcoholmeter and I also missed the boat because didn't take a reading before fermenting began. I guess I need to buy a traditional hydrometer for then next batch.

Thanks,
Pat
You need both an alcoholmeter (alcometer) to measure alcohol content (%ABV) and a hydrometer to measure specific gravity (SG)... An alcoholmeter is useless for anything but distilled spirits...

Looking good so far...
Well since I don't have one, the good news is I get to get another toy/tool !
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by raketemensch »

Before you do, if it's in your budget, I highly recommend getting a spirit refractometer, and if possible, a wort refractometer, instead of hydrometers.

Many of us are loving these little buggers, and they're ~$20/each. They'll give you the same results, but with only a few drops of fluid instead of a full flask.

For spirit, just dribble a couple of drops on the slide, close it and look at a light source. For wort there's one more step -- it operates the same way when you start and measure your starting gravity, but when you want to check your final gravity (like right now), you need to do a quick calculation (there are calcs on the web to do it for you) using your starting gravity.
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by bonnieblue »

Before you do, if it's in your budget, I highly recommend getting a spirit refractometer, and if possible, a wort refractometer, instead of hydrometers.

Many of us are loving these little buggers, and they're ~$20/each. They'll give you the same results, but with only a few drops of fluid instead of a full flask.

For spirit, just dribble a couple of drops on the slide, close it and look at a light source. For wort there's one more step -- it operates the same way when you start and measure your starting gravity, but when you want to check your final gravity (like right now), you need to do a quick calculation (there are calcs on the web to do it for you) using your starting gravity.[/quote]

I wasn't even aware that they existed. Any site you can share or manufacturer ? I did a quick check on E-Bay and found this one for $17.00 shipped that does 0-80%. Is this what you are talking about ?
refractor.jpg

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raketemensch
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by raketemensch »

That's exactly my wort one. For spirits, search by either "spirit" or "80%" -- that's as high as they go, unfortunately.
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by rgreen2002 »

LOL...we are having a similar discussion here: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =2&t=56610


Here is mine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012A ... UTF8&psc=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow "best price on amazon"
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by Hound Dog »

bonnieblue wrote:
ga flatwoods wrote:Looks good. Do you have a hydrometer to check specific gravity?
The hydrometer I have is actually an alcoholmeter and I also missed the boat because didn't take a reading before fermenting began. I guess I need to buy a traditional hydrometer for then next batch.

Thanks,
Pat
You can still drop a hydrometer in it to see if it is done. You just won't know it's percentage.
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by bonnieblue »

Hound Dog wrote:
bonnieblue wrote:
ga flatwoods wrote:Looks good. Do you have a hydrometer to check specific gravity?
The hydrometer I have is actually an alcoholmeter and I also missed the boat because didn't take a reading before fermenting began. I guess I need to buy a traditional hydrometer for then next batch.

Thanks,
Pat
You can still drop a hydrometer in it to see if it is done. You just won't know it's percentage.
If it is still bubbling, it is still fermentating, right? Or can it bubble and still be done?

Thanks,
Pat
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by bonnieblue »

raketemensch wrote:That's exactly my wort one. For spirits, search by either "spirit" or "80%" -- that's as high as they go, unfortunately.
So if I had one of these, before I pitched the yeast, I would have taken a reading and it would have provided me the initial SG. Then as it ferments, I could use it again, run the results through the calculation, and it will provide the current alcohol present?

Thanks,
Pat
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by raketemensch »

bonnieblue wrote:
raketemensch wrote:That's exactly my wort one. For spirits, search by either "spirit" or "80%" -- that's as high as they go, unfortunately.
So if I had one of these, before I pitched the yeast, I would have taken a reading and it would have provided me the initial SG. Then as it ferments, I could use it again, run the results through the calculation, and it will provide the current alcohol present?

Thanks,
Pat
Exactly.
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by Hound Dog »

bonnieblue wrote:
Hound Dog wrote:
bonnieblue wrote:
ga flatwoods wrote:Looks good. Do you have a hydrometer to check specific gravity?
The hydrometer I have is actually an alcoholmeter and I also missed the boat because didn't take a reading before fermenting began. I guess I need to buy a traditional hydrometer for then next batch.

Thanks,
Pat
You can still drop a hydrometer in it to see if it is done. You just won't know it's percentage.
If it is still bubbling, it is still fermentating, right? Or can it bubble and still be done?

Thanks,
Pat
It is usually still working if it is bubbling but it can also be done, just off gassing. Taste it. If it's sweet, it has sugar to ferment. If it is sour and dry, it doesn't. Don't drink a glass, just dip your finger in and get a little taste.
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by bonnieblue »

The taste went sour and dry over 24 hours ago. I went to check it this morning and the bubbling was very slow and the temperature was down to 79.8F. I then knocked the side of the container to break out any remaining trapped CO2. It dislodged a lot of bubbles then it went flat. I left it alone and came back in 5 minutes and it is now bubbling again, actually a little better than when I first observed it. So I guess by knocking it, I just angered the yeast ! It is definitely winding down now. I am going to purchase locally a hydrometer or refractometer so I can measure the current SG this afternoon.

Current view after 84 hours.
Bubble6.jpg
Thanks,
Pat
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by bonnieblue »

raketemensch wrote:That's exactly my wort one. For spirits, search by either "spirit" or "80%" -- that's as high as they go, unfortunately.
Okay - I purchased an old school hydrometer for $5.85 today. Will be testing shortly. I did look at the refractometers and got utterly confused. So the ones that are 20-80 proof, are only for spirits, and I couldn't use if for SG at all in a wort ? So I would need a beer/wine refractometer 0-32 Brit that has SG listed if I am trying to measure before and after SG of my wash???

Thanks,
Pat
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by rad14701 »

Many here are quite content with good old fashioned hydrometers... I've had the same hydrometer for almost 40 years... It's from before their committing suicide became a fad... Either that or it is of higher quality... Or it's a zombie or vampire because it came in its own little wooden coffin... :twisted:

Who else here has both a ~40 year old hydrometer and alcoholmeter...???
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Re: All Bran Recipe

Post by bonnieblue »

Looks like it is right around the 1.00 mark. Using the temperature conversion (79.2F) puts it at around 1.002. So I guess it is close, but need it to drop below 1.00 ?
SG.jpg
Thanks,
Pat
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