I need some help

[ineedadrink]

hey everyone i am new to the shine game so i have a few ??? but first this is my wash or mash ( i dont know what the diff is lol)
5 lbs corn mill cooked in 2.5 gal water just long enough that the spoon will almost stand up in it on its own added 4 lbs sugar mixed
well and added 2.5 gal of water when temps lowered to 96 deg. added 3 packs bakers yeast all put in an ice chest with a loose but airtight lid
i bubbled for a day then stopped it would not do anything after that but could smell the yeast so yesterday ( day 6 ) i slowly mixed it up with a spoon
it bubbled for a while then stopped again, now day 7 it has a very thin film of some sorts ( mainly clear and white ).
now my ??... is that film mold or is that normal ? and also, if it is ok how do i know when it is ready to be distill ?

[ga flatwoods]

Ineedadrink, indeed you need to read, and study. When making up a witch's brew, who cares if its muddy!?
Today's homework: read tried and true recipes, look up definition of wash, mash, and hydrometer, and be prepared to tell us what the heat up accomplished for you. Come back after recess ready to discuss.
And Welcome! Answers to your basic questions are all here awaiting you, and LOTS MORE! Enjoy the ride.
GA Flatwoods

[ineedadrink]

i was under the impression that a mash was fermenting with grains and wash is with sugar this was a simple recipe of a few diff. web pages i just doubled it.
the reason i didnt know if it was a wash or mash cuz i have both grain and sugar. but the main thing is to know that it is not molding and that it is a normal
part of the process to have the white film on top

[DAD300]

Rules of thumb..

No airtight lid, loose lid or air lock...lose lid with a towel under to let co2 out.

Try for no more than 2lbs of sugar per gallon and corn could count as some sugar.

Let co2 out and the stuff will probable start working again.

Clear liquid on top could be alcohol, starch from corn or water...it won't hurt to taste it. My bet is unconverted starch.

Mashes have grain, starch converted to sugars, but could have added sugar. Washes are usually sugar and water, but could have grains or cereal added for flavor.

Just cooking corn will not make it fermentable, There has to be a process for converting the corn starch to sugar.

[ineedadrink]

ok well i have started a new batch but this time i used sweet feed and got my hands on some brewers yeast it seems to be doing good today is day 5 still has a little action going on but i think it is ready to go ( it has lost the syrupy texture ) and this time i does not smell bad lol it kinda smells good but my only concern is that the feed has swelled up so much that there is only about 3-4 in. left of liquid on top and i am afraid i wont be able to squeeze enough out and will loose alot of my batch any one have a suggestion or tips on the best way to do this? thanks for all the help

[Prairiepiss]

5 days. Let it clear for a few more. The solids will sink even more. Then rack off the clear beer. Did you use sf with pellets? That can be a mess to work around. Do you have a hydrometer?

Oh and you didn't mash your grains. And you were fermenting processed sugar. So it would be a wash. There is a glossary of terms in the must read new distiller reading lounge.

[ineedadrink]

yes i did use the feed with pellets i just trusted the guy at tractor supply when he told me that now days all sweet feed has pellets in it i didnt think that was true but i have never worked with horses just cattle lol i am just hoping that it will work seeing how i have about 35-40 pounds left... so i need to let it go for a few more days?? and i have an alcoolometor
i tested the wash a few days ago it was about 10% but now it is showing only about 5% but i know i should be using a hydrometer to test the wash

[Halfbaked]

+1 ga flatwood

[Prairiepiss]

Did you read any of the sweetfeed thread? It is chalked full of warnings about not using sweetfeed with pellets. Slow down and read. Then read it again.

[S-Cackalacky]

Tractor Supply has "All Grain" sweet feed. It will say on the bag either "10% All Grain" or just "All Grain". Check the ingredients list on the bag. It should only contain grains, molasses and propionic acid (a preservative) (and possibly some citric acid). And, I think the only sweet feeds they sell are made by "Producer's Pride".

TS has a pretty good return policy. If the bag you bought has pellets, you should be able to return it for a refund. When in doubt, ask them to cut open the bag so you can see what's in it. They can tape the bag closed again.

You were given good advice about the reading. You seem to be getting a little ahead of yourself.

Just sayin',
S-C

[redmud]

Welcome. Definitely do some more reading. We all make mistakes and hopefully the third time is s charm for ya. I think I saw a thread on filtering sweet feed with pellets on here somewhere in the Novice distillers thread maybe it was the tried and trued recipes.

[Dnderhead]

"i tested the wash a few days ago it was about 10% but now it is showing only about 5% but i know i should be using a hydrometer to test the wash.."
a beer/wine/mash hydrometer shows the amount of sugar or lack of.
so it "counts down" from "possible alcohol" down to????

[texashine]

WOW!

From my perspective, you've just learned lots of things not to do. I think your recipe is very close to the one I do a lot, so I'll add my two cents here.

Here's a few things you did wrong. You killed the fermentation process when you allowed the temp to get to 96F. I keep mine below 83F, and it's ready to go in 4 or 5 days max. You overloaded the shit out of it with sugar.
Stay within 1 lb. per gallon, and don't exceed 1.5 lbs per gallon. Corn meal should be about 1/4 lb. per gallon, but not more than 1/2 lb. per gallon. You overloaded the shit out of that also. I like to wake up the yeast in slightly warm, sweet water, and then add to the wash. Your yield should be in the 10-13 percent range, which is just fine, and easy to estimate.

Give this a try and post your results.

[Tater]

WOW!

From my perspective, you've just learned lots of things not to do. I think your recipe is very close to the one I do a lot, so I'll add my two cents here.

Here's a few things you did wrong. You killed the fermentation process when you allowed the temp to get to 96F. I keep mine below 83F, and it's ready to go in 4 or 5 days max. You overloaded the shit out of it with sugar.
Stay within 1 lb. per gallon, and don't exceed 1.5 lbs per gallon. Corn meal should be about 1/4 lb. per gallon, but not more than 1/2 lb. per gallon. You overloaded the shit out of that also. I like to wake up the yeast in slightly warm, sweet water, and then add to the wash. Your yield should be in the 10-13 percent range, which is just fine, and easy to estimate.

Give this a try and post your results.

Might want to reread yourself to check your facts

[ineedadrink]

after cleaning it up i got about 5 gal to try running and the best i got out of it was less than a half gal at about 60% then down to about 45% all in all its is clean and taste is good for my 2nd try ... i mean i did read up on this i wasnt just throwing things together i just got some bad info from tractor supply, but i do know now to get a second opinion from t.s. staff before i buy