Hey shiners, been a while. Gotta question for you all.
I have a sugar wash I am fermenting right now about three days in. I am finishing up a bottle from a previous run of the same stuff and I decided I want to add a little flavor. I thought about boiling some corn flakes to kill the nasties and adding some in. Is this advisable since it is already 3 days in? How much should I add to a 5 gallon wash?
What would YOU add to your wash if you had the same deal going on?
I finally got a proofer! Turns out that I am pushing out 160 proof (80% abv) from my 3 gallon pot still. It has a thumper which I am sure helps a bit. The sugar washes I am making are coming out at roughly 8% abv using just a bakers yeast with inverted sugar. The taste isn't bad, but distinctive. I don't expect to get a completely neutral spirit so I thought about adding some corn flakes. Next time I am going to make some whiskey. Which brings me to one more question if you don't mind.
They sell those little boxes of barley for a breakfast cereal in the stores around here. If I crush that up will that provide the flavor I want, in conjunction with rye of course? Or is it not the right kind of barley..ie. malted?
Thanks for your help guys.
adding corn flakes midway
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adding corn flakes midway
Shine on you crazy diamonds!!
Add a pound of frozen corn,thawed of cource.It will give more flavor,and doesnt have all that extra crap in it.You could add some barley too,but buy the kind that you use in soup.I havent tried it,but it should give some flavor.You could toast it some first,but be careful,it would probably burn easy.The frozen corn works.Ive done it on a sugar wash.
I just boiled the corn flakes and the corn a little to kill any bacteria and the water is a lovely yellow color and full of smell and flavor. I am adding a little of that to the mix as well. I am also pitching another 21 grams of yeast as I did a little experimentation this time. I met an old moonshiner last week and he laughed at me when I told him I only use 2 1/2 pounds of sugar to 5 gallons of water. He said, "you aint got s#@t, two percent is all you got. You need to use about 17 pounds of sugar!" Well I thought that was a little much. Plus my washes are coming out at about 8%, but I thought I would humor him so I went up to 10 pounds of sugar for 5 gallons. Seems to be working now, but since I primarily use bakers yeast I am pitching more to make sure it doesn't get stuck. Wish me luck.
Shine on you crazy diamonds!!