small quick question !

[tonyj]

hi just a quick question
my first time trying to make / distall alcohol
started a corn wash last week ( 20 l )
my question is ,is it supposed to stink like hell , is this normal ?
thank for your time
tony

[Prairiepiss]

Little more info please?

Does the ferment stink or are you running it?
What recipe did you use?
Temps, SG readings, fermentation action?
Any other details you may have left out?

[tonyj]

thanks for the quick reply
i left a lot of info out !
im a plumber and thought it would be fun to make a pot still, made some hard cider with it from juice and loads of suger,worked well but tasts very sweet ! distilled the rest as a try out,see if the still worked
after that i bought 3 kilos of corn.blended it and put the corn and half a kilo sugar and 18 liters of lukewater in a container + 3 packs baker yeast ( 20 grams ? )
the containers in house at around 21c ,with the cap loosely on
i realize it will probably taste disgusting(or not work at all )but thats ok,im just tinkering at the moment with the whole process,its all new to me.
the next time i start something ill use proper yeast and have bought some equipment to test alcohol level with, which i now miss
anyway thanks for taking the time for a newbie
tony, hi from holland

[Prairiepiss]

18 lt water with 1 kg of sugar would only be 3.3 ABV. The corn isn't going to contributed to it. Since you didn't mash it. So your not going to get much out of it when you distill it.

Some say corn has a funky smell. I think so. But not to be cornfused with a pukey smell. Does it smell pukey? Or does it smell more like a funky bread?

I would also like to point you to the tried and true recipes. Some great recipes for someone just starting out.

[rad14701]

The bakers yeast was about the only part of the recipe you got right aside from the water... Take the advice given to visit the Tried and True Recipe forum... They're called Tried and True because they have been proven to work successfully by multiple members...

[tonyj]

hi again,thanks for the great advice !
i started the corn wash last week before i found the forum ,so ill be checking out the tried and tested recipes pretty soon !
as for the advice that i didn,t mash the corn, i thought breaking it up with some water in a high speed blender was the same ? or am i again completely wrong ?
i did have some worries about the sugar, on the net some say yes and some say no,so i put a bit
anyway thanks for the great advice, glad i found you guys (and girls ! )
tony

[Prairiepiss]

You first need to cook the corn to release the nonfermentable starches. Then you need to add enzymes either a malt or a powdered enzymes. The enzymes will convert the nonfermentable starches to fermentable sugars. If you don't add enzymes all you have is a starchy corn muck.

The parent site has some good AG info.

[tonyj]

haha ! the wash was a disaster ! infected
glad to hear i got the water and yeast right
tool everyones advice and went straight to the tried and true section.
started a easy whiskey and an easy rum wash, 2+ 20 l see how they work
thanks for the great advice everyone
tony