My vegetarian sugar wash trials

[scarecrow]

I am having all sorts of bother trying to get a simple sugar wash to work properly. If you read my cloudy distillate posts you will know the frustration I have been going through.

So I did a bit of research and found that lentils are very high in vitamins and minerals AND protein. I also happen to love lentil and lamb stew.
It wasn't untill I read the label that I found that Red Lentils are very high in all the goodies needed to make a sugar wash.

24% protein, very high in potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron plus a wad of vitamins (not a lot of B12) and low in salt (for those with high blood pressure )

So I knocked up a small trial batch at about 10% and crossed my fingers.

To my amazement, this sucker started burping with the hour, was finished in 5 days and cleared in another 5 days to almost crystal clear. WOW. I felt like I had discovered nuclear fission.

I'm putting down a production run tomorrow (because I'm pissin' with the big dogs now ) of my usual 17.5 litres.

I'll keep you updated as to how it is going.

scarecrow

PS I had to put it here because I can't find the pulses and legumes section.

[olddog]

Very interesting, keep us posted.

[LWTCS]

That sure did clear nicely.

[rad14701]

I have never seen a wash clear to that extent - ever... Very impressive... Do you have a hydrometer to take readings for your "production run"...??? It would be interesting to see how well your simple recipe performs...

[LWTCS]

Hey rad,
That clarity is what I had in mind when I was so hell bent on putting together the vitiman water wash.

Good luck with with your big batch Scarecrow.

[airhill]

Scarecrow

Any chance of a little more description on how you did it?

[astrangebrew]

What Airhill said +1

What did you do to the lintels? My experience with them was anything short of a pressure cooker & they had the consistency of BBs

[airhill]

Astrangebrew

The red ones arn't so bad, often put them in soups and casseroles and they dissolve; still be interested to know though

[scarecrow]

OK, gather round kiddies. Those at the back move closer so you can hear me.

The Recipe (Pat Pend.)

Water 15 litres
Red Lentils 375g
Sugar 4 Kg
Dried Yeast 50g
Citric Acid 2 teaspoons

The Method
This is what I did and it was customised to my set up. Obviously, your set up will be to suit you.

I use a 20 litre and a 7 litre SS pot. 6 litres of water into the 20 l and 4 litres of water into the 7 l.
This is because if it all went into the one pot, firstly it would take too long to come to the boil. Secondly, it would take about 20 minutes to come back to the boil after adding the sugar.

Turn both hotplates on.
When boiling, add Red Lentils to the big pot. Stir frequently to avoid burning the lentils.
Add half the sugar to the little pot. Stir untill back to the boil. Add remaining sugar and turn heat down a bit to stop it spitting everywhere.

Boil lentils on low boil for 30 minutes. The lentils turn to mush and you will be left with a murky looking brew and a pile of empty shells or casings.

Just before the 30 minutes is up, boil the sugar and CAREFULLY add it to the big pot. It should come back to the boil quickly.
Please be careful because the sugar wash is very hot and sticky. If you get it on you, it WILL hurt.

Add 2 teaspoons of Citric Acid.
Stir till well mixed.

If you put a lid on it, it will boil at a lower heat setting. I turned mine to as low as it would go and put a lid on it. I can see what it's doing because of the glass lid. Solid lids need more attention.
Warning: If you put a lid on it at high setting buy a big mop, because in a matter of seconds, it will boil and puke all over the stove. Be warned, it makes a mess. I did this with a 1 litre trial and it took me an hour to clean it. Never walk away from this.

Once everything is in the big pot, let it low boil for an hour.
Keep an eye on it.

When finished, switch it off. I let it sit covered overnight. You can rapid cool it on ice if you are in a hurry.

I then transferred it to my fermenting vessel and made the total volume up to 17.5 litres. ( Use some of the water to wash the SS pot).
The pH was 4.7, the temperature was 28C and the hydrometer read 10% ABV @ 1.075. Doesn't get any better than that.

Sprinkle in 50g of dried yeast and stir it up for a few minutes.

Put the lid and airlock on and stand back.

scarecrow

[scarecrow]

Within the hour, this wash had a krausen 4" thick.

And is now happily bubbling away next to my rum wash and second generation sour mash. Yo, who's your daddy now.

The end.

scarecrow

[airhill]

Thank you, very instructive.

Savings sugar and McKenzies red lentils, guess we know which continent you are scaring the crows on.

[blanikdog]

... Savings sugar and McKenzies red lentils, guess we know which continent you are scaring the crows on.

oi oi oi Carnasaints.

blanik

[pumpman]

He said who's your daddy.

[pumpman]

Well scarecrow I'm eager to see how this is turning out. Has it gone dry yet?

[scarecrow]

I feel like I'm being watched!

It's almost done. Down to 1 blip per minute.

Lot's of fluffy sediment and it's already starting to clear.

scarecrow

[LWTCS]

I feel like I'm being watched!

Don't try and change the subject

[scarecrow]

Bubbling dropped to next to nothing so I checked the SG.

0.995. That's not too bad.
(OG - FG) x 129 is equal to (1.075 - 0.995) x 129 = 10.32% actual. This is bang on what we measured at the start.
Taste was not sweet, slightly sour. Smell was sour but clean.

All up it took 8 days. This was a bit disappointing, considering the trial went to dry in 5 days.
I will try a few tweaks, but I want to keep the wash as simple as possible and above all, it must be clear.

(Pretend 5 minutes have gone by)

Dang, I need some more schoolin'. My cypherin' was a bit out.
Somehow I ended up with 1/2 kg more sugar, less yeast and a smidge less lentils. That could explain the slightly longer ferment.

This is the original trial recipe scaled up:

Water 15 litres
Red Lentils 400g
Sugar 3.5 Kg
Dried Yeast 80g
Citric Acid 2 teaspoons

Nevermind, it's all good fun. We'll fix it next time.

OK, time for some piccies.

I've got to get a better camera. But it does read 0.995 - honest injun.

Let's see how long it takes to clear and how clear it gets.

To be continued...........

scarecrow

[airhill]

After you rack this are you going to try and run it again by just adding sugar and water to the fermenter?
Would have thought there would still be a lot of unused lentil nutrients left

[scarecrow]

Would have thought there would still be a lot of unused lentil nutrients left

You may well be correct. I never thought of that. I'll give me an excuse to nick down to Bunnings and get another fermenting bucket. And check out that power drill I've been eyeing off for a few months.

Check out how quick this stuff clears. This is after 2 hours. I reckon it'll be good to go tomorrow. Dayum.

This is after 6 hours. It's actually got 3 layers. Top is clear, middle is milky and bottom is the heavy stuff.

scarecrow

[airhill]

Yes you're still being watched

Pity they don't make fermenter barrels with the tap 1" or 2" higher.

[Dnderhead]

add your own --http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/c ... p&x=17&y=4
could add several at different heights

[airhill]

Thanks Dnderhead, will have to see if I can get them in Oz.

[Dnderhead]

They also have one they call a bottling spigot that is a bit smaller (9mm)? that will except tubing.
if you mount your fermenter up high enough you could run derectly into boiler.

[scarecrow]

I think this thing wants to go on with it.

I had a real close look at the bottle, and there are millions of tiny microscopic bubbles rising. You can just see them with a magnifying glass.

Does that mean it is still fermenting?

scarecrow

[airhill]

Might just be Co2 offgassing, does it taste dry?

[Dnderhead]

shake/stir --if they reaper it is still working.

[blanikdog]

You have my full attention, SC. Nice tut.

blanik

[scarecrow]

Might just be Co2 offgassing, does it taste dry?

Yes it's dry but not sour like my UJSSM.

shake/stir --if they reaper it is still working.

I gave the bottle a good shake to get all the stuff off the bottom. There are no more tiny bubbles rising and nothing on the surface.

Q. Where do these bubbles come from?
Q. Do I need to stir all my washes to remove this CO2?



I just put down a Split Pea Wash.
10% @ 1.075.
I think I created a monster. The slurry settled very quick and felt like playdoh. Had to strain it twice through coarse cheescloth. Split peas and sugar - what a strange taste.
The Krausen rose about 6" and lifted the (loose) lid on top. Even the dog growled at it as it came down the side of the bucket.
After about an hour it started to settle down. I put the lid on, taped it up and fitted the airlock.
This thing is busier than a one armed paper hanger. The first lot of water in the bubbler got ejected first burp.

A bottle of split pea neutral........what a way to git ya greens.

scarecrow

[Dnderhead]

""Q. Where do these bubbles come from?""
""Q. Do I need to stir all my washes to remove this CO2?""
1) trapped in the wash/in and on turb , much like carbonated soda.
2) no but it is a good idea , it helps it to clear( Yeast can cling to bubbles and stay suspended),also if it has co2 in it when in boiler it can foam ,much like heating a carbonated soda or beer.

[pumpman]

scarecrow da man this week.