Shady's Sugar Shine

[shadylane]

Interestingly the pH went up from days 2 to 4. I assume that's because it stopped producing CO2 which is starting to leave the solution and is allowing the pH to go up a bit as it leaves. It could also be because the oyster shells are dissolving a bit more

I've noticed the pH rise slightly also, figure the yeast likes it better than a pH crash

JMHO a side benefit of having the wash less acidic before distilling
Is the shine seems to have less of a sugar bite.
There's folks that make heavy rum washes more acidic to get esters
This recipe is for neutral spirits, so esters is considered a dirty word

[MtRainier]

Ran it tonight finally. This is the most neutral wash I have gotten out of my 4 plate flute.

It was 14 gallons at around 9 percent. Got 750ml of fores and heads which weren't too unpleasant, some apple and banana esters in it. Then about 3.5 liters of hearts before tails started coming. Really nice. All ran at about 95 percent.

[Hoosier Shine9]

I have been looking for a good, easy Neutral.
this seems to be the ticket.
I have used Birdwatchers TPW, as well as an other sugar wash but both of them have at least a little off flavor.

I am going to give this a try.
I have a couple family members that like Vodka Martinis & I like "Mr P's FirePi$$"

I will be running this on my 4" 6plate Flute.
How prone is this to foaming & Puking?.....trying to figure out how full to fill my 15.5 gallon Keg Boiler.

thanks in advance

[MtRainier]

I ran 14 gal in my 16 gal boiler without any fermcap or oil and it never foamed. There isn’t much in it to cause a foam.

[shadylane]

I have used Birdwatchers TPW, as well as an other sugar wash but both of them have at least a little off flavor.

All thin sugar washes are prone to off flavors, The trick is proper cuts

How prone is this to foaming & Puking?.....trying to figure out how full to fill my 15.5 gallon Keg Boiler.

Depends on how much unfermented sugar is left.
That shouldn't be a problem, with a recipe that can go from 1.065 to .990 in under a week

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

So, I've been looking for a better sugar wash. I don't like the tomatoe after taste, and although the cereals work (even uj will make vodka), I want a solid-free recipe fir the winter. So, I'm giving this a try.

There is one thing im doing different though. In my adventures, I realized that shady's ingredients are the exact same as Fermax.

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/fermax.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

So, I laid down a batch last night.

30 gallons water
50lb sugar
30 tsp Fermax
4 Super B complex vitamins
Oyster shells

30 tsp of Fermax was almost exactly the 4oz package. It cost $2.50. So basically, water, sugar, and 3 bucks to lay a ferment.

I'll let you know how it turns out, but anyone wanting to try this recipe with ease, just look for Fermax. It really simplifies the ingredient list in Shadys recipe.

Thanks Shady! Looking forward to the results

[shadylane]

Keep us posted
What yeast are you using?
And what ferment temp?

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Yup, sure thing.

I used good old bakers that I always use in everything. I have some 1118 sitting in the fridge, but I wanted to ferment fast. Been a little behind this year since I just finished remodeling my bathroom . So, good old traditional bakers .

As far as temp, I set my water bath at 90, but the damn system is so freakin efficient, it comes in just under 92. With peak ferment, the wash is sitting at 93. I'm sure it will come down a little in the next couple days, as it is running like a freight train. It is quite a happy little ferment. I have fermented bakers very successfully even up to 105, with no off flavors. Between 85 and 95 has been my experience of happy bakers

So, anyways, the og was 1.069 or so, let's call it 1.07. I want to run this on Wednesday, but I won't rush it. This was a proof of concept on the Fermax, and my new winter set up. So far, the dam thing is violent as hell

If everything goes well from bucket to glass, I will use this as my annual vodka wash. I have changed my distilling habits around. I used to run rum and sugar washes in the summer, when it was naturally hot, and fight the whiskey in the winter. But finding a place to inconspicuously dump grains in the snow is a pain in the ass. So now that I have a super efficient system to ferment up to 120 in freezing weather, why not sugar (and rum) all winter, and grains in the summer?

Anyways, I'm obviously winded this morning, but that is why I wanted a solid free wash, instead of my usual uj . Thanks again, I'll let you know how it turns out

[Kareltje]

I am happy with this recipe. Tried birdwatchers in the past, but it keeps having a bad taste to it, no matter what I do to clean it up.
Of this SSSS I made 15 liter, with a electrical blanket wrapped around it to keep it at 24 dg C and it was clear finished in a week. Decanted it and threw water and sugar over the sediment, so the next week I had again 15 l of clear wine.
Stripped both with 10 l boiler and 10 l thumper and did a spirit run in my 10 l boiler. Voila: 2 l of 80 % good alcohol and 1.5 l feints.

Now I did the trick with new sugar and water for the second time, but this time it is much slower. Should have added eggshells again too, I guess.

Thanks Shady! Now I can go on all winter. Just need an extra blanket.

[shadylane]

I did the trick with new sugar and water for the second time, but this time it is much slower. Should have added eggshells again too, I guess

Extra crushed shell would have helped, but fresh boiled yeast is much better than trub or boiled trub.

[StillerBoy]

but fresh boiled yeast is much better than trub or boiled trub.

Shady.. what is the different, in your view, that boiled yeast is better than boiled trub..

Mars

[shadylane]

Shady.. what is the different, in your view, that boiled yeast is better than boiled trub..

Mars

Just a thought
Cannibalism is kinda nasty
Eating babies is more nutritious and has fewer health risks than eating the already dead

[Kareltje]

I prefer to not see it as cannibalism, rather as giving the old guys and gals a second life.
Wouldn't you like that??

[shadylane]

Laying all jokes aside
Boiled fresh yeast works much better than boiled trub.
The ferment is faster and cleaner.

[Kareltje]

Laying all jokes aside
Boiled fresh yeast works much better than boiled trub.
The ferment is faster and cleaner.

Sorry, there must be a misunderstanding.
I did not boil the trub, but decanted the quite clear wine, leaving the trub in the tub. And then added new sugar water. Assuming the yeast would still be alive. Which it was: went straight to work again.

I will remember your warning, though!

[shadylane]

Sorry, as normal I was having a brain seizure
Your doing a piggy back ferment.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

So, pretty sure this finished up Wednesday night. I let it sit through the holiday, no rush. 5 day ferment. Im goo'd with that, and at .0998. Pulled the heating system, will strip tomorrow, spirit run on Sunday. The wash taste clean, I see no issues getting it into the glass. Will be back with taste results later this week. Thanks shady

[shadylane]

It's a Sugar Shine, so watch the cuts. Especially the tails cut.
The deeper into the tails, the more it tastes like cardboard, seasoned with black pepper

[Getsmokin]

Gave this a shot tonight. Just a small 8 gallon trial only using my filtered tap water (no coral) which is liquid limestone, so we will see how well it buffers ph.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Well, I am very happy with this. I ran it last weekend, and have my carbed apple pie in the keg getting co2.

I stripped then ran the low wines through the ccvm. There were twice as much heads than other recipes, but just as much hearts. That's ok, the lines just moved. I normally have hearts from jars 8ish through 15ish. They were like 13 through 21ish. I kept 12 and 22, becuase I was trying to get to a full gallon of 50% for my recipe. I laid down the next one and stripped it today. Will cut closer tomorrow.

All and all, my go to recipe. I don't know how the ratios of Fermax compare to shady's op recipe, but it worked awesome. Fermax, sugar, yeast! My wife absolutely loves it, and says it is so much better than last year's vodka.

Im sold. Thanks shady!

[shadylane]

On the next wash, how about using crushed oystershell with the Fermax, sugar, yeast
I'm curious if the pH control will decrease the sugar bite.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

I did. I always use shells on sugar washes. I also threw 4 B vitamins in there, out of habit and your recipe. So yes, sugar, fermax, yeast, shells and vitamins.

Now, I could probably use a cleaner yeast. And a slightly lower temp on fermentation to perhaps increase my yield. But I'm not that worried about it. Bakers is cheap and never let me down, and with 5 day clean ferments? This is smash and grab alcohol at the quality level. I mean, I laid down the first ferment 2 weeks ago today, and last night laid my 3rd round. And I already have 2.5 gallons of 50% vodka to show for it (cut down from azeo).

I will say, I don't recall much of the bite. I'll have to see when I try some tonight. I can tell you that it was extremely, sweet. I have not run a sugar wash in years, though, so I think I remember that just being a characteristic of sugar washes. When I wanted vodka before, I just made UJ and ran it through the reflux. But the sweetness should calm down with sitting. I use it for apple pie, pantry droppers, bloody Mary's, and other mixed drinks, any way. It came out clean, nuetral, and smooth. Good for me.

[shadylane]

If you want a really nice neutral.
Do 2 stripping runs, dilute to around 20% abv
Then run it in a reflux column

[fizzix]

Congratulations on making it to Tried & True!

[shadylane]

A recipe that's based on making the yeasts life easier, has got to be good

[MichiganCornhusker]

A recipe that's based on making the yeasts life easier, has got to be good

Rule #1

Congrats on the T&T

Do you happen to know how this might work out without a reflux still? Might it be a good base spirit, if not quite "neutral", if I run it though my pot still a few times?
I'm temped to try it out for a base spirit for some gin.

[shadylane]

Might it be a good base spirit, if not quite "neutral", if I run it though my pot still a few times?

If your running a pot-still.
Strip, dilute and redistill as needed.

[MichiganCornhusker]

Strip, dilute and redistill as needed.

Will do, I'll let you know how it goes.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Don't forget the VITAMINS!

So. This now concludes SCD's vodka run 2018. I made several gallons, maybe close to 5 gallons in 6 weeks. It really helped me get through the holidays while keeping my brown spirits upstairs in the attic. I really like this recipe, and after running 250+ gallons of this wash, I have a couple suggestions for people getting into this recipe.

#1) As the intro states, do NOT forget the vitamins.

On my last batch, I laid everything down like I normally do. It was late, and even though I pulled the vitamins out and put them on the counter, I completely forgot and pitched the yeast, then went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, the entire lower level was filled with the aroma of sulfur. That rotten egg smell is unmistakable, and as soon as I smelt it, I realized I had broken rule #1.

I think in essence, I recreated a turbo. It's the only thing that would explain such stress on the yeast in 12 hours. Makes me want to have someone add vitamins to turbo and see if that fixes it.

Anyways, I immediately pitched the vitamins. At this point, it seemed like it helped stop the continued production of sulfur, but it was already in the wash. So, thankfully I'm always reading and anyway had an idea. Later that night I threw a 2 ft stick of copper in the (2) 30 gallon washes. Over the next day or so it seemed to absorb the sulfur, and it left the wash. In the end the distillate came out ok, but just not as crisp clear as all the other ones. There was a slight after taste during cuts. But it seemed to disappear after a day or 2 also. In the end it was good.

#2 Don't try to reuse the yeast bed. I don't know why this happened, but whenever I tried to use the previous yeast, that ferment finished .01 higher than the previous batch. The original batch ended at .091. Then next batch ended at 1.001. The next one ended at 1.011. Weirdest thing. As soon as I cleaned out the bed and pitched fresh yeast, bam right back to .091 or so.

The only thing that I can think of is that maybe left over nutrients are settling in the yeast bed and building up unhealthy conditions. I don't know. I'm not the science guy. I just know my results. Just take my observations. Or don't.

Either way, thanks shady. Here's to your health and happiness in 2019.

Now on to a couple months of rum. Going to pick up 30 gallons of molasses next week . Next winter will be rumlishious .

[shadylane]

Now on to a couple months of rum. Going to pick up 30 gallons of molasses next week . Next winter will be rumlishious .

Don't forget PUGIDOGS yeast bomb and the crushed oyster shell.