sweetfeed whisky

[rad14701]

cepheus50510, go ahead and do one or two more stripping runs and then combine them and do a spirit run... Or you can do a mixed run (a 1.5 run) by combining the 40% low wines with your next wash and do a spirit run with that... You have options...

[BareKnuckles]

Ran the second batch last night... Looks like I'm gonna have 2- 5gallon ferments of this going at all times.... I'm just running once through a pot still but I'm running real slow. Started off about 75% after the fores and biggest part of the heads.... Stopped collecting hearts at 45% and continued to about 25% for the tails. Added most of the backset to the next batch.
Saving the heads and tails for an all feints sweetfeed run later...

Got them airing out now and will add some charred oak strips that I charred last night as well... I believe this is gonna be some good whisky!!!!!

Oh yeah, It smells awesome too!!

[danmiz]

i have an oak question. ive been experimenting with oak sticks and oak chips that i bought from hillbillystills.com. they are the heavy toasted oak chips and i want to know how much to add to a half gallon and quart mason jars for aging. how many grams or tablespoons shold i add. thanks for info but im tired of over oaking.

[BareKnuckles]

Not sure about oaking either... I make my own oak strips from firewood and do a light toast in the oven. Then I burn the hell out of them with a propane torch to get that charred thing going. I just age to smell and taste. I'm still experimenting with all of that but so far so good!!

[PitSmoker]

Got my first sweetfeed wash started yesterday. It smells awesome! Can't wait to run it!

[Offshore]

I have my first sweetfeed going and just about done fermenting, all the floater and scum on the top, is it ok to skim it off and toss it? or should I ster it back into the wash? Thank you for any help.

[BareKnuckles]

Get rid of the spent grain and add that much new grain back for the next ferment..

[shadylane]

I quit useing backset because the pH became too low half way through the ferments. Now I reuse 1/2 the lees and feed it more water, sugar, sweetfeed and nutriants. Its amazing what happens when you feed several pounds of yeast in the reused lees something to eat....

[Mr.Brown]

i check & adjust the ph as needed with each ferment. havent had any problems finnishing due to ph since i started paying a little closer attention to it. Not a tough corection to make, but an important one it seems.

[striker85]

So I have been fermenting a sweetfeed mash for 8 days now. I am using Producer's Pride 12% and put 5lbs. of sugar in with 5 gallons of water. I pitched 8 tbsp. of yeast and it has been fermenting for what feels like way too long now. I can't seem to get an accurate SG off it, but I check about 3 days ago and it was 1.033 and is still at that point now (I didn't get an OG reading). It is bubbling when I take the lid off to check the SG, so something is working...but how can I know to run it or not?

[Odin]

When it stops bubbling, rack it of, let it clear, distill ...

[danmiz]

i had the same thing s85 on my first gen. patience my friend. patience. its worth it. mine took two weeks in optimal conditions but sure is worth it now.

[Offshore]

Hello all, I just started my 3rd generation sweet feed mash, I just got done stripping the 2nd generation, I have been stripping down to 20% abv, however I ran out of propane at 35% abv on the 2nd gen, I am using about 25% of the back set in the 3rd gen. I think it should be ok with the 35% back set added back into the 3rd gen. right?

[danmiz]

just started my 3rd gen of a 6 gallon wash and it never started fermenting so i checked my ph and it was loow at 3.1. i cant get my hands on any calcium carbonate so i had to use caltrate. each pill is 600mg so i started to add them and now im on #15 and the ph has only raised up to 3.7. should i keep adding them till i get closer to 5.0 or will i damage the wash? ive been using only 25% backset.

[Offshore]

I am going to oak some SF 500 ml of the first run, the best cut of the hearts, just trying to get a grip on it before I oak all the hearts of the 2nd run. What I am wondering is, can I use white oak from the lumber yard like home depot? Haven’t done any oaking before.

[monkeyshiner]

Ive found a sweet mix sweet feed at tractor supply that is pretty basic stuff with molassas and cracked corn and dufferents grains. Its in a pellet form with the cracked corn seperate. Will this work?

[striker85]

What's the bag say?

[monkeyshiner]

Just says sweetmix on it. The ingridients seem pretty basic. I went ahead and got it, was only $10. Has a good smell to it and bubbling like crazy. We will see how it turns out.

[BareKnuckles]

Ive found a sweet mix sweet feed at tractor supply that is pretty basic stuff with molassas and cracked corn and dufferents grains. Its in a pellet form with the cracked corn seperate. Will this work?

Monky, I've used that SF before. It will make a fabulous drink but you can't really do more than one generation of mash being that it will turn in to a big gelatinous mass in the fermenter... I switched to an all grain SF mix with no pellets.

[BareKnuckles]

just started my 3rd gen of a 6 gallon wash and it never started fermenting so i checked my ph and it was loow at 3.1. i cant get my hands on any calcium carbonate so i had to use caltrate. each pill is 600mg so i started to add them and now im on #15 and the ph has only raised up to 3.7. should i keep adding them till i get closer to 5.0 or will i damage the wash? ive been using only 25% backset.

Are you crushing the pills up? If not crush them to a powder then add...

[striker85]

The 12% SF I'm using from Tractor Supply has pellets too. What I found that works, is that once the ferment is finished, rack it into a second fermenter and let it sit another day or two. The rack it into the boiler. What is at the bottom of the second fermenter should be all your yeast. Scrap a few pounds of the gunk from the first fermenter, add a little new stuff and then reuse the yeast from the second fermenter. Note: I haven't tried that last step, I just pitched new yeast. But after this current ferment I have going, I'm going to try to reuse the yeast, and some backset.

[Offshore]

Cool, I just started my new batch of sweet feed and after just 1 ½ hr. its starting to work.

[shadylane]

I like using "producer's pride all grain" from tractor supply. It has cracked corn, oats and molasses. It's only 8% protein.
For future generations, the lees get more sugar, feed, nutrients and a little feed grade molasses. Takes off like a rocket.
The feed and molasses has propionic acid list as a perservative, but dosn't seem to slow down the ec1118 yeast

[monkeyshiner]

Cool bareknuckles, glad to know this has been used before and works good. Thanks.

[striker85]

That has got to be the best airlock I've seen, ever.

[jsanders]

I'm trying my first batch of SF Whisky. I got my SF from a friend who raises goats so I don't know what kind it is, it's AG. I'm at the waiting 90 mins part...I hate waiting. I'll keep you posted.

I got some Lallemand Nottingham ale yeast and yeast nutrient from the home brew store. The nutes are urea and diammonium phosphate. Anyone familiar with this? He said it was just the thing. We'll see.

[jsanders]

Sorry about the stupid ass question about DAP! I am honestly losing my mind.

I got the yeast pitched and it started working about 3 hours later. Working slow now but I'm sure it will pick up. I picked up stuff for Birdwatchers while at the grocery.

I love this hobby.

[DasFriek]

Im rather new, But ive tried several variations of this recipe.
Its the best starter recipe for noobs imo. And gives the best sipping white liqueur ive ever tasted. I use two 5 gallon buckets for fermenting.
Usually i net 1 gallon of alcohol over 140-100 proof and i save everything under 100 for a double distillation.
That usually nets me 1/3 by volume back of 165-160 proof of the smoothest and sweetest return that many people desire. But i only do this once every 3-4 batches to make it worthwhile. I usually wont drink this as i find it too strong for my taste. 100-120 proof is what i sip.
Ive had very little luck with adding tails and trails prior to distilling, Thus the double distill is my route i take.

We did an apple infusion in one run with apple peels and cores run threw a blender and added with the yeast and the apple taste came threw great.

My latest version is 1/2 SF and 1/2 cracked corn that ive cooked 90 minutes and add the SF during the steeping time just before the sugar.
After steeping i stir well and mash the corn as good as i can and then remove half of solids so it is 90% still a sugar wash.
I also add molasseses with the sugar for a good darkish colored wash. I also added 2 tablespoons of Brewers yeast for good measure of nutrients.

If i was running a bigger pot still and more fermented product i do believe my original output would be of higher proof initially. 10 gallons of wash is enough for me personally. My biggest enemy is myself and lack of patience. My last batch only fermented 3 days as my friend found a great turkey burner for a better flame under our Keg pot. That ruined a good batch and just got 100 proof for two quarts.

Ive made apple pie with cider which was great with this style of alcohol.
Ive also burnt sticks of White Oak and have them sitting in 120 proof apple infused hooch and some in a jar of 160 proof double distilled stuff. Both look amazingly good.

I find this recipe the fastest and easiest to do and usually just make slight changes as i go and try and stick to the main principles of the recipe as much as possible.

"EDIT"- On the fourth day i lost sugar content at .99 on one bucket and a bit higher on the other, Temps remained high due to using a bulb heated insulation box we ferment in cooler weather in our workshop. No response on the the proof bulb as expected, But i have seen it drop on high alcohol beers like the one im pushing for.
So i "sugar bombed" it with enough to each wash to get it where i want it, The yeast aren't complaining yet.... 4lbs of white sugar in one pail and 2lbs white sugar plus molasseses in the second. I judged this by the succrometer and by the color as one was much lighter colored than the one i suspect had enough molasses.
It can get hot and fast if i let it get above 110f. My plan is 3 more nights and see if both are back to 1.0 on the succrometer, Even if its there on the second day ill give it 3. Rushing has never helped me.....
Im extending the ferment on purpose for two reasons, One is higher alcohol content and to make my distill day one which is more convenient.

[qball]

I snuck some off one of the jugs and diluted to 86 proof.



A little over 3 months on heavy toast hungarian oak cubes.

Tastes darn good

[captain5214]

getting set for a sweet feed run