sweetfeed whisky

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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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In the middle of "mashing" my first 5 gallons of this now. Unable to find SF, I bought the 50# bag of Sweet COB.
4 inches in the bottom of a 6.5 gallon bucket fermentor, and 7# of cane sugar added about 3 gallons of boiling water, and the temp came down to 163 after disolving the sugar. half hour into the 90 minute rest now, Stirring every half hour.
Initial impressions of the feed; not what Im used to seeing coming from AG brewing. I bit of straw and chaff in the mix, but the grains are pressed well.
there is a thin layer of straw and chaff on the top of the wash. Stirring to observe the grain rehydrating, its absorbing water well. Smell is great, like a good amber ale wort less the hopps.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Pitched a yeast starter this morning at 0630 at 95F. By 0830 it had a nice grain cap and sounded like rice crispies. I let it go under a flour sack towell unit about 11 and figured I was safe to put the lid on and air lock it. Its going gang busters and blew half the water out of the air lock.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Deplorable wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:48 pm Pitched a yeast starter this morning at 0630 at 95F. By 0830 it had a nice grain cap and sounded like rice crispies. I let it go under a flour sack towell unit about 11 and figured I was safe to put the lid on and air lock it. Its going gang busters and blew half the water out of the air lock.
Great minds think alike, I started four #6 gallon batches yesterday (Tuesday). They are very musical/ operatic-(Queen Movie) this morning.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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So the last time I did this was around 2010/11 and I was new at this. The results were fantastic especially after oaking for almost a year. I've had a few hurdles since then but I'm back. And yes I have read a lot here at HD. I would like personal opinions on raising PH. Though I never measured PH in the past I would now. I understand citric acid might be best for lowering PH. I just wanted to hear what people are finding works for them, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Hydroxide or something different. Thanks...
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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I just hang some oyster shells over in the wash. It slowly raises the ph.

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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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After witnessing the Ph crash in my sacrificial sugar wash and saving it with sodium bicarbonate, I hung a bag of oyster shells in this wash. The Yeast have been very happy, and the ferment stayed very consistent all week. Checked the air lock activity this morning and its beginning to slow now at a burp every 4 to 5 seconds. I havent checked the gravity yet.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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HomerD wrote: Fri Jul 24, 2020 8:25 am I just hang some oyster shells over in the wash. It slowly raises the ph.

Homer
Thanks Homer, how many half oyster shells would you hang in a 6 gallon wash? Thanks for replying...
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Deplorable wrote: Fri Jul 24, 2020 8:35 am After witnessing the Ph crash in my sacrificial sugar wash and saving it with sodium bicarbonate, I hung a bag of oyster shells in this wash. The Yeast have been very happy, and the ferment stayed very consistent all week. Checked the air lock activity this morning and its beginning to slow now at a burp every 4 to 5 seconds. I havent checked the gravity yet.
Thanks Mr. Deplorable, I appreciate the reply. How many half shells do you use, I do six gallon mash's...
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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I used crushed shell from the feed store. About a fist full.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by HomerD »

I use a sock full of crushed oyster shells. It’s probably about 2 cups worth. I got them from Tractor Supply. Sugar washes are bad about crashing the ph.

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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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This was my first spirit for drinking. I have to say I'm fairly satisfied with it white at 40% for sipping after a couple of days of rest. After stripping 9 gallons, and running the resulting low wines, and my first attempt at blending my cuts, I ended up with 3.25 quarts of 72%. I made 1 qt of 40% for sipping, and cut the rest to 65% for oaking on chips in a gallon jug. Now that Ive worked through the recipe in two seperate ferments in a 6.5 gallon bucket, I'll fetch a 32 gallon fermenter to reduce the work load, and ferment two stripping runs at at time, and some wash left over to dillute the LW for the Spirit run. After I use up this bag of feed, I'm moving on to single malt whiskey for a 5G barrel.
Either all of my studying here has paid good dividends, or I got extremly lucky. My diluted spirit is clear, free of any oily skim or crytaline floaters, and has great flavor. This will oak nicely. Im calling my first run a total succsess.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Deplorable wrote: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:04 am This was my first spirit for drinking. I have to say I'm fairly satisfied with it white at 40% for sipping after a couple of days of rest. After stripping 9 gallons, and running the resulting low wines, and my first attempt at blending my cuts, I ended up with 3.25 quarts of 72%. I made 1 qt of 40% for sipping, and cut the rest to 65% for oaking on chips in a gallon jug. Now that Ive worked through the recipe in two seperate ferments in a 6.5 gallon bucket, I'll fetch a 32 gallon fermenter to reduce the work load, and ferment two stripping runs at at time, and some wash left over to dillute the LW for the Spirit run. After I use up this bag of feed, I'm moving on to single malt whiskey for a 5G barrel.
Either all of my studying here has paid good dividends, or I got extremly lucky. My diluted spirit is clear, free of any oily skim or crytaline floaters, and has great flavor. This will oak nicely. Im calling my first run a total succsess.
Nice going Deplorable, one of my sons and his wife came to visit for a week and luckily I had my first batch of four #6 gallon fermenting buckets of sweetfeed ready to run. We completed the run, saved some to drink and saved some for the next run with back-set. I'm really looking forward to the next run. Keep on Still-In...
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Whoanow1 »

I just did my first spirit run of sweetfeed whiskey, i tossed the foreshots but shockingly enough even my first pint jar after that tasted good so I kept it to blend and age. This recipe is a keeper for sure. Thanks to everyone on this forum for all the insight!
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Whoanow1 wrote: Sun Aug 16, 2020 5:59 pm I just did my first spirit run of sweetfeed whiskey, i tossed the foreshots but shockingly enough even my first pint jar after that tasted good so I kept it to blend and age. This recipe is a keeper for sure. Thanks to everyone on this forum for all the insight!
What size batch did you make and run?
Everyones tastes are different as is every still, but that seems terribly headsy to me. On a, almost 20 liter spirit run of low wines, I was nearly 2 liters into the run before I got to what I wanted to blend and keep.
I have 25 gallons (94L) fermenting now for the next series of runs. 2 stripping runs and a 1.5 spirit run. I expect to net about 2.0 gallons of finished product after cuts.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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LME(Rye): I have some and thought about adding some to GEN#4 to get a hint of rye. The container says SG 1.035 per pound, per gallon. So if I do a six gallon ferment and use #6 pounds of Rye LME I should be at a SG 1.035. Then I only need to use half of the sugar I was using previously to get to a SG 1.070. Does that sound correct or did I screw that up. Also, any opinions about the LME would be helpful. Keep on stillin...
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Deplorable wrote: Sun Aug 16, 2020 7:44 pm
Whoanow1 wrote: Sun Aug 16, 2020 5:59 pm I just did my first spirit run of sweetfeed whiskey, i tossed the foreshots but shockingly enough even my first pint jar after that tasted good so I kept it to blend and age. This recipe is a keeper for sure. Thanks to everyone on this forum for all the insight!
What size batch did you make and run?
Everyones tastes are different as is every still, but that seems terribly headsy to me. On a, almost 20 liter spirit run of low wines, I was nearly 2 liters into the run before I got to what I wanted to blend and keep.
I have 25 gallons (94L) fermenting now for the next series of runs. 2 stripping runs and a 1.5 spirit run. I expect to net about 2.0 gallons of finished product after cuts.
Hey Deplorable, how did the 32 gallon fermenter work out compared to smaller buckets, Keep on Stillin...
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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The Brute fermenter is the cats ass! 35# sugar, 25# feed, and 25 gallons water, 1070 SG, 6 days to 1.000 FG. Two stripping runs of ~10 gallons each, and a spirit run the next day, 1.7 gallons of 74% done.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Dutch41 wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 11:14 am LME(Rye): I have some and thought about adding some to GEN#4 to get a hint of rye. The container says SG 1.035 per pound, per gallon. So if I do a six gallon ferment and use #6 pounds of Rye LME I should be at a SG 1.035. Then I only need to use half of the sugar I was using previously to get to a SG 1.070. Does that sound correct or did I screw that up. Also, any opinions about the LME would be helpful. Keep on stillin...
Dutch, I have been thinking about doing something along those lines. Did you go ahead with that? I was thinking of using malt extracts for all of the sugar.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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stillanoob wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 8:29 am
Dutch41 wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 11:14 am LME(Rye): I have some and thought about adding some to GEN#4 to get a hint of rye. The container says SG 1.035 per pound, per gallon. So if I do a six gallon ferment and use #6 pounds of Rye LME I should be at a SG 1.035. Then I only need to use half of the sugar I was using previously to get to a SG 1.070. Does that sound correct or did I screw that up. Also, any opinions about the LME would be helpful. Keep on stillin...
Dutch, I have been thinking about doing something along those lines. Did you go ahead with that? I was thinking of using malt extracts for all of the sugar.
stillanoob, this what I did: I do #6 gallon ferments (Four Buckets) and I was low on sweet feed but did the following per six gallon bucket:
2" of sweet feed.
2" of cracked corn.
2 Containers of CBW Rye LME, 3.3lbs(1.5kg) per container. Each container offers a SG of 1.035 per pound/ per gallon.
3 pounds of regular sugar.
* Take 1.25 gallon HOT backset from previous sweet feed distillation, put in spare bucket to melt both LME cans, poured in bucket w/SF,Corn & Sugar.
* Stirred every 15-20 minutes.
* I let it sit about 90 minutes, maybe more...
* Topped of the ferment buckets with mountain well water to the #6 gallon level.
* Note, I add a small refillable tea bag type satchel with crushed oyster shells because I had a PH problem before but since I added the oyster shells everything has been superb.
* Took a reading with my hydrometer and I was right at 1.070 @ 85*F so w/ a correction it is 1.073 I believe.
* When the temperature was a bit below 90*F and pitched #4 Tablespoons of distillers yeast, stirred then air-locked her.
* The next morning she was purring beautifully. Can't wait to run her, hopefully in a couple more days.
*** Hope that helps and I hope it works (lol)... Dutch
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Dutch41 wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 9:23 am
stillanoob wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 8:29 am
Dutch41 wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 11:14 am LME(Rye): I have some and thought about adding some to GEN#4 to get a hint of rye. The container says SG 1.035 per pound, per gallon. So if I do a six gallon ferment and use #6 pounds of Rye LME I should be at a SG 1.035. Then I only need to use half of the sugar I was using previously to get to a SG 1.070. Does that sound correct or did I screw that up. Also, any opinions about the LME would be helpful. Keep on stillin...
Dutch, I have been thinking about doing something along those lines. Did you go ahead with that? I was thinking of using malt extracts for all of the sugar.
stillanoob, this is what I did: I do #6 gallon ferments (Four Buckets) and I was low on sweet feed but did the following per six gallon bucket:
2" of sweet feed.
2" of cracked corn.
2 Containers of CBW Rye LME, 3.3lbs(1.5kg) per container. Each container offers a SG of 1.035 per pound/ per gallon. ALSO- I put the cans of LME in hot water for about a half hour to thin it out a bit.
3 pounds of regular sugar.
* Take 1.25 gallon HOT backset from previous sweet feed distillation, put it in a spare bucket to melt both LME cans, I rinsed the cans w/ hot backset to get all the goodness out, pour it in the bucket w/SF,Corn & Sugar.
* I Stirred every 15-20 minutes.
* I let it sit about 90 minutes, maybe more...
* Topped of the fermenter buckets with mountain well water to the #6 gallon level.
* Note, I add a small refillable tea bag type satchel with crushed oyster shells because I had a PH problem before but since I added the oyster shells everything has been superb.
* Took a reading with my hydrometer and I was right at 1.070 @ 85*F so w/ a correction it is 1.073 I believe.
* When the temperature was a bit below 90*F, I pitched #4 Tablespoons of distillers yeast, stirred then air-locked her.
* The next morning she was purring beautifully. Can't wait to run her, hopefully in a couple more days.
*** Hope that helps and I hope it works (lol)... Dutch
ALSO: Have an Anti-Foaming Agent ready when you distill it. LME's can get foamy and puke...
Last edited by Dutch41 on Wed Aug 26, 2020 12:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Thanks Dutch. When I get past fruit season I plan on doing more whisky this winter. While I like the SF I made I would like to improve it further.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

Post by Squirrel_Ess_Gen »

Just mixed my 1st sweetfeed. Waiting for it to cool down a tad.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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stillanoob wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 9:53 am Thanks Dutch. When I get past fruit season I plan on doing more whisky this winter. While I like the SF I made I would like to improve it further.
No problem friend, keep me posted on your improvements. I will tell you this, a few years ago I did this sweet feed recipe, oaked it for about a year and it was fantastic. Whisky is my flavor so I'd like to hear about your future projects.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Squirrel_Ess_Gen wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 10:09 am Just mixed my 1st sweetfeed. Waiting for it to cool down a tad.
Congrats SEG, keep us posted...
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Deplorable wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 7:09 am The Brute fermenter is the cats ass! 35# sugar, 25# feed, and 25 gallons water, 1070 SG, 6 days to 1.000 FG. Two stripping runs of ~10 gallons each, and a spirit run the next day, 1.7 gallons of 74% done.
That's great to hear. I was at Walmart last week, in the hardware area and the trash can area was a disaster. I asked the Walmart associate (BOB) how much the Brute 32 Gallon was, he looked on the shelf and said $8.97. I took it up to self check-out and it ran up as $30.00, I told the self check-out associate that Bob in hardware said it was $8.97. Yup, that's what I got it for...
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Sweet deal for sure. 29.00 for the can and lid and another 30 for the coaster was what I paid.
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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I have read a lot of this thread, but haven't yet caught up to all 134-ish pages...

This is the sweet feed at a feed store near me...any concerns with the contents?
Corn chops, whole oats, cane molasses, vegetable oil refinery lipid (feed grade), Lecithin, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, natural and artificial flavorings. Preservatives: propionic acid, sodium benzoate.
7% crude protein, min
2.5% crude fat, min
5% crude fiber, min
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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desmo_2 wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 4:40 pm I have read a lot of this thread, but haven't yet caught up to all 134-ish pages...

This is the sweet feed at a feed store near me...any concerns with the contents?
Corn chops, whole oats, cane molasses, vegetable oil refinery lipid (feed grade), Lecithin, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, natural and artificial flavorings. Preservatives: propionic acid, sodium benzoate.
7% crude protein, min
2.5% crude fat, min
5% crude fiber, min
desmo, there is a lot in the SF Thread about what to use and what not to use. With that being said I don't know if what you are using is good or bad. Do you have a Tractor Supply near you? One thing I do know is that the bag can say SweetFeed however it has a good chance of having PELLETS and from what I have read most say to stay away from PELLETS cause they may have alfalfa and other things in it that you do not want. Look for a bag that says
"All Grain" or "COB (corn oats barley)" written on it. Hope that helps a bit, keep in touch...
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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I’ve been looking to do a sweet feed mash, I haven’t bought any yet, are there any undesirable ingredients that you need to stay clear off when buying the sweet feed?
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Re: sweetfeed whisky

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Have you even read some of the thread?
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