Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe

[sweetfa]

Ah awesome thanks for the information - I'll continue my reading

Cheers
Greg

[basko]

Hi all,

First wash ever for me. I've been reading the forums for about 5 months. I would have fumbled without all this info. I figured BW was a great place to start.

Any feedback on my spec's/procedures would be great!

~5 gallon water
~9 pounds sugar
1 - 6 oz can tomato paste
1 - Juiced lemon
5 tbls active dry yeast (started in a glass of warm water)
Pinch of sea salt.

My water PH was right at 6

OG of 1.069 - I pitched the yeast at about 108 degrees. temp went up a few degrees. I ice bathed the bucket, capped it and put on an airlock.
Todays SG is 1.012 - It smells great! I plan to just let it sit until it's around 0.995.

How's that all sound?

[MitchyBourbon]

Hi all,

First wash ever for me. I've been reading the forums for about 5 months. I would have fumbled without all this info. I figured BW was a great place to start.

Any feedback on my spec's/procedures would be great!

~5 gallon water
~9 pounds sugar
1 - 6 oz can tomato paste
1 - Juiced lemon
5 tbls active dry yeast (started in a glass of warm water)
Pinch of sea salt.

My water PH was right at 6

OG of 1.069 - I pitched the yeast at about 108 degrees. temp went up a few degrees. I ice bathed the bucket, capped it and put on an airlock.
Todays SG is 1.012 - It smells great! I plan to just let it sit until it's around 0.995.

How's that all sound?

Congratulations basko, sounds like you are well on your way. Thats great! What kind of still are you gonna run it on?

So you say your OG was 1.069. By my calculations that sounds a little on the low side.

Each lb sugar provides 0.046 points gravity. So...
9 × 0.046 = 0.414.
0.414 ÷ 5 gals water = 0.083 plus 1 for gravity of water = 1.083

No matter, you done just fine. Going forward you might want to pitch yeast once the wash temp gets to room temp. You do them right and they'll do you right.

[basko]

Thanks for the feedback, Mitchy!

My sugar was estimated. I basically added it until I could get it to 1.070. I read that it makes for fewer off tastes. I followed direction on the yeast package, but you still think it's better to pitch at room temperature?

I'm using a pot still with copper column and liebig condenser. I plan to do a stripping run, then spirit run. Lots of trial and error ahead of me I'm sure.

[MitchyBourbon]

If you are using dry yeast its good to re-hydrate it in a small amount of plain water at a warm temp. But let it and the wash in your fermenter cool to the same temp (room temp or temp you plan to ferment at) before pitching the re-hydrate yeast. It helps to prevent shocking the yeast.

[basko]

great tip! thank you!

[raketemensch]

According to Chris White, it can be beneficial to pitch at the low end of your yeast's temp range, and let it acclimate as it warms up.

[Undies]

According to Chris White, it can be beneficial to pitch at the low end of your yeast's temp range, and let it acclimate as it warms up.

I've read that yeast likes a constant temperature throughout, so I pitch when it's all up to predetermined temperature. Personally, I don't think I could tell the difference, but 100 small changes add up to one big taste difference.

[dcholmes1969]

I too am very new to distilling. I have a Turbo 500 reflix still and made my first two washes. The first I made with the 1 lb. of distillers yeast, yeast energizer, and turbo carbon that they sent me when I bought this thing. It was ok, but it didn't clear enough before I ran it through the still and it did have a strong medicinal taste even after I waterd it down from 93% to about 45%. So, for round two, I bought the triple distilled yeast, more turbo carbon, and the turbo clear like the manufacturer of the still suggests. This worked quite well and cleared amizingly. It tasted pretty good to me. However, as I read more, I see where many people don't care for that whole hat trick of stuff that they try to push on you and the cost is pretty steep.

So this time around I thought I'd try the Birdwatcher's recipe scaled down to a 23L recipe as per the calculator on another website. So tonight I have made up the wash, but it's still a bit warm yet to pitch as I heated some of the water to dissolve the sugar into. After adjusting for my wash temp., (around 100F) I get approx. 1.086 for my SG. I figure it's close enough for who it's for. (me ) Oh and I'm still having to use my DADY as that's all the yeast I have on hand. I know this is probably bad, but sometimes you gotta go with what ya got ya know.


Hope this turns out good too. I'm sure it will. I'd really like to try my hand at a whiskey or rum, but I don't see how with this partilular still. Where should I post to find out more about that now? hmm....

[MX450248]

Looking to start my first wash...figured this would be a great place to get my feet wet and clean my new still from the oils/nasties and such from making it. I have adjusted the numbers to get approx. 15 gallons in the end...do these numbers sound legit?

2.25 cups tomato paste
2 lemons
29.7 pounds sugar
168.75 grams yeast

Start with 12 gallons water, 20 pounds sugar, tomato paste, and lemon juice.
Add water/sugar to reach 15ish gallons with a 1.09 SG @ 85F.
Pitch yeast and stir (can this be done with a cordless drill?)

[rad14701]

Looking to start my first wash...figured this would be a great place to get my feet wet and clean my new still from the oils/nasties and such from making it. I have adjusted the numbers to get approx. 15 gallons in the end...do these numbers sound legit?

2.25 cups tomato paste
2 lemons
29.7 pounds sugar
168.75 grams yeast

Start with 12 gallons water, 20 pounds sugar, tomato paste, and lemon juice.
Add water/sugar to reach 15ish gallons with a 1.09 SG @ 85F.
Pitch yeast and stir (can this be done with a cordless drill?)

Sounds close enough... This recipe is fairly forgiving... One thing to note is that you may or may not need the lemon juice... With the citric acid in the tomato paste the addition of lemon juice can cause the pH to drop too far too fast...

[MX450248]

Looking to start my first wash...figured this would be a great place to get my feet wet and clean my new still from the oils/nasties and such from making it. I have adjusted the numbers to get approx. 15 gallons in the end...do these numbers sound legit?

2.25 cups tomato paste
2 lemons
29.7 pounds sugar
168.75 grams yeast

Start with 12 gallons water, 20 pounds sugar, tomato paste, and lemon juice.
Add water/sugar to reach 15ish gallons with a 1.09 SG @ 85F.
Pitch yeast and stir (can this be done with a cordless drill?)

Sounds close enough... This recipe is fairly forgiving... One thing to note is that you may or may not need the lemon juice... With the citric acid in the tomato paste the addition of lemon juice can cause the pH to drop too far too fast...

Whats a good pH to stick to?

[rad14701]

Whats a good pH to stick to?

Most sugar washes do well in the 4.2 - 5.2 range... Higher is ok but lower, not so much... Many members toss in a handful of crushed oyster shells, commonly fed to chickens, as they help maintain optimal pH by dissolving only when the wash goes acidic... Egg shells can be substituted for crushed oyster shells...

[MX450248]

Whats a good pH to stick to?

Most sugar washes do well in the 4.2 - 5.2 range... Higher is ok but lower, not so much... Many members toss in a handful of crushed oyster shells, commonly fed to chickens, as they help maintain optimal pH by dissolving only when the wash goes acidic... Egg shells can be substituted for crushed oyster shells...

Awesome thanks rad...oyster shells are pretty few and far between in my house...but eggs we have

[Lemon Squeeza]

Hi guys. Im new here. Thanks to everyone for all the great information.
Like many others i was told i could make my own spirits with a little air still and all this turbo yeast and turbo carbon rubbish.
i made alcohol at 66% and no matter how many times i ran it through the still or filtered it... it had that chemically smell / taste.

I only want to produce vodka mainly, as its part of my staple diet. i have made a vapour management system with copper wool packing, a nice reflux coil i span myself on my fag break today and a liebig to finish stuff off. Unfortunately im stuck with my pewny airstill boiler for now untill my new boiler turns up, ive doctored the lid to take my column.

Im just really keen to make something that is at least as nice if not purer than what i buy in the shops.

That when ive stumbled across this lovely looking recipe.

im nearing the end of my wash now.... certainly smells cleaner than that other garbage i made.

my main question and forgive me for being so naive..... Do i have to clear the wash still?
with the last gear the procedure was to degas the wash, add a 2 part product called turbo clear and wait for it to settle before siphoning off the top.

With Birdwatchers wash, do i just let it come to a gentle end and siphon it straight off?
Do i still need to clear the wash?

whats the procedure from finished fermented wash to my still?


Thanks in advance! really interesting reading all your posts.

[Amfamora]

You don't need to clear birdwatchers.... I do 100l ferments and after it finishes just leave it a day and fill the boiler from the tap at the bottom of the fermenter.

You still try not to disturb all the crud at the bottom of the fermenter. But I have never let my washes clear for a week or any extended period of time.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

[Undies]

Hey Lemon Squeeza. Welcome. I usually agitate mine once it's finished, then let it settle for a few weeks before siphoning off, the colder the better. Just my preference, not everyone does so.

And how dare you not read through all 1581 posts before asking a question!

[Lemon Squeeza]

( pics temporarily unavailable )

This is what ive made so far.

used a spirally piece for my liebig which may or may not cause turbulence and increase the condensing efficiency
one nice touch possibly to a very bodged job on a miniature scale.


has anyone else made a miniature version like this?

i will upscale as soon as i can. As soon as ive locked down a few of the basics, ... thought id ease the whole new hobby thing in on the missus. Cant wait until she finds me welding a 3 inch flute on to a keg haha.

Thanks amfamora... much appreciated dude.

[Lemon Squeeza]

so little time undies, had to cut to the chase thanks bro.

[Klein]

I have been using the Sweetfeed recipe with success but am now wanting to venture into neutral washes with my new Reflux Still. I have some Red Star Active Dry Yeast and have read about a few people using it but have scaled down from 225 g like the recipe calls for. I plan on making the full 80L recipe.

How much Red Star do I pitch?
40gms would suffice, more if you want it to take off faster, less wont matter, it'll just be slower
Will it affect the taste?

Probably not. Although a slower cooler ferment generaly gives less taste than a hotter faster one

So it is possible to use much less yeast then the online calculator says?

Would one tin 113g of fleischmann's dry active yeast be sufficient for a 105L batch?

[Hound Dog]

For 65 liters of a sugarhead with cereal I throw in around 2/3 of a cup. No idea how many grams that is.

[Klein]

That would be about 121 grams.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Undies]

So, more on this. Does the amount of yeast required for BW decrease per volume as the total volume increases? IE does doubling a wash volume require double the yeast, or less than double?

[rad14701]

So, more on this. Does the amount of yeast required for BW decrease per volume as the total volume increases? IE does doubling a wash volume require double the yeast, or less than double?

It's entirely your choice as to how much yeast you decide to pitch with any recipe... Yeast strains and volumes in recipes here reflect the preference of the recipe poster only... If you pitch less there will be more lag time and if you pitch more there will be less lag time... You make the call...

[Klein]

So, more on this. Does the amount of yeast required for BW decrease per volume as the total volume increases? IE does doubling a wash volume require double the yeast, or less than double?

I mixed a 120L batch with about 160g of fleischmann's dry active yeast. Il let you know how it turns out.

Anyone try using lesaffre saf-instant yeast?

[Undies]

It's entirely your choice as to how much yeast you decide to pitch with any recipe... Yeast strains and volumes in recipes here reflect the preference of the recipe poster only... If you pitch less there will be more lag time and if you pitch more there will be less lag time... You make the call...

Thanks for the reply. I would image if you have time on your hands, but not money, pitching half the yeast would do just as good a job. You don't foresee any problems with the slow lag time? Let other nasties get control before the yeast does?

[rad14701]

It's entirely your choice as to how much yeast you decide to pitch with any recipe... Yeast strains and volumes in recipes here reflect the preference of the recipe poster only... If you pitch less there will be more lag time and if you pitch more there will be less lag time... You make the call...

Thanks for the reply. I would image if you have time on your hands, but not money, pitching half the yeast would do just as good a job. You don't foresee any problems with the slow lag time? Let other nasties get control before the yeast does?

Even poor folk can work up a starter and pitch that to decrease the possibility of an infection when doing all grain... But if you can afford the sugar, grains, fruits, or whatever else, you can probably afford 2 pounds of bakers yeast for $5.00 at Sams Club or Costco and then pitch as much as you want... I can't remember what year I last purchased yeast...

[Goose]

Whats a good pH to stick to?

Most sugar washes do well in the 4.2 - 5.2 range... Higher is ok but lower, not so much... Many members toss in a handful of crushed oyster shells, commonly fed to chickens, as they help maintain optimal pH by dissolving only when the wash goes acidic... Egg shells can be substituted for crushed oyster shells...

the main variable would be the total alkalinity and hardness of your water supply. The only way to tell is to make up the recipe before adding lemon juice or citric acid and test the pH.

I just did that and found that without acid the pH was 5.9. When I added the juice of a medium sized lemon to a 26 litre batch and it dropped to 4.6 so in my case it was needed. I used 6kg sugar, 1 5oz can tomato paste, 1/4 tsp mgso4, 1/2 tsp DAP and the juice of one lemon after testing pH. And 80g dried bakers yeast of course.

In the past I have not tested pH, and used 1 tsp of citric acid. Alcohol content topped out just below 12 with FG at 1.010... how do you get to 14% ?

[rad14701]

how do you get to 14% ?

2 pounds of sugar per gallon gives a potential yield of 14.1% and a SG of 1.092...

[still_stirrin]

how do you get to 14% ?

2 pounds of sugar per gallon gives a potential yield of 14.1% and a SG of 1.092...