Shot from the hip... might have missed

Sugar, and all about sugar washes. Where the primary ingredient is sugar, and other things are just used as nutrients.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
Tazewell
Novice
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:11 am
Location: North America, just south of Canada

Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by Tazewell »

1 gallon feed grade molasses, 8 lbs white sugar, 2 tablespoons fermax. Water. 6 gallons total. The yeast and small amount of fermented wash from an all panela run before this one. It's fermenting, but not as fast as the panela. It does have some propionic acid in it. I'm using DADY
1. Will it take off soon?
2. Do you think it'll finish at all?
Opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks

Sent from my SM-S906L using Tapatalk
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13037
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by NZChris »

What was the OG?
OtisT
Master of Distillation
Posts: 3175
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 11:59 am
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by OtisT »

Having the right Temperature is important too. What is that at?
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
User avatar
rgreen2002
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1309
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 2:57 pm
Location: Northeastern USA

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by rgreen2002 »

NZChris wrote:What was the OG?
+1... That's a lot of sugar for a rum wash... I thinking your yeast may be a little overworked. In the future, try an all molly wash, it has produced the best rum I have ever made... getting ready for another run actually!!

I also think that we should put the propionic acid question to bed... Plenty of good threads on using Feed grade molly with PA and still getting great fermentation
OtisT wrote:Having the right Temperature is important too. What is that at?
+1 again :lol: Molasses likes a warm temp for fermentation. That's why it was so popular in the Caribbean! 70s to 80s F is a fine temp for a rum wash.
HD Glossary - Open this
A little spoon feeding *For New & Novice Distillers - start here
BEST WAY TO GET ANSWERS FROM HOME DISTILLER
"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is."
Tazewell
Novice
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:11 am
Location: North America, just south of Canada

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by Tazewell »

It's working well now. SG is not accurate with a hydrometer in a molasses wash. Keeping it at 75°F

Sent from my SM-S906L using Tapatalk
User avatar
still_stirrin
Master of Distillation
Posts: 10329
Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2014 7:01 am
Location: where the buffalo roam, and the deer & antelope play

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by still_stirrin »

Long lagtime due to the high OG. The yeast population has to multiply to begin fermentation and your extremely high gravity retards cell budding. Aggressive aeration will help jump start the growth, but the sugar content literally overwhelms much of the yeast (osmotic pressure).

A gallon of molly weighs around 12lb. (+/-), and with your added sugar you’re over 3# per gallon. I’d estimate your ferment to have a15%ABV potential or more, which is hard for the yeast to start in, although DADY is quite resillient in a high gravity wash. Next time reduce or eliminate the sugar at the start. Let it work a day or two and then feed it with the sugar syrup if you still want a high %ABV wash.
ss
My LM/VM & Potstill: My build thread
My Cadco hotplate modification thread: Hotplate Build
My stock pot gin still: stock pot potstill
My 5-grain Bourbon recipe: Special K
User avatar
Bushman
Admin
Posts: 17975
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:29 am
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by Bushman »

Tazewell wrote:It's working well now. SG is not accurate with a hydrometer in a molasses wash. Keeping it at 75°F

Sent from my SM-S906L using Tapatalk
That is why I use a refractometer.
User avatar
Danespirit
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 2647
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2012 8:09 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by Danespirit »

+1 Bushman
A refractometer is a reliable way to check a ferment with some unfermentable sugars in it (like molasses in rum).
They really aren't that expensive anymore.
I'd follow the advice given by Ss...if you dump all the sugar in at once you'll risk your ferment stalls.
The yeast can't handle the high sugar content, let alone an ABV over 12 % (for normal yeast).
That's why I never go higher than 10- max 12 %.
http://homedistiller.org/wash/ferment/high" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
The ideal conditions for yeast fermentation are:
Temperature 18 C - 24 C
Sugar (not more than 1 KG per 4.5 litres or 2 lb per gal)
Acid PH 3.5 - 5.5
Nutrients (Diamonium source of nitrogen)
Tannin (Correct amount)
Oxygen (The first part of fermentation needs oxygen for yeast replication). It's also called the aerobic phase.

Things that yeast do not like:

Exceeding any of the above.
Alcohol
Alcohol is a by-product of fermentation and inhibits the yeast, different strains of yeast can survive different levels of alcohol. Starting fermentation in the presence of alcohol is not good. Yeast gradually build up resistance to alcohol as it is produced and does not do well when fresh yeast is added to an existing brew. Alcohol destroys the enzymes in the yeast, which are vital for the process.
Rapidly fluctuating temperatures even within the above range.

Note: Some special yeast tolerates more alcohol content and/or lower/higher temperatures. I'll keep my mouth shut about the dreaded turbo yeast :silent: .
Tazewell
Novice
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:11 am
Location: North America, just south of Canada

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by Tazewell »

It's currently working well, the airlock is bubbling rapidly 2-3 bubbles per second. I am however concerned about the aforementioned possibility of a stall. I'll look into a refractometer.

Sent from my SM-S906L using Tapatalk
Tazewell
Novice
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:11 am
Location: North America, just south of Canada

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by Tazewell »

Next time I will heed the advise of SS. He always seems to have useful advise. I thought I had read a recipe on here but after having finished aeration I looked and saw I had added 4 too many pounds of sugar. Fingers crossed...

Sent from my SM-S906L using Tapatalk
User avatar
still_stirrin
Master of Distillation
Posts: 10329
Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2014 7:01 am
Location: where the buffalo roam, and the deer & antelope play

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by still_stirrin »

Tazewell wrote:...Fingers crossed...
:clap:
Tazewell wrote:...Sent from my SM-S906L using Tapatalk <-- can you turn this advert off for us please? It's in your device settings. There's a thread in every forum with instructions. Thx.
My LM/VM & Potstill: My build thread
My Cadco hotplate modification thread: Hotplate Build
My stock pot gin still: stock pot potstill
My 5-grain Bourbon recipe: Special K
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13037
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by NZChris »

Tazewell wrote:It's working well now. SG is not accurate with a hydrometer in a molasses wash. Keeping it at 75°F
It is accurate for reading the SG, just not for the fermentable sugars, but the SG can tell you if the total of fermentables and non-fermentables is too high for the yeast to function efficiently, which is what you wanted to know. The drop in SG tells you the abv of the wash and, if you have calculated the expected drop in SG, it can tell you if the yeast has used up the all of the fermentables when it goes dead or stalls.

Tazewell wrote:Sent from my SM-S906L using Tapatalk
Nobody here cares what what phone you have, or how you post here. Turn it off.
Shine0n
Distiller
Posts: 2488
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2016 6:00 am
Location: Eastern Virginia

Re: Shot from the hip... might have missed

Post by Shine0n »

Simple math can can give you a pretty accurate abv with a hydrometer on a rum wash.
OG-FG×'s130= abv

It doesn't matter what the og is as you know there's unfermentable stuff in it but that equation will give you what you need to know for gravity.

You can split the ferment into 2 different batches to lower the gravity and it will run a bit better and also raise the temps up to 85+ as she'll run like hell.

Good luck, Shine0n
Post Reply