Will this much sugar burn to the element?

jbrew9999 here · Post by **jbrew9999 here** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 5:41 am

I've got a stuck wash that has (I think) 5 to 7 lbs of unfermented sugar in 20L. There was originally 10.5lbs sugar and a half cup mollassas. The OG was 1.080. Now it is at 1.040 which means ~4.7% alcohol. I'm thinking about running it through my electric element still to collect the existing alcohol and then re-using the remaining wash with new nutrients and new yeast.

I'm very worried that all that sugar will make a mess of my new still. Should I run it would I be better off re-airating, adding new nutrients and trying to start new yeast in the existing 5% alcohol wash?

Brett · Post by **Brett** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 6:21 am

Theres been a lot on restarting stuck washes recently,

firstly which yeast are u using?

according to my maths 105 lbs of sugar in 20l comes out at,,,

10.5lbs = 168 oz
20ltr = 4 gal (approx)
so 168 / 4 = 42oz of sugar per gallon

Reading that of on my hydrometer 42 oz would bring u out around 15 - 16%

as for what u can do to save it, well 2 options are to split that wash between 2 fermenters (10ltr each of low alcohol wash) and top up to 20 ltr bringing the alcohol level down and increasing the yeasts chances of getting going in and already alcoholic mash, another option would be to make up a nice sized starter and to let this ferment out a few days so the yeast are already used to the higher alcohol levels and then throw it into ur part fermented mash.

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 6:45 am

Sounds like you've got almost 2 pounds unfermented sugar in there. Be your decision as to which is more cost effective, the price of 2 pounds sugar or repitching the yeast. Personally I would try to restart it rather than distill that much sugar in a wash. Depending on how you plan on distilling it (pot vs column) you may get a little off taste coming across due to the sugar.

My math tells me the wash had an initial alcohol potential of about 12%. This is assuming he in fact added 10.5 pounds sugar to 20 liters, this would make a total volume of about 23 liters. This assumption fits perfectly with the hydromter reading he got initially of about 1.08 This is well within the reach of even bakers yeast so restarting in split containers is probably best unless you try a yeast that does well for restarting stuck fermentations like EC-1118.

The only time I ever had a wash get stuck, adding another 25% water and stirring around was all it needed to get back jump started. Gave the yeast in there a little more breathing room.

jbrew9999 · Post by **jbrew9999** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 7:40 am

Thanks for the speedy reply.

I scooped out about 1cup (~220ml) to play with and this is what happened. I measured the pH at somewhere lower than 3.0 (hard to tell but maybe lower than 2.8 ) I added about 1/16 tsp baking soda, stirred it and measured it at around 4.0. Then I added about 25g more bakers yeast and let it sit. Lots of stuff (yeast probably but maybe some kind of salts percipitated out by the baking soda) sank to the bottom and some yeast floated to the surface. After a half hour, the yeast was bubbling happily. Does this mean the yeast will do fine at 5% alcohol?

I'm thinking about adjusting the acid level in the wash, whisking it up to add more Oxygen, and then pitching in this starter.

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 9:03 am

Add a few more cups of the wash to that starter you have made there and give the starter a day or so to work....thin the wash with a little water and repitch that starter.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 11:37 am

okay.

I added a quart of ~3.8pH wash to the starter and it has been sitting for a few hours and hasn't done anything more. Should I beat air into it? Should I beat air into the wash before I re-pitch the starter?

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 1:36 pm

Cut the wash that is stuck into two seperate fermenters and add water till almost full...areating well as you add the water. then pitch half that starter in each. You had a tremendous about of yeast to wash ratio when you added 25 grams to a single cup of wash, that would jump start anything.

jbrew9999 · Post by **jbrew9999** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 5:47 am

This morning, the 2 Qt starter(1.5Qt wash, .5Qt extra water,~30g yeast) wasn't active at all and it looked like it had cleared up so I drew off a sample to test. My hydrometer that goes down to .990 SG sank to the bottom in the sample so the starter had completely fermented out. I measured the wash again and it is still right at 1.040. I poured the starter back into the wash but I don't have any idea if the finnished and settled yeast will decide to get working again.

Is the right time to re-pitch a starter "after 1 or 2 days" or "when it is at its height of activity"? My starter was super-active after about 18 hours but by 36 hours it was completely done.

If my re-pitched starter hasn't done anything to the wash by tonight, I'll fill the fermenter up with water, and pitch about a 1/4 cup of new-yeast.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 1:34 pm

You can boil sugar wash no problem...I do it all the time.

jbrew9999 · Post by **jbrew9999** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 6:48 am

Anonymous wrote:You can boil sugar wash no problem...I do it all the time.

Unfermented? Using a water heater element immersed in the wash?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 12:08 pm

In that case I dont know.

jbrew9999 · Post by **jbrew9999** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 12:16 pm

Everything seems to be working fine now.

I've been doing some reading on bakery microbiology and industrial fermentation and now I'm positive that my biggest (maybe only) problem was the acidity of my wash.

Since I adjusted the pH to above 3.5 and re-pitched my starter, the SG has been dropping steadily. It worked fine at 20C and even down to 15C. Now I've replaced my broken heater and will try to keep it at 20C.
SG is down to 1.020 now.