how long can you let a fermented wash sit before using?

[Rude]

Hi, l'm new here and am awaitng my 1st still so I would like to start my 1st wash. My still will be a "Nixon Stone Head Super Reflux Still and Condenser 5 ltr" I have ordered it and am waiting for it to arrive so if I start making my wash now and it doesnt arrive for 10 day will my fermented wash go off? Any help would be appreciated. I am using 8kg of white sugar 25 lt water and Willards turbo yeast and the weather here 10-20 dergees celcius at the moment (sth east Qld).
Any feed back would be appreciated and look forward to all of this. Thanks, Rude

[Hawke]

Welcome,
I hate to say it, but your wash will be off, before it starts.
Turbo's pushing that high will make for all kinds of off flavors. That's why they sell you carbon filters.
You would be much better served with a wash that targets 12% or less.

Other than that, the wash will keep for several weeks as long as it stays closed up.
If you let it settle, then rack it into a secondary container, it can be put in a fridge for a few months.

[rad14701]

Welcome to the forums, Rude...

I'd have to agree with Hawke regarding pushing a turbo yeast wash that high... You'll end up with much cleaner product that requires less work on your part, and with less expense, if you split that wash into two equal batches which will ferment out to two 9.9% potential ABV 25L washes rather than one 18.8% 25L batch...

Good luck...

[plonker]

+1 rad....

[ammo man]

Hawke, rad, and others,

I have my first recipe fermenting now (7 pm CDT this evening will be 24 hours). From what I understand this batch will take from 7 to 12 days to complete fermenting.

I don't expect my distilling unit in until sometime after the 21st of this month. I am sure after spending a few days cleaning it, running some cheap wine, etc. to get the "feel" of it and learn what I am doing, that I will be ready to do my first real run in 3 or 4 weeks if all goes according to schedule.

As you can tell I am sure from my questions and comments I am new and was wondering even before this post how long a wash would keep.

Any comments, negative or positive, on my first recipe are solicited. It is a modification of one I have come across in several places on the Internet.

25L of tap water. I have my own water well.
5 lbs pure can sugar
1 can Premier Malt Extract Natural Hop Flavored Pale Dry
1 packet of Prestige WD yeast

The mash is in a closed container, and is fermenting at room temp, about an average of 75 degrees F.

Thanks in advance.

Bert (ammo man)

[rad14701]

Most washes will store adequately for several weeks without being racked and will last months if racked off the yeast and trub at the bottom of the fermenter... With turbo washes, the sooner you can rack it off the less off smells and flavors will be imparted into the wash...

[Hawke]

Ammo Man,
The hop flavored malt may give you a bitter tasting distillate. I know it does if you distill old beer.

[ammo man]

Thank you Hawke. I was wondering about that. I read hops may give a bitter taste after I had ordered the Malt Extract, but at about $18 a can I can't afford not to try. My only hope is that the Prestige WD yeast may help, and if not, hello charcoal.

Bert

[rad14701]

ammo man, that's starting to sound like a pretty expensive wash recipe you've got there... My 90%+ neutral spirits cost me approximately $2.50 per liter including electricity and water... That figure might even be on the high side...

[ammo man]

I have to admit rad that you are very correct. Some things this 73 old hard headed poot has to learn the hard way. But I am learning, and learning at a very rapid rate. My goal is to turn out a good batch of "whiskey" in a couple of months.

I assume you are talking about your Gerber recipe. I have scanned it one time, and early this morning I decided sometime soon I am going back to take a second detailed look.

Now for my beginner question. Has anyone ever tried the Carnation instant malt mix for flavor? If so, what were the results? If not, why not?

This forum and the parent site have been a God send. With them I think I can meet my goal. I guess the main thing is there are many, many people that are willing to share their knowledge with people like. I might add that I ordered three books that have come in that I have read. A waste of money for me. One of them was nothing more than a big ad for certain products.

Thank you all.

Bert (ammo man)

[rad14701]

--- SNIP ---
I assume you are talking about your Gerber recipe. I have scanned it one time, and early this morning I decided sometime soon I am going back to take a second detailed look.
--- SNIP ---

That $2.50 price is based on Gerber, but most all of the recipes I use cost about the same... I'm hoping to keep closer track when I start my next few washes... I almost had to chuckle out loud a few minutes ago when I read in another forum that someone thought Gerber was too expensive but then I checked and found that Canada carries a different line of products than here in the US which may explain that concern... Seems they also can't understand how it made Tried and True... It made it there because people like it for its simplicity and and the fact that it just works with no Hocus-Pocus required...

[Rude]

Hi, l'm new here and am awaitng my 1st still so I would like to start my 1st wash. My still will be a "Nixon Stone Head Super Reflux Still and Condenser 5 ltr" I have ordered it and am waiting for it to arrive so if I start making my wash now and it doesnt arrive for 10 day will my fermented wash go off? Any help would be appreciated. I am using 8kg of white sugar 25 lt water and Willards turbo yeast and the weather here 10-20 dergees celcius at the moment (sth east Qld).
Any feed back would be appreciated and look forward to all of this. Thanks, Rude

Hi all, thanks for the info and will take it on board and give it a go next time, I'll use my 1st wash to experiment with and hopefully it will turn out ok ( I followed the instruction on the packet). I'll let you all know how it turns out in a week or so. Thanks again. Rude

[LWTCS]

$2.50 per liter??

Hope thats wash and not distillate.

Otherwise I'm moving next door to you.

[rad14701]

That's all up neutral spirits...

[Dnderhead]

I did a single malt this year and it came out somewhere at 3.-4. $ US a gallon ( with out barrel(s)/aging)

[HookLine]

I would not leave a wash sitting on the yeast for more than about 3 weeks. I try to do the first racking fairly quickly, as the yeast cake seems to be much more viable the fresher it is, particularly with bakers yeast. Typically do it 2-3 days after the ferment has completely finished. Then I often leave it for a week or two to really settle out, before racking off the second time, into the boiler.

Some are not so fussy about the clearing, especially with rum. They like some yeast taste in it.

[LWTCS]

What the hell man.

I gotta find room to store some bulk supplies.

Cereal sugarhead cost me $12 per 20 liter wash or 2.5 to 3 liters of spirits.

I am buying supplies on a,,,,,,,,"20 liter at a time" basis. I thought I was doing pretty good.

All you penny pinchers piss me off

Thanks for the heads up. I gotta shop a little more smartly to make up for all my spendy new still parts.

[Dnderhead]

LWTCS know any truckers? they can be your best friend. damaged or rejected goods,out of date no payment.

[LWTCS]

LWTCS know any truckers?

Not yet.

[Rude]

Hi, l'm new here and am awaitng my 1st still so I would like to start my 1st wash. My still will be a "Nixon Stone Head Super Reflux Still and Condenser 5 ltr" I have ordered it and am waiting for it to arrive so if I start making my wash now and it doesnt arrive for 10 day will my fermented wash go off? Any help would be appreciated. I am using 8kg of white sugar 25 lt water and Willards turbo yeast and the weather here 10-20 dergees celcius at the moment (sth east Qld).
Any feed back would be appreciated and look forward to all of this. Thanks, Rude

Hi all, thanks for the info and will take it on board and give it a go next time, I'll use my 1st wash to experiment with and hopefully it will turn out ok ( I followed the instruction on the packet). I'll let you all know how it turns out in a week or so. Thanks again. Rude

Hi all, well my 1st brew went great my wash ended up about 10% and 5 litres end up to about 100m heads, 650m hearts, 100m tails, hearts 94 - 90% ,tails 85 - 80%. I got around the same results for the other 4 batches as well, cut them all down to 50% and ended up with 7 x 700m bottles and added carbon. Tried one the other night with some orange juice and it wasnt to bad, some of the other bottles are a bit smoother and am going to experiment with some flavours now. Also put on another wash of 20 litres of rain water, 2.5 Molasas, 3kg white sugar, 1 multivitamin tablet, 2 cups of barley flakes, 2 cups of corn flakes and 90 grams of bakers yeast, 1190 on hydrometer it started fermenting 2 hours later and has been going now for 48 hours now and still going. Hopefully it'll work out and I'll make some good tastin rum. So now I got some mixing and taste testing to do. will let you all know how it goes.