I made a wash and hope it will ferment. I can't find DAP here, so I did what I could. Hope it works.
1 gallon molassas
2 3-packs of bakers yeast(Fleishmans sold in 3 condom sized packs)
1 pound sugar
3 multivitamins
2 oranges, no peels or seeds
I put it all in a pot with water until it boiled, reduced and simmered for 30 minutes. Then transferred to fermenter, when it cooled to 80F i added 2 3-packs of bakers yeast. After 5 hours when i checked it the surface was covered in teeny tiny bubbles and was putting out bubbles every 10-15 seconds from the blow-off tube. This morning it'sthe exact same. I don't need it in a hurry(i'll be leaving for ~3 weeks), I just hope it ferments completely
What is the total volume of your wash...??? Doesn't sound bad as long at the oranges don't drop the pH too low... I would expect a rather aggressive ferment with the molasses, boiled yeast, and multivitamins, if kept at a decent temperature...
Beerswimmer... you say that you put it "all" together and boiled it. Then you say that you added yeast. Did you have any yeast in the pot that you boiled, or did you "put it all together" into the pot except for the yeast? What I am getting at is that you will have fewer nutrients if you do not add boiled yeast to the mash before you add your starter yeast. Am I making any sense?
Step 1: Add in just enough hot water to dissolve your sugar.
Step 2: Add that into your fermenter and top off with cool water. The goal is to try and get as close to the proper pitching temperature as possib.e
Step 3: Add in any yeast nutrients.
Step 4: Check your specific gravity and temperature. Shoot for a reading of 1.08 or less when using baker's yeast and a temperature of less than 100F degrees.
Step 5: Add in your yeast and stir.
Without checking the gravity your flying blind. You have no way of knowing the potential alcohol content, whether there is too much sugar (which the resultant gravity will cause stuck ferments), or when your wash is done.
Boiling nutrients is not good. Heat causes breakdown of vitamins and what not. You don't want to boil much otherwise you will have to wait for your stuff to cool.
Baker's yeast needs heat. In my experience around 80F is the minimum needed for fermentation to progress at any decent rate. Get an aquarium heater.
A gallon of molasses is close enough to twelve pounds, which with the one pound of sugar should ferment out OK. When I make rum - which I do a lot of - I usually add some DAP according to the directions on the packet plus some trub and it ferments right out. Good luck and don't forget to let us know how it goes.
blanik
Simple potstiller. Slow, single run.
(50 litre, propane heated pot still. Coil in bucket condenser - No thermometer, No carbon) The Reading Lounge AND the Rules We Live By should be compulsory reading
I ferment rum in colder weather then that all the time. The weather hear is constanty cold so what I do is add plenty of nutrients ( over do it) pitch my yeast at 80f and insulate my fermentor with house insulation. The heat from the fermentation keeps it warm. If it starts to peader out eary then ill slip in a heat pad for a few hours and that finishes it up.
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
It worked great and is on it's 2nd generation now! I had to move the location of my fermenters because it got too cold. I now have them upstairs(wife did NOT approve!) where it's really warm. Seems good-to-go now!
The temps are between 70 and 68F. I can't really get it higher in the crawlspace where I keep my fermentors.