my first sugar wash

[malcontent]

I cant seem to get a good vigerous fermentation. Im only doing a small batch (1 Gallon). Its 1 gallon water, 2lbs. sugar, 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient and a pack of champange yeast.Its only tap water and I never had it tested could that be the problem? Does this recipe sound right?

[rad14701]

Sounds a bit light on yeast nutrient to me... Why not go with one of the Tried and True recipes until you've got a grasp of the "what", "how much", and "why", as far as ingredients are concerned...???

You can get a vigorous ferment with just one gallon, but it won't yield much drinkable product... However, champagne yeast isn't a fast fermenting yeast to begin with, it's more of a long haul yeast that can provide both primary and secondary fermentations...

Wash temperature is yet another piece of the puzzle...

[Braz]

Two pounds of sugar for a one gal. wash sounds like a lot to me. Wino's Plain ol' Sugar Wash (in Tried & True) uses 8lb for a 6 gal. wash. My first attempt at a wash used the WPOSW recipe, cut in half, and was very successful. I now have a 5 gal. batch working and the little yeastie beasties are buisily popping away at the airlock.

I'd suggest you try that one. Read through the whole thread because there are some minor modifications that evolve along the way.

Braz

[rad14701]

Using 2 pounds of sugar per gallon gives a potential yield of ~14.1% ABV which isn't too high even for most bakers yeasts... I run ~14.1% washes with Fleischmann's all the time... As a rough guide, 2 cups = 1 pound for most sugar... I do all measurements by volume rather than weight... My ~14.1% All Bran and Gerber washes finish in ~3 days using Fleischmann's...

[malcontent]

Thanks for the input. It does seem to be going slow and steady I will try one of the tried and true next time around.

[LWTCS]

My ~14.1% All Bran and Gerber washes finish in ~3 days using Fleischmann's...

+1

[malcontent]

Do i need to boil the sugar to invert it ? how important is that?