All Bran Recipe

[Ayay]

question
I am going to make this recipe, but want a rum version, going to use black strap mollasses, question never inverted mollasses before, if i use this 1 gallon recipe can i use equal amonts of brown sugar & mollasses, can i invert the two together? does mollasses invert like sugar & will one cup of mollasses invert the same alcohol amount as one cup sugar or doi need to add more mollasses to equal one cup sugar?

Molasses has all that the allbran has plus the sugar. Check out rum recipes in 'Tried And True Recipes'. PugiRum's 'yeast bomb' is what it says! No need to invert. Molasses, brown sugar, water, and le'bombe.

[rad14701]

I'd consider All Bran and Molasses combined to be overkill... As mentioned, I'd look at the existing rum recipes if that is your target spirit...

[Dnderhead]

Depending on the molasses you mite want to clear it, (if using feed molasses) diluting /heating then either straining or let it settle and rack off the sediment.the rum distillers use a much more complicated proses but that will do for us.

[DCT]

best palce to get good mollasses?

[rad14701]

best palce to get good mollasses?

At this point, molasses doesn't pertain to the All Bran recipe topic... Check out the rum topics as it has been covered there as well as in other dedicated topics...

[Braz]

last Sunday I started two 20L batches of All Bran using the most recent recipe short of the "minimalist" version. The only modification is that I used DAP instead of plant food. Inspired by some comments in another thread I decided to try feeding the DAP daily in one of the batches. In batch #8 I added 2.5tsp DAP at the start and in batch #9 I added .5tsp DAP at the start and another .5tsp each day for the next four days. All other variables were held constant between the two batches. Here's the fermentation track:



As you can see, batch #9 (the daily feed batch) started slow but soon caught up. After that it seemed to settle into a steady fermentation rate while batch #8 seemed a little herky-jerky through the fermentation. And, it stopped at a SG of 1 while #9 went to .996 in the same time frame.

For whatever it is worth, the PH on batch #8 started at 5.5 and ended at 4.4 while #9 started at 5.6 and ended at 4.5

Of course I have all these data points and I don't know if any of it proves anything at all. But, I think it suggests that daily doses of nutrient might be better than a big blast of nutrient at the start. Thoughts?

Braz

[DCT]

question
im doing a 5gallon batch right now, i up the sugar 1 cup per gallon, do i need to up the yeast?? need quick response...thanks men

[rad14701]

question
im doing a 5gallon batch right now, i up the sugar 1 cup per gallon, do i need to up the yeast?? need quick response...thanks men

Nope... Base yeast on water, not sugar...

[DCT]

thanks rad, just trying to up the abv a little....also when i run this, i want to charge my wash with some gerber heads & tails, how much to charge a ten gallon wash, and to i need to cut the charge with water or just pour it right in?

[DCT]

i also added 1tbsp yeast to the bsugar boil, crused my albran to i cup per gallon, did 5 gallons & this semed like alot of ceral, was a whole box....does the all bran sit at top t the 1st? here is what my looks like, also put a pinch of epson salt in....& man this thing is going nuts..im scared to go to bed..hope i didnt create a bomb..

[DCT]

i think 1 cup crushed all barand per gallon may have ben to much...my second 5 gallon batch ran me about a gallon short of water b/c the allbrand ate up the space...5 gallon carboy, did not hold a full 5 gallon mix...but it is fermenting like a beat...wow

[Braz]

i think 1 cup crushed all barand per gallon may have ben to much...my second 5 gallon batch ran me about a gallon short of water b/c the allbrand ate up the space...5 gallon carboy, did not hold a full 5 gallon mix...but it is fermenting like a beat...wow

I'm using 5 cups of all bran flakes for a 20L wash but I don't crush the flakes before boiling. Which means there is a lot of air space in a one cup measure of flakes compared to crushed. The All Bran will settle to the bottom in a couple days.

Braz

[rad14701]

I also measure my All Bran in whole flake form... Measuring by crushed flakes does seem to be overkill... As I recall, I measured once and it takes about 3x of flakes for 1x of crumbs... I just dump 1:1 or 2:1 water:flakes into a pan and simmer the mix until it resembles thin butterscotch pudding with no solids remaining...

[DCT]

ok, that will help me for next time, thought i had alot of ceral, this will be a bitch to rack, will also strain as it goes into boiler, my the time this settles & clears, will probably have about 3 gallons from each 5 gallon carboy....my bad...still learning

[DCT]

hey Rad
Will it be ok to run 4gallons of gerber with this 10gallons all bran? i have way to much ceral in the all brand & thought the gerber might help take some of the wheat taste out, wanted some, just didnt want it to over power it

[rad14701]

hey Rad
Will it be ok to run 4gallons of gerber with this 10gallons all bran? i have way to much ceral in the all brand & thought the gerber might help take some of the wheat taste out, wanted some, just didnt want it to over power it

Give it a go, DCT... It should distill out just fine and result in a good flavor...

[DCT]

just started a gerber, to go with them, the gerber is slow to start, compared to the all brand or i screwed it up, but both are pretty hard to mess up, gerber has not even started to bubble yet, as the allbrand was overflowing before i could cap it...is this common comparison of the two?

[Whitedog]

I made a version of this with 1/2 All-Bran and 1/2 Corn Flakes. It is a pretty yellow color. It worked off to 1.000 in ~60 hours! I have to say, this is the easiest/quickest wash I have ever made! I hope it tastes as good as a grain mix.

I have it clearing after racking into a secondary carbouy and I have a question. How clear do you allow this to get before stillin'? Can you see through it or is it opaque? I have alot of dregs and it appears to be the same over 4 or 5 days of clearing. Been in secondary almost two weeks...

[Braz]

In my experience the All Bran recipe won't get water clear. It will be yellow (think Mountain Dew soft drink) and be translucent - somewhere between clear and opaque. I've had best luck racking it twice, letting it sit two or three days in between. It also seems to clear faster in the refrigerator now that spring is here and it is getting warm outside. I have two 5G batches that I racked Sunday and again Tuesday now sitting in the 'fridge and it will be ready to strip this weekend.

Braz

[Whitedog]

Thanks, Braz! Makes sense, I think I will run mine this weekend as well! I am absolutely itching to taste the distillate! If it taste as good as it is easy, there won't be any reason to ever do anything else!

[LWTCS]

In my experience the All Bran recipe won't get water clear. It will be yellow (think Mountain Dew soft drink) and be translucent - somewhere between clear and opaque. I've had best luck racking it twice, letting it sit two or three days in between. It also seems to clear faster in the refrigerator

+1

there won't be any reason to ever do anything else!

Definitely a "go to" recipe.

Ayay and cluey are doing multiple generations and incorporating varients. Very exciting for any city slicker that just does not have the facility to deal with an all grain.

[Orange79]

I've seen that a few people add flaked wheat/rye to their washes for additional flavor and/or conversion. Is it possible to use normal wheat or rye grains that aren't flaked to get some additional flavor when pot stilling this recipe? I'm thinking mostly of grains available at whole foods stores such as this http://www.shilohfarms.com/productDetai ... ber=192161" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Any thoughts?

[Dnderhead]

try it you will like it? yes that could be done,but they should be crushed or cracked.

[DCT]

ok, replayed my gerber wash in my head, why is it not going crazy...oh remembered, i forgot 4tbs of yeast...oops got this corrected & all better...then after only two days of 10 gallons of all brand & 5 gallons of gerber, i get notice from work, large hail storm in grand rapids MI....I have to go for 1.5 weeks & wright 850 estimates on travel trailers at a large dealership...damn i left this in charge with wife...she keeps calling, saying the house smells like beer...lol...well my all brands are way over board with cereal & will be a bitch to rack some what clean....but damn does it smell good in the house like sweet wheat bear & very strong!

[rad14701]

DCT, don't complain about having work as many folks can only wish that they had a mountain of work to get done...

But, anyway, regarding your washes, they should do just fine in your absence and shouldn't require any intervention prior to your return... As the ferments progress and finish almost all of the solids will settle to the bottom (clear) and you'll be left with opaque liquid with all of the yeast and remaining cereal on the bottom... You shouldn't have any problem racking the wash off the trub after several weeks of clearing...

As for the washes themselves, you sure do try to get the most out of your fermentation vessels... I'm surprised you haven't had a few mopping sessions due to overflows... If I top mine up to full I make sure I wait until the initial fermentation has subsided just to be safe...

Good luck with both work and the washes...

[cluey]

An update on what i have learned about this recipe after running 4 generations of my canadian wannabe and 4 batches of standard recipe.

Using 2 gallons backset for canadian wannabe. The taste gets more distictive with each generation.

Taste - Without having aged much and tasting the wash and lowines and finished product, I think the half box of bran and half box of corn flakes and lowering the flaked rye to 1/2 pound per batch is giving me the flavor i want, but it is still early.

Crushed vs Whole flakes. I had thought that leaving some flakes whole might add more flavor to the wash, boiling some and leaving some unboiled. Presoaking without boiling. In the end I think that the all crushed all boiled method has more flavor. AND IT IS EASIER TO RACK. Whole flakes seem to float at the top and the short fermentation period is too short to get all the flavor out of the whole flakes and boiling them in advance seems to get a full release. However I limit the boil to just bringing it to a boil for maybe a minute then let it sit for an hour.

Termperature to Pitching. The addition of so much boiled material at first caused me problems with too high a temperature to pitch the yeast without a long time lag. I generally do 6 gallon batches and have found that if i do the following i come out at a perfect pitch temperature of between 88 F and 92 F. I boil the sugar at least a day in advance and end up with two gallon jugs of sugarwater. I put these in my refrigerator at 38F. I have two gallons of backset that i have sitting in jugs at room temperature. I boil up all the grains and let sit and hour before adding to fermentor the total volumn is 1.5 gallons of water and crushed flakes and yeast. Add all this together and pitch temp should come out close. In addition I have several sterilized containers of ice to use if i am off but since i came on this method I have not had to use it.

Yeast. I have used Bakers yeast, EC 1118, and K1V-1116 yeast. All the yeast seems to start out the same in dry form. I have been saving a quart of the trub from the previous ferment to add to the next for 3 generations each of the 1118 and 1116. The 1118 seems to ferment to a lower sg but takes one to two days longer. The tastes differences are marginal to my taste buds, but i when i do a blind taste test i seem to favor the 1116.

[cluey]

I forgot to add that I have added one cup of oatmeal to my canadian wannabe and seems to mellow out the rye nicely.

[thepatchworkdoll]

Hi Rad14701 thanks for this simple but extremely fast recipe. Tried this for the first time this week. 72 hours done and dusted. 1850 - 0.998 in 72 hours using bakers yeast. Fastest ever wash as far as I am concerned. Hope it tastes as good as it is fast.
Regards
thepatchworkdoll

[rad14701]

Hi Rad14701 thanks for this simple but extremely fast recipe. Tried this for the first time this week. 72 hours done and dusted. 1850 - 0.998 in 72 hours using bakers yeast. Fastest ever wash as far as I am concerned. Hope it tastes as good as it is fast.

Thanks, thepatchworkdoll... The recipe is reliable and gives a sense of satisfaction to those relatively new to fermentation because once it starts you can concentrate on getting everything ready for the distillation... Small successes can go a long way towards building confidence that the entire process doesn't have to be difficult...

Let us know how the spirits turn out...

[rad14701]

I'd be curious to hear what cuts percentages anyone is achieving with this recipe... I haven't kept track of my runs until just yesterday but they have been fairly close... My cuts from a 2 gallon boiler charge were as follows...

Foreshots: 6%
Heads: 12%
Hearts: 70%
Tails: 12%