All Bran Recipe

[seaguy]

When mine finishes I rack it into another bucket, leaving the trub in the bottom of the initial fermenter. Then I put the wash in a refrigerator. After a few days about a half inch of solids (dormant yeast, mostly) has settled to the bottom and I then rack it into the boiler. Again leaving the solids behind.

Of course, this requires you have a refrigerator, or two, capable of holding a couple of 5 gal. buckets each. Not everyone has that luxury. Even without the refer, I'd still rack it and let it settle a second time before putting it in the boiler.

I can do that Braz. Have a fridge in the basement near my still setup spot. It is mostly empty so I can get 12 gals in there in some fashion. The cold kills the remaining live yeast and they drop...that the idea?

[Dnderhead]

it dont kill the yeast,,just puts them asleep or in hibernation.
a drop as little as 5* f will do this.
and is why its better to have a constant temperature in a fermenter.

[seaguy]

it dont kill the yeast,,just puts them asleep or in hibernation.
a drop as little as 5* f will do this.
and is why its better to have a constant temperature in a fermenter.

Thanks DunderH got it. Temp hasn't varied more than one degree. I remember now...Heat kills em. I have oaking plans for some of this batch. Want it as best as I can get it. No off tastes allowed!

[Dnderhead]

right,,some yeast can be frozen and still wake up and do there job.
if you look in frozen foods you will fiend frozen bread dough.

[FantsGrove]

Been so stuck on UJSSM i just needed a break so I set up my first AB on a small scale to see how i liked it and after 12 hours im getting very little fermentation...it smells likes its fermenting but with a little bit of a puke smell as well.
i used 3 gals water
10 cups sugar
2.5 cups all bran crushed
bakers yeast
temp at ~75F

An ideas what the problem would be?

[rad14701]

Been so stuck on UJSSM i just needed a break so I set up my first AB on a small scale to see how i liked it and after 12 hours im getting very little fermentation...it smells likes its fermenting but with a little bit of a puke smell as well.
i used 3 gals water
10 cups sugar
2.5 cups all bran crushed
bakers yeast
temp at ~75F

An ideas what the problem would be?

Oh, there could be lots of reasons for a slow ferment...

Did you invert the sugar...???
Did you boil the crushed cereal to help release nutrients...???
How much bakers yeast, and did you rehydrate it or just dry pitch...???

I've had a few washes go slower than others... I now pitch my baker yeast, after making a starter, while the wash is in the 95F range... Any chance you might have a pH problem...???

[FantsGrove]

Yeah i inverted the sugar, boiled the crushed AB, upon pouring into the container i allowed the mix to cool down normally (covered) before i added the room temp water to level. I pitched 2 tblsp dry dry yeast at 92.4F...not sure why i remember that number. i have yet to have a pH problem that didn't include back-set but i got my liquid pH kit for gardening around here somewhere ill give it a test.

[rad14701]

Yeah i inverted the sugar, boiled the crushed AB, upon pouring into the container i allowed the mix to cool down normally (covered) before i added the room temp water to level. I pitched 2 tblsp dry dry yeast at 92.4F...not sure why i remember that number. i have yet to have a pH problem that didn't include back-set but i got my liquid pH kit for gardening around here somewhere ill give it a test.

If you have some Epsom Salt kicking around, try mixing in 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon... These days I usually pitch an equal amount of baking soda because it helps my washes move along better... YMMV...

[beowoulfe]

This last one of mine is just the opposite. Started AB.Gen7 on Friday. In 10 min it was bubbling. 20 min it was a steady, no burping stream of bubbles (got a tube into a 2l bottle of water). Went to the shed today to have a look, still uninterrupted stream of bubbles.

When I put it together I did use 3/4 gal of boiled trub (bottom of the bucket after racking and refrigerating). Also added unboiled lees, almost 3/4 gal. 3T baker's yeast. 2T calcium carbonate (to counter gen6 backset, 1 gal). Plus all the AB stuff.

I'm sure not complaining, just never had it happen like that before.

[FantsGrove]

well i did the pH and it was good and instead of epsom salts i had a turbo i hadnt planned on using so i took a tablespoon of it out and seperated the golden yeast and white nutrient, ended up being a good teaspoon of nutrient that i placed in 183 degree water, about 20ml worth to kill off any of the turbo yeast missed, placed in freezer and tossed it in relativly ambient temp...added this to the mixture and within 1hr it took off and is now running steady, thanks for your help... next time ill just toss turbo and nuts in hat water and let the baking eat hulls for a little extra zip

[seaguy]

well i did the pH and it was good and instead of epsom salts i had a turbo i hadnt planned on using so i took a tablespoon of it out and seperated the golden yeast and white nutrient, ended up being a good teaspoon of nutrient that i placed in 183 degree water, about 20ml worth to kill off any of the turbo yeast missed, placed in freezer and tossed it in relativly ambient temp...added this to the mixture and within 1hr it took off and is now running steady, thanks for your help... next time ill just toss turbo and nuts in hat water and let the baking eat hulls for a little extra zip

Now you have it. First batch of yeast was mostly dead.

[FantsGrove]

so i think i figured out my issue with pitching my yeast, i keep it in the fridge per the storage instructions on the jar...it must be the shock of dry pitching 35F to 40F yeast into 95F mash...i guess im gonna start allowing the yeast to warm up before pitching from now on, maybe even into doing a yeast starter

[seaguy]

Today was my second attempt for the All-Bran recipe. My 12 gal of wash was cleared in the fridge so I racked straight into the keginator, bundled it up and turned the heat on low at 10am. I have just finished the run and it's 10pm. I must say that this time it went by the numbers and I am very pleased with the results already. Can't wait for the airing to finish so I can cut this up to taste. I can tell already that this product will take an oaking nicely. Thanks Rad for all your adjustments to make this recipe such a winner. 12gal...12hrs...4.5ltrs hearts @ 172 proof (correction factor included) Braz's suggestion to refrigerate 2 days gets you 2 or 3 quarts more clean wash. Trube was 5/8" thick and compact in each 5gal bucket.
My first attempt was a flop of my own doing. Too many guesses makes messes. Murphy's law bits me every time...every doggone, cotton pickin time!

[tomtom]

hi

when you talk of half a teaspoon of boiled yeast , does that just mean toss a spoonful in along with the cereal when i,m boiling it .
thanks again

[rad14701]

hi

when you talk of half a teaspoon of boiled yeast , does that just mean toss a spoonful in along with the cereal when i,m boiling it .
thanks again

Yes... An alternative is to proof the yeast and then add it into the boil... This way you are using active rehydrated yeast rather than dry dormant yeast...

[ITPython]

I just tried my luck at making a gallon of this recipe, and I ran into some complications. Take note I am new to fermenting... VERY new.

Here is what I used (in case it matters):

- 1 cup of pure wheat bran (only ingredient). Came in a bag as small crushed flakes.
- 2 tbsp C&B DADY yeast
- 3.5 cups of sugar
- Just a little under 1 gallon of tap water (perhaps 10-12 ounces less) inside a 1 gallon water bottle.

Here was my procedure:

Added sugar and bran to empty 1 gallon water bottle. Proceeded to add ~115 degree water to bottle until filled to the spot I wanted, then shook vigorously to fully dissolve sugar. Periodically shook bottle every so often until temp was just a tad below 100 degrees. Pitched yeast. As per instructions, I let aerate for 1 hour. Shaking bottle once or twice.

Well, this is where my problems started to occur. Pretty much after about 45 minuets of aerating the foam from the yeast was getting out of control and getting worse by the minuet. I only had so much room left in the bottle for expansion, and the foam was quickly making a run to the top with no signs of slowing. I could not add my airlock at this point, as it would foam out all over the place. To make matters worse, the bran was rising to the top of the liquid, above the foam! Originally the bran settled to the bottom of the bottle, but the yeast was so crazy (it was like a show watching the yeast fall to the bottom, then go back up) that something happened and the bran was now being forced to the top.

Long story short and after trying many different things, I could not stop the foam and bran from being forced out the top of the bottle. Had to place the bottle in a plastic container and just let it do whatever it wanted.

After a few hours, it had finally settled down, but it effectively regurgitated a good deal of the bran.

Shortly after I let it overflow


Cleaned it up a bit after it had settled down, and inserted airlock. All the remaining bran is at the top of the bottle now.


It is currently bubbling at almost exactly once per second. Bottle is still warm to the touch (yeast generating its own heat?).


So what was the deal? Was all that foaming and bran being pushed to the top of the surface normal? Was it because I used DADY and pure wheat bran instead of bakers yeast and cereal bran? I wish I knew it would foam up that much, I would have used less water or a bigger bottle.


EDIT: Ok, now the ferment is smelling really sweet, almost sickly sweet. Is this a bad sign? I have a 5 gallon wash of just sugar and DADY, and it doesn't have that sickly sweet smell, just smells like fermenting bread or something (smells good actually). But the sickly sweet smell coming from this bran wash is very odd.

[rad14701]

ITPython, you need to find a better fermenter because many washes are far to active to not have head space for the initial krausen... The wash is performing exactly as should be expected... When the top of the fermenter necks down, as your jug does, the krausen has no choice but to rush out as it compresses in the ever narrowing neck... Find a couple cheap buckets...

[ITPython]

ITPython, you need to find a better fermenter because many washes are far to active to not have head space for the initial krausen... The wash is performing exactly as should be expected... When the top of the fermenter necks down, as your jug does, the krausen has no choice but to rush out as it compresses in the ever narrowing neck... Find a couple cheap buckets...

Yeah, the water bottle was just a cheap and convenient way for me to experiment with this recipe without having to do a full 5 gallon wash. I am a bit limited on space and funds.

Well here's a update on my progress after a night of sitting. Most of the bran now has gone back down to the bottom of the bottle, only a medium sized layer remains on top. Yeast is going crazy though! Looks like there is a tornado inside the bottle, lots of stuff constantly moving up and down, sometimes a whole ton of yeast and bran randomly explodes from the bottom and heads upwards. It's pretty fun to watch, never realized how hyperactive yeast was.

Also the sickly sweet smell has gone away, now it simply smells like a regular wine/fermenting smell. Still bubbling about once a second. Although there is some bran stuck to the sides at the top of the bottle, and I worry about that moist bran rotting/molding very quickly.

And Rad, using DADY and pure wheat bran is perfectly Ok and in sync with the recipe? What about pure oat bran? (which I got some of as well).

Thanks for the help and reply!

[tomtom]

thanks for that rad

hoping to make a 96 litre batch for neutrals, making sloe gin and wanna put it away to age for couple of years to mature.

here the bran recipe,
did i scale it up right

96 litre water
84 cup of sugar 21 kilos of sugar
24 cups bran flakes , 1000g, 2 boxes
12 teaspoons boiled yeast, 60g
6 teaspoons espom salt 30g
48 tablespoon of yeast 4 boxes of 125g allinson, dried active yeast

[rad14701]

96 litre water
84 cup of sugar 21 kilos of sugar
24 cups bran flakes , 1000g, 2 boxes
12 teaspoons boiled yeast, 60g
6 teaspoons espom salt 30g
48 tablespoon of yeast 4 boxes of 125g allinson, dried active yeast

I'd probably back down on the yeast... I'd go 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) max yeast, or maybe a cup... Not that more would necessarily hurt but I'd save my money and expect an extra day or three of fermentation time... Your choice...

[tomtom]

saving sounds good
thanks for the help

[ITPython]

Well I ran the all bran wash the other day. Result: unsuccessful. Ended up with roughly 1500ml 50 proof of one of the worst smelling (and probably tasting) spirit I have ever come across. When distilling, the nasty smell was almost too much to take, took just about two days of airing out to get rid of the extremely offensive stench. It was a cross between absinth, bread, and burning some kind of strange grandma-house potpourri.

This was my first time distilling, I am using a pot still. Since I am a noob, I made only the first ounce cut and ran the still for far too long (so I ended up with a low proof of mostly water + off-flavorings). Ran it through a carbon filter about 6 times with very little change. Smell of the distilled spirit is pretty much exactly like absinth for some reason, which = absolutely horrendous (I HATE the smell/taste of absinth). Smelled it again today inside my glass storage bottle, and it has the same basic scent as above, except has a extremely sickly smell smell added to it (exactly like when I first started the wash).

Not sure if i am going to run it again to up the proof, as I can't imagine ever drinking such swill associated at all with this smell. I almost gag every time I think about it. Think I am just going to stick with the most basic wash there is; sugar, yeast and water, to hell with nutrients that add off flavors, complexity, and make a mess of the fermenter. I got a 5 gallon tub of exactly that waiting to be distilled, hopefully it doesn't smell and result in something as nasty as the all bran wash I made.

Was an interesting learning experience though. But I would never dare make such an offensive spirit again unless using a reflux, even then I would avoid it due to the incredibly offensive stench (while distilling) it creates.

[Prairiepiss]

ITPython sory to here your bad experience. But I've ran this wash many times. And have never had something as you describe? Something went wrong in your process? Without the needed information we can't help you figure out what went wrong. So please give us a rundown of what and how you did it. Information on your still would be helpful too.

Did you do the proper cleaning runs on your still?

It also sounds as if you didn't make any cuts?

You said this was your first time distilling. Don't get discouraged. The first run is probably the worst you will ever run.
You also stated you would go to the most basic sugar water and yeast. This is a bad idea. If you don't provide the yeast with the proper nutrients. They will give you off flavors and smells. If they don't die first. And it wouldn't ne the best recipe for a pot still either.

[Odin]

Did you crush, cook the all bran? The way it looks is that maybe you didn't. That would explain everything pretty much floating on top in your fermenter. That must have some influence on taste too, I guess.

In my All Bran ferments, the solids sink ...

Odin.

[fatman]

I think my last all bran wash may have gotten too hot in my garage? It quit working after about 3 days but it still tastes sweet and it hasn't cleared at all.

I mixed up a yeast bomb of new and boiled yeast and stirred it in, its bubbling thru the air lock again, I guess i'll give it a taste in a few days and hope it has cleared up? If not i guess i'll siphon and strain it the best i can and see what she runs like?

[rad14701]

I think my last all bran wash may have gotten too hot in my garage? It quit working after about 3 days but it still tastes sweet and it hasn't cleared at all.

I mixed up a yeast bomb of new and boiled yeast and stirred it in, its bubbling thru the air lock again, I guess i'll give it a taste in a few days and hope it has cleared up? If not i guess i'll siphon and strain it the best i can and see what she runs like?

Most yeasts don't like rapid and frequent temperature changes so your garage may not be the best location for fermentation... I'd be leaning towards either temperatures or pH as the most likely culprits for your stalled wash...

[fatman]

Rad im leaning toward temp becasue i have made the all bran wash in the house and never had any problems, other than it seems to take almost 2 weeks to clear, maybe because i keep my house about 72 degrees?

[rad14701]

Rad im leaning toward temp becasue i have made the all bran wash in the house and never had any problems, other than it seems to take almost 2 weeks to clear, maybe because i keep my house about 72 degrees?

My fermentation closet stays at a constant 76F - 78F year-round and clearing has never been a major issue... But some washes do take longer than others to clear, All Bran or otherwise...

Let's hope the yeast bomb does the trick for you...

[unknown]

So i'm into day 10 of my all bran ferment, i followed the original recipe and scaled it to 5ish gallons. invert 17.5 cups of sugar blended 5cups of crushed total cool to 95 and pitch 10 tablespoons bakers yeast. started bubbling that night, and was going very well until the sg hit about 1.00 and has stopped bubbling since. It has been around 70 degrees since it started

Is it stalled or done. From what i read it should go to around .990sg correct?

This forum has been awesome and have really enjoyed learning about how to distill

[Braz]

Mine sometimes get to .990 but more often stop at 1.0

You could give it a few more days, but it is probably OK to run it now if you want.