Many like to post about a first successful ferment (or first all grain mash), or first still built/bought or first good run of the still. Tell us about all of these great times here.
Pics are VERY welcome, we drool over pretty copper
OK so I've got my first still built and did a test-run with water and it works great! YAY!
The problem (maybe?) is with my first batch of mash. I am just using sugar water from a recipe that was on the website where I bought my still kit. It's just sugar and water. I heated the water (not boiling but to around 120 degrees F) then dissolved the sugar. Then I transferred the liquid to my carboy and added 2 Tbsp of wine yeast. Shortly after (maybe 30 mins) the airlock was bubbling. Everything looked good. This is when I realized I forgot to take a starting SG reading. Oops. No biggie I thought. The next morning it wasn't bubbling much so I decided I'd take a SG reading, then I moved it to a warmer place in the house. The SG said 1.040. I have no idea what the SG should be for 8lbs of sugar in 5 gallons of water but 1.040 looked reasonable. After moving the carboy to a warmer place it started bubbling again quite nicely. So I left it alone. Now it's almost been 7 full days. I took a SG reading a couple days ago and this is where I began to get confused. The reading was 1.060. I have made many batches of homebrew and my parents have made many batches of homemade wine. Usually the SG goes down as the liquid ferments. I thought maybe it was because the liquid is warmer now. So today I took another SG reading and now it's reading 1.070. Is my hydrometer broken? I tested it in plain water and it reads 1.000 so I think its working right. I just have no idea why the SG reading would be going up on my mash. I tasted a small sip and it still has sugar in it but not as much as I tasted last time (I know that's not very scientific hehe) so...
If anyone has any ideas of what I'm doing wrong I'd love to hear some suggestions so I can make this post into a success story Otherwise I guess I'll just let it keep fermenting until the bubbles quit and the yeast settles to the bottom of the carboy and see what I get when I distill it.
Your starting gravity (sg) should have been: 8 * 0.046 / 5 + 1.0 = 1.074
Your first few readings were off for any number of reasons. My guess is that something was affecting your hydrometer, misleading you to believe that your wash was working its way down. I believe your latest reading. I believe that your yeast worked for a little while got stuck and re-started when you put it in a warmer spot.
Is it now bubbling nicely or is it only slowly bubbling? I think you may be able to speed it up a bit by adding some nutrients.
It is bubbling fairly nicely. Comperable to how my wort bubbles when I'm making homebrew I'm planning on leaving it until the bubbles pretty much stop then letting the yeast settle and I'll give it a taste and run it through the still and see what I get. If it doesn't do anything worth while I'll try a different recipe (I will probably do that even if this does turn out) My main question was about the bass-ackwards hydrometer readings. I know temperature can affect the reading but I didn't think it throws them off by a big amount. I'm sure it's some other thing I'm not thinking of. Thanks for all the good advice so far
tkaman2 wrote:It is bubbling fairly nicely. Comperable to how my wort bubbles when I'm making homebrew I'm planning on leaving it until the bubbles pretty much stop then letting the yeast settle and I'll give it a taste and run it through the still and see what I get. If it doesn't do anything worth while I'll try a different recipe (I will probably do that even if this does turn out) My main question was about the bass-ackwards hydrometer readings. I know temperature can affect the reading but I didn't think it throws them off by a big amount. I'm sure it's some other thing I'm not thinking of. Thanks for all the good advice so far
without a proper source of nutrient in the wash it will never finish. it will work on the sugar until the yeast cant handle it anymore and then stall. you best bet is to add a can or two of tomato paste. or some other nutrient. this will give the yeast a happy environment to finish. don't wast your time hoping for the best because at this point the way you stand its a lost cause and your just going to have to start another. fix this one then start another.
Sounds like you have one of them fancy left handed hydrometers. Lol j.k. I dont see the need for them fancy tools. I just look at the airlock, no bubbles and sour tasting means its done. Cook it. But really man, plain sugar needs some sort of nutrients. Like j.a.s. stated add a can of tomato paste or a multivitamin high in the B's, or even both. I take it you have a reflux collumn still, or do you have a pot still? Plain sugar washes are mainly used to make a nuetral drink using a reflux collumn, or multiple passes through a pot still.
OK I happened to have some nutrients for winemaking. One was DAP and one was a yeast nutrient that said it had B vitamins. So I added the amount it said on the package to my carboy. Thanks much for the advice. Now that I have added the nutrients, any idea how long it will take to finish? Do I just watch for the bubbles to stop? Or will my SG readings be more regular? I assume the SG should still be below 1 before I start to distill it, is that correct? As for my still I believe it is a pot still. It might be a reflux column - what is the difference? Mine has a copper pipe that has water run through the outside while the steam goes through the inside and condenses back into a liquid. It sits on a propane burner (the one I use for cooking my wort when I make homebrew.) It's just a small 5-gallon still but if it works out I'm sure there will be bigger stills in my future Thanks again for the advice! I will probably try a different recipe next time, maybe do something for a rum.
If in doubt, go by the taste of your beer. If the bubbling has almost stopped and the beer tastes dry, it's ready. No problem running it before it's ready; you will extract all the available alcohol and the worst that can happen is you will be throwing away any sugar that was not converted into alcohol.
I read somewhere around here that 1.001 or lower is ready. Also remeber that Hydrometers dont give a proper reading on rum washes due to all the unfermentables in the mollases.
I will keep that in mind when I try a rum recipe next.
UPDATE: since I added the DAP and yeast suppliment (B vitamins) my mash is bubbling away like crazy The hydrometer reading went from 1.07 before adding the nutrients to 1.062 earlier today (less than 24 hours.) So I think the advice from a couple of posters above saved my first mash! YAY! Many thanks!
Excellent. Now just give it a couple of days after the bubbling stops to let the yeast settle. Then siphon it to your boiler leaving the yeast bed in the fermenter to reuse in your next batch. I've left yeast sitting inthe fermenter with the lid on for over a month and it still did its job when I added a new mash to it.
snksknr wrote:I read somewhere around here that 1.001 or lower is ready. Also remeber that Hydrometers dont give a proper reading on rum washes due to all the unfermentables in the mollases.
I wouldn't say 1.001 is done. It's done when it gets close to 1.000 or below. And no longer drops. Some ferments will never get that low. Caused by unfermentable sugars left in the beer. AG and heavy molasses ferments mite finish out as high as 1.030. But a mainly or all sugar wash should finish out at or below 1.000. If it wasn't to high if a starting gravity and enough nutrients were provided.
An airlock is not always a good indication the ferment is done. The airlock stopping is a good indication to check it with a hydrometer to be sure its done. Or to find out if it had stalled.
And as far as a hydrometer not working in a rum wash. I would tend to disagree with that. It mite not be entirely accurate. But will still give you a good indication of approx how much sugar you start with. And when its done. I haven't had a problem using mine in a rum wash. I had more problems in an AG wash. Trying to get good clear liquid to test.
Otherwise I guess I'll just let it keep fermenting until the bubbles quit and the yeast settles to the bottom of the carboy and see what I get when I distill it. 
The hydrometer reading went from 1.07 before adding the nutrients to 1.062 earlier today (less than 24 hours.) So I think the advice from a couple of posters above saved my first mash! YAY! Many thanks!