Way too simple. Help me understand...

[Jasonr]

I've been using corn to ferment and experimenting with other things when making my mash but had a guy tell me I was working too hard. All he does it mix sugar, water and then yeast. I've never tried anything that simple. Is it too good to be true?

[Bushman]

Short answer, yes! You need nutrients. We do have some good sugar wash recipes if you go to the Tried & True Recipe section of the forum and find a recipe that sounds good, they are fairly simple and almost bullet proof.

[corene1]

I've been using corn to ferment and experimenting with other things when making my mash but had a guy tell me I was working too hard. All he does it mix sugar, water and then yeast. I've never tried anything that simple. Is it too good to be true?

YES! And it won't taste to good either. Add some nutrients to it for the yeast and it will make alcohol. Personally I like doing ferments with grain that have flavor in the finished product.

Seriously though , how hard is a UJSSM sour mash corn recipe. There is no cooking , it only uses corn, sugar, water, and backset for generation 2 on, and it tastes pretty darned good. The sweet feed recipe is similar and it too has a really nice flavor. Just my thoughts. The sugar wash is good if you want a flavorless alcohol to make mixes with but the yeast must have nutrients to work well.

[just sayin]

It is too good to be true.

Yeasties need something to build their tiny little bodies. Sugar has none of the "parts" needs to build cell walls and all the little machine parts that make a healthy yeastie. I tried the reciped you are talking about about 5 years or so ago when my son bought me a beer equipment kit with no beer recipe kit. I mixed sugar, yeast and water and it fermented dry in about a month or two, but the ethonal excreted had so many crappy tasting cousins I could not clean it up to be really drinkable.

You have to feed your yeast herd so they can produce a crop you are happen with. The happier your yeasties are, the happier you will be. Feed them with grain or yeast nutrients, keep their ph moderately acidic, let them ferment at a comfortable temperature and don't allow them to die alcohol poisoning, don't push them to their limits (keep your washes at 10% abv or less). When they run out of sugar give them time to settle and reabsorb their nastier waste, ethonal's shitty tasting cousins (congeners).

Last of all don't get greedy, make narrow cuts. You can always reclaim you cuts in your next run.

This is a sketchy outline. Read, read, read, then research some more. Enjoy your new hoby. It is truely worth it......Just Sayin'

[Prairiepiss]

I take it you have been doing AG mashing. Using only grains. No sugar added? This is the more traditional way of doing things. Making a sugarhead while will give you a good product. It's not gona be the same quality as your AG you have been doing.

[Doogie]

I think it depends on what you are looking for - yes, with a can of tomato paste and following the birdwatcher's recipe, yes, you can make from sugar

But
- it will take at least a week to ferment (versus 48-72 hrs on grain)
- unless you can distill to a good purity, dont mix it with anyting sweet (like cranny)

There are a lot of variations on what to use - depends on what you are looking to make ...

[Jkhippie]

- unless you can distill to a good purity, dont mix it with anyting sweet (like cranny)

So you're saying if the final product is of a lower ABV (more "flavor", if it can be called that), then mixing with something sweet (like juice) would be bad? Seems counter-intuitive to me.

[Jasonr]

Like I said, I haven't tried it like that. I just use grains and no sugar added. I just thought there would be enough in the grains and corn.

Basically what he was talking about was cutting out the grains and replacing them with sugar. I tried a sip of what he had and let me just say it was rough.


EDIT:
I don't drink mine straight usually. I mix it with juices and make peach, apple pie, lemonade... Things like that.

[Doogie]

- unless you can distill to a good purity, dont mix it with anyting sweet (like cranny)

So you're saying if the final product is of a lower ABV (more "flavor", if it can be called that), then mixing with something sweet (like juice) would be bad? Seems counter-intuitive to me.

I think it depends on your set-up.

My setup produces a "sweet" BW ... yes, I can counter it with cranny bitters, but it is outside my taste preference. Just like some like no sugar coffee, some sugar coffee, 10 tons of sugar coffee, it depends on what is for you. So correct on the setup

RE: ABV - kind of - my setup, if I am anal, can put to 90ish% (rad hybrid), but for a short time (down to 88% average) ... but then again, I usually use the BW for fruit nukin's

[Prairiepiss]

Like I said, I haven't tried it like that. I just use grains and no sugar added. I just thought there would be enough in the grains and corn.

Basically what he was talking about was cutting out the grains and replacing them with sugar. I tried a sip of what he had and let me just say it was rough.


EDIT:
I don't drink mine straight usually. I mix it with juices and make peach, apple pie, lemonade... Things like that.

Rough? Is he using anything other then sugar in it?

If your mixing all your product. A sugarhead mite work for you. You are doing a lot of work to just mix it with other stuff.

[Jasonr]

Nope. Nothing else. Basically here's what he was telling me to do.

15 lbs of sugar dissolved in 2 gallons of hot water. Add another 4 gallons of cooler water to bring over all temp down enough to pitch yeast. Cover and let ferment. Run after about 6-7 days. Ferment should be done.

It honestly tasted rough. Like a burning scratchy that made my lips tingle lol.

[Jasonr]

I've been just using cracked corn in the sweet feed recipie.

I use the same process as the SF calls for but used corn instead of SF.

I did pick up sweet feed to try that though.

[Prairiepiss]

Like I said, I haven't tried it like that. I just use grains and no sugar added. I just thought there would be enough in the grains and corn.

I've been just using cracked corn in the sweet feed recipie.

I use the same process as the SF calls for but used corn instead of SF.

I did pick up sweet feed to try that though.

Ok which is it? First you say you are using grains only. Then you say you are using the sweetfeed recipe. Which is a sugarhead that uses sugar?

15 lbs of sugar dissolved in 2 gallons of hot water. Add another 4 gallons of cooler water to bring over all temp down enough to pitch yeast. Cover and let ferment. Run after about 6-7 days. Ferment should be done.

Your friends recipe is crap. Total crap. It's to much sugar. No nutrients. There's no way it will finish off in 6 to 7 days. And actually ferment out all the sugar. I'm gona guess he is using crap turbo yeast. Which is another reason it tastes like crap.

[drinkingdog]

Considering his limited knowledge of distilling considering his recipe. I would also bet he isn't making proper cuts if he is making any at all.

[Jasonr]

Prairiepiss, I basically use the SF steps. I do add sugar. I didn't mean to type "no sugar added. Should have read"a little sugar added."
No idea what I was thinking haha.

For a 6 gallon mash I use 7 lbs of sugar. I don't use 15 like he was suggesting.

[Jasonr]

And guys trust me, he ain't no friend of mine. Just a guy who started running his mouth at the brew store I shop at.

[Prairiepiss]

Sounds like he has been caught with the turbo sales pitch of the brew shop.

[Jasonr]

Sounds like he has been caught with the turbo sales pitch of the brew shop.

Gotcha.

I was googling and found this. Seems like this is exactly what he was talking about.
http://www.moonshinelife.com/resources/ ... moonshine/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with what I'm making but thought to myself, "why spend more money on ingredients if it's not needed?"

I'm still new in the game so I question everything to learn the ins and outs.

[Prairiepiss]

Why do idiots put sites like that up?

[Jasonr]

If it's on the interwebs, it must be true

[Bushman]

Why do idiots put sites like that up?

You answered your own question

[Prairiepiss]

Why do idiots put sites like that up?

You answered your own question

I know. The idiots tend to bring you down to their level. Somehow.

[MDH]

A lot of people are ignorant about basic biology. When I was in a brief stint in Culinary Arts, I had my chef "Correct" me about adding lemon juice, tiny amounts of autolyzed yeast extract, etc., to dough. He insisted that yeast "Only eat sugar" and need nothing else to live.

On another note, take a look at that website! Wowie. 80c yeast pitching temperature. They must be hawrty li'l bastads...