Truckinbutch wrote:What is it that you guys are missing about buying individual grains and mixing your own ? 3 50# bags of corn , oats , and barley plus sugar and molasses or brown sugar gives you the potential of making 3,000 gallons of hooch using the sour mash reciepe without dickin around with the feed supplier's profit motivated mixes . This is home cookin so why depend on box mixes to add water and stir ?
Some might be city folk who aint got no feed stores around....
Or, could be some other practical reason. In my case I just don't want to store that much grain - wish I could buy the three grains in smaller quantities. I live in a rural area and when I went to 3 different feed stores and asked for an all grain sweetfeed (or wet COB), they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. I think what I might try next is to just get a 50lb bag of COB (without molasses) and add my own brown sugar and/or molasses. One of the feed stores near me bags their own grain, so hopefully they can do a custom mix.
Fortuanately for me, the person who manages the feed stock at the TSC where I shop special orders the "All Grain" and that's why they usually have it in stock. He only orders small quantities (8 or 10 bags), so it's not always in stock. If he ever quits working there, I guess my TSC source might dry up.
Just sayin',
S-C
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
Mr P,
My dad and i farm, i went to our local grain elevator and they opened 3 different sweet feeds and they all had pellets. I went to Orschelns farm and ranch, they opened 3 different bags of sweet feed and they all had pellets. So i checked the tractor supply about 20 miles away they did not have the all grain in stock. So i went to the closest tsc that had all grain and that was about 60-65 miles away. That was why i had to go so far to find sweetfeed i could use. I oaked the last sweetfeed batch and dad really likes it. I like the recipe but i don't think i will make a special trip to get more sweet feed. But i am gonna venture into the world of all grain. My goal when i started distilling was to make some bourbon outta my dad's corn and wheat that we grew.
Another reason that feed stores keep limited quantities of wet cob is that it is prone to mold . An additional reason for me to mix my own from dry grains .
If you ain't the lead dog in the team , the scenery never changes . Ga Flatwoods made my avatar and I want to thank him for that .
Don't drink water , fish fornicate in it .
Truckinbutch wrote:What is it that you guys are missing about buying individual grains and mixing your own ? 3 50# bags of corn , oats , and barley plus sugar and molasses or brown sugar gives you the potential of making 3,000 gallons of hooch using the sour mash reciepe without dickin around with the feed supplier's profit motivated mixes . This is home cookin so why depend on box mixes to add water and stir ?
Some might be city folk who aint got no feed stores around....
Or, could be some other practical reason. In my case I just don't want to store that much grain - wish I could buy the three grains in smaller quantities. I live in a rural area and when I went to 3 different feed stores and asked for an all grain sweetfeed (or wet COB), they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. I think what I might try next is to just get a 50lb bag of COB (without molasses) and add my own brown sugar and/or molasses. One of the feed stores near me bags their own grain, so hopefully they can do a custom mix.
Fortuanately for me, the person who manages the feed stock at the TSC where I shop special orders the "All Grain" and that's why they usually have it in stock. He only orders small quantities (8 or 10 bags), so it's not always in stock. If he ever quits working there, I guess my TSC source might dry up.
Just sayin',
S-C
I can understand about only wanting a small quantity of stored grain. I have done it both ways , mixing my own and getting premixed COB . My final solution was a mix at my local feed store. It Is by King Brand feeds and is a dry COB mix, no molasses in it, I just add the amount of molasses I want when I do my ferments. So far it has worked well. It is a combination of rolled corn , rolled oats , and rolled barley. I have even done an All Grain with it by cooking it and then adding malted barley or malted wheat to it. It seems to convert really well and has a very good flavor.
corene1 wrote:I can understand about only wanting a small quantity of stored grain. I have done it both ways , mixing my own and getting premixed COB . My final solution was a mix at my local feed store. It Is by King Brand feeds and is a dry COB mix, no molasses in it, I just add the amount of molasses I want when I do my ferments. So far it has worked well. It is a combination of rolled corn , rolled oats , and rolled barley. I have even done an All Grain with it by cooking it and then adding malted barley or malted wheat to it. It seems to convert really well and has a very good flavor.
I definitely want to pursue the dry COB option. I still have a 5 gallon bucket of the Producer's Pride All Grain and am about to start doing some rum washes, so it'll be a little while before I'll need to look into this. Corene, thanks for confirming that it is possible to get smaller quantities of the dry ingredients (COB).
S-C
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
corene1 wrote: I have even done an All Grain with it by cooking it and then adding malted barley or malted wheat to it. It seems to convert really well and has a very good flavor.
I did an AG with some also, added a couple pounds of smoked malt and enough 2 row to convert it all. Very tasty.
corene1 wrote: I have even done an All Grain with it by cooking it and then adding malted barley or malted wheat to it. It seems to convert really well and has a very good flavor.
I did an AG with some also, added a couple pounds of smoked malt and enough 2 row to convert it all. Very tasty.
You know there isn't anything much better than the smell of a good AG fermenting away in the shed. I love that smell. I think the smoked grains would be excellent. I am finally getting confident enough to start trying some different grains.
My local TS company doesn't carry All Grain Sweet Feed. I mixed my own but sweet Jesus i don't need that much product. I finally found a local source for a sweet feed mix with no pellets. It's A Blue Seal product called Pacer. My only concern is it contains some vegetable oil. Is this a problem? Here's the link.
Around 6.5% potential alcohol. 124.8 ounces. About a gallon.
I have only recently run this recipe. My og was 1.8. A little high for my taste but made some great pineapple shine.
danmac660 wrote:so i just ran 15 gallons with my reflux column and i only got 1 gallon?!? what the hell did i do wrong? the og was 1.5 and finished at right below 1.
thanks that definitely gave me more understanding. so now how can i get the abv higher? any specific yeast in mind? and i honestly didnt do a very good job of keeping the temp warm in my garage. i ran out of kerosene and the temp dropped to like 40 so im sure that wasnt to good.
I started a mash using a 12% All Grain Sweet Feed yesterday, but I have one question for someone more experienced than myself. In these feeds, is there any need for concern about all the added ingredients in these feeds like Biotin, etc? I just wasn't sure what this might translate into in the finished product.
I've been making sweet feed whiskey "rumskey" for a couple decades. Decided to make a change.
I have a bur grinder, 50 lb of all grain with molasses, 10 lb of 6 row malted barely, amylase, and all the toys for mashing.
This will probably lead to another one of my learning experiences. Also known as a bad mistake.
Suggestions would be appreciated, that way I'll have someone else to blame for this likely screw-up.
Shady, I did something verys imilar, but I made it into a scotch type AG with some smoked malts also. Here the post and a link to my recipe. It turned out excellent. Very scotch whikey like, but more going on, A friend of mine lovesit, he loves scotch and laughs when he drinks this, said its crazy how its very similar but very different and interesting in its own way to scotch.
It was suggested that I put in some tomato paste for some nutrients in my SF. What I was wondering is, is this something to do in every batch, or will the nutrients carry over a batch or two ?
1131morg wrote:It was suggested that I put in some tomato paste for some nutrients in my SF. What I was wondering is, is this something to do in every batch, or will the nutrients carry over a batch or two ?
The original recipe doesn't call for any additional nutrients, but I don't see that it would hurt to add a little. I don't think the tomato paste nutrient will carry over, but there should be some dead yeast in the trub, so it might not be necessary for subsequent ferments. The dead yeast will provide nutrient along with any new sweet feed grain that you add. If your likker comes out blue, you'll know that it was a mistake to add it.
Just sayin',
S-C
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
1131morg wrote:It was suggested that I put in some tomato paste for some nutrients in my SF. What I was wondering is, is this something to do in every batch, or will the nutrients carry over a batch or two ?
You will need to "feed" your yeast with each batch to ensure a vital, healthy yeast bed. You could probably get away with every other batch buy you'd see a much slower ferment rate on the second ferment. I used the tomato paste on a batch years ago -- when I ran it I found the early output smelled like balsamic vinegar. No flavor in the liquor though.
The combo I use for nutrients on each batch (this is ~5 gallons in a 7 gal fermenter):
2 tablspoonsful DAP
1 vitamin-B tab (crushed)
pinch of epsom salts
2 tablespoonsful of CalCarb to every other batch when cycling like in the case of an UJSSM where you continue to reuse the grain/yeast bed.
I have done 4 stripping runs of SF and am now distilling 50L of 40% low wines for a spirit run. This will be my first attempt at making the cuts. The heads to hearts seems pretty easy for me to decide upon, the late hearts to tails is proving more challenging for me to decide upon.
Anyway, I will prolly make the cuts more on the conservative side, not too early in hearts and I will not be going deep into tails for sure. Either way, I'm going to have way more alcohol in the house that I ever did before!
Wondering what all of you do with your SF spirits? Blend the early heads with early tails and oak? Save the best hearts for white dog? Blend it all and oak some / all?
Not sure what the total volume will be once diluted to 60-65% ABV, but it'll be gallons.
Spokerider wrote:Wondering what all of you do with your SF spirits? Blend the early heads with early tails and oak? Save the best hearts for white dog? Blend it all and oak some / all?
Whatever you like. I personally take a bit more liberal cuts if I plan on oaking (late heads/hearts/early tails). Hearts only if I plan on drinking white or macerating on fruit/apple pie type concoctions. All other feints get dumped back into next strip run.
Spokerider, you'll have enough feints to run and pull another couple gallons out. Thatl have a different character. Less flavor. Good for stuff where u need neutral
I like jarheadshiners response that's exactly what I do, save the rest up like Jimbo suggests and run an all feints run or put it into the next wash which will give you a bit more heads and tails on the next run but you will squeeze a bit more hearts out of it.
well its been a good long time since i poked around here... figured i read and catch up on my favorite thread.
it was about this time last year i got on my feet and started running my rig, just prior to christmas i did my first sweet feed run... and about little more than a month between runs on average i have skimmed off old grains a bit and added a little back but not near as much as i ever dreamed ... at first i was using plain cane sugar.... but 7 months ago i got me a bucket of molasses and some big bags of brown sugar, and now i add 4 pounds white 4 lbs brown, and 4 pounds of molasses with backset i added some DAP once .... this recipe just lives on like a old family sourdough croc it just keeps coming out so wonderful. often i will run a stripping run, save everything and dump it into the next reflux run, gives me more of the good stuff. i just love the sweet flavors that are carrying over, i am catching a little essence that seems rum like, but after a week in the jar it is gone. oaked or white it is the greatest. i went to the city and picked up a bottle of what used to be my precious nectar some glengoyne single malt scotch... took a taste... that bottle is going to last a long damned time cause frankly the sweet feed is high above it smooth naturally sweet, real nice to get into this stuff and hard to even change, eventually when the weather warms up maybe i will start a new batch all fresh grain... that 50 pound sack i bought will last 3 years if it keeps going like this....
well just to say... i kept it simple and gave up on overthinking it, i had to throw some new yeast cause i realize i added the back set before it cooled off enough... to big a hurry. i also am very happy with the addition of heavier molasses and brown sugar, and what that has brought to the flavor profile...
i am ten generations into this batch in a year... no high production i would die if i drank that much.
have a great holiday season ... merry christmas or festivus or what ever brings you happiness this season. stay dry and warm.
I fermented 2-5gal batches of this that are just about ready to run. My plan was to do a single distill both slow and low. My question is would it be better if I do a stripping run on the first 5gal then add it too the second for a final. Did anyone try this? I have home made Stainless 9gal pot still. I have only made basically 2 5gal practice runs. Both were Beer I brewed that did not turn out real well. Both times I collected about 1200ml 8 separate jars ranging from 110proof jar 1 then progressed down to 70 proof jar 8 with 5%abv wash. My current sweetfeed wash is about 7.5% right now.
Other alternative is to do 2 stripping runs and save low wines and start 2 more sour mashes with the back set from the first. Then add the low wines to the sour mash washes.
Not sure what would give me the best flavor. SOO many options!!
I haven't noticed oily look or feel in my mixes . Cidery sour when they are done , yes .
If you ain't the lead dog in the team , the scenery never changes . Ga Flatwoods made my avatar and I want to thank him for that .
Don't drink water , fish fornicate in it .
Cidery is spot on for smell.. So I'm good there I guess. But, seems the omolene sweetfeed has soy oil in it with the molasses. So I guess that's the oilyness.
Guess I'm going to find out if it's any good with soy oil in it. I have 10 gal of wash ready and another 5 fermenting so hopefully the oil does not carry over into the distillate. Made a mess of the fermenter so I assume the pot is not going to be much better. Guess this bag is going to the deer..
I had a heck of a time finding this with minimal pellets so I think I am going to mix my own up I already have barley.
So the I cleared the first 5 gal over night and the yeast dropped out nicely. There was oil slick on top. I racked it to the boiler and stopped it before it sucked up the oil.
Ran it thru and got 10 jars 150ml each no oil at all. Also saved 2 gal of backseat for the next batches. There should not be any more oil unless I add more sweet feed. Hopefully!!
JBR wrote:So the I cleared the first 5 gal over night and the yeast dropped out nicely. There was oil slick on top. I racked it to the boiler and stopped it before it sucked up the oil.
Ran it thru and got 10 jars 150ml each no oil at all. Also saved 2 gal of backseat for the next batches. There should not be any more oil unless I add more sweet feed. Hopefully!!
I'd say racking under the oil slick was a good move . Don't know if soy oil is good or bad . I do mix my own from clean grains to level the field . I think you have enough insight into the hobby to do well
If you ain't the lead dog in the team , the scenery never changes . Ga Flatwoods made my avatar and I want to thank him for that .
Don't drink water , fish fornicate in it .
I did an AG with some also, added a couple pounds of smoked malt and enough 2 row to convert it all. Very tasty.
