My first real fermentation and run

[logic]

Alright, this may get long winded and I understand that I'll lose a few of you as I've been guilty as well of the TLDR response on other's posts but there's a lot of info and for those that stick with me I'd appreciate any comments or constructive criticism.

Some of you have been following my initial exploits into this hobby and I appreciate the comments thus far. Let me preface this by saying I'd like to open a legal distillery at some point in the next couple of years. I took a seminar at a craft distillery in Kentucky earlier this year on how to open a distillery and that's what I've been working on since then. I'm not keen on opening a business blind though which is why I've decided to put my toes in the water as it were. I also visited several other craft distilleries across Kentucky while I was there and when I took the tour of Wilderness Trace, the tour guide gave me a 1 lb. vacuum sealed bag of yeast. I have no idea what type of yeast it is. The only markings on the bag were hand written in black marker which say FP 1lbs 34992 HOKI 10/31/13. Wilderness Trace is owned by the same guy who owns Ferm Solutions, a lab that researches and designs yeast strains for ethanol production, and they share the same building. He said the yeast he gave me was destined for some other distillery which he was not at liberty to reveal but the shipment was damaged and returned so I'm not sure what that means but having very little knowledge at the time I thought it was very cool to have been given yeast that a distillery actually uses in whiskey production.

Months later, that yeast would be used in my first real mash attempt. In the notes of the seminar I took, the owner and head distiller mentioned cooking corn for at least an hour until you get comfortable with it and to cook it as close to the high end temperature range for saccharification as you can. He said that upper range is 180 F. I've seen other literature that suggests that 170 F might be the upper range. If anyone can clarify, it would be appreciated.

Well for my first mash, I forgot that there is an upper range and just boiled the corn at as high a temperature as I could get it which was over 212 as the water was boiling. My first mash was 50% cracked corn and 50% turbinado sugar. I brought 5 gallons of water to a boil and and added my 3.6 lbs of corn at about 206 F. I now realize that was a mistake, but more on that later. My initial pH out of the faucet was 7.7. Another point of emphasis during the seminar was to get your pH to 5.2 if at all possible. Just this evening I finished my 3rd mash and the lowest I have been able to get my pH with gypsum or 5.2 Stabilizer is 5.4. That's how it would be with my 1st batch after adding 2 teaspoons of gypsum my pH was 5.4. After cooking the corn for 53 minutes and bringing the temp. down to 162, I added 3.6 lbs of sugar. I then added 1 tsp of alpha amylase shortly after.

I took my mash tun to the bath tub which was filled with cool water and gently dropped it in stirring the mash and circulating the cool water around the tun in an effort to get the temperature down. Another point of emphasis of the seminar was to get this temperature down to yeast pitching temp as quickly as possible. The head distiller said his distillery pitches at 100 F. I've seen several posts on here that mention pitching in the 80 F range. I may have to get a wort chiller but this process works for now. I pitched the Ferm Solutions yeast at 100 F. My mash tun has a built in thermometer and ball valve spigot. After letting the yeast get into the mash for a bit, I drained and aerated it through the spigot into a 5 gallon glass carboy.

The fermentation was rather quiet but longer than I expected. The distillery where the seminar was had 3 large fermenters and 2 stills, one for stripping and one for spirits. He suggested making at least 4 spirit runs a week, so in my head I'm thinking these fermenters must be done fermenting in 4 or 5 days and he must have them staggered so that they aren't all due to be run on the same day. My fermentation went 10 days before it was finished and if I'm doing this legally and professionally at some point in the future, 10 days is not going to be acceptable. But this is my first fermentation and this is a learning process. I did not have a proper tri-scale hydrometer when I started this batch so I don't have an O.S.G., but I did get one before the batch was done and my final gravity reading was 1.081.

I ran the batch the day after it appeared to be finished and collected a little over 2 liters of low wines that measured 25% abv. I have yet to run the low wines, but I'll report back once I have. I didn't make any cuts from the low wines except for the foreshots. I collected about 200 ml of the first little bit to come off the still and I'll say that the smell of the fores was pungent and it burnt my nostrils and eyes if I held it up to my nose for too long.

I've since put 2 other batches into fermenters. My 2nd batch I used distiller's yeast manufactured by BSG Handcraft and this produced a much more vigorous ferment with a thick foam at the top and about 3 inches of lees at the bottom. I did not let the temperature on the cracked corn get over 184 F on the 2nd batch so I'm sure that had something to do with the more active fermentation, but I think the yeast has a lot to do with it as well. Tomorrow will be day 5 for that batch and it looks like it's almost done with very little activity inside the carboy or in the airlock. That time period is much more acceptable to me in terms of thinking of this as a business down the road. However, making money isn't the only focus, making a great product is as well.

My 3rd batch I went back to the Ferm Solutions yeast but this time I cooked the corn properly and I just put that into a fermenter this evening. I understand that one yeast being more active during fermentation than another yeast does not necessarily mean it will taste better. I have yet to make a spirit run or taste anything I've made. I'll report back once I do.

I also bought some EC-1118 yeast as I keep reading about people using and liking that yeast strain but it'll probably be a few batches down the road before I get to experimenting with that.

Questions, comments and/or constructive criticism welcomed.

[T-Pee]

Corn mash? Use simple baker's yeast like Red Star or Fleischman's.

The rest was too long for my ADD. Sorry.

tp

[HDNB]

why did ya cook the corn on a sugarhead?
a pint of alcohol from a 5 gallon wash seems really low...

maybe try a recipe that works? with less work?

[Soggy Bottom Boy]

Five words: Tried and True Recipe section.

[Tokoroa_Shiner]

Final gravity of 1.081?? Surely that's a typo? 1.081 would be a good starting gravity.

[logic]

Final gravity of 1.081?? Surely that's a typo? 1.081 would be a good starting gravity.

Yep, sorry. That should have been 1.0081.

[logic]

why did ya cook the corn on a sugarhead?
a pint of alcohol from a 5 gallon wash seems really low...

maybe try a recipe that works? with less work?

Not sure what the exact recipe of the distillery that I visited was, but it was corn and sugar he was using and he was cooking the corn. I realize now that I cooked the corn at too high a temperature and I'm sure that affected yield. My 2nd and 3rd fermentations look to be more active than the first and I'm expecting a greater yield from them.

[dirtymax731]

You need to have more enzymes the just alpha. That won't give you a full conversion alone. I wouldn't say you cooked to hot? For corn you just need to to gel, so the hotter the faster it will. Get some malt (or the correct enzymes) or do a sugarhead. When you try to up the potential of AG with sugar it can really ruin the spirit.

Edit: If you want to be able to open a commercial op you should slow down and do some research. John palmer, how to brew recommended and Ian Smiley book is good too but some of the practices are outdated.
Need to understand the all of the concepts of mashing, dp potential, all the other stuff. Good in, good out.

[logic]

You need to have more enzymes the just alpha. That won't give you a full conversion alone. I wouldn't say you cooked to hot? For corn you just need to to gel, so the hotter the faster it will. Get some malt (or the correct enzymes) or do a sugarhead. When you try to up the potential of AG with sugar it can really ruin the spirit.

Edit: If you want to be able to open a commercial op you should slow down and do some research. John palmer, how to brew recommended and Ian Smiley book is good too but some of the practices are outdated.
Need to understand the all of the concepts of mashing, dp potential, all the other stuff. Good in, good out.

I have been reading the online version of how to brew from their web site. Once I finish, I'll re-read it again a few more times. I understand the online version is not the current version of the book. Is there enough significant differences in the current version to warrant purchasing it? The seminar I took did quote some concepts from that book as well which was my first exposure to it. Thanks for the constructive criticism.

[dirtymax731]

I wouldn't say there's that much difference in versions but idk never read the new one. It's just good for concepts and the rest of the stuff you'd want or need to know is available here. Use the HD Google search and almost any of your questions will be answered.

Sounds like your off to a good start. I dig all the new start ups that are starting to produce a quality good, there's a few here that make some awesome stuff. It's expanding the market but it is a challenging market to enter so wish the best of luck.

[logic]

I wouldn't say there's that much difference in versions but idk never read the new one. It's just good for concepts and the rest of the stuff you'd want or need to know is available here. Use the HD Google search and almost any of your questions will be answered.

Sounds like your off to a good start. I dig all the new start ups that are starting to produce a quality good, there's a few here that make some awesome stuff. It's expanding the market but it is a challenging market to enter so wish the best of luck.

Also, earlier you mentioned having additional enzymes. I've seen gluco-amylase for sale but I'm having a hard time finding beta-amylase. Would you mind elaborating?

[dirtymax731]

Idk about beta maybe someone will chime in but you should use gluco on top of alpha to get full conversion. I used to use malt but lately I've been using liquid enzymes with great results.