adding cracked corn to sugar wash

[saltwatersaint]

I'm new to distilling,and have started a simple recipe I read about, just to get some practice on my still and hands on, and because I had all the ingredients on hand. It called for 12.5 gal water, 25 pounds sugar, 1.5 packs of turbo or so much bakers yeast, and 25 pounds cracked corn. I used turbo because I had it. My question is this: With the turbo yeast and sugar immediately going strong doing their thing, how much of a part will the corn end up playing by the time the fermentation is over? It seems that it won't be needing the corn so much because the ferment will be taking "the path of least resistance " if that makes sense lol. I am just wondering does the corn really get to make an impact in the ferment, or does it contribute mostly by the fact that the wash is soaked in its flavors? Or then again , is it that the corn DOES have time to get really involved in the actual fermenting. I guess what I'm getting at is does the corn make a strong enough impact in this recipe and how it's done to make it more than really just a sugar wash???

[dieselduo]

take a look at ujssm in the tried and true section

[nerdybrewer]

Please elaborate, did you just pour dry corn into your ferment? Did you cook it up first? What was your methodology?

[kiwi Bruce]

It's my understanding the corn provides a very distinct flavor profile to the spirit. When wooded and matured it makes an excellent "Bourbon Style" whiskey. You'll see on the site that very few hobbyists use Turbo for drinking spirits. Unlike wine, beer or bakers yeast, turbo leaves an after taste that is hard to disguise.

[thatguy1313]

If you're asking if any ethanol will be produce from the corn, the answer is no. You need enzymes, either liquid or from malted grains, to convert the starches in the corn to sugar that the yeast can convert. It will have some corn flavor but it's different than an all grain (no added sugar) ferment. Run it and see what you think. In the meantime, keep reading and learning. The link in my signature is a good place to start.

[saltwatersaint]

Yes I realize everybody is against turbos, but I'm just starting and like I said I had already had all the ingredients from before I started as a member here and learned that. So I wanted to use them up ya know. Plus I'm not really expecting to make some great tasting stuff yet, lol,so I'm more focused on getting aquainted with my still and the processes of it all. I appreciate your responses. To answer your question, yes dry corn. It was a recipe off the "mother"site. Under" grains", then under "shine recipes". Its called "brandon does a corn liquor". In case any of you have seen it. I asked some of the guys on another thread about the recipe and they looked and said it looks legit. But yea I just did it how its written. Dry corn.

[saltwatersaint]

And to "that guy" I have been reading some each day from the spoon feed and its links. Its def informative and helpful. Also the " rules we live by". Good foundation material.

[saltwatersaint]

Just for info, I've done 2 runs on my still so far. Both sugar turbos just for still practice. Both before finding this site.

[likker liker]

One of the biggest thing you can do to improve your product is to never use turbo yeast or the other products that company has.

[kiwi Bruce]

Saltwater, I know it may seem that you just got stomped, but that's not the case. We've all sat at home at night with a glass of the "God awful" and wished someone had been there to say, "Now be a good lad, and go and put that back in the faints and do it again!" The truth is, we wish everyone the best results possible and because we've made some real Sh#t, we all try to direct the newcomer away from the pitfalls we've all made. To quote Oscar Wilde "life is too short to drink bad booze" We are trying to save you from yourself. You will have to make some mistakes to learn, so learn! don't give up. The first time you make something and you know it's better than anything that the commercial makers can do, you'll be hooked for life. That's where we'd all like you to be. So keep trying, good luck, drink the muck if you have to, and we will do our best to help when we can. Kiwi Bruce

[Appalachia-Shiner]

Cracked corn will give you taste.
For real corn Smell and taste use sprouted or malted corn.
You are headed in the right direction for now.

[Truckinbutch]

Yep you are headed in the right direction . How far you have to travel depends on you . We will provide you directions but we ain't gonna pull your cart . Focus on the tried and true recepies here and you will not go wrong .

[saltwatersaint]

And just as an update, the freakin fermentation has basically stopped now for some reason. Only after 3 days. I will continue reading to try to locate reasons for this. As for giving up, lol, those who know me would laugh with passion at that concept. And to the comment of me feeling "stomped" on here, I'm far from sensitive. As long as the stomping is accompanied by knowledge from guys who have the stripes, I'm fine with it And like yall said, I'm heading in the right direction and taking it all in. The pointers as well as the trial and error bruises. So even when I've done something (like turbo) that isn't agreed with, I can still be learning things from it on the way. So.....I'm following yall on all the feedback about the corn, now here's mynew dilemma: fermentation ceased. Ill be researching what may have caused it in my particular situation. In the meantime any info you guys wanna give will be very welcomed also. So to give an idea about my steps: I followed the recipe mentioned earlier. Though it calls for 1.5 packs of turbo. After getting everything in motion at about 6pm, i realized that i actually I only had 1pack So ijust used that, untill The next day when my lady could pick up the other half pack to add. When I got in from work the next day (24 hrs later) it was at a strong rolling ferment. I got the remaining half pack of turbo ready and poured it in. When I did , the fermentation went super strong and I began to stir itin. Doing a deep thorough stir, down into the corn on bottom and everything. Well the more I stirred, it seemed like it was easing off. After about 1 min, I stopped. And it now seemed like the fermentation was weaker than the decent roll it was on before I added the remaining yeast and stirred it in. Had me really wondering if that deep stirring didn't have a negative effect. Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know.

[Tater]

SG readings are?

[kiwi Bruce]

What's the temperature in the area where your fermenting? What's the s-gravity how? How close to 1.001 are you?

[rad14701]

If you used that much turbo yeast with corn it's probably done but probably not gonna be very good... Turbo yeast should only be used with sugar and nothing else... No fruits... No grains... No cereals... But, then again, not using turbo yeast at all is the best way to go...

[shadylane]

saltwatersaint
It's time to loosely cover the ferment and wait for the cap to fall.
A couple of days after that it will start to look clear on top.
When that happens the ferment is pretty much done.
Rack it and let it settle some more.
The nutrient package in the turbo yeast doesn't taste good.
That's why I recommended letting the wash settle before distilling it.
While your waiting for the ferment to finish. Search for posts about yeast bombs, oyster shells, pH and hydrometers.
And study the tried and true recipes.

[saltwatersaint]

Thanks dudes, you guys are awesome. To answer the questions, sg readings are 0.996 The temp of the fermenter stayed between 88-80 the whole time. Roomtemp 74-78. Yes it seemed to be done, but it just threw me off because the stirring seemed to have a negative effect, and also because the other practice sugar wash withturbos I did took 5 days, and this only three. And it seemed like with all this added corn and sugar and turbo, compared to my previous ferments, it wouldve taken every bit as long. If not longer. Surely not LESS time. So I just was under th impression something had possibly gone wrong....

[Bigbob]

Yep, it's done. Good luck running. When you've got that done, find one of the tried and true recipes and work with that for a while. Save one of your bottles from this present run so you can compare product. Then you can see for yourself why everyone here is down on turbo. I also started with one of the homepage recipes, luckily it's also one of the tried and true and I've never looked back! Keep going! You are learning!

[shadylane]

The stirring degassed the wash, once the carbon dioxide was gone, no more bubbles.
There's also no longer a protective layer of CO on top of the ferment.

[saltwatersaint]

Ok thanks. And yes its onto tried and true recipes page now. Uncle jesses sour mash is where I'm headed. I appreciate the feedback.

[aceswired]

You'll be pleased. Even a lot of the all grain guys still mix up some UJ now and then. It's that good.

[stilldistillin]

I've done one all grain (AG) and I've done tons of UJSSM.

I'm not sure if it's because I had inexperience with the AG, but I prefer UJSSM better.