"In Between"

Grain bills and instruction for all manner of alcoholic beverages.

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bunny
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"In Between"

Post by bunny »

I prefer to not do anything that I feel is not necessary if the results are about the same.
With this in mind I have ventured into the sugar recipes to find what suits me best.
So, the simpler the better.
I have tried and discounted the red and green recipes as relatively hard to cleanup after.
I am after neutral so all the biscuit, grain, and grit recipes are out.
That pretty much leaves Wineo's and Shady's tried and true recipes.
I've tried them both several times over the past year and find it hard to pick one over the other.
Both their recipes are slanted towards their own water chemistry and fermenter sizes.
Their recipes are definitely different so I wondered if there was a place "In-Between" that might work out for me.

I have done the math to bring both of their recipes to 12 gallons total. (correct me if you see an error)

Wineo's-----------------------Shady's---------------------bunny's
12 gal total------------------12 gal total----------------12 gal total
16lb sugar--------------------18lb sugar-----------------16lb sugar
2t DAP------------------------1.8T DAP-------------------1T DAP
2t gypsum--------------------0.3C boiled yeast---------1T gypsum
pinch epsom (1/4t)---------pinch epsom---------------1/4t epsom
--------------------------------5 crushed multi-vit--------1 B12 crushed
1C baker's yeast------------0.3C baker's yeast----------1 C baker's yeast

Later, Wineo doubled his yeast recommendation to 2C/12 gal

Wineo is a bit lighter on nutrients than Shady.
Rather than take the time to boil some yeast to death I decided to not do that and adjust Wineo's Dap up 50%. I also eased up Wineo"s gypsum 50% and added a B 12 vitamin.

My water requires I use a fair amount of powdered CaCO3 as well as crushed shells to prevent pH crash.
I unceremoniously dump 7-8 gallons of hot tap water on top of all my dry ingredients.
Then stir, aerate, cool to 95ish, and top off to 12 gallons using the garden hose.
Dump the baker's yeast on top, wait 10 to 15 minutes, and then with a drill paint stir mix it all up.
Close it up with a hose and blow-off jug and wait 24 hours.
Check temp (usually 95-101) pH (usually 4.5-4.7), and toss in a hydrometer(usually 1.01 or less by now)
Bubbling pretty much quits at 36 hours.
48 hours SG usually .990
Split into three 4 gal jugs, strip 24 hours later.
Repeat as often as necessary.
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rubberduck71
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Re: "In Between"

Post by rubberduck71 »

Whatever works best for you, go for it.

I myself have not tried Wineo's or Shady's (but will soon on the latter).

I have done Birdwatcher's (TPW) and Rad's All-Bran, which I didn't find particularly hard on the cleanup. Since I used both for Panty Dropper or Limoncello, I can't comment on the overall "neutral-ness," but they come highly recommended for many years.

I've also read about the benefits of adding baking soda to low wines if you're after a completely flavor-less neutral. Search for it & it's easy to find.

Good luck, have fun, & stay safe,
Duck
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Nanacooks
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Re: "In Between"

Post by Nanacooks »

The only other thing I’d throw in is yeast selection. Bakers is awesome, but I can taste a difference in some yeasts. You may do well to find a different yeast that is a more neutral profile. 1118 gave me some very pleasant results and there are a few beer yeasts that are meant to be neutral, and of course, there’s vodka yeast.
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bunny
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Re: "In Between"

Post by bunny »

bunny wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:45 pm I prefer to not do anything that I feel is not necessary if the results are about the same.
With this in mind I have ventured into the sugar recipes to find what suits me best.
So, the simpler the better.
I have tried and discounted the red and green recipes as relatively hard to cleanup after.
I am after neutral so all the biscuit, grain, and grit recipes are out.
That pretty much leaves Wineo's and Shady's tried and true recipes.
I've tried them both several times over the past year and find it hard to pick one over the other.
Both their recipes are slanted towards their own water chemistry and fermenter sizes.
Their recipes are definitely different so I wondered if there was a place "In-Between" that might work out for me.

I have done the math to bring both of their recipes to 12 gallons total. (correct me if you see an error)

Wineo's-----------------------Shady's---------------------bunny's
12 gal total------------------12 gal total----------------12 gal total
16lb sugar--------------------18lb sugar-----------------16lb sugar
2t DAP------------------------1.8T DAP-------------------1T DAP
2t gypsum--------------------0.3C boiled yeast---------------------
pinch epsom (1/4t)---------pinch epsom---------------1/4t epsom
--------------------------------5 crushed multi-vit--------1 B12 crushed + 1 B-Comlex crushed
1C baker's yeast------------0.3C baker's yeast----------1 C baker's yeast

Later, Wineo doubled his yeast recommendation to 2C/12 gal

Wineo is a bit lighter on nutrients than Shady.
Rather than take the time to boil some yeast to death I decided to not do that and adjust Wineo's Dap up 50%. I also eased up Wineo"s gypsum 50% and added a B 12 vitamin.

My water requires I use a fair amount of powdered CaCO3 as well as crushed shells to prevent pH crash.
I unceremoniously dump 7-8 gallons of hot tap water on top of all my dry ingredients.
Then stir, aerate, cool to 95ish, and top off to 12 gallons using the garden hose.
Dump the baker's yeast on top, wait 10 to 15 minutes, and then with a drill paint stir mix it all up.
Close it up with a hose and blow-off jug and wait 24 hours.
Check temp (usually 95-101) pH (usually 4.5-4.7), and toss in a hydrometer(usually 1.01 or less by now)
Bubbling pretty much quits at 36 hours.
48 hours SG usually .990
Split into three 4 gal jugs, strip 24 hours later.
Repeat as often as necessary.
Like most other recipes I have adjusted a couple things that seem to work for me. I eliminated the gypsum as it appears there is plenty of magnesium in the epsom salt. I added a one a day B-Complex to the one a day B-12.

The finished wash tastes a lot like cheap chardonnay.

I find the baker's yeast to be just fine as I run the wash through my stripper three separate times and then a very slow reflux spirit run.
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Re: "In Between"

Post by Dee Envy »

bunny wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 12:18 pm

My water requires I use a fair amount of powdered CaCO3 as well as crushed shells to prevent pH crash.

I eliminated the gypsum as it appears there is plenty of magnesium in the epsom salt.
Gypsum has no magnesium in it. It is Calcium Sulfate which may help in reducing the Calcium Carbonate.

It is great to experiment. I use Winos sugar wash and it works perfect.. I also prefer DADY to Bakers yeast. No particular reason for that though, only that it takes half as much for the same results.
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bunny
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Re: "In Between"

Post by bunny »

Dee Envy wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:47 am
bunny wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 12:18 pm

My water requires I use a fair amount of powdered CaCO3 as well as crushed shells to prevent pH crash.

I eliminated the gypsum as it appears there is plenty of magnesium in the epsom salt.
Gypsum has no magnesium in it. It is Calcium Sulfate which may help in reducing the Calcium Carbonate.
Right you are! :D
My mistake. :oops:

I eliminated the gypsum because of the excess Ca in the CaCO3.
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