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Good question statekling.

Now that I think about it, I am rather suprised we have not discussed the use of other yeasts with this recipe sooner.

Might ferment a bit slower but,,,,so what. I think I'm gonna try it.

May not rival an all grain wash but...............

I put together a 5 gallon batch of this last night. Instead of baker's yeast I used EC-1118 Champagne yeast as using that much baker's yeast seems expensive. It's been about 15 hours. The airlock is bubbling slowly. About once every 30 seconds. Should I go ahead and pitch some Fleischmann's yeast into it?

statekling wrote:I put together a 5 gallon batch of this last night. Instead of baker's yeast I used EC-1118 Champagne yeast as using that much baker's yeast seems expensive. It's been about 15 hours. The airlock is bubbling slowly.

Yikes, I guess I should have looked some place other than Wal-Mart.

statekling wrote:Yikes, I guess I should have looked some place other than Wal-Mart.

Sam's Club - Members Club version of Wal-Mart...

I just mixed up my first All Bran mash. I read the entire thread and noticed that many people were putting their own touches on the recipe, so I thought I would report on what I did. I am looking for a very simple recipe for vodka, so I only did the basic steps.

10 lbs white sugar
4 cups All Bran (looks like twigs)
Water to 5 US Gals.
5 tbsp Distillers Yeast (DY110 - http://www.eckraus.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow)

Boiled the sugar for 30 min in about 2 gals of water to invert.
Poured cereal into hot sugar water mix to help breakdown the cereal.
After letting the mix cool for awhile I pored it all into my fermenter and added cool water to 5 gals.
As soon as it cools to below 80F I will pitch the yeast.

I'll report on my progress.

Hopefully I'll have the new VM still done before the wash is ready.

Cheers,
JH

I pitched 5 tbsp of dry distillers yeast this morning, and the airlock was bubbling within minutes. Now (6 pm) the airlock is going like crazy and the whole house has A nice wheaty smell.

I am impressed with this recipe so far.

I forgot to measure the SG, but 5 gals and 10 lbs sugar should produce about 14% potential alch.

More later.
JH

Hi Rad,

Your allbran recipe weaned me off UJSSM to some extent. First I used 3/4 cornflakes and 1/4 allbran as per your recipe.

Next I used 25% backset from the last UJSSM which slowly became the backset from Cornbran. It works.

Last is I skipped the boiling alltogether. Just threw in the ingredients and mashed it up using a mortar mixer in a power drill until the sugar was dissolved, and then pitched the yeast.

It was slower to take off but it was done in 2 weeks which is my minimum waiting time anyhow.

This is my 5th generation of the above and it works beautifully. Without the boiling, and with a longer ferment, it seems like there is more hearts.

Ayay wrote:Next I used 25% backset from the last UJSSM which slowly became the backset from Cornbran. It works.

What is backset? Is it the lee's from the previous batch?

JH

I hope I got the correct terminology Backset is what's left in the boiler after a stripping or a single reflux run.

Lees is the yeast and sludge what remains in the fermenter after racking off the beer/wine.

Ayay wrote:I hope I got the correct terminology Backset is what's left in the boiler after a stripping or a single reflux run.

Ok, thanks. I am new to distilling and I am still learning the lingo.

How do you use the backset?

JH

I use backset as described in 'Uncle Jessies Simple Sourmash' (UJSSM) recipe here in 'Tried and True Recipes' http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=725

The backset carries forward some of the flavour from the last brew into the next brew. And my favourite reason - the backset is already hot and will dissolve the next lot of sugar without having to use more heat energy.

Applying the UJSSM method to Rad's Allbran recipe; I siphon out the hot backset into the fermenter (25% of total new volume, or 5L of backset into a 20L fermenter), add all the ingredients for the new brew, mix with the mortar mixer until most of the sugar is dissolved (a wood spoon will do it), fill up with cold water to 20L and mix/aerate, then add the yeast when the temp is low enough (the temp is usually fine after adding the cold water).

UJSSM Is super efficient and I have used up a sack of corn in approx 3x6 generations. Rather than going out there buying a sack of cracked corn and having to clean the corn and replace the spent corn each generation, I am using 4:1 cornflakes:allbran as a substitute.

Rad's All Bran recipe is great because all ingredients are in the supermarket. I don't like having to boil up anything as an extra process. Using backset ah-la UJSSM is the answer. Here a 500g box of generic/homebrand/no-name cornflakes is cheaper than pure dirty cracked corn and I'm happy to use a new lot of cornflakes every time, but I am also looking at recyclin the cornflakes as 'barm' (yeast sludge) and thus use only half the new cornflakes and all the old yeast.

If the cornflakes/allbran are boiled to mush then they may not be so like cracked corn nor recyclable. Bashing them into small pieces makes them more like cracked corn. The yeast will be breaking down the corn/bran pieces as they do with cracked corn.

If you want complete fermentation within 7 days...use Rad's recipe as is!

If you can wait another 3-7 days then start lookin at UJSSM alongside. I'm tryin it and it's workin so far.

Sounds like a nice variation, Ayay... Thanks for sharing...

Yes Ayay,
Thanks for sharing.

I do hope you could put together a description of each flavor profile as each generation moves to the next.

It sounds like your making some good likker.

It's good to hear that this recipe for all it's simplistic merits, can offer some complexity to one's pallet too.

Thank you guys.

Single-run refux stillin delivers what I like...a clean vodka but with a distinct note of what it came from. I have not tried pot stillin enough to get good at it.

I have used backset continuously even when changing recipes...rum backset in the first UJSSM, and UJSSM in the first All Bran/cornflake, and can taste the difference that the backset makes as it weans from one recipe to the next.

When re-stillin the heads and tails through the reflux, if I dilute them (in the boiler) to 40% with water then nearly all flavour is lost, ie a flavourless vodka. If I dilute with backset then there is some flavour but not as much as from the first single run.

I don't use oak any more, make ruthless cuts, and the only flavour is what comes through at 95%. Cornflakes gives a sweeter corn taste compared to UJSSM,

Sipping an All Bran martini as I type...

I ran an 18 liter All Bran wash Saturday - a single reflux run in my 2" Bok twin plate. I also threw in a couple liters of WPOSW vodka that I had screwed up the cuts on. After 200ml of fores I got about 1400ml of product which I let air overnight. Sunday, with assistance from Wife we cut and blended. (I don't trust my sense of taste and smell much.) We were pretty brutal and rejected about the first 20% and the last 30%. Diluted to 80 proof netted 1.75L of Sweet Stuff.

I like this, but more importantly, Wife likes it. It is so much smoother than the generic store-bought vodka and we both like the wheat flavor that carries over into the finished product, though for our tastes we could stand just a little less of the wheatiness.

I have another 20L which is clearing and a 20L batch that I started yesterday(using some of the backset from Saturday's run). I think I'll combine these two into a stripping run then reflux the low wines and see how that works. I'm thinking it might tone down the flavor some but I don't want to eliminate the flavor completely.

This is a very good recipe, especially for novices like me. Thanks Rad and the others who provided their own tips along the way.

Braz

Braz wrote:I like this, but more importantly, Wife likes it. It is so much smoother than the generic store-bought vodka and we both like the wheat flavor that carries over into the finished product, though for our tastes we could stand just a little less of the wheatiness.

Good on you and your missus Braz.

Happy wife,,,,,,happy life

your stripping then a spirit run should reduce the flavor,if reduced flavor too much speed up the strip run if still to much flavor slow down the strip run.
also "watering down" the strip run will remove flavor. just do one at a time so you know what works for you.then make a note so you can repeat.

just did a 16 gal batch...
man this stuff is quick!!!
this is how it went...
in 3gal of water inverted 32cups of sugar with 2tbsp of lemon juice
in seperate pot boiled 8 cups all bran with 2tsp red star bakers yeast
boiled both for 30 min
did this twice to equal...
64 cups sugar
16 cups all bran
4 tsp boiled yeast
put both in rubbermaid brute 20 gal topped to 16gal

started yeast in bucket...
32cups red star dry bakers yeast
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups 90f water
let sit for 10 min and bucket was full to 6 gal with crazy yeast!!!

cool rubbermaid to 90f and piched yeast bucket
with 4 tsp dap
airrated for 2 min and put the lid on it....bedtime

checked next morning...and WOW
half the sweet taste was gone...
took 4 days to finsh 4 more days to rack twice and clear
great recipe.... and you wanna talk fast... this is it WOW

Gonna try the All Bran with Red Star's "Montrachet" (wine)yeast.

Can anyone comment? If not. Certainly I'll let you all know how things go.

I'm hoping to get a softer yeast carry over. Hopefully this will offer more wheat to the nose.

My wine making uncle and his pals tell me that they don't know how I "drink the crap made from fleischman's". Course they have not had any yet either.

Wine snobs. Hmph.

took 10 gal and charged the reflux...
90min and im reddy...full reflux 45 min
take off 8oz foreshots @ one drip/sec... close output valve....
full reflux 25/30 min...time for heads
in pint jars @2 drips/sec i got two jars(32oz)
time speed it up...
@ 3 or 4 drips/sec i got 4 jars not quite full(48 t0 52oz)
i took off 2 more jars @4 drips/sec(32oz) and shutdown
looks like i got 4 to 6 pints of keepers
im happy....

im puttin togeather another 16gal batch right now....
man i love this stuff

billy,hill wrote:im puttin togeather another 16gal batch right now....
man i love this stuff

This has become my mainstay recipe... Everyone who I have let sample it has been pleased...

Montrachet Active Dry wine yeast update::::::,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I chickened out.

Pitched the 5 gram seche as per product info. 5 grams per 5 gallons,,,,,,really?

"Wheres the yeast?" I says to me self.

I've been pitching 4 to 5 oz from day one. When I saw 5 grams I was like,,,huh?

After a 30 minute pause with what appeared to be a minute bit of hardly any thing, I pitched 4 oz of my typical round. Today the house smells of Bran wash.

Should I have trusted the directions??

yep that little pack will do it. it takes a few hours to start but they work. Iv plaid around some with different yeast and they do make a difference
at least with a pot still.

Mixed up your all Bran wash today Rad.

12# sugar
6 Gallon of love
8 cups of total cereal
12 tablespoons of Red Star yeast
1Tablespoon of Boiled yeast
3 tsp of DAP
Looking for a bout 14% abv

Sounds like a good mix there, Kentucky shinner, even though it's All Bran instead of Gerber... You should get a fairly decent ferment out of that...

I just finished mixing 4 gallons of All Bran wash myself... Just waiting for it to drop to pitching temperature... It'll be a race...

Simple recipe this time, just for kicks:
4 gallons water
16 cups sugar (8 pounds)
4 cups generic All Bran
2 tbsp boiled yeast
8 tbsp active yeast

Hey Rad yes I meant all bran... Less that 2 hours after I put in the air lock it was bubbling like Hell... man it is getting it in the other room. Making the house smell great... Love it.

Ok Rad, my wash has slowed to about 2 bubbles a second but very constant. How is yours doing.

Kentucky shinner wrote:Ok Rad, my wash has slowed to about 2 bubbles a second but very constant. How is yours doing.

I'm actually doing this ferment without an airlock, something I almost never do, but it was bubbling like crazy when I checked it a while ago... I may attach an airlock later to see how it's doing... The fastest I've had a batch ferment to dry was 36 - 40 hours but that was a low potential %ABV wash...

We'll see if your addition of DAP reduces fermentation time...