All Bran Recipe

[Gordyd4]

Well, now that my stilling season is back in full swing I've been able to put down another All-Bran Flakes cereal wash... I decided to fudge with the ingredients a bit to see what happens... For this batch I didn't crush the cereal flakes before measuring so I'd get a more accurate, or less accurate, estimate on required ingredient requirements... Here is how this batch was prepared...

Recipe

* 2 gallons water
* 7 cups white sugar
* 2 cups All-Bran Flakes cereal
* 4 tbsp Fleischmann's dry active yeast
* 1/4 tsp 20-20-20

Process

* Inverted sugar in 8 cups water for 30 minutes
* Boiled cereal in 4 cups water for 30 minutes
* Allowed invert sugar and cereal to cool to 95F
* Pitched yeast and aerated for 1 hour
* Added 1/4 tsp 20-20-20 and airlocked

After boiling the flakes there were very few solids left so the only difference between this method and the original is that the original probably had a lot more nutrients, and also flavor components, than this batch... But when you consider that I'm only using the cereal for nutrients, for this batch at least, I'm looking for the bare minimum amount required for a complete fermentation... From there the flavoring component can be enhanced as desired...

More to come...

Will
16-16-16, 15-30-15 or 24-8-16 work?
I can't find 20-20-20 locally.

[Gordyd4]

When you say " all bran" are you referring to the Kellogg's all bran original. Looks like sticks not flakes to me.

[Gordyd4]

I could not find 20-20-20 locally, so I ordered some online.

I am still not sure about the all bran. I bought the Kellogs all bran original. If that was not correct, let me know, I'll just eat it for breakfast. Lol

[rad14701]

I could not find 20-20-20 locally, so I ordered some online.

I am still not sure about the all bran. I bought the Kellogs all bran original. If that was not correct, let me know, I'll just eat it for breakfast. Lol

Any fertilizer with a high N will work... I am currently using 30-10-10 as I recall...

I have always used flakes, whether name brand or generic store brand... Just check out the nutritional values and you'll see that All Bran is about the highest there is, along with Total cereal...

[rad14701]

I added some jalapenos to my batch. I think the yeast liked it because it took off bubbling like a possessed fermentation demon! But only bubbled for 4 days instead of regular 6-8 days.. Going to run it this weekend and see what i gots

You've been watching too many Moonshiners episodes... You'd want to macerate with jalapenos after distillation, not add to the wash like they did on the show... I'm sure they added a small amount of nutrients, however...

[a-donovan]

I added some jalapenos to my batch. I think the yeast liked it because it took off bubbling like a possessed fermentation demon! But only bubbled for 4 days instead of regular 6-8 days.. Going to run it this weekend and see what i gots

You've been watching too many Moonshiners episodes... You'd want to macerate with jalapenos after distillation, not add to the wash like they did on the show... I'm sure they added a small amount of nutrients, however...

I did pull the idea from the show and yes i could have added the peppers afterwards as id done to make pepperpot vodka for ceasars but i wanted the taste of the pepper without the heat as the vodka will burn your arsehole out if your not carefull lol

[Greenthorn]

Followed the recipe, exactly...well sort of..... OG is 1.077.
This is 15 minutes after pitching yeast...

[rad14701]

Followed the recipe, exactly...well sort of..... OG is 1.077.
This is 15 minutes after pitching yeast...

Is that a hydrometer...??? You won't get an accurate SG reading with all those solids... Looks yummy though...

[Greenthorn]

Yes sir, hydrometer. That picture had it sitting in there for 5 minutes. I really think I'm within .005 tolerance, I checked it 20 times... The only different thing I did was use a different fertilizer. These 2 jugs won't be getting plugged with an air lock tonight, no point in it. Looks yummy and smells delightful. This was super easy to do too, didn't take much time at tall. Only took about 2 hours to make up 2 five gallon batches!
Kudos for the recipe RAD, I'll try to keep you all updated, more to be revealed.

[rad14701]

A hydrometer is intended to be used to measure the SG of clear or nearly clear liquids... Any solids will skew the readings... Filter some wash into a glass cylinder and see if the readings are different... The less undissolved solids, the better... Plus popping the hydrometer into your wash is a good way to introduce an infection...

All Bran works great due to the cereals fortifications and the added nutrients... Keep us posted on your progress...

[Greenthorn]

Thanks for the advice and tips, was pretty sure I was close....I am only here to learn, I've got pretty thick skin, so don't ever "hold back" from telling me I'm the dumbass, that I usually am.
I am very anal about sanitary conditions too, prolly more than most, comes from my hospital upbringing.
So walla at 75 F....

[Greenthorn]

Well shucks, I knew it was too good to be true. I put bubbler on 5 hours ago, was easily bubbling 35 40 blurps a minute. checked 2 hours ago and it was down to 10....now it may be 1 or 2 a minute? Guess I did do something wrong? I don't know what I added to do this, but the pH is at 3.5 - 4. Would you suggest baking soda or calcium carbonate? I feel like a 3 year old that just had his matchbox stolen from him.
Only 2 things I can think of that I did differently was different fertilizer 14-14-14. I might have pitched my yeast too early, it was 90 when I did it. Red star distillers yeast.

Edit...Temp has consistently been 75 F

[rad14701]

Well shucks, I knew it was too good to be true. I put bubbler on 5 hours ago, was easily bubbling 35 40 blurps a minute. checked 2 hours ago and it was down to 10....now it may be 1 or 2 a minute? Guess I did do something wrong? I don't know what I added to do this, but the pH is at 3.5 - 4. Would you suggest baking soda or calcium carbonate? I feel like a 3 year old that just had his matchbox stolen from him.
Only 2 things I can think of that I did differently was different fertilizer 14-14-14. I might have pitched my yeast too early, it was 90 when I did it. Red star distillers yeast.

Edit...Temp has consistently been 75 F

Well, 90F is not too warm for most yeast, and especially bakers yeast and I usually pitch closer to 95F... However, if your cap was so thick that it held in too much heat the yeast colony could be adversely effected... Your pH appears to be crashing so I'd consider pitching calcium carbonate... Increasing the temperature a bit wouldn't hurt either because 75F is at the low end of where bakers yeast is happiest, yet too warm can contribute to pH crashing so don't go too warm...

[Greenthorn]

While mixing up the CACO I stirred really good and rechecked pH it is definitely a 3, I added enough to raise it to 5, I didn't know exactly how much to use so I put 8 tablespoons in 2 cups of water, and just kept adding my CACO slurry till it was at 5. Something I did not investigate was the fertilizer I used, I now checked the metals and they are 3 times what the Peters brand is, why didn't I do this before I started? So the fertilizer may be doing this?

Here's a link for it, by the way this link has every fertilizer metal contents.

http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/ ... pname=1877" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Here's the link to show all fertilizers by name.

http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/ ... duct1.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[rad14701]

I doubt that the extra metals are what's causing the pH problem... I'd still be leaning towards rapid initial fermentation and possible short term temperature spike...

[FreeMountainHermit]

Plus popping the hydrometer into your wash is a good way to introduce an infection...

Never considered that.

Cleanse with a Star San solution prior to taking a reading ?

10% Clorox solution ?

[Greenthorn]

I agree it was the temperature rise, and the thick krausen keeping and building the temp. I waited 6 hours after adjusted pH still no blurbs.. Must have kilt my yeast? Pitched 2 more tablespoon yeast and it took right back off like a machine gun. Still going strong for 12 hours now, so hopefully I'm back on track.

[Mikey-moo]

Told a friend of mine about this recipe last year.

Yesterday he gave me this:

Small spoon

[Greenthorn]

Just wanted to update, although I had a set back, this still finished in 4 days, made some nice clean hooch very quickly. Some of my friends use Turbo yeast, and I believe this bestes their drink, by far, theirs is nasty, this isn't! Gonna try it again and be more careful with monitoring my temps.

[rad14701]

Just wanted to update, although I had a set back, this still finished in 4 days, made some nice clean hooch very quickly. Some of my friends use Turbo yeast, and I believe this bestes their drink, by far, theirs is nasty, this isn't! Gonna try it again and be more careful with monitoring my temps.

Congratulations...!!! Keep at it for a few runs and you'll start to see a pattern...

[sssmashed]

Well folks, I am a little concerned after starting my first wash ever. Thought I would keep it simple so I have followed Rad's All Bran recipe using these ratios:

15 liters water
11 cups sugar
4 cups of crushed All Bran (1 box)
8 tbsp Yeast (pitched Yeast at 95 F)

I did not take a SG reading at the beginning, I popped the lid 21 hours in to check if a krausen had formed, it had not. Is this normal, I also have a fermenting pail that does not require an airlock so I am in the dark to how active the ferment is. Should I be worried. If worried what can I do to remedy the situation. Thanks.

[still_stirrin]

Well folks, I am a little concerned after starting my first wash ever....I popped the lid 21 hours in to check if a krausen had formed, it had not. Is this normal?

The All-Bran recipe doesn't usually create a Krausen head, in fact most sugar heads don't. They "sizzle" and bubble a light foamy head sometimes depending on the aggressiveness of the yeast (proportional to the yeast nutrients available). Grain ferments, like your beer ferments, will produce a Krausen however.

...I also have a fermenting pail that does not require an airlock so I am in the dark to how active the ferment is. Should I be worried...

Not unless you ferment in a dusty, bug infested shed. At the least, you could cover the pail with a clean towel or cloth. An open top bucket can attract fruit flies that carry an assortment of bacteria and wild flora which can overtake your ferment.

I think it is much better to use a lid with an airlock. And you can make a simple bubler by using a hose and running it into a small jar of water (with a ounce of bleach added).
ss

[sssmashed]

Still_stirrin, thanks for replying, I have a pail with a lid that releases the C02 without need of an airlock, but I can certainly appreciate the visual feedback of a airlock now, I am using fresh, bulk bought active dry yeast. I am only on the first 24 hours and I have not includes any accelerator like fertilizer or epson salts

[rad14701]

Well folks, I am a little concerned after starting my first wash ever. Thought I would keep it simple so I have followed Rad's All Bran recipe using these ratios:

15 liters water
11 cups sugar
4 cups of crushed All Bran (1 box)
8 tbsp Yeast (pitched Yeast at 95 F)

I did not take a SG reading at the beginning, I popped the lid 21 hours in to check if a krausen had formed, it had not. Is this normal, I also have a fermenting pail that does not require an airlock so I am in the dark to how active the ferment is. Should I be worried. If worried what can I do to remedy the situation. Thanks.

Your OG should have been in the 1.064 range and a potential 9.8% ABV based on sugar and water alone... You pitched a lot more yeast than needed so you should be getting ample fermentation... The bubbles will be very small, like fizzing pop/soda... If you watch close or shine a light across the top of the wash you should see tiny bubbles popping out as the CO2 escapes... If a cereal wash does for a krausen it won't last long before it drops... Usually only a couple hours at the start, at most, if at all...

[sssmashed]

Thanks Rad, a slight mistake when I posted, I used 12 cups of sugar, so when using the sugar wash calculator I should expect 10.7 %, I believe ideally I should have used 14 cups of sugar and the same 8 tsps of yeast. There was definitely krausen at the start tho, I also know this is a forgiving recipe, next time I will take a more rigorous approach, taking an initial SG, for now tho, I will wait for the ferment to finish and then I will update .

[rad14701]

Thanks Rad, a slight mistake when I posted, I used 12 cups of sugar, so when using the sugar wash calculator I should expect 10.7 %, I believe ideally I should have used 14 cups of sugar and the same 8 tsps of yeast. There was definitely krausen at the start tho, I also know this is a forgiving recipe, next time I will take a more rigorous approach, taking an initial SG, for now tho, I will wait for the ferment to finish and then I will update .

Which was it, 8 tbsp (tablespoons) or 8 tsp (teaspoons)...???

[sssmashed]

Tablespoons

[stony2289]

Well, now that my stilling season is back in full swing I've been able to put down another All-Bran Flakes cereal wash... I decided to fudge with the ingredients a bit to see what happens... For this batch I didn't crush the cereal flakes before measuring so I'd get a more accurate, or less accurate, estimate on required ingredient requirements... Here is how this batch was prepared...

Recipe

* 2 gallons water
* 7 cups white sugar
* 2 cups All-Bran Flakes cereal
* 4 tbsp Fleischmann's dry active yeast
* 1/4 tsp 20-20-20

Process

* Inverted sugar in 8 cups water for 30 minutes
* Boiled cereal in 4 cups water for 30 minutes
* Allowed invert sugar and cereal to cool to 95F
* Pitched yeast and aerated for 1 hour
* Added 1/4 tsp 20-20-20 and airlocked

After boiling the flakes there were very few solids left so the only difference between this method and the original is that the original probably had a lot more nutrients, and also flavor components, than this batch... But when you consider that I'm only using the cereal for nutrients, for this batch at least, I'm looking for the bare minimum amount required for a complete fermentation... From there the flavoring component can be enhanced as desired...

More to come...

Will
16-16-16, 15-30-15 or 24-8-16 work?
I can't find 20-20-20 locally.

Hi Rad14701, I was wondering how you were inverting the sugar, there is no mention of any acid in the recipe ?

[rad14701]

Hi Rad14701, I was wondering how you were inverting the sugar, there is no mention of any acid in the recipe ?

I've posted methods of inverting sugar several times here in the forums in recipe topics... HERE is just one of them...

[stony2289]

Hi Rad14701, I was wondering how you were inverting the sugar, there is no mention of any acid in the recipe ?

I've posted methods of inverting sugar several times here in the forums in recipe topics... HERE is just one of them...

Right, thanks for that, it makes the recipe complete