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stmaus wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 6:12 pm Yes, maybe the fact that there is relatively little activity on this thread (and fewer posts) counts against it. But that is only because the recipe is clear and simple, and it really works and produces a great product.

CoogeeBoy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:24 pm Well my criticism is it is too popular and we cant get the Wheat Bran from Woolies!!!!

NZChris wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:03 pm

CoogeeBoy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:24 pm Well my criticism is it is too popular and we cant get the Wheat Bran from Woolies!!!!

You shouldn't have exported so much to NZ. I can get it here.

NZChris wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:48 pm I suspect any bran will do. I don't particularly like the flavor of wheat in fermented products, distilled or not, so my experiment with wheat bran only used a fraction of the bran that Teddy used. It fermented well and distilled well, but I see there is still plenty of it in the cellar, so that's a good indication that I make other products that I prefer to use.

artooks wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:29 pm Hi,

I did 1 pot distillation and 1 reflux distillation, it is very nice, but it has a distinct smell of wheat do you do a second reflux with this recipe ?

artooks wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:29 pm Hi,

I did 1 pot distillation and 1 reflux distillation, it is very nice, but it has a distinct smell of wheat do you do a second reflux with this recipe ?

NZChris wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 5:08 pm

artooks wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:29 pm Hi,

I did 1 pot distillation and 1 reflux distillation, it is very nice, but it has a distinct smell of wheat do you do a second reflux with this recipe ?

This method is more of a wheat vodka than a neutral, so if you don't like the wheat, it might not be a good choice for you. I do a version with an eighth of the bran and it still has some wheat flavor after the reflux run.

NZChris wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 10:45 pm If you need to run any wash through a pot still and then twice through a reflux still to make it usable, you have a problem with the wash or the still, or are being greedy with your cuts.

If it's only the intensity of the wheat flavor that you don't like, blend it with your finest neutral.

artooks wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 11:19 pm No I do not have any problem either with the wash or the still, what I was reffering is that most of the vodka’s that I tried is almost tasteless, so just wondering if I should run it a second time,

artooks wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:29 pm Hi,

I did 1 pot distillation and 1 reflux distillation, it is very nice, but it has a distinct smell of wheat do you do a second reflux with this recipe ?

NZChris wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:48 pm but I see there is still plenty of it in the cellar, so that's a good indication that I make other products that I prefer to use.

Garouda wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 7:28 pm

artooks wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:29 pm Hi,

I did 1 pot distillation and 1 reflux distillation, it is very nice, but it has a distinct smell of wheat do you do a second reflux with this recipe ?

This may answer your question, I have a Gilbey's Vodka bottle in front of me, and it says three times distilled... vodka.png
I followed that Ted's Fast Fermenting Vodka great recipe, but using rice bran from the mill down the village instead of wheat bran, my still is a Ø 3" VM, the final product is really neutral, it's also a matter of cuts. I made three 69-litre batches (69=3x23, basic recipe), stripping run for each batch, then one spirit run in my VM reflux still.

Teddysad wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 12:27 am My standard routine is to strip, then run through a flute with 4 bubble plates and a packed section. I guess this means 6 times distilled. However I do not carbon filter and this produces the best result still giving a wheaten character/flavour for which this recipe was designed

Teddysad wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 12:39 am I use filtered tap water for the mash and proofing down , however your local water composition may affect this. Mine is pretty good with no chlorine. If the wheat flavour is too strong for you cut back the wheat bran. However it is the inherent character it adds which makes it so much better that say a bland TPW

howie wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:54 pm jakeb
is the citric necessary for sugar inversion? (never done inversion)
i think that 1 tbsp of citric acid would lower the PH quite a lot, then you are adding more chemicals to raise the PH.
seems counter productive to me.
i put 2 x 25l FFV on yesterday and i tested the PH before pitching yeast as usual.
both were PH of 7, so just 1/2 tsp of citric acid dropped the PH to 6.
my way of thinking is to test the PH and only adjust if necessary, not blindly add it because it's in the recipe.
TBH i've had to put 1/4-1/2 tsp in all the 25L FFVs i've done.

artooks wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:47 pm Dear JakeB,

I have been using Baker's Yeast with great success, if you are not getting the results that you are looking for, maybe it could be that you are changing the recipe in some ways to what you think it is. correct, please try the recipe as it is and see if you like it, using wine yeast will increase the duration which for me is unnecessary, I did this recipe and it went dry in 3 days, I did not experience any yeast smell at all, the only thing for me is that the wheat flavor was very intense to my liking, I also did inverting sugar in the past, and now I find it an unnecessary and time consuming step the reason I say this is because there was not much difference in the end result, what type of still you have ? do you make a stripping run with a pot still then do reflux ? if so what ABV are you getting out of it, I find that if you could get near azeo than. there should not be any yeasty taste, so in my belief Baker's Yeast is a really good fast fermenting yeast for distillation.

JakeB wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:54 pm

artooks wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:47 pm Dear JakeB,

I have been using Baker's Yeast with great success, if you are not getting the results that you are looking for, maybe it could be that you are changing the recipe in some ways to what you think it is. correct, please try the recipe as it is and see if you like it, using wine yeast will increase the duration which for me is unnecessary, I did this recipe and it went dry in 3 days, I did not experience any yeast smell at all, the only thing for me is that the wheat flavor was very intense to my liking, I also did inverting sugar in the past, and now I find it an unnecessary and time consuming step the reason I say this is because there was not much difference in the end result, what type of still you have ? do you make a stripping run with a pot still then do reflux ? if so what ABV are you getting out of it, I find that if you could get near azeo than. there should not be any yeasty taste, so in my belief Baker's Yeast is a really good fast fermenting yeast for distillation.

Hi artooks, thanks for the insight. I switched from baker's yeast to champaign yeast based on advise from someone working in a brewers supply store. In addition to increasing time, I will admit it also increased the cost, to the benefit of the brewers supply shop I might add. I did birdwatchers several times as well as Shadey's sugar shine as per the recepoes exactly as posted and found I get a yeasty taste (not so much smell) that I was just not happy with. I explained the issue to the fellow at the brewers supply and he suggested EC-1118. When I tried that, the result was much cleaner in both cases, so I have switched to champaign yeast any time baker's yeast is called for recently. As far as inverting sugars, like I said I have not tried regular table sugar at all. I have a couple project batches on the go but will eventually try 2 batches side by side identical except sugars to see for myself how much difference there really is. I have been interested in distilling all my adult life, and reading about it since before there was an internet, but I am brand new at actually running a still. I purchased the dreaded T500 a little less than a year ago. Despite what I read about it on this site, it is convenient for me with some space limitations and a good way (in my opinion) to get started. I find that it produces pretty good results in reflux as it is intended when you disregard most of the instructions that come with it and run a good clean wash making cuts by cooling output temp and offtake speed (also separating, airing and checking cuts before blending). I have not even tried any turbos or carbon polishing based on what I have read. In reflux I find I get consistent results after the first 500ml or so of heads (100ml very slow of foreshots, then 300 - 400 ml until the acetone and fire of heads fades all the way out), I get 93% ABV pretty much all the same then it switches to tails pretty abruptly. I also use it as a pot still by removing packing and using offtake speed not cooling output temp to gage my adjustments. I have so far only done stripping runs then spirit runs when using it in pot still mode to make whiskey. In reflux mode (for neutral spirits) I have been getting 93% ABV through the run, a little higher as the heads come off, it dips lower just after I get to tails. I'm not sure I am that much of a believer in stripping runs when running reflux since you can always adjust your reflux ratio to obtain additional distillations. I will eventually try that in side by side same bathes to test that for myself though. I suspect the main difference will be in efficiency. For all of my reflux runs so far, the result has been very clean as far as heads or firey bite goes, but with baker's yeast, there has been some yeasty flavor left that I am not fond of.

You mentioned the wheat flavour being too strong, I think that at least the way I have been doing things so far, I will get a fair bit of wheat coming through, hopefully I like it, if not, I guess I could try blending with a Shadey's run to reduce it, or adjust the amount of wheat bran to my taste. The problem I found with Shadey's (after swapping yeast) was a lack of character. For bw I find the tp adds something that is similar to the yeast taste I don't like even when I swap out the yeast. When I searched the mash bill of commercial vodkas, I found a lot of the better ones use grain, many of them wheat. That is what led me to try this recipe, hopefully it works out. Thank you for your comments, the sharing of knowledge is what makes this site great.

JakeB wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:23 pm

howie wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:54 pm jakeb
is the citric necessary for sugar inversion? (never done inversion)
i think that 1 tbsp of citric acid would lower the PH quite a lot, then you are adding more chemicals to raise the PH.
seems counter productive to me.
i put 2 x 25l FFV on yesterday and i tested the PH before pitching yeast as usual.
both were PH of 7, so just 1/2 tsp of citric acid dropped the PH to 6.
my way of thinking is to test the PH and only adjust if necessary, not blindly add it because it's in the recipe.
TBH i've had to put 1/4-1/2 tsp in all the 25L FFVs i've done.

Though it is possible to invert sugar with just heat, adding citric acid speeds up the process and ensures a more complete conversion from sucrose to glucose and fructose. I used more citric acid than the receipy called for in order to ensure a complete conversion of the sugars. The 2 simple sugars are easier for the yeat to consume, thus theoretically the yeast will be less stressed and produce a cleaner flavour. There has been much debate on this topic. In my case I have actually always inverted and have not tried table sugar as is at all. I don't find the process of inverting all that difficult and decided in the beginning after a lot of reading to just go ahead and invert all my sugars.