Home Distiller

tony184k wrote:all the sweet feed in my area has a small pellet mixed in with it can't find manna pro in my area is the kind that has pellets ok to use thanks

I have not used pellets but sounds like they do not work great and according to Dnderhead "most of the pellets are alfalfa, not something to ferment". My suggestion if you found pellets ask the store if they would order the other, several brands work well and are listed on this thread if you go back a bit.

tony184k wrote:all the sweet feed in my area has a small pellet mixed in with it can't find manna pro in my area is the kind that has pellets ok to use thanks

don't look for "sweet feed" just look for "all grain" feed. You will find it has molasses in it also. Many of the yuckapucks working in the stores don't know any more about feed than you do. You actually have to read the labels.

I checked the ingredient list on the sweet feed at Tractor Supply. Besides the grains seems like a lot of other chemicals. Is tha the same as you used?

2goose wrote:I checked the ingredient list on the sweet feed at Tractor Supply. Besides the grains seems like a lot of other chemicals. Is tha the same as you used?

If it was the TS All Grain, yes, that's the stuff. Purple bag, right?

2goose wrote:I checked the ingredient list on the sweet feed at Tractor Supply. Besides the grains seems like a lot of other chemicals. Is tha the same as you used?

Don't worry about the chemicals. 99% of them the yeast will gladly eat.
The other 1% of preservatives will hurt the bacteria and wild yeast.

Got it-- thanks

Tractor Supply SKU 5021132 is what you want. I've seen the bags marked differently at times so pay attention to the SKU number. All grain. No pellets. I have 150 lbs. on my porch. Not all their stores carry it in my area so sometimes I have to drive. Sometimes one store will ship to another. Ask.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/p ... feed-50-lb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

FMH.

Does the sweetfeed have to be steeped in boiling water or is hot tap water ok. I missed that part in the instructions and just used hot tap water, melted sugar, poured in sweet feed and topped off with cool water. Any less alcohol or anything detrimental doing it this way? Thanks and Happy New Year.

Kentucky shinner wrote:I have been doing 30 gallon ferments with this recipe with great success.

15 pounds of all grain sweet feed
10 Gallon hot water 150F +
let that set for about 90 minutes
add water up to fill up to 25 gallon mark
then add 50 pounds of sugar while stirring the hell out of it. that will bring you up to 30 gallons.
starting sg of 1.06
add 1 packet of prestige WD with ag yeast
(you could also use bakers yeast I just prefer the Prestige WD with AG)
place a towel over the barrel to keep bugs out

the next day it sounds like bacon frying in the pan and smells great.
this ferments out in about 8-10 days depending on the temp. My garage has been staying about 90f lately.

I was wondering about the yeast in this particular variation^^^^
If I were using bakers yeast or distillers yeast how much would be needed?

bigbone32 wrote:Does the sweetfeed have to be steeped in boiling water or is hot tap water ok. I missed that part in the instructions and just used hot tap water, melted sugar, poured in sweet feed and topped off with cool water. Any less alcohol or anything detrimental doing it this way? Thanks and Happy New Year.

Hot enough to melt the sugar would be fine. At least that's what I did. We are not really converting the grains on the sweetfeed just using them for flavor.

ledyard wrote:

Kentucky shinner wrote:I have been doing 30 gallon ferments with this recipe with great success.

15 pounds of all grain sweet feed
10 Gallon hot water 150F +
let that set for about 90 minutes
add water up to fill up to 25 gallon mark
then add 50 pounds of sugar while stirring the hell out of it. that will bring you up to 30 gallons.
starting sg of 1.06
add 1 packet of prestige WD with ag yeast
(you could also use bakers yeast I just prefer the Prestige WD with AG)
place a towel over the barrel to keep bugs out

the next day it sounds like bacon frying in the pan and smells great.
this ferments out in about 8-10 days depending on the temp. My garage has been staying about 90f lately.

I was wondering about the yeast in this particular variation^^^^
If I were using bakers yeast or distillers yeast how much would be needed?

3grams per gal for that starting gravity.

bigbone32 wrote:Does the sweetfeed have to be steeped in boiling water or is hot tap water ok. I missed that part in the instructions and just used hot tap water, melted sugar, poured in sweet feed and topped off with cool water. Any less alcohol or anything detrimental doing it this way? Thanks and Happy New Year.

Hot tap water will work fine.
I like hot enough water to get the sugar and grain up to 160 ish.
Then spray enough cold water to dilute to the right SG and temp.
This gets several things done at the same time. It almost pasteurizes the wash and also adds O2.

shadylane wrote:

bigbone32 wrote:Does the sweetfeed have to be steeped in boiling water or is hot tap water ok. I missed that part in the instructions and just used hot tap water, melted sugar, poured in sweet feed and topped off with cool water. Any less alcohol or anything detrimental doing it this way? Thanks and Happy New Year.

Hot tap water will work fine.
I like hot enough water to get the sugar and grain up to 160 ish.
Then spray enough cold water to dilute to the right SG and temp.
This gets several things done at the same time. It almost pasteurizes the wash and also adds O2.

Good point about pasteurizing. I think from now on I will start pulling some of the yeast bed out of my fermenters and hit everything (old and new) with the hot backset and let it all cool down naturally before adding the yeast back in. This would probably allow me to aerate between gens as well. I can't see that it would be that much extra work and may help to cut back on some of the nasties.

S-C

JBR wrote:

ledyard wrote:

Kentucky shinner wrote:I have been doing 30 gallon ferments with this recipe with great success.

15 pounds of all grain sweet feed
10 Gallon hot water 150F +
let that set for about 90 minutes
add water up to fill up to 25 gallon mark
then add 50 pounds of sugar while stirring the hell out of it. that will bring you up to 30 gallons.
starting sg of 1.06
add 1 packet of prestige WD with ag yeast
(you could also use bakers yeast I just prefer the Prestige WD with AG)
place a towel over the barrel to keep bugs out

the next day it sounds like bacon frying in the pan and smells great.
this ferments out in about 8-10 days depending on the temp. My garage has been staying about 90f lately.

I was wondering about the yeast in this particular variation^^^^
If I were using bakers yeast or distillers yeast how much would be needed?

3grams per gal for that starting gravity.

SO that would be 90 grams. 1 packed of Prestige WD that was recommended is only 23 grams?? That's a big difference?

I've read through most of this thread. I just bought some sweet feed and here is the ingredients tag, but just opened it and it is pelletized. Do you think this will work?

No it will turn into a pea soup and will not clear for distilling. Smells like the shit it is. Do as I did and till it in the garden

AC

BoisBlancBoy wrote:I've read through most of this thread. I just bought some sweet feed and here is the ingredients tag, but just opened it and it is pelletized. Do you think this will work?

Yum! Grain byproducts, roughage products, animal fat preservatives, all fermented down to a nice mixed drink! Mmmmmm Mmmmmm.

Sorry BBB, I shouldn't be a smart ass like that it was rude. It is just repeated many many times in this thread to use all grain feed not pellet feed. At Tractor Supply where a lot of guys go its just listed as All Grain what they have as bags of 12% Sweet Feed is pellets. You don't really want to flavor your wash with alfalfa and clover do you? That's probably what makes the pellets look green.

I just bought a 50 lb sack of whole corn feed; no other ingredients; plan to run the same recipe. I've got molasses and rye to add to it if necessary.
Anyone run this with just corn + sugar, or does that just take too long to ferment?
I bought the corn because it was the only one that did not have a lot of by products and other ingredients listed

Just realized I'll have to either crack the corn, or cook it, right? Just throwing boiling water on whole dried corn is going to be a l-o-n-g ferment. Right?
Dang me!

Thanks guys! Much appreciated! I messed up and only looked at the breakdown instead of the ingredients list. Thanks for the info. I must have missed something in this thread! Back to the store!

ledyard wrote:

JBR wrote:

ledyard wrote:

Kentucky shinner wrote:I have been doing 30 gallon ferments with this recipe with great success.

15 pounds of all grain sweet feed
10 Gallon hot water 150F +
let that set for about 90 minutes
add water up to fill up to 25 gallon mark
then add 50 pounds of sugar while stirring the hell out of it. that will bring you up to 30 gallons.
starting sg of 1.06
add 1 packet of prestige WD with ag yeast
(you could also use bakers yeast I just prefer the Prestige WD with AG)
place a towel over the barrel to keep bugs out

the next day it sounds like bacon frying in the pan and smells great.
this ferments out in about 8-10 days depending on the temp. My garage has been staying about 90f lately.

I was wondering about the yeast in this particular variation^^^^
If I were using bakers yeast or distillers yeast how much would be needed?

3grams per gal for that starting gravity.

SO that would be 90 grams. 1 packed of Prestige WD that was recommended is only 23 grams?? That's a big difference?

Yes it is. I always followed this http://homedistiller.org/wash/ferment/howmuch" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I'm having a hard time knowing when to cut out my tails not getting anything terrible smelling or tasting. Just keeps getting sweeter than watered down. I'm into probably the 8th generation now. How deep does everyone else go?

Lonesome Loins wrote:I just bought a 50 lb sack of whole corn feed; no other ingredients; plan to run the same recipe. I've got molasses and rye to add to it if necessary.
Anyone run this with just corn + sugar, or does that just take too long to ferment?
I bought the corn because it was the only one that did not have a lot of by products and other ingredients listed

Just realized I'll have to either crack the corn, or cook it, right? Just throwing boiling water on whole dried corn is going to be a l-o-n-g ferment. Right?
Dang me!

Don't cook the corn, it will introduce a whole 'nuther set of problems in a sugar wash. If you are just using corn though, look up UJSSM (Uncle Jesse's Simple Sour Mash) it is one of the most popular recipes out there.

Lonesome, most grain stores sell cracked corn in a 50lb sack for 10 to 15 dollars. Whole corn is notoriously difficult to grind. If you can't return it or exchange it for cracked, maybe you could try malting it for an all grain recipe. As Hound Dog said, UJSSM would be a good recipe if you only have corn available.

If you can't find the all grain sweet feed product, you could also mix up your own. That method has been discussed numerous times in this thread, so I won't repeat it.

S-C

Thanks guys. I went ahead and ground some of it with a mortar and pestle. You're right. Tough to crack. I have an old commercial coffee grinder, I may try, but I'll bet it won't grind coarse enough. I used a lot of sugar and some rye and molasses along with the corn. I started bubbling away right away, so we'll see. A ten-eleven gal. batch with a 1.2 SG so . . . we'll see.

Lonesome, why'd you go so high on the SG. 1.02 is screaming high. like 25%. The yeast will be lucky to eat through half that sugar before it dies off under stress. You might do well to dilute that by half and run 2 batches.

I'm with Jumbo here. Cut that batch in half. Can't see the yeast surviving that journey. Aim for 10-11% and you'll get better results.

I keep seeing "packages" of yeast referenced and I'm a little confused about how much to use for the first recipe. It calls for 5 packets of bakers yeast, I'm using fleischmann's, so would that be 5 of the 1/4 oz individual packets or 5 of the packets of three that they come in. Either way doesn't seem to be 8 tablespoons.

Sorry if I missed it somewhere I tried the old forums and got a lot of different answers.

marshrunner757 wrote:I'm with Jumbo here. Cut that batch in half. Can't see the yeast surviving that journey. Aim for 10-11% and you'll get better results.

Yeah. When I was doing this I was using a lot of guess work because the corn wasn't cracked. I did end up using more water, but should probably add more. Easy to do since I'm using a 20 gal. Brute container and only have it filled to about 13 gal.

Not even sure I'm reading this scale correctly. After about 30 hours after pitching the yeast I get a reading of 1.060. The yeast is bubbling away merrily. I can hear it when I put my ear close to the vat. I used 2 5gm packets of Red Star 'Premier Cuvee' wine yeast, rated at 18% alcohol tolerance. Added more filtered water. SG of 1.050 now. Anyway it sure smells good.

i picked up a bag of "sweet feed" from tractor supply, when i opened the bag it was small compressed pellets. not the sweet feed i wanted! since i had it, i figured i would give it a try. all went well until fermentation was done. the pellets turned to a real fine mud in the bottom of the fermenter. making it almost impossible to strain. finally worked it out and made a run. turned out ok. to much of a hassle to be worth the time and a mess! if you get sweet feed make sure its the real kind. it will look like intact corn and grains with molasses drizzled over them and mixed. if you touch it, it should feel slightly sticky. the bag a got didn't even have enough molasses to give a sticky feel

rolandt03 wrote:i picked up a bag of "sweet feed" from tractor supply, when i opened the bag it was small compressed pellets. not the sweet feed i wanted! since i had it, i figured i would give it a try. all went well until fermentation was done. the pellets turned to a real fine mud in the bottom of the fermenter. making it almost impossible to strain. finally worked it out and made a run. turned out ok. to much of a hassle to be worth the time and a mess! if you get sweet feed make sure its the real kind. it will look like intact corn and grains with molasses drizzled over them and mixed. if you touch it, it should feel slightly sticky. the bag a got didn't even have enough molasses to give a sticky feel

Those pellets will prove problematic... They contain high amounts of alfalfa... Exact brands of sweet feed have been mentioned countless times in this very topic, which you should have discovered if you read the topic all the way through... You'll also learn a lot of other great information during the read...