Deathwish Wheat germ recipe

[Water Of Life]

I just ran my first deathwish as my first ethanol cleaning run in my first potstill.
I am just curious as to let the wheatgerm into the boiler? I tried to filter it out with a seive when I poured it into the boiler and ended up leaving about 1l of mainly wheatgerm in the bottom of the fermenter.
Is it alright to add this? Will it contribute to the flavour if I boil it up in the still? I use a gas burner under a 50L keg.
Is it harder to clean out after?

[pistachio_nut]

OK, I'm in the middle of a DWWG wash. Here's what I've learned.

For boiling your mash, use a heavy gauge steel pot. My thin pot contributed to burning the wash. Fortunately, I have a double boiler available for this pot, so that's what I'll use for the next wash.

Epsom salts can knock down the head that comes up on this wash. 1/8 tsp per gallon of wash, it'll keep your wash from puking all over the kitchen floor. The way it works is it decreases the surface tension of the foam. So, the individual bubbles in the foam pop more quickly. This does not mean that the wash ferments slowly, just that the foam pops more quickly.

Wheat germ is NOT farina. It's my opinion that adding farina to this wash is a nonstarter because the farina glues up the wash. Makes it harder to stir the boil, rack, filter, etc. Just use wheat germ.

For a yeast starter, I use two B-50 capsules, two multivitamins crushed between two spoons, a tablespoon full of Distiller's Nutrients, a cup of sugar, half a quart of warm water, and a Partidge in a Pear Tree. The more nutrients the better.

I have a 20 gallon fermenter, and I want to get as close to 18 gallons of wash as possible. I want to get 14.5 gallons of wash in my 15.5 boiler if at all possible so the epsom salts are very important to me as that ingredient helps me use my equipment efficiently.

That's what I've got so far.

[Caprimulgus]

I'm wondering. Is there any upper volume limit when fermenting the original recipe? I mean, if one was to do 4 or 5 times the volume in one go.

[Rargh]

Of course not, Fill yer boots!

[Caprimulgus]

[Yungin]

Caprimulgus I have done a 50 gallon wash of dwwg and it works jus fine any recipe will work jus fine upscaled. It did seem to take a bit longer to ferment though.in my limited experience Let it set for atleast two months after distillation it makes a world of difference.

[Caprimulgus]

Thanks, never think I'll ever go that far as to 50 gal. So, I'll be fine

[WalkingWolf]

Just a heads up the uninitiated with this recipe. I've fermented this wash several times and never had the volcanic experience that has been well documented throughout the pages of this thread -- until NOW. I put on 40L (2 X 20l) this weekend and the buckets are damn near vibrating off the counter top. I had one in a "ultility" sink in the laundry room and the other in a 100L livestock syrup tub for an overflow precaution. Well the one in the laundry sink looked a little less explosive (deceptive) so I pushed the lid all the way down. The next morning, the only reason I didn't have a bubbler stuck in my ceiling is that the seal around the edge didn't seal and it came out there. The other bucket looked like there were fish swimming in it so I didn't bother to push the lid down but merely set the cover on the top of the bucket. The next morning the lid had been lifted by the foam and moved off of the bucket and there was a lot of foam in the "catch" tub. My wife walks in and states, "I'm SURE glad you thought ahead and took precautions." I didn't have the heart to tell her what almost happened with the first bucket -- just considered myself lucky and kept it too myself.

The muck that overflows sure does taste good though and the laundry room sure smells nice.

[lumberped]

I halfed this recipe. Used 5lbs white sugar and 8 oz of wheat germ, and the citric acid. I subbed lemon juice for the citric acid , and used red star active dry yeast ( all I had). All looked good for the first 12-14 hours. The concoction was rockin away , and when I went back to check on it after about 16 hours, she was just as flat as a fritter. The wash still had some movement, and the smell burned my snoot, but it had just bottomed out.

the only thing that I changed , was that I put the vapor lock hose down in the water, and mover her to another room. I waited a couple of hours and checked her again...still the same. So I decided to check it by throwing in a tablespoon of sugar. Everywhere that the sugar hit, the wash went wild, but it never came back to the foamy , frothy head like it had b4.

Is this normal , or did I kill the old girl? Perhaps the alcohol was starting to kill the yeast? I'm skeert I ruin't it !

Hep !

Thanks

L

[Azframer]

My first big step into this hobby and I decided I would try this one out. Waiting on the wife to get back from grocery store now. She had to drive her dad into town and will be back around 8 pm or so. Can't wait to get the ball rolling.

[blind drunk]

Way to go Azframer, really glad you're up and running

bd

[pistachio_nut]

I picked up a 20 gallon primary a couple weeks ago. Have a ten gallon batch of Deathwish going in it... plenty of room for foam. No mess at all. I added probably two tablespoons of epsom salts to help with the foaming as well. I think that's going to be my version. Ten gallons in the 20 gallon bucket.

[pigroaster]

I use three times recipe in one boil in which I add 1 teaspoon of butter using 1/2 sugar. No boil over. Split in three. Add rest of water and sugar, yeast and let run in primary. No foam. Strip with no additions = no foam. I use boiling chips ( early copper pennies that are pure copper) TRhis is all good. I also add rolled (.030 inches) real barley which has been smoked in real peat from Ireland for a scotch touch. I use 5 sticks 1/2 x 1/2 x 6 inches for 128 ox and 6 for 160 oz, deep charred with mapp torch, white oak only!! Wait 12 months and you are upo to some greaty stuff which you cannot buy!!

[Caprimulgus]

I'm FINALLY up and running. Not looking to reinvent any wheel, so I'm doing it exactly as in post number one. But in a detoned bok, half the column, one scrubber in the bottom, fully open out take valve. Regulating by input and cooler. Got the cooling water set to come out hot to touch, but not burning. And dialing to a steady "pencil led stream" with my regulator.

I see what you mean guys. This is nice! I'll be saving 4 runs together in a demijohn and put it all (or most of it) on oak.

Having fun.

[Caprimulgus]

Funny, my edit button is missing in this topic.....

I have a question to those with pot stills, just for my own personal comparison. What is the average % ABV of your product from this recipe, if collected exactly as described in the first post?

Ok, this is just my personal opinion out of my truely limited experience on liqour taste. The combined "drinkable stuff" I understad needs a bit of age and oak. I feel that. Nothing nasty or anything. It's just "somethin there" But I've noticed that after chucking the first cup, pulling out liter number two and diluting it to 45%(ish)....it is not only drinkable white. I find it f-ing delicious. I'm putting the rest in a barrel.

[rad14701]

Caprimulgus, the general membership only has post edit capabilities for a limited amount of time... After that you need to contact a Moderator or Admin if you need the post edited...

Regarding your question about average %ABV, are you referring to the fermented wash or the distilled spirits...???

With proper cuts even white dog should be smooth and drinkable... Aging on charred oak will add in the flavor that many have come to recognize as common amongst commercial spirits... Personally, I drink most of my spirits "on the white"...

[Caprimulgus]

Ah, thanks rad for explaining the forum function.

I ment after distilling.

[lumberped]

A word of caution for the novice. Due to a lack of experience and equipment , I had a batch of this turn out with an "off" taste during the run , as well as at the end. I could not put my finger on the taste , but it had a definite earthy flavor. This was quite unusual since I had made 4 runs of this recipe with excellent success , all run the same way.

The problem began with the fact that I did not separate my solids from my wash. I simply added all of the wash to the pot. Since this had worked in the past , and I had no success with separating with anything I had around the house , I saw no reason to separate. Well , for whatever reason the solids decided to stick and burn in the bottom of my pot this time. The longer the wash cooked the worse the flavor became....almost tasted like I had added a cup or two of dirt to the recipe. When the run was over , is when I discovered the problem. I wont make that mistake again.

However, the upside is that by decanting with a few slices of Tangerine slices and rinds , I was able to salvage a pint . The remainder I put on oak , thn filtered through some charcoal , and then further filtered if through brown sugar and coffee filters to yield a tolerable drink similar to Southern Comfort.

All in all , lesson learned. Still managed to yield a virtually free likker with a tolerable taste.

[pistachio_nut]

Finally got a batch off that went well. I cooked off six quarts of good stuff, caught a whiff of cardboard, and put the hose into a one gallon collecting jug. It took an hour or two to fill up, I checked the ABV, and the jug is at 50%. Well, that's a sight for red eyes. I just put jug #2 out there and I'll see what cooks off over the next hour.

Smells good, tastes good, it hasn't even had time to breathe or clear yet.

I have another ten gallons of wash to cook off tomorrow plus whatever's in the rerun jugs. If tomorrow's run is as good as todays, I'm probably looking at another six or seven quarts of good stuff and a jug of lees for the next one. I think I'll take it a little farther into the tails next time.

[rad14701]

Finally got a batch off that went well. I cooked off six quarts of good stuff, caught a whiff of cardboard, and put the hose into a one gallon collecting jug.

Did your spirits start out smelling like cardboard, a smell that is usually associated with tails...???

[pistachio_nut]

Finally got a batch off that went well. I cooked off six quarts of good stuff, caught a whiff of cardboard, and put the hose into a one gallon collecting jug.

Did your spirits start out smelling like cardboard, a smell that is usually associated with tails...???

Yeah... or so I thought. I still ran five quarts off after that point. Maybe I cut too soon. I'm running the other ten gallons today along with five quarts of lees, I'm up to nine quarts of product and it still smells good. I'm down to 120 proof or so on #9, but no cardboard smell.

I gotta be honest with you. My nose isn't as sharp as your average bear. I might be missing something you guys would pick up on.

Anyway, I'm really happy with this run. Two batches over two days, and I got sixteen quarts of distillate that all tastes pretty good to me. I feel like I could mix it all together and be happy with the results. Maybe I'd peel off the last quart, but maybe not. Maybe if I did the first four quarts of each run together, that would be two gallons of shine at about 150, so that would water down to 15 quarts at 80 proof. That could last me a while.

[Comrade_Mike]

Anyone tried this with soy flour instead of wheat germ? i ask as soy flour has a heap more protein content (~47% vs 23%) and was half the price at the supermarket.
SOY - Wheat Germ

[rad14701]

Anyone tried this with soy flour instead of wheat germ? i ask as soy flour has a heap more protein content (~47% vs 23%) and was half the price at the supermarket.
SOY - Wheat Germ

But then it wouldn't be "Deathwish Wheat germ recipe"...

Hunt around and you'll find that several members have attempted to use various types of flour and meal with mixed results...

Check out the following links for information about additional nutrients in Wheat Germ...

Mother's Toasted Wheat Germ

Bob's Red Mill Wheat Germ, Natural Raw

Click on the Nutrition tabs...

[Stilly]

Anyone tried this with soy flour instead of wheat germ? i ask as soy flour has a heap more protein content (~47% vs 23%) and was half the price at the supermarket.
SOY - Wheat Germ

I've never tried Soy Flour, but if you go to a natural foods store, you will likely find wheat germ in bulk for about $1.15 a pound. That is pretty cheap in my book. If you try the soy flour let us know how it turns out.

cheers
stilly

[IrishStar56]

DWWG caught my attention a little while ago. Seemed like it might fit what I was looking for - except for the slight drawback of explosive expansion in the wash. But what the hey!

Having read everything I could on this recipe I decided that, in this instance, cowardice would be the better part of my valour and I decided to run a small wash of 4.5lt total vol and see how it goes.

I started today, Sunday morning 08 May 2011, and the beast is out and running.

The precise recipe I followed: (I'll appreciate anyone pointing out if I screwed it up somewhere)

2lb White Sugar
6oz Wheatgerm
½ tsp Citric Acid
½ tsp Epsom Salts
14g Allinson's Bread Yeast
Water to make final vol of 4.5lt

Method:
Boiled 2lt water with the Sugar, Wheatgerm, Citric Acid and Epsom Salts. Ran the boil for 91minutes. Cooled the wash and added enough cold water to bring temp down to 28oC(82.4oF).

Rehydrated Yeast in 100ml water at 30oC (86oF) and allowed to stand for 15 minutes.

For the purpose of this experiment I decided to use a blow tube between two 5lt DJ's instead of an airlock. The second DJ had 1” of water and the blow tube rested below the water level providing an effective airlock and expansion outlet for foam from the DWWG.

Pitched Yeast at 16.55hrs.

At 17.15 Activity started. By 17.40 the beast was alive and kicking but not as violently as I had expected. I picked up a tip, credit to Pistachio_nut, that the Epsom Salts would reduce the expansion while not slowing the ferment and looks like that might be the case here.

The flow of foam was steady for the most part but every now and then the beast roared and blasted foam through the blow tube to the expansion DJ. The speed and level of convection in the wash was awesome. The Wheatgerm at the bottom was being thrown around as if there really was a beast in there foraging for food and farting loudly every few minutes LOL!!!

SG was 1.066

I'll post progress on this one and results from stilling the product in my 4lt Airstill.

I'm also posting some pics to show the above as it happened

After pitching - all quiet before the storm

Activity started quickly

Foam appeared in the Blow Tube after 45 minutes

There's a creature alive in there!!

Expansion Airlock worked well

Foam was not a violent as I expected thanks to Epsom Salts.

[el-zonko]

Hi,

Question about wheat germ.

I bought a big batch of the stuff online. I went for some stuff that was on "special offer". After reading about wheat germ easily going rancid, I am wondering if "special offer" meant getting rid of rancid old wheat germ.

Erm, how can I tell if it's off/rancid? Will it be obvious?

Cheers, EZ

[Barney Fife]

If it tastes good, then it's good. Food is food. You'll know when you open the container if it's bad or not.

[yankeeclear]

Got my first batch of DWWG in the fermenter yesterday and it took off in the 1st hour!. Six gallons in an 8.5 gal ferementer, with about 2" of krauzen today - not explosive like some have expressed as the air lock is still in place but it sounds like a steam engine getting started "chug-cc-chug-cc-chug"!

I used untasted, organic wheat germ from the local health food shop and was a bit surprised by how dark the mixture was after coming out of the pot (darker even than IrishStar56 pics above). I strayed from the original recipe a bit by first inverting the sugar before adding the grain and boiled in 3 gals instead of water instead of a little under 5 gals as originally posted. There was no burning or carmelization when inverting the sugar and no perceptible burning while low boiling the wheat germ.

Is the dark brownish color (think dark ale) normal?

[rad14701]

Is the dark brownish color (think dark ale) normal?

Invert sugar should turn from clear to just starting to show some light straw color... It doesn't need to be "boiled", just "simmered"... Boiling will start to induce the caramelization process as time progresses... The addition of wheat germ would cause it to be a bit darker...

Did you use common invert sugar procedures or just boil the sugar in water...???

[yankeeclear]

I used Method #2 as you presented in Inverted Sugar

Method #2 - 2:1 Ratio

Invert sugar is made by mixing two parts sugar to one part water, adding two teaspoons lemon juice per pound of sugar. This is brought almost to a boil and then reduced to a vigorous simmer for about 30 minutes (do NOT allow to boil).

For 1 pound invert sugar:

2 cups finely granulated sugar
1 cup water
2 tsp lemon juice

Your description of "straw color" at the end of the inversion process is right on. The low boil I referred to was in boiling the wheat germ. I stirred frequently and did not detect and of the grain sticking to the pot nor any burnt/scorched smell.

Couple of pics below. The UJSSM was made with inverted sugar prepared the same way as for DWWG a day earlier. Now fermenting, the DWWG looks more like a Guiness stout than ale!