Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe

[Saltbush Bill]

G'day Timmsy
Ive done two Birdwatchers now .....I just used Lowans bakers yeast from Coles...its with the flour and other baking goods.
You can get your epsome salts there too in the section with toothpaste, shampoo ect.

[djamesnz]

Hi there,

I put down a Birdwatchers 4 days ago and it seems to have stalled.
I scaled down the recipe to 20L and used
1C Tom Paste (378mg sodium/100g)
1 Lemon
4.5kgs sugar
56g yeast
I pitched the yeast at 33 deg C. SG was 1.08

Initially the ferment was very very active but after 4 days it has pretty much stopped.
SG is now 1.015 and the temp is 34 deg C. I have kept it warm with an old electric blanket. Has it got too warm and cooked the yeast?

Is fermentation still happening even if there is no gas being produced?

Do I need to throw anything is to gice it a kick? More yeast? Nutrients?

I note that the ferment can take a week or so. Shall I just leave it alone and see what happens?

Cheers

Darren

[Dnderhead]

give it a day or so ,,recheck FG if it has not changed then it has stopped.
if it has the run,a FG of 1.015 is about 2% sugar or whatever left.right now you have 8.5%
out of a possible 10.6

[djamesnz]

give it a day or so ,,recheck FG if it has not changed then it has stopped.
if it has the run,a FG of 1.015 is about 2% sugar or whatever left.right now you have 8.5%
out of a possible 10.6

Brilliant, thanks mate.
I'm gagging to get this into the still. My only experience has been with turbos so I'm pretty excited

Cheers

[Dnderhead]

if you plain on going further,and doing different recipes like grain ,, fruit etc.
it is a good idea to git used to taking a SG then a FG subtract and dived by 7.55
this will give you the percent of alcohol you have in wash/mash.
now if you mutably that times the amount of wash that will give you approximately
how much you have in total alcohol with out cuts..

[djamesnz]

if you plain on going further,and doing different recipes like grain ,, fruit etc.
it is a good idea to git used to taking a SG then a FG subtract and dived by 7.55
this will give you the percent of alcohol you have in wash/mash.
now if you mutably that times the amount of wash that will give you approximately
how much you have in total alcohol with out cuts..

Fantastic, thanks again mate.

Cheers
Darren

[chris69ca]

ok after an hour of reading i couldnt find it so hear i am asking
what is the advantage to tis recipe instead of straight sugar i have done straight sugar with glucose little sash i think 50grams and with a good sucsees rate get it from 1060 to 980 ish off memory i dont take egsact readings anymore just go that looks about right sorry and get several liters of the vodka just wondering as im going to try this see if this works better

[maheel]

"straight sugar with glucose little sash i think 50grams"

what does "with glucose little sash i think 50grams" mean ?

i am surprised your getting just sugar and yeast to work well?
but if you are and enjoy it "dont fix wait aint broke"

[chris69ca]

"straight sugar with glucose little sash i think 50grams"

what does "with glucose little sash i think 50grams" mean ?

i am surprised your getting just sugar and yeast to work well?
but if you are and enjoy it "dont fix wait aint broke"

sorry spelling i used glucose for my beer to help with head retention witch works i add it to the sugar wash its pritty much jelly christals but unflavored and no preventatives and i just checked they are 50 grams and yeah i see things that way aswell i do boil the sugar in and then add cold watter to even out the heat to a steady 30 c

[timmsy]

Im thinking at buy a 100ltr fermenter and us BW recipe...... Currently i use 30ltr femrmenters and i have 5 on the go. I was thinking if i can do a 100ltr batch i can get my neautrals up on supply and let a heap soak on chips untill xmas.....
I was wandering how much ingridants shall i use and what would the fermentation time take?? Im gather i could only do a 80 ltr batch as i would need head space in 100ltr fermenter?

[djamesnz]

Well, I finally got around to running my wash through the still.

After running it nice and slowly at around 78 deg C, I ended up with about 1.2L of 85% spirit with approx 250ml heads and the same tails.
Initially I thought it smelled like tomatoes and wondered if I'd have to run it through carbon.
However after a day of airing it has zero smell, even my sceptical partner was impressed.

I'll definitely be experimenting more with this one

Cheers

Darren

[Uisge_a_Ghlinne]

Im thinking at buy a 100ltr fermenter and us BW recipe...... Currently i use 30ltr femrmenters and i have 5 on the go. I was thinking if i can do a 100ltr batch i can get my neautrals up on supply and let a heap soak on chips untill xmas.....
I was wandering how much ingridants shall i use and what would the fermentation time take?? Im gather i could only do a 80 ltr batch as i would need head space in 100ltr fermenter?

I currently use a 120Lt barrel for a 100lt wash. I can actually get 120Lt (with suger) into the barrel and still have a little headspace but I prefer the greater headspace that 100lt gives. I use 25kg sugar, about 750 grams of tomato purée, two tins of bakers yeast, 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt, four large teaspoons of citric acid. Ferments out in between 10 to 14 days.

[chris69ca]

Im thinking at buy a 100ltr fermenter and us BW recipe...... Currently i use 30ltr femrmenters and i have 5 on the go. I was thinking if i can do a 100ltr batch i can get my neautrals up on supply and let a heap soak on chips untill xmas.....
I was wandering how much ingridants shall i use and what would the fermentation time take?? Im gather i could only do a 80 ltr batch as i would need head space in 100ltr fermenter?

I currently use a 120Lt barrel for a 100lt wash. I can actually get 120Lt (with suger) into the barrel and still have a little headspace but I prefer the greater headspace that 100lt gives. I use 25kg sugar, about 750 grams of tomato purée, two tins of bakers yeast, 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt, four large teaspoons of citric acid. Ferments out in between 10 to 14 days.

im going to try this will be a double batch though im getting second hand 1 use on grain 44 gallon drums (take me a week to get through the sob) but get them neutrals done

[timmsy]

I have decided that im going to get a 60ltr fermenter from Plasdene Australia for $30 and run with that with a couple 30ltr fermenters i have. This recipe is so easy and makes a killer nutreal!

[memetic]

This is my favorite sugar wash. I get the same quality vodka with this as I do with a high quality wheat mash. I do double the quantities of the recipe in big 50 gallon food grade barrels -- I have about 200 gallons of this under my belt now (about 150 through the still). Never had a single problem with this wash and I skip ALL the fussiness in the directions. Makes really clean, awesome vodka.

[blind drunk]

Do you think this recipe could work with a tall copper-stuffed pothead column run twice? I need me some of that espresso vodka. Thanks.

[memetic]

Do you think this recipe could work with a tall copper-stuffed pothead column run twice? I need me some of that espresso vodka. Thanks.

I would maybe run it three (maybe four) times, but I don't know your still -- I guess it depends how deep into your heads and tails you want to go. That espresso vodka is the shite. You can go deep into heads and tails and the espresso/vanilla cleans it right up. Everyone who tastes it loves it, even non-drinkers go nuts for it.

[blind drunk]

OK, thanks. I just run a pot still that I could extend to 36". There's a couple of cooling tubes through the column ... I like boozy coffee.

[lil missus]

I love this recipe thank u
I love the smell and the finished product it's so easy yet so affective.
Making this is one of my Lil guilty pleasures I could almost sit next to it with a soup spoon and a rack of herbs and tuck in.
Thank u for your recipe

[sparky marky]

OK, thanks. I just run a pot still that I could extend to 36". There's a couple of cooling tubes through the column ... I like boozy coffee.

You can definitely make decent neutral with a pot still. Iv not used birdwatchers recently, I use a slightly modified wineos recipe these days. I just add a couple of handfulls of grain for good measure. Even a fast strip of that is surprisingly neutral! I think if you strip it and then keep the hearts Of a spirit run you will end up with a good neutral, DEFINATELY good enough for flavoring with coffee and vanilla which are so ballsy they will more than cover up any lingering flavours.

[memetic]

I like boozy coffee.

Ohhhh, me too.

[puig]

PLEASE READ. .... With this suger wash and all suger washes theres no buffer so after 5-8 hours the Ph will bomb down, My Ph start is always 4-4.5 within a few hours it will be down to 1.9 -2.0 this will stress the yeast and even kill it , the yeast WONT STABILIZE for several days so needs checking once a day and corrected.

You can buy a cheap ph meter for about £25 you dont need nothing lab grade just a rough kind . But for suger washes a cheap ph meter is a must .

Regards Michael

[Samohon]

I've been doing BW washes for a long time now and have not lost a single one. Neither have I had to restart, bring up the ph or stabilise the wash in any way. This wash always ferments out in 3 days for me @ 12% abv, I then rack and leave it to clear until I'm ready to run. I only use ½ of the tomato paste used in the original recipe and never stir my yeast into the wash when pitching, but prefer to leave it on the top for the duration of the fermentation. Always takes 3 days @ 25°C...

Beginners cant go far wrong with this sugar wash....

Just my 2 cents...

[maritime]

i have had them stall out on me and take a long time.
sometimes taking 3 weeks to stop bubbling. but most times i let it go for a week and a half.
i just ran a 5gal BW this week., gave up 1600ml of 94.8%
in that empty fermentor i started another. this one i threw in 1 cup of quick rice(cooked then dehydrated). i just checked on it. the rice is rolling around under the foam. looks like magots swimming in the wash. looks like the yeast are going to town on it.
i have another wash that is a week old. i should run it late next week.

i never bothered with the ph on this. never had problems. most stalled washes, for me, are temperature related.
i never rack either. just pour right into the boiler. i leave the last couple cups out. i don't want the yeast to scortch on the bottom of the boiler.

[Bayou-Ruler]

PLEASE READ. .... With this suger wash and all suger washes theres no buffer so after 5-8 hours the Ph will bomb down, My Ph start is always 4-4.5 within a few hours it will be down to 1.9 -2.0 this will stress the yeast and even kill it , the yeast WONT STABILIZE for several days so needs checking once a day and corrected.

You can buy a cheap ph meter for about £25 you dont need nothing lab grade just a rough kind . But for suger washes a cheap ph meter is a must .

Regards Michael

I have done numerous Birdwatchers sugar washes and I have never had this issue.

[Samohon]

Seems like your on a roll with the BW maritime and it does give a very clean vodka...

I agree, most stalls are due to temps being too low or being so high they kill the yeast. I only rack when I'am not able to run it for a few days, just to take the wash off of the yeast bed. I strip 3 or 4 of these then dilute to 40% abv and run through my LM/VM combo. I take the fores, heads and whats left as the tails with my Bok and the hearts through the VM @ +95% abv... Works everytime. I always dilute to strength with filtered mountain water I get here free. My first BW's were a bit on the sweet side if I put the wash straight through the VM. Now, as stated, I stip the wash and have cut the tomato paste down by ½...

Special Attention:
I collect my +95% into 1 gal demi-johns, but only to collect into. I dont store 1 gal jars full of 95% neutral in the house and always take the strength down to 70% after airing for a day or 2.
Its a volatile substance that could ignite with the slightest spark, just like gasoline/petrol...

Dont take the chance guy's, get that +90 ethanol cut with water as soon as you can...
If you need to have some +90% for whatever reason, store it with the rest of your volatiles in an outhouse or shed...

I know that the majority of the membership practice the hobby with safety built into their system/techniques and thats great, but we never give enough thought to post distillation practices when the still has been rinsed and stored.

Please be safe, I dont want anyone to get hurt and you will thank me later for it...

[puig]

I've been doing BW washes for a long time now and have not lost a single one. Neither have I had to restart, bring up the ph or stabilise the wash in any way. This wash always ferments out in 3 days for me @ 12% abv, I then rack and leave it to clear until I'm ready to run. I only use ½ of the tomato paste used in the original recipe and never stir my yeast into the wash when pitching, but prefer to leave it on the top for the duration of the fermentation. Always takes 3 days @ 25°C...

Beginners cant go far wrong with this sugar wash....

Just my 2 cents...

You got me thinking is it the british water causing me this ph drop .. but ive just found this on the WhiteLab website.
http://www.whitelabs.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow



Re: Vodka

Q: We are going to do a sugar mash for vodka. As a corn mash will supply nutrients for the Superstart yeast, I need to know what nutrients you would suggest for this new mashing process.

A: As you know, sucrose contains zero nutrients for the yeast and zero buffering material and zero particulate matter. All three have to be taken into consideration.

25 pounds of sugar + 15 gallons of water = 16.9 brix.

25 pounds of sugar in water to equal 15 gallons = 17.9 brix.

That is a good brix range to start. With experience, you should be able to start with an initial brix of 20 to 24 or start with an initial brix of 18 and add sugar near the end to the equivalent of 24 brix (14% ABW).

Since there is no buffering material present in the sugar solution, the pH will drop from an initial pH of about 5.0 down to as low as 2.7. This low pH will stress the yeast and it may never recover. Therefore you should add about 1 # of Potassium carbonate/1000 gallons of mash before the 12th hour. This should keep the pH about 3.3.

Superstart will supply a substantial amount of the nutrients that the yeast require. An additional 2# Fermaid K plus 2 - 4 # Diammonium phosphate / 1000 gallon will be required.

-Add the Superstart and Fermaid K at the beginning of the fermentation along with the yeast.

-Divide the DAP into two portions and add in increments: 24 and 48 hours.

-Stir and aerate several times during the first 48 hours and again near the end of the fermentation. Since there is no particulate matter in the sugar solution, the yeast will tend to settle. The yeast need the oxygen to breath during the growth phase to produce the lipids necessary to protect the cell walls from the alcohol toxicity near the end of the fermentation.

[Dnderhead]

to clear something up. yeast do not produce acids,rather they use the sugars
and nutrients,thus your wash appears to be more acid.

[hackware]

as a noob, wanting to get started, it would be very helpful for a "final cut" of the recipe...
(20 pages of experts discussing details is a bit much to digest)...
3 cups tomato or 1 1/2...?
stir or not...?
etc...

william...

[maritime]

my take on a birdwatchers.
in you fermentor, mine are 7gal plastic buckets with a o-ringed lid.
1 gallon of water
one small can of tomatoe paste, wisk into the gallon of water
boil 1 gallon of water in a large stock pot on the stove.
dump in 7 lbs of sugar into it, wisk until disolved.
dump the gallon of sugar water into the tomatoe water
juice one lime or lemon into the wash
wash out sugar pot with 3 more gallons of water, one gallon at a time, they go into the wash
pitch two packs of regular bakers yeast on top. the small packs at the suppermarket. i use Flieshmans. no turbos, use regular.
the 4 gallons of cold water will cool the 1 gallon of boiled water.

it will cake up on top, then the mass will sink and start eating.
this will bubble for a week or so. depends on the temp. a foam head will be there. blow the foam away to check the bubbles.
i had one going so fast this week, it looked like a rolling boil under the foam.
after all the bubbles stop, the floaties will sink. taste the wash, should taste dry, no sweetness left.
you will notice the smell changing, first yeasty bread smell, then a beer smell, then the alcohol will take over.
dump into your boiler, trash the dead sediment at the bottom

out of a 2" boka, this gives me between 900ml-1600ml of 94.8%
depends how happy the yeast are.

that is the basic walk through, very basic.
hope that is what you are looking for.