sweetfeed whisky

[Photoguy-70]

I have two ferments of sweetfeed going, just started gen 4 on one and about to start gen 3 on the other. I did a bunch of this stuff a few years back and remember getting to gen 5 with some of my batches. Just curious how far has anyone taken their sweetfeed, how many generations? How far will it go before you need to start over, what's the record number?

Sorry for such a late reply. I have gone to to generation 16 before running out of grain. Been sitting in a barrel for last 8 months and I love the way it's developing. My favorite so far by a mile. So much I started a gin with intention of filling another barrel to age in. 1 or 2 years should be outstanding.

[Housemoney]

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.

After reading the thread, shouldn’t that be 15 pounds of sugar?
I’m trying this with the PP 10% I used the blender to break down everything.
It will probably be a mess. Can’t be worse than that cornmeal I used in my AG.

[Medicine_man]

You gotta get funky in the white to get complex finished spirits.

That's where I'm struggling because I'm filling 15 and 30 gallon used barrels, and that's a massive investment of time and resources. I've been scared to go that wide but I'm beginning to find it necessary because of what you just said

Have you tried looking into 10-30 barrels?
Not sure what your budget is but for a small quantity it may be what you need

https://ten30barrels.square.site/

[Housemoney]

It took me 45 pounds of sugar to get to 1.080. My 30 gallon fermenter is full.

[Idlethemann]

So I'm all about experimenting and went out looking for sweet feed in my area. Since I'm in a rather large metro area I was surprised that other than two tractor supply stores within 15 miles I already knew about I found two "feed stores" in downtown.

Pretty sure there hasn't been cattle within a 10 mile radius in decades but whatever.

I get a bag and my surprise when I get it home,,,,, completely pellets.

Smells good, noting but pellets.

Whatever, let's see what happens.

I bring 7 gallons to a low boil, pour in 14 pounds of the pellets and get it stirring. I have a small drill press with a paint mixer for constant stirring. I keep it there around 140 degrees for about 30 minutes throwing in the alpha and gluco.

I took a sample and filtered out the heavy stuff then threw it in the fridge to get it down to around 60 degrees and I got a reading of 1.050.

I had about 5lbs of organic agave nectar laying around so I tossed that in and just waiting for it to cool a little too get to pitching temp.

We shall see what happens.

[Housemoney]

I’m waiting to hear how that turns out. Getting ready to run my sugar/sweetfeed. I could use a lot less sugar if I got the conversion you did with enzymes.

[Idlethemann]

I haven't forgotten about it but life has gotten in the way and about a week ago I went into the shed and got the very distinct smell of baby sick.

I smelled today and it's gone and I canceled work tomorrow due to weather so I might just run it tomorrow and give it a taste by the weekend.

[Idlethemann]

Ok, running now and I gotta say. I'm liking the smell and I hope it translates to the taste. Definitely got a "rum" smell to it and very distinct pineapple background.

I tossed in the first 3 gallons or so of the mash right into my t500 and ended up very quickly scorching so I'll not be doing that again. This stuff is HEAVY.

[Stout8174asheNC]

Gonna try this out. Recipe similar to mine. Although I’m new to distilling. I’m tweaking my mash recipes for past month. So far I’ve had 3 great mashes and 0 drinkable liquids.
I’m not giving up though. I have kept notes and research of everything in every way I’ve done things so far.

[Idlethemann]

So far the only thing I've been able to make that were drinkable in my opinion were some sugar washes I ran through my reflux still and got 186-190 proof spirit that I proofed down and made some very nice Blueberry and honey liquor with and a 100% corn mash that I put on wood and after a month and a half it's very nice.

[KegStand]

Has anyone tried the Blue Bonnet sweetfeed from Chewy? Delivered to your door for fairly cheap considering the quality.
https://www.chewy.com/bluebonnet-feeds- ... /dp/231982

It’s got oats, cracked corn, barley and molasses. No pellets and legitimately all grain + the molasses.

Anyways, thought I’d share as I’ve got 20 gallons fermenting right now almost ready to strip.

[danmiz]

Has anyone tried the Blue Bonnet sweetfeed from Chewy? Delivered to your door for fairly cheap considering the quality.
https://www.chewy.com/bluebonnet-feeds- ... /dp/231982

It’s got oats, cracked corn, barley and molasses. No pellets and legitimately all grain + the molasses.

Anyways, thought I’d share as I’ve got 20 gallons fermenting right now almost ready to strip.

curious how it turns out. good price.

[KegStand]

curious how it turns out. good price.

First stripping run of this stuff is ready to go. Just siphoned/strained it into another bucket and man does this stuff smell good. Can’t wait to drink the finished product!

[KegStand]

I am glad to hear that you like it. After it ages a while it is even better.. I have some that is almost a year old now. I cant wait to try it.
KS

Hey KS, what are you aging this in/on? Thanks!

[danmiz]

curious how it turns out. good price.

First stripping run of this stuff is ready to go. Just siphoned/strained it into another bucket and man does this stuff smell good. Can’t wait to drink the finished product!

i order a bag yesterday and it arrived today from chewy. glad it seems good. in the picture on chewy it looked like it had pellets. does it? i haven't open bag yet

[KegStand]

curious how it turns out. good price.

First stripping run of this stuff is ready to go. Just siphoned/strained it into another bucket and man does this stuff smell good. Can’t wait to drink the finished product!

i order a bag yesterday and it arrived today from chewy. glad it seems good. in the picture on chewy it looked like it had pellets. does it? i haven't open bag yet

[danmiz]

looks like it has some pellets but I've distilled worse. lets see how it come out. I'm sure it will be good tasting.

[KegStand]

looks like it has some pellets but I've distilled worse. lets see how it come out. I'm sure it will be good tasting.

6 gallons of wash yielded just over 1.5 gallons of low wines. Tastes pretty dang good and smells good too. I will say that the flavor resembles rum with its sweet taste/smell. My hope is that after the spirit run, it’ll remove some of the sweetness and after I age it on oak, it’ll be even better.

I’m happy with it and going to keep it rolling until I get around 9 gallons of low wines to do a spirit run!

[danmiz]

glad to hear it went well. ill start fermenting it today. I've done sweetened many times and it one of my favorites. i just always order it from shops online. like 37.00 for 10lbs. this is much cheaper.

[Stout8174asheNC]

My mash basically the same. Actually amazing. But about day 3-4 it turns to vinegar smell and taste. Why is that???
5 gallon bucket. 4-5 inches feed. 2-3 inches cracked corn. 5-7 lbs sugar. 2 packets yeast. Up to 113gramsyeast.
I’ve done whole grains I’ve done fine grains. Played with sugar and yeast amounts.
5 runs. All different mashes. But basically the same recipe each time. Always turns to vinegar haven’t really gotten any drinkable shine yet. What I do get is about 180-190 proof. Tempering Dow with my spring water doesn’t help.
I’m not gonna give up though. I’m fascinated with the art and chemistry of it

[danmiz]

that proof is pretty high for a pot still. this is a sour mash whiskey. it should be sour but not vinegar. are you making this on a pot still?

[KegStand]

Haven’t posted in a while but figured I would share what I got today out of 9 gallons of sweet feed low wines! 12 pints and 8 quarts. Letting them breathe for a day or two before I make cuts!

I went decently into the tails (could have gone deeper) but pulled the plug at around 55abv.

[danmiz]

Haven’t posted in a while but figured I would share what I got today out of 9 gallons of sweet feed low wines! 12 pints and 8 quarts. Letting them breathe for a day or two before I make cuts!

I went decently into the tails (could have gone deeper) but pulled the plug at around 55abv.

how did it turn out? mine was great . in barrels now.

[Oystercracker123]

I understand the concept of sweet feed is essentially a flavored sugar wash. I have used the search function and google to see if anyone has used yellow label on as close to all grain sweet feed as is available to no luck. I’m looking at the chewy sweet feed above. Has anyone had luck doing a yellow label ferment on sweet feed without sugar? Does the yellow label get within the husk of the grains or would they need to be cracked/milled? Or has anyone had luck running the sweet feed through a mill to break the grains? I’m assuming the molasses will gum everything up resulting in a sticky mess, but I’m not sure if this actually occurs or not.

[RockinRockies]

I understand the concept of sweet feed is essentially a flavored sugar wash. I have used the search function and google to see if anyone has used yellow label on as close to all grain sweet feed as is available to no luck. I’m looking at the chewy sweet feed above. Has anyone had luck doing a yellow label ferment on sweet feed without sugar? Does the yellow label get within the husk of the grains or would they need to be cracked/milled? Or has anyone had luck running the sweet feed through a mill to break the grains? I’m assuming the molasses will gum everything up resulting in a sticky mess, but I’m not sure if this actually occurs or not.

We haven't used yellow label but what we did was use enzymes to break everything down and add no sugar. It's a pain in the butt and the issue is that you get a little more bitterness from the oats and barley with the high temp to get the corn convert, but I think it's Superior to adding sugar.

[RockinRockies]

I had to quit drinking on Labor Day last year because I became such a pathetic alcoholic that I didn't really have a choice. We have 60 gallons of spirits in three different barrels and after a year and a half two years I am not impressed with any of it except for the rum. I've actually backed off my love affair with sweet feed too because there's just something about it that bores me now. I think the original recipes great for newbies but after we run through the last time that we have I'm done. Basically it's just going to be there for barter's sake if things ever go to s***

[RockinRockies]

I had to quit drinking on Labor Day last year because I became such a pathetic alcoholic that I didn't really have a choice. We have 60 gallons of spirits in three different barrels and after a year and a half two years I am not impressed with any of it except for the rum. I've actually backed off my love affair with sweet feed too because there's just something about it that bores me now. I think the original recipes great for newbies but after we run through the last ton that we have I'm done. Basically it's just going to be there for barter's sake if things ever go to s***

[wscywabbit]

So I did a search (being lazy) for sweetfeed and then replied to the conversation thinking I was looking at the main sweetfeed conversation... turns out I was not. But I wanted to post this here as well as it seems to be the more appropriate location for my interjection:


Sweetfeed is the second recipe I tried (after Uncle Jesse's) when I started distilling about a year and a half ago. Compared to the corn whiskey, I didn't care for the white distilate from the sweetfeed. So I put all of it in the shed on oak cubes. A little over a year later, this stuff is delicious! My friends couldn't stay out of it, so I find myself guarding the last 1/2 fifth of the 3 I ended up with. I have a feeling I will be making more before long...

[Tim Julius]

So I did a search (being lazy) for sweetfeed and then replied to the conversation thinking I was looking at the main sweetfeed conversation... turns out I was not. But I wanted to post this here as well as it seems to be the more appropriate location for my interjection:


Sweetfeed is the second recipe I tried (after Uncle Jesse's) when I started distilling about a year and a half ago. Compared to the corn whiskey, I didn't care for the white distilate from the sweetfeed. So I put all of it in the shed on oak cubes. A little over a year later, this stuff is delicious! My friends couldn't stay out of it, so I find myself guarding the last 1/2 fifth of the 3 I ended up with. I have a feeling I will be making more before long...

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How did you find the flavor of your sweetfeed distillate after aging it on oak cubes for over a year, compared to the initial white distillate? Have you noticed any significant changes in taste or character during the aging process?

[Grappa-Gringo]

Can Sweetfeed whisky be considered "white dog" ? I want to make some labels and don't know if Sweetfeed can be considered White dog.. please advise....cheers GG