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Is that amount of yeast realy enough? In my country it would give me just 1,5 cube ordinary baking yeast for 25l wash. One cube is 50g yeast. Normaly I use 0.6kg yeast to 6 kg of sugar.

smaller amounts of yeast will work in any wash/mash . it just takes longer to start (lag) but more it is safer as then it can help prevent infections.

Lingonberry wrote:Is that amount of yeast realy enough? In my country it would give me just 1,5 cube ordinary baking yeast for 25l wash. One cube is 50g yeast. Normaly I use 0.6kg yeast to 6 kg of sugar.

The amount of yeast pitched is a matter of preference... I measure by volume rather than weight and for most recipes I use 2 tablespoon/30 milliliters, 4 cups/1 liter of sugar for a potential 14% ABV wash... If I want a slower ferment I use half that amount of yeast... However, most of my yeast measurements are based on water volume rather than sugar, so a lower ABV wash would have a proportionately greater yeast:sugar ratio...

So, let me see if I got this right. I can actually start with any amount of yeast. From what I start with that yeast will grow till either it runs out of "food" or untill the alcohol "kills" it. If I start with a low quantity of yeast it will just take a longer time to get there. Is this the issue.

Lingonberry wrote:So, let me see if I got this right. I can actually start with any amount of yeast. From what I start with that yeast will grow till either it runs out of "food" or untill the alcohol "kills" it. If I start with a low quantity of yeast it will just take a longer time to get there. Is this the issue.

100% correct... The only other consideration is that more yeast generates more CO2 and the combination of both the large yeast colony and CO2 boundary layer help fend off possible infections that could otherwise bring the ferment to a halt, potentially rendering it unsalvageable...

Thanks to rad14701 for sorting things out. Actually what I think Im gonna do now is this. The local thumbrule is to use 0.6 kg yeast for 6 kg suger in 25 liter wash. Birdwatcher sugest to use 70 gram in that mIxture, which in fact can depend on the local yeast per expected fermenting time. I think that I out of this thread will try to do a middle way and start of with 150 gram of local yeast and just se how it works out.

I have got this wash on the go (25l) been bubbling now 6 days, starting sg 1080 only now on 1045, should it take this long or have I done something wrong.
Room temp 22-24c

21 litres water
5 kg sugar
juice of 1 lemon
3/4 tin tom paste (small tin double concentrated)
half tin bakers yeast (small allinsons orange tin)

Just let it run, I have had washes take over two weeks before now. As long as its still fermenting its OK.

Thanks olddog.

Do you ever sleep

Lol

Its currently ten past four in the afternoon in Australia. You have only just got up in the old country.

Hey Rad14..


What percentage does Birdwatcher's sugar wash come out at - do you know? Have just put some on as an alternative to the Turbo game!

Ratty wrote:Hey Rad14..


What percentage does Birdwatcher's sugar wash come out at - do you know? Have just put some on as an alternative to the Turbo game!

That's a loaded question... It depends on the amounts of sugar and water... See the sugar wash calculator on the parent site... Another option is to use a hydrometer to get OG and FG readings...

OG-FG is a good way, as it gives "true" content , calculators give a "possible" abv , it is good to compare to see if it has completely
converted/worked out. It is a good idea to git used to doing both . it will be needed when /if doing other washes/mashes.

rad14701 wrote:

Ratty wrote:Hey Rad14..


What percentage does Birdwatcher's sugar wash come out at - do you know? Have just put some on as an alternative to the Turbo game!

That's a loaded question... It depends on the amounts of sugar and water... See the sugar wash calculator on the parent site... Another option is to use a hydrometer to get OG and FG readings...

Surely if I ferment the wash out completely and use the same ingredients as anyone else (as in his recipe) I will get the same percentage alcohol as everyone else - won't I?

If so, what did everyone else get?

I might be speaking for myself here, but I for one almost never follow recipes exactly... I tweak them all the time based on what I happen to have around, curiosity etc. best to just use the calculator.

Ratty, we've pointed you in the right direction... The calculator only gives rough theoretical ABV of the wash... Hydrometer readings (specific gravity) give more accurate theoretical yield of the wash... What actually comes out of the still is something altogether different, based on even more unpredictable variables like the still used, cuts made, etc... The answer you're looking for has nothing to do with the Birdwatcher recipe itself so any further discussion would be better suited for a more appropriate topic, perhaps in Sugar or Mashing and Fermenting...

Posted on last page, my wash is going very slow and now starting to realy slow down, been going now 18 days, sg @ 1007, can I do anything as I think this is too slow, I did add a couple of tsp yeast last night and gave FV a good shake, should I add some nutrient and if so what type. Room temp has been consistant between 21-23.

21 C to 23 C is pretty cool for room temp. This means your wash is probably a touch less, In my mind that the reason for the 18 days and not knowing other details.

Adding more yeast is not the answer. Shaking at this stage is questionable at this stage.

I'd say leave it be for another few days. Certainly raise the temperature of the wash to 25C to 30C. Use an aquarium heater

It is nearly finished. If your SG stays put, consider it finished and try again at a higher temperature next time..

Lastly. We've all been there. Be patient.

G

I've just started a 25 litre batch of this but with a standard dried wine yeast.

It felt weird adding the tomato paste but the smell is gorgeous.

What are the lees like for this recipe? When it's finished and cleared I'm hoping to draw this off using the tap at the bottom of the brew bin; but if there are a lot of lees I'll have to rack it.

I would rack it from the top. You know there will be some lees, leave them in your primary fermenter.
myerfire

myerfire wrote:I would rack it from the top. You know there will be some lees, leave them in your primary fermenter.
myerfire

Thanks

I guess that's what I'll end up doing, but the tap in this fermenter is about 2 inches of the bottom, I was hoping it would be higher than the lees - but even then I guess the current of the fluid leaving would stir up the lees.

My last two washes I fermented in an insulated water cooler that I installed a 1/2" ball valve to. The valve is up off the bottom an inch or so, but as I drained it, the turbulence pulled off some of the lees. My distilled product suffered as a result.
myerfire

myerfire wrote:My last two washes I fermented in an insulated water cooler that I installed a 1/2" ball valve to. The valve is up off the bottom an inch or so, but as I drained it, the turbulence pulled off some of the lees. My distilled product suffered as a result.
myerfire

Thanks again.

Looks like I'll be racking it then (at least I'll get to taste Birdwatcher's Tomato Wash before I distill it)... maybe I should add some oregano now?

You might want to throw in a little garlic too. LOL
myerfire

I held off on the spices (for now at least)... but it does make me wonder how much of the tomato flavour will carry over to the spirit in my little pot-still.

It's been a week since starting this batch and it's only down to 1.070. The temp has been between 20-27°C (maybe dropping slightly at night), and I'm wondering if that is normal for this recipe.

I'don't mind the time as it smells really nice and a million times better than the "triple distilled" that I'm running as an experiment (I'll make a thread when I get the results).

witch the spices,,many will retard yeast growth. onions, garlic, cinnamon,cloves etc..
if you want to add do so after fermenting.

many will retard yeast growth . . . . cinnamon,cloves

Hi Dnderhead
I didn't know that about cinnamon and cloves ~ maybe that's why my recent Ginger Beer failed .

birdwatcher wrote:Re the temperature range 30-35C. This is simply the range recommended in Jone Stone's book. http://www.gin-vodka.com/making-gin.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

He was a Phd. chemistry. Spent his career with the National Research Council
in Ottawa, specializing in distillation.

That's good enough for me.

Cheers.

G

I've had 25l this wash fermenting away for about 2-3 weeks at 25°C and I thought it had stuck so I put the fermenter on a heat tray which has brought the liquid temp up to 30°C and it's bubbling away nicely now with an SG of 1025.

Maybe it didn't like the temp difference between night and day?

Yes. A steady 30C simply speeds up the process. I do 80 liter washes in about a week. I've been using an aquarium heater through a hole in the lid my container. Seems to be working fine.

Enjoy.

G

I'm on my third 25l Birdwatchers and I'm finding that a steady 30C does the job best for me. I've got a heating pad under a plastic fermenter. I just started my 4th today in a 20l bucket while the 3rd finishes - got bang on the 1.09 SG to start and it's got a lovely thick heaving layer of something over the top of it already. The one that's finishing is just dipping below 1.000 tonight and still bubbling nicely, and the wash is tasting drier than I've had in the first two I tried. Getting the hang of it!