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Hello Rad, You use Peters 30-10-10 in your Recipe, I can not find that here, do you think this would be ok to use? Miracle-Gro 8-oz Orchids Food Water-Soluble Granules (30-10-10)

Offshore wrote:Hello Rad, You use Peters 30-10-10 in your Recipe, I can not find that here, do you think this would be ok to use? Miracle-Gro 8-oz Orchids Food Water-Soluble Granules (30-10-10)

I'm fairly sure that would work but if it is hard pellets you'd need to crush or dissolve them... I used to use 20-20-20 with success as well... In fact I might have to do a performance comparison between the two on otherwise identical washes...

Thank you rad, I will give it a try.

Hi Rad,

Thanks for giving us a recipe that appears to work so successfully!!

Do you have any suggestions on pH?

Wineos original recipe does not include tomato paste. I suspect tomato paste is the "secret" for why your recipe works so well. Do you have any thoughts about why tomato paste is needed and what it is doing to make your recipe work so well.

Also, I notice that you use a nitrogen-rich fertilizer in place of DAP. Do you think that fertilizer works better than DAP for feeding the nitrogen-hungry yeast? Or is it a matter of price.

Again, thanks, Rad, your results indeed prove that YOU ARE THE MAN.

And, you hydrate your yeast. Please elaborate why that is important.

Hmmm... How did that get in the wrong topic... I'll do some housekeeping...

It might have been in the wrong topic -- but I am very happy that you posted it here for me to see. Thanks, again, to all of the "long-beards" for sharing what works. Success is always so much more fun than learning from mistakes, if it is indeed possible for one to learn from his mistakes without help.

The truly smart person says, "Oops, I made a mistake. Maybe a "long-beard" can help me. I will not give him any gruff; my mistake shows he obviously knows more than me."

Unfortunately, it often take many mistakes for one to come to that conclusion, if he arrives at all.

What are the Epsom salts for? If I don't use it, will it ruin my wash? If I already have a wash running, can I add them a few days late? Sorry I'm very green to this all- FIRST wash ever!!! Cheers!

So ... give us a proper introduction, Sailboat!

Looking forward to it.

Odin.

Oh, sorry! So I just decided to move to the mountains this year after 5 months of hiking through the woods in America and to learn the banjo and build a still and learn to make my own spirits. This looked like a great beginners wash so I started here- I have a copper 32" valved reflux still of the Stillmakers design. It's very pretty and there are many like it, but this one is mine. I'm extremely excited to get into the thick of this and do some serious learning about the whole process! Yahoooo! Thanks for all the knowledge on this forum- can't wait to get more involved

I have a bit of a discussion going on a flaked corn thread, so I thought I should bring it here.

Turns out my hydrometer skills are lacking so while I made Wineos wash according to recipe at first. My readings were a bit off, so I upped the sugar (to 10 lbs) for the second batch. Turns out the first and original recipe produced a wicked wash that kicked out a 120 proof stripping run, while my modified wash sucked cat hork. I was able to salvage it (I hope), but I'm sticking to tried and true before I start questioning or modifying.

The best thing of this site - no judgement - only the crap or ambrosia I make with lots of tips to make it better!

EDIT: Woohoo! Got 2.5 quarts from the first wash, and even though the second wash started at 80 proof, still ended up with 2 full quarts by the time I got to 40 proof. I'm combining both stripping runs and I think I'll end up with a really nice spirit run!

QUESTION: So I combined my heads and tails from my honeyshine and added activated charcoal. Is this necessary if I'm adding the heads and tails to my spirit run - or should I keep all the heads and tail for that special run I've read about. If I do keep the heads and tails, is the charcoal a good, bad, or neutral thing?

Also, I'm completely happily buzzed for the first time drinking my own libation! Maybe I should post in, "My First".

rad14701 wrote:Here is the documentation from my last batch...

Recipe

• 5 gallons water
• 10 pounds white sugar
• 6 oz can of generic tomato paste
• 2.5 tbsp Fleischmann's dry active yeast
• 2.5 tsp Epsom Salt
• 3.5 tsp baking soda
• 2.5 tsp Peters 30-10-10
• 10 tbsp white vinegar

Rad, is inverting the sugar, as you do, necessary. And if so, how much improvement does it provide? What is your opinion, Rad?

I have heard different views. My concern is that the vinegar may lower the pH unnecessarily.

I know that your recipe was really a Birdwatchers instead of Wineo's, but I'm sure the question applies for Wineo's as well.

after 10 succesfull 5-7 day ferments
This has officially became my new wash of choice and will be used in the 200L fermenter

lampshade wrote:Rad, is inverting the sugar, as you do, necessary. And if so, how much improvement does it provide? What is your opinion, Rad?

I have heard different views. My concern is that the vinegar may lower the pH unnecessarily.

I know that your recipe was really a Birdwatchers instead of Wineo's, but I'm sure the question applies for Wineo's as well.

While I don't always invert my sugar I have found that it does, in fact, reduce fermentation times... At least that's been my own personal experience...

As for the vinegar, by the time the sugar has been inverted there is no threat of the pH being lowered... The same would be true of any of the several ingredients that can be used to invert sugar... If you don't use too much it will all be neutralized during the invert process...

If you need proof that invert sugar speeds things along, do side by side comparisons like I have... My ferment times are cut roughly in half... It also allows me to go a bit lighter on nutrients...

Fine stuff . I guess but all this " available at beermaking shop )( avaliable at winemaking supplier ) either one is a 400 mile trip for me one way , so I;ve never made a "sugar wash " sounds interesting tho . is there a supermarket reciept , we have those here.

Ga_goat wrote: is there a supermarket reciept , we have those here.

Yep... Two examples right in my signature... Check the Tried and True Recipe forum...

rad14701 wrote:Here is the documentation from my last batch...

Process

• Prepared a yeast starter using 1 cup wash and 2 cups warm water
• Pitched yeast, aerated, and airlocked 2013-11-09 @ 8:00pm

Rad, how long do you let your starter sit before pitching?

I followed this recipe, pretty much to a tee with the exception that I used about a 1/4 cup of baker's yeast. I let it ferment for 2 weeks and settle for an additional week. I poured it into the pot and started a run, didn't bother with checking the SG since it had been sitting for 3 weeks. I tasted the fore shots as I always do and it was water! Tires screeching to a halt! I turned it off and let it cool and checked the SG...1060. Not sure what I did wrong. Only thing I can think of is it has been colder inside than normal, or I flat out didn't use enough yeast. Question is, is there any way to save it or should I pitch it? I brought it up to a boil so I assume I can just re-pitch yeast and start over.

Bulimits wrote:I followed this recipe, pretty much to a tee with the exception that I used about a 1/4 cup of baker's yeast. I let it ferment for 2 weeks and settle for an additional week. I poured it into the pot and started a run, didn't bother with checking the SG since it had been sitting for 3 weeks. I tasted the fore shots as I always do and it was water! Tires screeching to a halt! I turned it off and let it cool and checked the SG...1060. Not sure what I did wrong. Only thing I can think of is it has been colder inside than normal, or I flat out didn't use enough yeast. Question is, is there any way to save it or should I pitch it? I brought it up to a boil so I assume I can just re-pitch yeast and start over.

The recipe that you used is Rad's version of Birdwatcher's. Birdwatcher's works best at 85 degrees fahrenheit. It ferments slower when the temperature is cool.

I don't know whether you can reuse a wash by adding new yeast, but I don't see why not.

lampshade wrote:

Bulimits wrote:I followed this recipe, pretty much to a tee with the exception that I used about a 1/4 cup of baker's yeast. I let it ferment for 2 weeks and settle for an additional week. I poured it into the pot and started a run, didn't bother with checking the SG since it had been sitting for 3 weeks. I tasted the fore shots as I always do and it was water! Tires screeching to a halt! I turned it off and let it cool and checked the SG...1060. Not sure what I did wrong. Only thing I can think of is it has been colder inside than normal, or I flat out didn't use enough yeast. Question is, is there any way to save it or should I pitch it? I brought it up to a boil so I assume I can just re-pitch yeast and start over.

The recipe that you used is Rad's version of Birdwatcher's. Birdwatcher's works best at 85 degrees fahrenheit. It ferments slower when the temperature is cool.

I don't know whether you can reuse a wash by adding new yeast, but I don't see why not.

If it came to a boil, you might want to aerate it before pitching the yeast.

S-C

lampshade wrote: The recipe that you used is Rad's version of Birdwatcher's. Birdwatcher's works best at 85 degrees fahrenheit. It ferments slower when the temperature is cool.

I don't know whether you can reuse a wash by adding new yeast, but I don't see why not.

I re-pitched the yeast and it started fermenting again, it's going a couple bubbles every 5 mins or so, today I popped the airlock and temped it at 65° so I'm guessing the cooler temps are slowing it down.

Bulimits wrote: today I popped the airlock and temped it at 65° so I'm guessing the cooler temps are slowing it down.

If you do warmup the wash, pls let us know the results. A favorable outcome would be good news for others who suffer a stalled ferment.

Nice post !

My batches are consistently fermenting to dry in ~4 days... Five gallon washes in 6.5 gallon carboys, wearing a jacket, with tweaked nutrients... Very clean even when run fast in hybrid mode with a blended ABV of 91% or better...

Started a batch today, pitched 1/4c of Red Star... took off like a rocket...

started my first wash today......followed the recipe to the tee!!!!! starting sg of 1068, and it started bubbling from the airlock in about 30 minutes. I have a brew belt on it to keep it up to ferment temperature. I will chech the sg every other day. and rack into another 6.5 gallon bucket when done to help clearing. wish me luck, this is my first wash.

on page 42 they talk about using fleischmans yeast I have distillers yeast willl that work and if so same amount

checked the sg again today........1034. and looking/smelling good!!!!

tony184k wrote:on page 42 they talk about using fleischmans yeast I have distillers yeast willl that work and if so same amount

the directions call for 1/4 cup of distillers yeast.......super start distillers yeast.

sg is at 1018 today!!!!! still a lot of action inside the fermenter.

after checking the sg earlier, I haven't gotten any more bubbles from the airlock????? whats up with that???