Home Distiller

OG of 1.060 and FG of 0.990 equates to 9.03% ABV which is less than the 11.7% ABV that the sugar has potential of producing... The grain may be latching on to some of the sugar in trade for the flavor...

I wonder if I would get a higher potential ABV if I converted my sugar before adding it to the grain and water?

Ok rad or someone. I am really trying to learn to read my sg hydrometer correctly. It is day 8 of my 30 gallon Sweetfeed wash. My wash has slowed to just a few bubbles. It is not frying hard like it has been. Normally I will distill it tomorrow. Can you tell me what my Hydro is telling me here.
my Sg was 1.06. I would like to know if you can tell me If I can add more sugar now and let it ferment more.
Thanks for help from anyone. rad has kind of been keeping up with me on this.

Looks like it's done dry to me KS. Your temp at reading time (30.5C) is high...so that might add a couple points to your TG. If it gets to 1.0 or below, that generally means the sugar is fermented out...ie., dry. Did you taste it? Should taste dry...not sweet. Not sure if it would be a problem or not for adding more sugar and keeping it going, but your ferment is basically done now, and has alc in it. I think the time to add more sugar would be in the beggining/start...before it ferments out. I'd rack this off and run it. Then, for next round of ferment, up the sugar as you want. You can adjust the SG with sugar from the start to whatever SG/potential you want. The basic formula for figuring your alc from gravity is (Starting SG - End SG divide by 7.36 = % vol). If your wash temp was as high in the beginning as the end, you can add a few points to your SG to adjust for temp (most hydros calibrated to 20c).

Thanks Usge, yest it is bitter not sweet. This is how I normally determine when to cook it, is by taste. I am just trying to learn to use the high tech eq... LOL
start racking it now. I have read on here before about the FG being .98 and when I look at the scale I was not sure where that was at.
I have never added sugar after it was finished, I just kind of wondered if it would start back up and ferment out.
Thanks for the info.
KS

I would not, as once a ferment stops it can be hard to restart.

KS, the basics of the hydrometer are...that 1.000 is "water" (or zero ..each instrument calibrated for a given temp...usually 20c/68f). More sugar (alc potential) will make the numbers go up. The higher your starting gravity is, the higher the potential alc there is in your wash/mash to make. As it ferments the sugar is converted to alc, the hydrometer measurements will go down. If it makes it all the way back down to 1.000 (or lower), then it has achieved the full potential of the starting gravity. If it does not finish all the way down to 1.000 or below, (adjusted for temp of course), then there are residual sugars left in your wash that did not ferment. This is why you subtract the ending (terminating-TG) gravity from the starting gravity (SG) in the calculation to determine how much alc.

These unfermentable sugars are not uncommon in beers...where they add sweet flavors...etc. Its not uncommon for wines or beers to finish above 1.000 (1.008-1.010 being pretty average unless the beer if a very dry beer). This leaves residual sweetness and silkiness in the beverage. But, for distilling, and particularly for sugar based wash...you should be looking for it to finish at 1.000 or below.

However, just as reference to get you started...here's a chart to show average yield from different readings..this is assuming it ferments down to zero (which is why it's called "potential" alc):


HYDROMETER CHART
S.G. Potential; Amount of
Alcohol % Sugar in
by Volume the Gallon
lb. oz.
1.010 0.9 --2
1.015 1.6 --4
1.020 2.3 --7
1.025 3.0 --9
1.030 3.7 -12
1.035 4.4 -15
1.040 5.1 1 -1
1.045 5.8 1 -3
1.050 6.5 1 -5
1.055 7.2 1 -7
1.060 7.8 1 -9
1.065 8.6 1 -11
1.070 9.2 1 -13
1.075 9.9 1 -15
1.080 10.6 2 -1
1.085 11.3 2 -4
1.090 12.0 2 -6
1.095 12.7 2 -8
1.100 13.4 2 -10
1.105 14.1 2 -12
1.100 14.9 2 -14
1.115 15.6 3 -0
1.120 16.3 3 -2
1.125 17.0 3 -4
1.130 17.7 3 -6
1.135 18.4 3 -8

You can adjust your SG to whatever you want in your fermenter before you pitch your yeast by adding sugar to raise it, or water to lower it. Although you'll probably find over time that using the exact same ingredient amounts/procedures will probably yield out about the same . I think its always good as part of any recipe you are developing to take gravity readings, to make sure its the same everytime.

day 8 and the 30 gallon ferment has finished at FG.099 SG was 1.06.

Dnderhead wrote:I would not, as once a ferment stops it can be hard to restart.

most times a ferment can start back by just stirring.. or at worst adding more fermentables. Unless the yeast have reached terminal ABV

Could I mash this like I do beer ingredients? Boil to gelatinize the corn in the mix...put in the mash tun and let it convert. then sparge until I get 6 gallons then add sugar?

I dont know about that panman. I dont see why not. rubberduck and some others here that do all grain can offer more on this. I am just getting into all grain.

I am thinking maybe add some malted 2 row for the enzymes.. bet I would need less sugar that way also. hmmmm I gotta make a still soon or I am gonna go nuts.

I am sure you would need to add some 2 row malt.

Teddysad: Would be keen to hear how you got on with the NRM sweetfeed.

treka wrote:Teddysad: Would be keen to hear how you got on with the NRM sweetfeed.

What is NRM?

The brand of sweetfeed he used to try this in NZ. http://www.nrm.co.nz/index.php/ps_pagen ... oductid/70 I assume thats the one he got.

Kentucky Shiner -- you going all international and such you gonna have to keep up and learn new languages

well I'll be damn

I just picked up a bag of sweet feed at my local Agway store. I cant wait to get an open fermenter to get this rolling.

Nutrena Stock and Stable. 12% horse textured (AL)

• Crude Protein 12%
  Crude Fat 3.0%
  Cruse Fiber 15%
  Calcium Min. .7% Max 1.2%
  Phosphate .35%
  Copper 30 PPM
  Selenium .3 PPM
  Zink 100 PPM
  Vitamin A 2500 UI/LB

The red arrow in your pictures indicates a specific gravity of 0.996 but that may not have accounted for actual versus calibrated temperature... OG 1.060 - FG .996 equates to ~8.25% ABV in the wash...

Once the SG of the wash has dropped that low it is not a good idea to add more sugar because the fermentation of that sugar, even just enough to increase the %ABV by 2%, will take much longer - perhaps longer than the initial ferment... I seem to recall an SG of 1.020 as being about the lowest for stepped incremental addition of sugar, but that's from memory and may not be 100% accurate...

im gonna leave where it is and run it the first part of the week. I have to work all weekend so no time for stillin. I gues if I want to go for 10-12% I need move up to 60# of sugar in a 30 gal. wash... hell thats lots of sugar.

Kentucky shinner wrote:... hell thats lots of sugar.

That'sa is a lot-o-wash.

Kentucky shinner wrote:im gonna leave where it is and run it the first part of the week. I have to work all weekend so no time for stillin. I gues if I want to go for 10-12% I need move up to 60# of sugar in a 30 gal. wash... hell thats lots of sugar.

that will getcha a little over 14%

Ok i was gonna run my wash this morning and here is where my hydro is reading. I guess it was still working very slow. tell me what each of these marks measure please. I am guess this reading is .998?

from bottom to top , each mark is -2 so day 11 is .992,, day 8 is .996 , and your starting sg was 1.060

ok sorry for the confusion. I was counting the other way... Thank you. I can be a little dense sometimes.

Well I just fired up the pot still. Gonna do a strippin run on the 30 gallon sweetfeed ferment. I like to ferment this much at one time, then siphon it off into 5 gallon containers. Then when I have time to run my still I am alway's ready....
aint nothing better then stillin and watchin bristol... Nationwide is running tonight

just started pulling my second half gallon... Pretty good shit If I must say so myself

well just finished and i got 2 gallon of low wines from a 6 gallon still charge. I ran pretty deep into the tails though. should have stopped at 1 1/2 gallon.

aint nothing better then stillin and watchin bristol... Nationwide is running tonight

I did the exact same thing! Stripped some UJSSM. Ole Junior Johnson would be proud of us!