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Started my first batch 9 days ago.

A simple sugar wash very close to Wineo's.

started with 16 lbs sugar
12 gallons total of water
1 tsp citric acid
1 Tbsp Fermax
1/2 cup distillers yeast
pinch Epsom salt


started with 6 gallons hot water from tap, lots of aeration
stirred to dissolve sugar, Fermax, citric acid, Epsom salt
pitched 1 Tbsp alpha amylase
waited 20 minutes
pitched 1 Tbsp gluco amylase
let it sit for a little while

added cool water to top off at 12 gallons, lots of aeration
SG was low at 1.055
added 4 more lbs of sugar before SG reached 1.070
Now at a total of 20 lbs of sugar

temp at 95 degrees
pitched yeast
stirred well

The wash started well with lots of bubbling after a few hours.

Here's where I am looking for advice.
My original SG was about 1.070.
The temp the SG was taken at was 95 degrees F.
I know there is a correction factor.
If I am interpreting the instructions correctly, this means the SG was actually 1.075.

Am I correct ???????????????

I am storing the wash in a small room where my electric hot water heater is located.
The temperature never gets too cool in there.
My sugar wash has been working for 9 days and is still bubbling.
Tiny bubbles, but lots of them.

The temp of the wash is 76 degrees F.
Is the temp the reason it is taking so long to convert?

My current SG is 1.030.

What should my SG be when the conversion is complete?

ANY comments or constructive criticism would be appreciated.

RBJ, I'm a sorta "fly by the seat ..." distiller and very seldom use a hydrometer - not saying that it isn't an important tool - but if it's still producing bubbles, it hasn't yet finished. Leave it until it's finished bubbling, it knows when it's finished.

blanik

I think with a sugar wash you should en up near 1000, maybe 990.

""If I am interpreting the instructions correctly, this means the SG was actually 1.075.""
yes. and that is about 11.5%alcohol most will finish below 1.0000
though not allways so, best just let it finish, when it stops it stops.
many things afect how long it takes,, temps, nutreants,how much sugar,PH.

RazorbackJack, can you explain the use of alpha amylase and gluco amylase in your sugar wash...??? Considering how both enzymes are intended to break down starches into sugars (conversion), and you have no starchy ingredients, this seems like a waste of good enzymes and time... A straight sugar wash should ferment just fine without enzymes...

rad14701 wrote:RazorbackJack, can you explain the use of alpha amylase and gluco amylase in your sugar wash...??? Considering how both enzymes are intended to break down starches into sugars (conversion), and you have no starchy ingredients, this seems like a waste of good enzymes and time... A straight sugar wash should ferment just fine without enzymes...

Rad,

Thanks for the question/observation.

I have read so much information, that I am sure that I convinced myself that the enzymes would be helpful in getting maximum conversion.

Something I read indicated that the yeast could not consume the sugar directly very well.

I understand now, I think, that the proper way to ensure maximum conversion would be to invert the sugar first.

I do, however, definitely know for certain that just because I convince myself that an idea is accurate,
DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THE IDEA IS ACCURATE.

So thank you very much for helping to steer me in the correct direction.

RBJ

RBJ,
Rad's right, you don't need the enzymes for a sugar wash. You are doing about twice my normal batch but about the same SG.
This is my slop:
I invert my white sugar (check parent site if not familiar). Probably don't need to but it gets the ingredients mixed nicely and maybe the yeasty beasties are happier - to that I add 1/2 can of frozen OJ, 1 cup of All bran (or equivalent ie Bran buds etc. vitamin B complexes and minerals).
2 Tsp of DAP
2 Tsp of Bicarb (or Gypsum) (have to buffer as the PH drops during ferment) usually need to add 1 more Tsp later
1 Tsp of Yeast energizer (not convinced I really need this but if the yeasty beasty is happy so am I))
mix & top up with cold water
finally add 5gm of re-hydrated EC1118 OR 1 liter off the bottom of the last ferment (this works great!)
I rack off my fermenting pail around 1010 to 1020 into a glass carboy & start my next batch in the pail. The carboy finishes the ferment and the yeast drops out of solution. LED flashlight is a great tool here. My environment is cool so my process is about 9 days.

Hope this is of help.
SB

Plain sugar has (barring any problems) a 100% conversion factor.

Please read my original post for the ingredient list and how it was mixed.

My sugar wash finally finished generating CO2 over this past weekend. (Saturday 12/19/09)
I turned off the heater in the room on Saturday.
Today it has cleared up nicely.
Getting ready to rack it off and let it clear some more.

I kept the wash in a warm room for the whole time.

I checked the ph, using litmus paper, about a week ago.
The ph was 4.

HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS

I started this batch on November 22.
It stopped generating CO2 on December 19.

Based on the info in this post, what should I do different to help this finish sooner?
I will skip the enzymes next time.

Is the fact that I did NOT invert the sugar the most likely reason the wash took so long to complete?

Or possibly something else?

I am simply looking for opinions of those more experienced than myself.
Which is most of this community.

Thanks!

Did you use chlorinated water?

Inverting the sugar is unlikely to help you here. Uninverted sugar washes rarely take more than a week to finish.

HookLine wrote:Did you use chlorinated water?

Inverting the sugar is unlikely to help you here. Uninverted sugar washes rarely take more than a week to finish.

Yes

Chlorine (or chloramine) can seriously retard yeast activity, even kill it off.

Add a very small pinch of vitamin C (as ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate powder, available pretty cheap at health food stores). It will instantly neutralise both chlorine and chloramine.

I did not know that.

I did have 1 tsp of citric acid.

Does citric acid affect the chlorine?

Thanks Hookline!

As far as I know citric acid does not affect them.

Also, I am not saying that is definitely your problem, but it needs to be ruled out.

One thing you can try with a stuck ferment is to run some pure oxygen through it, or re-aireate it. When you pitched your yeast was it dry? If so did you hydrate it first? Sometimes the initial shock of sugars affect the yeast, it needs to be acclimated. In the brewery we would run yeast in a small fermentor with a lower gravity just to get it active, and pull out the most active yeast and pitch that into the big fermentors.
If you are unsure about the chemicals in your water just give your water company a call and ask what they add to the water supply.

dyethor wrote: ... If you are unsure about the chemicals in your water just give your water company a call and ask what they add to the water supply.

That's a scarey thought. It may turn you off water for life.

blanik

dyethor wrote:One thing you can try with a stuck ferment

Thanks for the responses.

My wash started bubbling aggressively in the beginning.
It continued bubbling the whole way through.
It just switched over to tiny bubbles after about the first 2-3 days.

Is a wash considered stuck if it is still producing CO2?

nope, you can also check with hydrometor,

Daantje wrote:I think with a sugar wash you should en up near 1000, maybe 990.

i always wait till i get 990 till i brew her up and it only takes me about 4 days but i always leave it a good 7 days as its easier for me to do brewing on weekends
rather than during the week nights.but yeah wait till she stops bubbling and gets as close enough to 990 as possible.

Dnderhead wrote:nope, you can also check with hydrometor,

i do i always use one thats the only way i know where im at.

dyethor wrote:One thing you can try with a stuck ferment is to run some pure oxygen through it, or re-aireate it. When you pitched your yeast was it dry? If so did you hydrate it first? Sometimes the initial shock of sugars affect the yeast, it needs to be acclimated. In the brewery we would run yeast in a small fermentor with a lower gravity just to get it active, and pull out the most active yeast and pitch that into the big fermentors.
If you are unsure about the chemicals in your water just give your water company a call and ask what they add to the water supply.

or you could just buy filtered water from your super makert,or rain water ect.