Home Distiller

hi im going to be making some sugar washes and want to know witch is best and why? and should i use some sort of neutreince it? lemon juice? or is tomato past better? im going to be doing the birdwatchers recipie

Don't think there's a better except to your preference. My favorite is DWWG because of it's mid scotch taste, but that doesn't mean you'd agree. Think you'll find Bird Watcher's a good recipie- made some good neutral for me. Enjoy.

akrandy wrote:im going to be doing the birdwatchers recipie

then it's
5kg sugar
juice of one lemon
200g of tomato paste
pinch of epsom salts
water to about 25L
some yeast (50grams or so)

pretty easy hey

AK, you need to tell us what you want to make, and what your setup is. Otherwise, anyone's recommendation is just a shot in the dark....

Birdwatchers' is for a neutral. DWWG and UJSM for sugarhead whiskey, etc....

As for yeast, which is what I think you're asking about, many of us just use baker's, and some of us collect and reuse the yeast from batch to batch, thereby creating our own customized strain, over time. Honestly can't remember the last time I bought yeast!

i got a pot still, i want to make sugar washes for a nuetral spirit. i want to get into flavoring my own stuff. so i was just woundering about yeast. so if i use distillers do i still need to use lemons or past? or is that just for bakers??

akrandy wrote:i got a pot still, i want to make sugar washes for a nuetral spirit. i want to get into flavoring my own stuff. so i was just woundering about yeast. so if i use distillers do i still need to use lemons or past? or is that just for bakers??

I may be mistaken, but I don't think you're going to get much of a neutral spirit from a pot. Doesn't mean you can't do something great though.

akrandy wrote:i got a pot still, i want to make sugar washes for a nuetral spirit. i want to get into flavoring my own stuff. so i was just woundering about yeast. so if i use distillers do i still need to use lemons or past? or is that just for bakers??

Whatever yeast you choose to use, it will need some nutrient to keep it fed and happy through the fermentation. That is what the tomato paste is for, to provide the nutrient. While lemons might provide some nutrient, its primary use would be to adjust the Ph (acidity) of your wash. I'd be careful with lemons unless you know what your Ph is and where you want it to be. You can end up making your wash too acidic for the yeast. Look for a Ph around 4.5 to 5.5.

You can get pretty close to a neutral with a pot still if you make multiple runs.