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I think I have the gist of these processes, but I seem to be inept at formulating a proper search to find information that I can understand.

Yeast + Sugar = Booze (VERY generally)

So, the two types of washes can be sugar based or grain based (sugar referring to added refined sugar).

For an all grain wash, the grain must be malted and then mashed. For mashing, the malted grain is to be heated for a length of time (not boiled) to allow the enzymes created during malting to convert the starches to sugar. Once the grain has been mashed, in order to produce the fermentable sugar, it is rinsed (sparged) to get every last bit of goodness out. Then add yeast and...the rest is history.

Now, the concept here is that the grain is the sugar, yes, but it also is the nutrients for the yeast.

So, in a sugar wash, there needs to be some sort of nutrient because sugar water and yeast won't work; the yeast will die without food nutrient. That is why stuff like tomato paste is added. From there, the process is the same as all grain. Add yeast and go.

So my confusion starts when considering the sweet feed recipes here. By that logic, they are in essence just a sugar wash that uses the feed as a nutrient base. Because my feed has pellets, I want to cut back on how much I use in order to avoid too much garbage accumulating in the fermenter. So the question is, how much nutrient base does yeast need? Is there a ratio to follow, or calculation? Do I have a correct grasp on the processes?

Also, the lees...when the wash is done and the lees are left, do you just discard the feed and keep the fine sludge (which I assume is yeast)? With that you can start a new batch without adding more new yeast?

The sweetfeed is for nutrients but also flavor. I would stick to the amount of sweetfeed in the recipe.

The problem you will run into with pellets in the mix. Is they will turn to mush and also fall to the bottom mixing in with the yeast cake. So removing just yeast will be nearly impossible. And with sweetfeed you won't get the same thing on a second generation without adding the same amount of sweetfeed to the second gen. Best thing would be to start a second gen just like you did the first. But scoop out some of the trub to use for the yeast.

That's one of the reasons pellets are not recommended. All grain sweetfeed is the preferred.

I wish I knew the feed I bought had pellets before I actually bought it. Unfortunately there were no indicators of such.

Anyhow, I started a new mash with about half of the original hydrated feed mush, 14L of boiled water, 7lbs. of sugar. I pitched 3tbsp of baker's yeast at ~100F and it is bubbling away nicely as I type this. OG was 1.87.

My main question is about sugars and enzymes, I suppose. In a sugar wash (like a SF), the sugars are present, enzymes don't really come into play because the wash has everything there.

In an AG wash, because sugar comes from the grain, it needs to be persuaded into giving it up. Malting gets the natural enzymes going and then mashing (heating for a period) releases the sugars. From that point, either a sugar wash or AG wash is essentially the same in that it is a sugar water concoction to which yeast is added, am I on base with that?

You pretty much got it. Although you are fermenting sugar in both an AG and a sugarhead. The sugar is quite different between the two. Flavor is quite different too. But when it comes down to fermenting the sugars. It's all basically the same. Yeasties eat the sugars they can. And fart CO2 and piss alcohol.

Thanks for validating that, PP. Sometimes I feel a few nuggets shirt of a happy meal

Over time you will find your nuggets. As ling as you didn't add them to a mash.

Just keep reading as much as you can. The puzzle pieces start falling into place. And ah ha moments happen more often. And it gets all better.