Home Distiller

so i read about making moonshine from horse feed and thought i would try it. so i went to the feed store and asked for sweet feed without pellets. what i was given was Nutrena vitality performance 12%. get home open it up and its sticky and wet (molases) and on closer inspection it had pellets in it. well i was disgusted and pissed and had my heart set on cooking up a new mash last night so i decided to make a small one (1 gallon) see how it ferments and consult you guys before i bother distilling it. the molases i think might actually be a good thing, but I had to remove sticky pellets by hand from 1.5 lbs of feed. i think i got them all but could have left a couple behind. heres my question to you guys.... if i distill it and drink it will i die? its fermenting quite nicely at the moment in fact i had to split it up between 2 gallon jugs because it was bubbling out the top. not even gonna bother with airlocks till it settles down. If i left a couple pelelts behind what could happen? whats the worst case scenario here?

Heres the website for the feed, it lists the nutritional analysis. http://www.nutrenaworld.com/products/ho ... /index.jsp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

the site doesnt list the specific ingredients so I'm gonna type them out


crimped barley, crimped oat, cracked corn, whole clean oats, dehulled soybean meal, yeast culture, wheat middlings, rice bran, soybean hulls, rice hulls, cane molasses, selenium yeast, Vitamins A, D, E, B12, Riboflavin, and folic acid supplements, , thiamine mononitrate, DL-methionine, Ascorbic acid (vit c... that much i knew) calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, salt, natural and artificial flavors added, Magnesium oxide, manganese sulfate, ferrous sulfate, ferrous carbonate, copper chloride, copper sulfate, zinc oxide, zinc sulfate, ethylenediamine dihydroiodide, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite, zinc methionine complex, copper lysine complex, manganese methionine complex, cobalt glucoheptonate, lactobacilus casei fermentation product dehydrated, bifidobacterium thermophilum fermentation product dehydrated, enterococcus faecium fermentation product dehydrated, corn oil, mineral oil.

whatever all that is, the yeast sure likes it a lot. thanks guys. and thanks to all who helped me out with my stuck mash post as well

You'll be fine... I think folks have a hard time racking because of the pellets. Also, gives a little but of an odd taste, but you'll be fine...

My novice opinion is that pellets are no harm at all, just a pain in the butt to filter out of your wash. They turn into a mush and you are forced to squeeze filter it in a pillow case or something.. I've had to do it, and it is not fun. And the stickiness (molasses) is no harm either, just more food for the yeast. But what do I know.

All depends on what the pellets are made from. And you will probably never know what is in them. Floor sweepings is what mine looked like. Some contain alfalfa and other stuff that will not add anything good to the ferment. Maybe cause off flavors. I know Odin has reported that the pellets had a funky flavor compared to the AG version.

I will never use pellets again. Super nasty. Is I I got from it. But I have never done an AG version of it.

And the molasses is what makes it sweetfeed. This gives the finished product that hint o rum. That makes it different from a normal grain spirit. And you can read all about it in the sweetfeed recipe thread. Pages and pages of info on all kinds of sweetfeed.

Sweet Feed with pellets. Been there, done that, never again. I can guarantee you that you will be much happier if you throw that stuff in the yard for the birds or animals (or give it to someone with a horse) and find a bag of Producers Pride All Grain. It is a sweet feed and contains only cracked corn, oats, barley and molasses. Makes an excellent sweet feed whiskey and has no pellets nor that nightmare list of ingredients. My local Tractors Supply has it.

Good luck.
BG

"wheat middlings, rice bran, soybean hulls, rice hulls"

Translation: We swept up the floor of the grain storage silos, also the floors around the millstones, and threw that in for filler as well.

Also, when they put in the pellets, there are a lot of fines(powder of crushed and broken pellets) that go in with it. You can't pick that out by hand, as it's all stuck to the molasses.

Any thoughts on making your own sweet feed by mixing the grains then adding mollasses? I can get all the grains and bulk mollasses but the only sweet feed I can get locally has pellets in it. Wouldn't know how much mollasses to add though. Has anyone tried this or have any ideas about how to go about it?

Mix and try.

Crk3rd it usually it has 4-12% molasses.

Bushman wrote:Crk3rd it usually it has 4-12% molasses.

Thanks I would've guessed more! My initial idea would be to heat the water to dissolve the molasses and sugar then pour it over the grain. Kind of an UJSSM hybrid! I hope to get a batch going this weekend, will post my findings.

Howdy yall, I am new on this site but been doing the ole fermenting since 79. My latest experience on sweet feed was 12% Producers pride sweetfeed from from tractor supply. After two weeks at 64-70 degrees i racked it off this week to find, get this; Granite and rock fragments at the bottom of my fermentation barrel. It was bad enough that i had pellets(mush) and salt added; but i have never had rocks in my mash in 34 years of doing this! When they say floor sweepings, they are just being nice. Ha ha. It only made about 50-55 ozs. Which i turned into a qt. Of 140 pf. And a solid qt. Of some good low wine for my save jug. A slight funky smell on the first run, but it went almost all neutral on the second run.(electric postill) I will have to get mgr. To order some all-grain sweetfeed for me. Those damn pellets are a pain to strain. Cornfed

crk3rd wrote:

Bushman wrote:Crk3rd it usually it has 4-12% molasses.

Thanks I would've guessed more! My initial idea would be to heat the water to dissolve the molasses and sugar then pour it over the grain. Kind of an UJSSM hybrid! I hope to get a batch going this weekend, will post my findings.

By doing it this way you can actually do a sour mash process like UJSSM. Reuse the grain yeast bed and add the same amount of sugar and molasses for each generation. And replace some of the grains. Where if you use regular sweetfeed you would need to replace all of the grain to get the same amount of molasses.

I don't know why most people don't mix their own. So they can determine a good grain bill and molasses ratio.

I decided after my first attempts at sweetfeed with the crappy pellets. I would find a grain bill I like first. Then add molasses to it. If I ever tried a sweetfeed style again. And now I think I would use panela instead of molasses.

Or you could replace all or some of the white sugar with brown sugar. This would probably be the easiest way to do it. Follow the UJSSM recipe with your grain bill of choice. And replace all or some of the white sugar with brown sugar.

The Producers Pride sweet feed I use is has "Producers Pride All Grain" on the bag; it is a sweet feed with molasses added, but does not say "sweet feed" anywhere on the bag. I have used up several bags and have never had problem one. It is a "COB" feed w/cracked corn, oaks and barley. As long as I find it I won't even think of using anything else.

BG

crk3rd wrote:Any thoughts on making your own sweet feed by mixing the grains then adding mollasses? I can get all the grains and bulk mollasses but the only sweet feed I can get locally has pellets in it. Wouldn't know how much mollasses to add though. Has anyone tried this or have any ideas about how to go about it?

Yep. Tastes nice too. drinkin it now as i type.
used 4lt equal amounts corn,oats,barley and a cup of molasses to begin 28lt wash. i think it was 5kg sugar but not certain.
did it as a sour mash replacing spent grain and adding back 1 cup molasses every second run. the flavour isn't great off the still but once aged on charred oak it changes completely.( i don't like the new make spirit taste so make your own mind up there.) you could vary the molasses qty to suit yourself. the drink i have now is pretty much half rum /half whiskey taste. it is 9 months aged and getting better. i put away a couple of bottles on oak to age for 2 years.

Ahoy Ahoy All,

I went to the feed store and instead of asking for "sweet feed" I bought "wet COB" (corn, oats, barley and molasses) there were no pellets at all. Here in the beutiful pacific northwest I paid $14 for Grainland select Natural feed grains.

My tractor supply store has "Evolved Habitats Molasses, 1 gal." For deer and IMO cheep. Would this be alright to use for rum?

Sorry, asked and answered in post under Sugars .
I will check label and see if any things is added.

thanks for everyones advice. this thing bubbled for about a day and then stopped. i thought i had another stuck wash. didsnt mess with it for a couple days and was about to throw it out when i decided to check sg for the hell of it and it was .99. cant wait to see what it tastes like. cooked up another batch of it last night and threw in some extra molassess. picking out those damn pellets is a mother though.

You are correct on the pellets! Dont ever throw out a batch without checking it first. Some of the best shine only made 10% and worked off fast. If it aint contaminated or moldy then run it after your final gravity check. And dont worry about, it will be alright. Like everything new, there is a learnung curve.Cornfed

I use all grain does good and good taste but can't get it to go above 100 proof

As a note, in the fine -fine print on some of the (sweet feed ) bags that note the protein content that have pellets. You may find a notation about textured protein products. These protein products are ground up bones and animal left overs in some of these feeds. I am not saying this is the case with all but I did find it on some at tractor supply. The ( All Grain ) products are fore sure the safe product of choice.

My favorite recipe for sweet feed mix is 2 1/2 pounds of corn 2 1/2 pounds of oats 5 pounds barley 1 pint fancy molasses and 7 pounds cane sugar and 0ne table spoon Red Star bakers yeast per 5 gallons of good water. I typically use Kruse's perfection grains found here locally . They are of the highest quality and very clean.. Yes it is a lot more grain , but it has a great flavor. I also use them when I do my sweet feed as an AG mash. The only change is that I use malted barley in the mix and no sugar. It definitely has a different flavor profile to it and is much smoother. That is the fun of brewing is finding what small changes in the grain bill do to the flavor of the whiskey . Make the first one exactly as the recipe says then change the percentages in the grain bill a bit and compare.

corene1 wrote:My favorite recipe for sweet feed mix is 2 1/2 pounds of corn 2 1/2 pounds of oats 5 pounds barley 1 pint fancy molasses and 7 pounds cane sugar and 0ne table spoon Red Star bakers yeast per 5 gallons of good water. I typically use Kruse's perfection grains found here locally . They are of the highest quality and very clean.. Yes it is a lot more grain , but it has a great flavor. I also use them when I do my sweet feed as an AG mash. The only change is that I use malted barley in the mix and no sugar. It definitely has a different flavor profile to it and is much smoother. That is the fun of brewing is finding what small changes in the grain bill do to the flavor of the whiskey . Make the first one exactly as the recipe says then change the percentages in the grain bill a bit and compare.

Corene, what abv does your wash finish out at?

thekeyman wrote:I use all grain does good and good taste but can't get it to go above 100 proof

What kind of still do you use. My pot still does the same. You would have to run again if you want higher proof.

Bushman wrote:

corene1 wrote:My favorite recipe for sweet feed mix is 2 1/2 pounds of corn 2 1/2 pounds of oats 5 pounds barley 1 pint fancy molasses and 7 pounds cane sugar and 0ne table spoon Red Star bakers yeast per 5 gallons of good water. I typically use Kruse's perfection grains found here locally . They are of the highest quality and very clean.. Yes it is a lot more grain , but it has a great flavor. I also use them when I do my sweet feed as an AG mash. The only change is that I use malted barley in the mix and no sugar. It definitely has a different flavor profile to it and is much smoother. That is the fun of brewing is finding what small changes in the grain bill do to the flavor of the whiskey . Make the first one exactly as the recipe says then change the percentages in the grain bill a bit and compare.

Corene, what abv does your wash finish out at?

I typically try to get somewhere between 1.055 and 1.060 for the AG mash some times it will get as high as 1.063. then the molasses will take it up .002 or so. With the sugar wash it comes in right at 1.067. Both will typically finish in the 1.000 to .996 range. This gives me a nice finished product. Using the pot still I will strip it, then do a slow spirit run. Ocassionally I will save a quart from the stripping run and put it on oak just to see how it comes out. My stripping runs start at about 65 to 68 percent then drop to about 60% during the center of the run , that is where I will sneak a quart out , then run it down to 20 %. On the spirit run. I like to cut it to about 25% and run it. I have done the 40% charge and the hearts come out at 85% and are a little sharp for me and they have to be cut quite a bit to get down to oaking proof. At a 25% abv charge they will come out at about 76% and the finished product has a little more flavor and is a bit smoother. I will oak it with once used oak that was toasted at 350 then alligator charred. I keep it stored in a jar filled with sherry. This is how I make whiskey for me I like the flavor but everyone has their own tastes. I have a friend that says it is too smooth and that he really likes the sharp flavors . So I always save a jar of the late heads for him and he is tickled with it.

Damn Corene, you know how to make likker sound tasty.

S-Cackalacky wrote:Damn Corene, you know how to make likker sound tasty.

Not only does it sound, tasty It is tasty, I have so many experimental jars around here it is crazy. Between all the grains and ratios out there plus different takeoff rates and ways to do spirit runs , then add in all the different ways to age and oak it. So many combinations and so little time. Right now I have a 10 gallon batch of Ag sweetfeed going. A 10 gallon batch of my new AG recipe. a 10 gallon batch of a sugarhead I made from the leftover grains from the first batch of the new AG recipe is done and ready to run. I am going to strip all but a couple of gallons of this then use the couple of gallons to cut the strip run with to do the spirit run. I sometimes wish I could be one of those that had a single recipe and stood by it, but what fun would that be?

I feel totally inadequate with 1 fermatation bucket!

Big, it's ok to keep only one if it holds + 55 gallons

what is a spirit run?

Abitaman wrote:what is a spirit run?

Oh boy... someone needs some readin'.

Look below in my signature.... click blue highlighted areas... follow directions.....repeat as necessary.

Good luck, have fun, be safe.