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I am as green to the game as they come. 1 run & the mountain of info I thought I had acquired had turned into the corner section of a ripped map, & I'm not sure witch way to turn.
Went with a sugar wash.
10 lbs sugar, 5 gal water, 5 tea spoons bakers yeast.

First potential foul pitched from a starter @ 92 temp. I
Think it should have been done closer to 70?

Then left overnite stirred the next morn & air locked. For 4 days the lock was a constant bubbler.
Left for 1 week & distilled.
2nd foul heated to 200, whoops anyway the yeild was around a gal. & looked great, but
Smells like yeast??? But,Not sweet, took flame to a tea spoon & it burned blue with yellow tip ~ 3 in. Tall for 30 sec. So I know there's alcohol there, just want to fix my fouls? Any advice or "constructive" criticism would be a great help.
All & all pretty proud of my first run, for an uneducated cat like myself anyway?
Didn't puke the pot or end with sugar water? Lol
Is there any way to post a short video? The flame test & the air lock conniption are both pretty cool.
Ps thanks for this site & ur time.

I would have to say . Too much sugar. I use 1 pound per 1 gal of water.

I also use 2 packets of bakers yeast per ferment bucket.

The high sugar content will possibly strain the yeast which then will shit in your drink.

couple things pop up on your ferment. just sugar and water isn't the best recipe, I would suggest going to tried and true section and trying the birdwatcher or wineo plain ole sugar wash for a vodka type spirit. I have best results when I rack wash off initial ferment and let clear for a few days after the sg is under 1.00. then rack into boiler to run, otherwise you are boiling the yeast and releasing whatever goo is inside them into the spirit, that is probably where the yeast taste is coming from. you can't add to much yeast within reason, but you need to remove it before distilling or you will be able to taste it, especially bread yeast. the tried and true section is your friend, use it till you get a few more runs under your belt.

Hi, it seems to be that you had no nutrients in your ferment, I would recommend you to look at the tried and true recipes here. Also, have you done a cleaning run on your still? There's lots of great reading in the new distiller's reading lounge, you will find answers to most of your problems there and most likely find answers to some problems you don't know about.
Take care
Cheers
Stainless
edited posting at same time as RR

I did have a watermellon added to the bucket so....? I guess that would drop the water to 4.5 gal & add MORE sugar? My bad, I had no idea there was such thing as too much of a good thing!
PP ( stands for Phuck'n Phunny!) my new spin on lol. Feel free to use that.

Any way thanks for the map boys, much needed.
Question, I have it @ the hot apple stage. 1/2 qt. drink, 1/4qt. Water, 1/4 qt cider with some brown sugar

I know it makes no sense but... It tasted nothing like watermellon.
So,
Can I fix this with a re~run or is this a lost cause & need to start over?
& I have kept what I think u guys call back wash? But if its a mutated or "stressed" yeast issue, I'm not gonna want to use that for next time right?
Thanks again, u guys r awesome!!!

Hey SD the term you were looking for is backset not backwash Anyway, I'm not too sure about using backset from a sugar wash, for vodka type spirits you want as little flavor as possible(within reason a bit of grain flavor in a vodka ain't a bad thing) so i probably wouldn't use any backset. But for whiskies and rums the backset or dunder can be key to a good flavorful spirit with some complexity to their flavor. Just my 2 cents though, to each their own

in my experience watermelon isn't a great addition to a wash, but did add the nutrients needed for fermentation. Love it in the natural state, but not impressed when I've tried to make wine or wash. The goodness seems to drop out and leave a non-refreshing eau de horsepiss. I would use your existing to macerate some fruit or drink with a mixer and move on to a proven recipe. No need trying to turn a pigs ear into a silk purse, better to direct your efforts were you can have better results.
what type of spirit are you looking for and what type of rig do you have? with that info I'm sure there is a recipe and result you will be pleased with.

if that was the first run thru still you shouldn't be drinkin it. Full of nasty dirty still stuffs

I have 5 gal stainless stock pot, with hole for copper line out & small hole for temp gauge. With 10 ft of 1/2 in. ID copper line.So looking for a five gal. Or maybe 10 recipe that will yeild a potent smooth shine that I can dilute to a reasonable & flavor able end result?
Fruit is always a Fan favorite? Peach maybe? Lol
& what's the word of re- running the hot apple? Will that help the off flavor or ruin every thing?

Um... Define 1st? I steamed 2 gal of water through the system. Is that not good enough?

Sugar-daddy wrote:PP ( stands for Phuck'n Phunny!) my new spin on lol. Feel free to use that.

Here in these forums PP is short for Prariepiss who is a very helpful member...

I see a whole lot of readin in your future , my friend . Few here have found your first posts "Phuckin Phunny ". Safety and due diligence are the mantra here .