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How much head space is required in the fermenter or is there any rise in the mash. Reason I ask is that my mash has completly filled a 5 gallon carboy with only the neck left for head space.

fish wrote:How much head space is required in the fermenter or is there any rise in the mash. Reason I ask is that my mash has completly filled a 5 gallon carboy with only the neck left for head space.

Be very careful....if it is pulpy or grainy, you might have problems. It may blow up on ya.

Whooo, this is tempting fate! An awful lot of CO2 has to come out of that little narrow neck. The head space depends on the wash type, too. My sugar washes don't froth up but the 'mushy stuff' ones could well do.

In short, you will likely get an overflow with no real head-room.

Do you have more than 1 air lock and cork? If so, take out 1/2 gallon and ut it in a milk jug with an airlock. After 2 days add it back to the carboy. Waste not, want not:)

AkCoyote

If you have got a pulpy mash filled to the neck of a carboy, you better place several towels around it because there will be liquid all over the floor in the morning after it begins fermenting.

Sorry left out that it is a sugar wash. I found out pretty quickly that I didn't have enought room, within ten minutes it had purged through the air lock and overflowed into the sink I anticipated disaster I know my learning curve. I didn't have a clean jug to pour of the excess so I put it into a clean bowl with plastic rap over it. Any harm in returning this to the carboy now that it has calmed down? I have the vinty style airlock so I can take it apart to clean it.

It'll be fine, use the wash in the bowl to top off the carboy. But still leave some headspace, I'm sure you will want use of your sink again soon.

Sounds like you have met my somewhere before

I also forgot to take a reading with my hydrometer to get the intial SG
I assume ( very dangerous for me ) that you should take this first
reading before you drop in the yeast. The bubbles would cause an
inacurate reading would they not?

Yes the bubbles will cause an inaccurate reading. You can calculate the SG form the amount of suger and water you used.

Thanks that was my first line of thought

I have a very standard sugar wash that I never deviate from.
15 Lbs Sugar
5 Gal Water
Lees from previous wash

Put in primary fermenter 2 days. Rack to carboy. Distill when bubbles stop.

From this I get 3 750ml bottles at 89-91% plus a little more. Works out to 7 bottles of 40% spirit.

AkCoyote

Sounds simple enough. How many runs have you got out of the leftover yeast?

fish wrote:Sounds simple enough. How many runs have you got out of the leftover yeast?

usually good for about 3 fermentations. If you get enough oxygen to the yeast in the beginning of your fermentation(and proper nutrients), The yeast will multiply. This is good to do at the beginning, and toward the end of the fermentation...if you are planning on recycling the yeast.

Actually I'm on run#6 now. Oh, and don't forget a can of tomatoe paste for nutrients.

AkCoyote

AkCoyote wrote:Actually I'm on run#6 now. Oh, and don't forget a can of tomatoe paste for nutrients.

AkCoyote

Pothead here.
Holy crap. 6 runs with the same yeast? What kind of yeast did you start with? Is it still as strong of a fermentation as it was the first couple times?

I put it into a glass jar and keep it in the fridg. To re-activate I remove it the nite before to warm up then add some wash and let it go another day. The fermentation is slower but it still works.

AkCoyote