Did I kill my yeast?

[RacingDreamz]

Ok, this is my very first wash. I did a brown sugar/honey wash. 2lb's of brown per gallon and a 1/3 cup of honey(rum recipe I found). This is my sacrificial run also. I got all the sugars dissolved alright, let it cool down to about 90 degrees, maybe 92. Then I pitched the yeast. I stirred it all up real good. Took another temp reading and it was just a hair over 90 degrees. I set the top with the bubbler and let it sit for about 10 minutes. It still hasnt started bubbling yet.

Did I pitch with the wash too hot/warm? If I killed this yeast, can it add more when it cools off more or do I have to throw the whole thing out and start over?

Any advise would greatly be appreciated.

[Bigbob]

Sounds fine, give it some time. I've had ferments that never bubble.(at least not the bubbler)

[ranger_ric]

10 minutes aint enough time to worry about...
Lots of theories bantered about on "pitching yeast" very few of them recommend stirring the yeast in.. Take a few minutes and read up on it.
I recommend this because I learned soooo much from researching a question and the reading answered 20 questions I didnt even know I had yet.
Try the HD Google search button at the top of the page and when it comes up hit the space bar once and type pitching yeast.

Carry On
RR

[bentstick]

Ok, this is my very first wash. I did a brown sugar/honey wash. 2lb's of brown per gallon and a 1/3 cup of honey(rum recipe I found). This is my sacrificial run also. I got all the sugars dissolved alright, let it cool down to about 90 degrees, maybe 92. Then I pitched the yeast. I stirred it all up real good. Took another temp reading and it was just a hair over 90 degrees. I set the top with the bubbler and let it sit for about 10 minutes. It still hasnt started bubbling yet.

Did I pitch with the wash too hot/warm? If I killed this yeast, can it add more when it cools off more or do I have to throw the whole thing out and start over?

Any advise would greatly be appreciated.

What type of yeast,bakers yeast can tolerated a good amount of heat! My all molasses ferments are pitched with Bakers yeast at 95 f and kept at 91-92 f with no issue

[RacingDreamz]

Sorry, I should have stated that. I used Fleishman's Yeast. Didnt say "bakers" but just plain yeast.

[Bigbob]

Should be fine, if you did not rehydrate the yeast it will take some time. Give it a day or so.

[RacingDreamz]

I'll keep a watch on it.

Thanks everyone.

[ranger_ric]

Mitchy Bourbon is pretty fluent in Yeast Speak.. Pay attention to his posts

I know I read from him about pitching yeast into wash.... The wash have sugars in them and the sugars cause the yeasts cell walls to over expand and damage them. Yeast rehydrated in fresh water are ready to start reproducing once they have food (wash).. It is a fascinating topic, Be sure and read up on it... If you need spoon feeding there is a link in my signature..

Carry On
RR

[MitchyBourbon]

It will be fine, but if you Pitched dry yeast, yes you did just kill off about half of your yeast. Not because it was too hot, although 90 is a bit high. When dry yeast are first hydrated they are like little sponges. They will soak up sugar or grain particulates in addition to water. Those particulates will kill off a lot of the yeast. Best to hydrate the yeast in plain water first. But if you do pitch dry yeast, don't stir. The yeast that is in direct contact with the wash will act as a filter and the rest will be fine.

Sit tight though, I'm sure enough will survive to carry on.

[rager]

It will be fine, but if you Pitched dry yeast, yes you did just kill off about half of your yeast. Not because it was too hot, although 90 is a bit high. When dry yeast are first hydrated they are like little sponges. They will soak up sugar or grain particulates in addition to water. Those particulates will kill off a lot of the yeast. Best to hydrate the yeast in plain water first. But if you do pitch dry yeast, don't stir. The yeast that is in direct contact with the wash will act as a filter and the rest will be fine.

not one to argue but my yeast starting is almost exactly opposite of what you do. not saying you dont know your shit . im just saying i do it a little different.

my starter goes like this i will take some mash ( cup or two) add equal parts water put it into a large jar. the sg is around 1.03 at this point. at this point my starter is under 95 and ill pitch a 1/4 cup ( about 10 g) of yeast. and will stir it right in. within 15 minutes the starters are already working. ill pitch the starter at 80 -85.aerate the shit out of it! last rum the temp went up from 85- 95 during the first day of fermentation. finished at 1.000 in 3 days

cheers

[skow69]

Ok, this is my very first wash. I did a brown sugar/honey wash. 2lb's of brown per gallon and a 1/3 cup of honey(rum recipe I found). This is my sacrificial run also.

I think you may be unclear on the initial still cleaning process. The last step in cleaning is an ethanol run that you sacrifice by throwing it away. the boiling alcohol bath dissolves nasty stuff that won't come out any other way. So DO NOT drink your first run. Don't even save it for future cleaning. Dump it, it's toxic. So save that expensive honey rum recipe for your second run. Get a box of wine or ferment a plain sugarhead for the sac run.

I know it's hard to pour it out, but it's better than 2 weeks of the screaming shitz.

[MitchyBourbon]

It will be fine, but if you Pitched dry yeast, yes you did just kill off about half of your yeast. Not because it was too hot, although 90 is a bit high. When dry yeast are first hydrated they are like little sponges. They will soak up sugar or grain particulates in addition to water. Those particulates will kill off a lot of the yeast. Best to hydrate the yeast in plain water first. But if you do pitch dry yeast, don't stir. The yeast that is in direct contact with the wash will act as a filter and the rest will be fine.

not one to argue but my yeast starting is almost exactly opposite of what you do. not saying you dont know your shit . im just saying i do it a little different.

my starter goes like this i will take some mash ( cup or two) add equal parts water put it into a large jar. the sg is around 1.03 at this point. at this point my starter is under 95 and ill pitch a 1/4 cup ( about 10 g) of yeast. and will stir it right in. within 15 minutes the starters are already working. ill pitch the starter at 80 -85.aerate the shit out of it! last rum the temp went up from 85- 95 during the first day of fermentation. finished at 1.000 in 3 days

cheers

I wasn't describing how I make a yeast starter, I was describing how to rehydrate yeast.

Here is how I prepare a yeast starter.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 0#p7345126

[still_stirrin]

...I wasn't describing how I make a yeast starter, I was describing how to rehydrate yeast...

+1.

[RacingDreamz]

I checked it today. After last night, it got kind of cool outside but I had a light on in the closet for most of the night to keep the room warm. There was some bubbling on top, about half of the surface area had some bubbling. I could smell the yeast also. The inside temp of the fermenter was about 70+ degrees.
So should I just let it go and see what happens or should I restart the yeast with a warm water/wash mixture?

I dont plan on saving this run. I do want to save a few ounces for tasting of course, but since I dont drink anyway(this is a new hobby to see if I can do it), I wont be drinking much of anything anyhow. I'll wait for the expensive corn/honey runs to give to friends.

[still_stirrin]

I checked it today....The inside temp of the fermenter was about 70+ degrees.
So should I just let it go and see what happens or should I restart the yeast with a warm water/wash mixture?...

70*F is rather cold for a bread yeast. Warm the fermenter to the mid 80's and it'll go.

You seem to be rather jumpy with this ferment. I suggest starting another wash so you'll have a back up close at hand...not that this one's bad, but so you'll learn the intricacies of the mash and ferment processes. You don't need to panic so quickly...kinda' like a mother with her first child. The 2nd doesn't get the close oversight as much.
ss

[still_stirrin]

....I dont plan on saving this run. I do want to save a few ounces for tasting of course...

I admonish you to NOT do this. You stated in your thread opening that this is your sacrificial run ferment. A sacrificial run is exactly that...sacrificed to the drains...for safety's sake. You've been advised of this already...please don't acknowledge otherwise.

For your "tasting", get that second wash up quickly behind....or buy a couple of boxes of cheap "wine in a box" to use for the sacrificial run.

Regardless, do not think of the first sacrificial as a run that you can "save a few ounces for tasting". It is not a safe practice.
ss

[Snackson]

....I dont plan on saving this run. I do want to save a few ounces for tasting of course...

I admonish you to NOT do this. You stated in your thread opening that this is your sacrificial run ferment. A sacrificial run is exactly that...sacrificed to the drains...for safety's sake. You've been advised of this already...please don't acknowledge otherwise.

For your "tasting", get that second wash up quickly behind....or buy a couple of boxes of cheap "wine in a box" to use for the sacrificial run.

Regardless, do not think of the first sacrificial as a run that you can "save a few ounces for tasting". It is not a safe practice.
ss

+1, sound advice here. Sac run goes to ant hill, weeds or down the drain. Run something cheap through and save the expensive honey/ brown sugar for something to drink. Patience..

[MitchyBourbon]

....I dont plan on saving this run. I do want to save a few ounces for tasting of course...

I admonish you to NOT do this. You stated in your thread opening that this is your sacrificial run ferment. A sacrificial run is exactly that...sacrificed to the drains...for safety's sake. You've been advised of this already...please don't acknowledge otherwise.

For your "tasting", get that second wash up quickly behind....or buy a couple of boxes of cheap "wine in a box" to use for the sacrificial run.

Regardless, do not think of the first sacrificial as a run that you can "save a few ounces for tasting". It is not a safe practice.
ss

+1, sound advice here. Sac run goes to ant hill, weeds or down the drain. Run something cheap through and save the expensive honey/ brown sugar for something to drink. Patience..

+1

Do not drink anything from a sacrificial run. If you want keep this one, fine let it finish and set it aside, it will keep as long as you need it to. Start another "cheap" wash and sacrifice it instead. Just don't drink anything from the first run.

[RacingDreamz]

Ok, I think I get the hint. I'll let this go. The brown sugar/honey wasnt really that expensive, maybe 4-5 bucks total. A couple of boxes of wine would probably cost a lot more. I really dont know though. But I'll toss this one after I run it. Then I'll try more. This is only a 3 gallon still so, not much is lost.

Attached are a couple of pics of what I have.

It'll be hard to keep the wash at 80 degrees. Unless it's stays on the stove. It's getting colder up here in the mountains but not cold enough for a fire in the woodstove yet. Currently I have a light on next to the pot in the closet. It's staying in low to mid 70's.

[still_stirrin]

....It'll be hard to keep the wash at 80 degrees. Unless it's stays on the stove...It's staying in low to mid 70's...

Keep it in the bedroom with you...I'm sure you keep it cozy in there.

As I said already, the low to mid 70's is too cold for the bread yeast you pitched. You're going to have to accommodate the yeast...or they won't do their job.
ss

[Snackson]

Heating pad, electric blanket, mini space heater, aquarium heater, all of these will work to help raise the temp.

[RacingDreamz]

I've got an incadencent shop lamp under the pot now. It's gets pretty warm. I check it hourly but for now, still in the mid 70's.

[skow69]

Ok, I think I get the hint. I'll let this go. The brown sugar/honey wasnt really that expensive, maybe 4-5 bucks total. A couple of boxes of wine would probably cost a lot more. I really dont know though. But I'll toss this one after I run it. Then I'll try more. This is only a 3 gallon still so, not much is lost. .

Hang on, man. It's a new still, it needs a proper cleaning. Please read this post http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 63&t=15489 and follow the instructions. While you're there look around the New Distillers Reading Lounge. There's lots of info there you are going to need.

I never do the newby lecture. Where the hell is everybody?

[Snackson]

Ok, I think I get the hint. I'll let this go. The brown sugar/honey wasnt really that expensive, maybe 4-5 bucks total. A couple of boxes of wine would probably cost a lot more. I really dont know though. But I'll toss this one after I run it. Then I'll try more. This is only a 3 gallon still so, not much is lost. .

Hang on, man. It's a new still, it needs a proper cleaning. Please read this post http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 63&t=15489 and follow the instructions. While you're there look around the New Distillers Reading Lounge. There's lots of info there you are going to need.

I never do the newby lecture. Where the hell is everybody?

It was already covered in his Welcome post. He's done his vinegar cleaning run already.

[RacingDreamz]

I went out today to get a heating pad. I already had a styrofoam box(similiar to cooler) so I 'gently' heated the wash up to 84 degrees and repitched some more yeast(fresh). Closed it up and the bubbler instantly started bubbling. So it's on the heating pad in the foam box. It should be alright for a week or so. We'll see what happens now. Thanks to everyone for their help and advice. I really appreciate it.

[rad14701]

Your original yeast wasn't dead, it was only dormant, and would most likely have kicked back into action once up to temperature... Not that new yeast is necessarily a bad thing...

[RacingDreamz]

Yea, once it got up to about 80 degrees it started bubbling. But I added a bit more to help kickstart the process. Plus I added more sugar, diluted of course.

[T-Pee]

Plus I added more sugar, diluted of course.

Why?

tp

[rager]

Plus I added more sugar, diluted of course.

Why?

tp

maybe he killed the sugar too

[RacingDreamz]

The original recipe called for 2lb brown sugar per gallon and 1 cup honey for "10 gallons of water". Since my pot is a 3 gallon, I used 1/3 cup of honey and only 4 lbs of brown sugar. So I added about 3 table spoons of white sugar to bump up the sugar content. After trying to cool off my wash the other night with ice cubes, I realized I had a bit more than 3 gallons. I dont know if I'm right or not in adding more of this or that, but knowing this wash and run will be thrown out, no real harm done. When I start making runs that I'll keep, then I'll be much more precise about the amount of ingredients.