Hello and some questions.

[Cats]

Hi Folks, been reading for months but this is my first post. I've had a lot of success with simple runs int he past, mostly rye and then using the leftovers with more sugar and tomato paste to make a semi sour mash. All run through a Vevor Airstill type unit. I've not stuck to any recipes that specifically and have a lot of FAFO tyoe learing, but with more nuted and Ph shifting I've got them all to finihs fermenting. This run I'm trying harder to get it just right.

I have a successful ferment going right now. 5 gallons filtered tap water, 5lb malted rye, 2lb smoked malted barley, 1lb red wheat, 7lbs sugar, D47 yeast, 1/2 tsp nutrients per gallon. OG was 1.1, within 5 days it was 1.04, two weeks at 1.02 and still bubbling gently. Ph is at 3.5.

Figures are average as I have a 5G, 4G and four 1G ferments. Each is behaving a little different. The 4G is almost done, much clearer and the lowest gravity, not much sweetness left at all. The rest are more cloudy, higher gravity, sweeter.

Is this ok or do I need to raise the Ph to allow it to finish happily.

I read that D47 is happy to go down to a lower Ph, maybe 3.1, but only up to 14%ABV. And that EC1118 (my usually go to) is good up to 18%ABV but not so good for lower Ph.

Should I adjust now or wait for it to stop fermenting entirely before I look to adjust anything?

Thanks.

[SW_Shiner]

Welcome to the forum. Somehow your post has managed to make it past the mods. This is the welcome centre so meant for introducing yourself, you'll have better luck with questions in the relevant sections.

As a start, 1.1 as an S.G is higher than is recommended here for a sugar head wash. You might find washes finish better at a lower starting gravity, 1.060-1.080 is a good range to be in. A faster ferment may mean less time for the pH to crash.

[kiwi Bruce]

So...welcome Cats. SW Shiner is right, never too late :- tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? other interests? are you a retired Government paper pusher or Green fairy wing de-icer? What are your favorite spirits and have you learned how to make them yet? Do you also home-brew? You've picked am unusual "handle" Cats...do like them, hate them, your neighbors think your a crazy Cat person?...That sort of thing

[Cats]

I'm in W North Caroline, USA and I do like cats. I have 3, then my GF moved in with her 2. It' s a lot.

I began this hobby with taking some cherries that were past their best and using them with some sugar and yeast to see what would happen. It was amazing. A friend got me into it a few weeks before by showing me how simple it was (or so it looked at the time). Then i went to the brew store and got talking, he recommended a rye based gin recipe. It's been so good that it's what I've stuck with it so far. Played around with using some backset and more sugar/tomato paste to rerun the yeast sludge in the bottom that was left over. Not quite a sour mash but close. That may have been some of the best stuff I've made. I have tried a pineapple and sugar wash a couple of times, with 50:50 sugar. Pineapples were on sale so it seemed destined. It was ok, wouldn't do it that way again. Maybe a full fruit version would be better, it just tasted flat a bit vinegary. The ferment was probably a bit off.

I once made blackberry jam that fermented in the jar. Very boozey. Great on toast. That's as close as I've come to home brewing.

I am probably a crazy cat person by most people's standards. I have spent most of my life making tinctures and extracts for my own medicinal needs and making herbal mixtures for certain needs. I avoid chemicals and drugs as far as possible. It just seemed natural to keep making more and more parts of the process myself to guarantee quality. Not been doing this hobby long, maybe a year.

I had not thought about ferment times and Ph crashes, I had assumed they happened together. Ph lowering because alcohol is rising.
I didn't mean to start at 1.1, I think I was trying to get too much out of the grain by leaving it longer. I also heated half of it too high, let it cool then mixed it with the good half so the enzymes could recolonise and finish the conversion. I did use Beta Gluconase this time as the rye can get very viscous. But I was happy to see how quickly it went down to 1.04, tells me I've got a better mash this time around. I paid a lot more attention to sugar conversions and such so I'm happy to see the quick results.

[SW_Shiner]

Id also suggest leaving the sugar out if you're doing an actual mash. Yes, there will be less, but it will be of much better quality imo. And the grain should provide everything needed for yeast to do their job. There's no need to be adding tomato paste to an all grain.
Jimbos Half Barrel Wheated Bourbon and Gumball Head is a great thread with a lot of information on both all grain mashing and doing a sugar wash using the spent grains.

[kiwi Bruce]

I do like cats. I have 3, then my GF moved in with her 2. It' s a lot.

I just read that cats have a better understanding of human language than dogs...they just choose to ignore us!