Please help

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zootzee
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Please help

Post by zootzee »

I have used Turbo yeast in the past.
I used 40l water 16kg sugar and 2 package Turbo yeast. Never had any issues with the wash working.
I wanted to try using other yeast besides the Turbo, because of the flavour and cost.
Here is the recipe I used
42l water
10 Kg sugar
24 grams or just under an ounce of Fleischmann's Traditional Active Dry Yeast
4 tsp yeast nutrient
I never measured the SG when I mixed everything together, but didn’t read the SG. I pitched the yeast at around 90F My SG was 1.7 after a week.
I thought the PH was low, but I just purchased PH strips, and it looks on point right around 5.
I am now thinking that I need to add more yeast, I bought Dady yeast with the PH strips. My wash is currently in my basement, my plan is to move it to the garage, hoping this will give more warmth. I don’t know what the temp of the wash currently is.
What I have done since moved the wash in to my garage I brought the Temp of the wash up to 80F with a heating pad, left it at that temp for 48hrs, no activity.
While the wash was at 80F, I activated 3 Tbs of Dady yeast in warm water for 15 mins, added to the wash, no activity SG remained the same.
The wash temp dropped to 76F, I added more hot water, brought the temp up top 84F and added 1Tbs of yeast nutrient, no activity checked the temp yesterday, I was at 82F
Any suggestions on getting this wash to work, I am about to dump it and start again. Or can someone reply with a recipe that has the same ingredients, (water, Dady yeast, DAP)
I have read different advice on different sites, mostly Reddit and Facebook, which I don't trust as much as Forums. I believe that I may be using too much sugar, and not enough yeast or DAP. I have read about inverting sugar, and want to try that next time. I am hoping that I can save this wash and do a run, but I am desperate need of help!

I have 11 gallons (or 42L) of water
Dady Yeast
Yeast nutrient DAP
20pounds (9kg) of sugar
How much yeast and DAP would you use?
Looking for an easy wash, using these ingredients


Thank you!!
SW_Shiner
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Re: Please help

Post by SW_Shiner »

Check out shadys sugar shine. Its a great and easy recipe that works well if you follow the steps correctly.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Please help

Post by Saltbush Bill »

As above , use Shadys Sugar Shine recipe, follow the recipe to the letter and you wont have problems.
BALDR
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Re: Please help

Post by BALDR »

Double posted
Last edited by BALDR on Thu Jun 25, 2026 6:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
BALDR
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Re: Please help

Post by BALDR »

BALDR wrote: Thu Jun 25, 2026 2:04 pm 2lbs/lb would put you around 13% if I remember correctly, that would stress a bit. 1lb/lb would put you around 6% , that would give you a cleaner wash. Shady' s sugar wash seems the go to sugar wash, that and he's handy to have around.

viewtopic.php?t=70585
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subbrew
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Re: Please help

Post by subbrew »

Sorry but I need to use US units. If I did the conversion correctly you had 22 lb of sugar in 11 gallons of water. That should be a gravity of about 1.084. you were a little low on the initial DAP feeding but after the extra addition and repitch you were in the ballpark. I think my bag says 1/2 tsp per gallon. On a sugar wash I would use a bit more.

I am not seeing why it stalled. You don't mention aeration but that usually just makes things slower.
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shadylane
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Re: Please help

Post by shadylane »

zootzee wrote: Thu Jun 25, 2026 11:47 am
I have 11 gallons (or 42L) of water
Dady Yeast
Yeast nutrient DAP
20pounds (9kg) of sugar
How much yeast and DAP would you use?
Looking for an easy wash, using these ingredients


Thank you!!
The simplest option is to buy nutrients that has more than just DAP. Yeast can't survive on DAP and sugar alone.
Look for nutrients that has magnesium sulfate and spent yeast.
Keep the fermentation temp as constant as possible.
You will also need to moderate the pH to avoid a crash.
If you want to make a DIY Turbo yeast try the sugar shine recipe.
It's not a turbo, but more like a ford straight 6 with a 1-barrel carburetor.
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PalCabral
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Re: Please help

Post by PalCabral »

I use 4kg of sugar to make a 25L sugar wash. That's 0,16kg per liter and gives me a clean fermentation, and an ABV below 10%. You are using 0,4kg per liter. No normal yeast can handle so much sugar.
Ongoing projects: Green Diamond Wheated Bourbon v5; and time for summer cleaning of the distillery.
howie
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Re: Please help

Post by howie »

sugar wash calculator..
https://www.goekos.com/distilling-calcu ... ugar-wash/
10kg in 42L is about 14%
you probably need to aim for 10-11%
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PalCabral
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Re: Please help

Post by PalCabral »

howie wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2026 12:14 am sugar wash calculator..
https://www.goekos.com/distilling-calcu ... ugar-wash/
10kg in 42L is about 14%
you probably need to aim for 10-11%
Using 0.4 kg sugar per liter means he is aiming for 23%. I don't have any experience from Turbo yeast, but aiming for 23% is very high even for Turbo yeast, no?
Ongoing projects: Green Diamond Wheated Bourbon v5; and time for summer cleaning of the distillery.
MooseMan
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Location: Wales UK

Re: Please help

Post by MooseMan »

zootzee wrote: Thu Jun 25, 2026 11:47 am I have used Turbo yeast in the past.
I used 40l water 16kg sugar and 2 package Turbo yeast. Never had any issues with the wash working.
I wanted to try using other yeast besides the Turbo, because of the flavour and cost.
Here is the recipe I used
42l water
10 Kg sugar
24 grams or just under an ounce of Fleischmann's Traditional Active Dry Yeast
4 tsp yeast nutrient
I never measured the SG when I mixed everything together, but didn’t read the SG. I pitched the yeast at around 90F My SG was 1.7 after a week.
I thought the PH was low, but I just purchased PH strips, and it looks on point right around 5.
I am now thinking that I need to add more yeast, I bought Dady yeast with the PH strips. My wash is currently in my basement, my plan is to move it to the garage, hoping this will give more warmth. I don’t know what the temp of the wash currently is.
What I have done since moved the wash in to my garage I brought the Temp of the wash up to 80F with a heating pad, left it at that temp for 48hrs, no activity.
While the wash was at 80F, I activated 3 Tbs of Dady yeast in warm water for 15 mins, added to the wash, no activity SG remained the same.
The wash temp dropped to 76F, I added more hot water, brought the temp up top 84F and added 1Tbs of yeast nutrient, no activity checked the temp yesterday, I was at 82F
Any suggestions on getting this wash to work, I am about to dump it and start again. Or can someone reply with a recipe that has the same ingredients, (water, Dady yeast, DAP)
I have read different advice on different sites, mostly Reddit and Facebook, which I don't trust as much as Forums. I believe that I may be using too much sugar, and not enough yeast or DAP. I have read about inverting sugar, and want to try that next time. I am hoping that I can save this wash and do a run, but I am desperate need of help!

I have 11 gallons (or 42L) of water
Dady Yeast
Yeast nutrient DAP
20pounds (9kg) of sugar
How much yeast and DAP would you use?
Looking for an easy wash, using these ingredients


Thank you!!
This should be easy to recover.

Get another vessel, add approx 10L of water to the troubled wash, and pour it between the 2 vessels, as splashy as you can, to get it well aerated.
Get a box of corn flakes, pour on boiling water, add a couple teaspoons of your yeast and stir in until it's a mush, add that to the 50ish litres of wash and stir.
Add fresh yeast and keep around 28-32c.
Make Booze, not War!
zootzee
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Location: Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Re: Please help

Post by zootzee »

Thank you everyone, so I guess the DAP, wasn't enough with the yeast and sugar. Adding corn flakes seems like the easiest fix, with more water added.

I also read that I could add dead yeast 1/2 tea spoon, per gallon?

Last night I added more hot water and added 6 TBS Dady yeast and 3 TBS DAP. Not sure if that was a good thought, but it's done now.

My next wash, I will definitely use Shady's sugar shine recipe.

Appreciate all the help
MooseMan
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Location: Wales UK

Re: Please help

Post by MooseMan »

zootzee wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2026 6:01 am Thank you everyone, so I guess the DAP, wasn't enough with the yeast and sugar. Adding corn flakes seems like the easiest fix, with more water added.

I also read that I could add dead yeast 1/2 tea spoon, per gallon?

Last night I added more hot water and added 6 TBS Dady yeast and 3 TBS DAP. Not sure if that was a good thought, but it's done now.

My next wash, I will definitely use Shady's sugar shine recipe.

Appreciate all the help

"I also read that I could add dead yeast 1/2 tea spoon, per gallon?"


Yes that's what I was suggesting by adding a couple TSP to the hot cornflake mash, it will turn that yeast into additional nutrients.

If what you've done doesn't get it going, aerate the shit out of it.
Just FYI, hot water will lack Oxygen, so you will probably have to add some.
Think SPLASHY!

Edit: And yes, next time follow a tried and true from this forum and you'll have no issues like this.
Make Booze, not War!
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Salt Must Flow
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Re: Please help

Post by Salt Must Flow »

zootzee, follow what shadylane said and your sugar wash will always ferment well. Try to keep your starting gravity at around 10% or a little less. Shady's Sugar Shine ingredients are cheap and readily available. I typically shoot for 84F after adding all of the ingredients. I use a drill & mixing paddle to mix everything while thoroughly aerating simultaneously.

Sugar washes are susceptible to quick PH crashes like Shady said and often stall as a result. Use a little Citric Acid (or viable alternative) to adjust your starting PH between 4.8-5.0, pitch your yeast and lastly add a source Calcium Carbonate to buffer the PH during fermentation. If you do that it will ferment completely and finish at around 4PH.

Once I started following these instructions I have never had a single issue with a sugar wash.
zootzee
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Location: Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Re: Please help

Post by zootzee »

MooseMan wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2026 7:27 am
zootzee wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2026 6:01 am Thank you everyone, so I guess the DAP, wasn't enough with the yeast and sugar. Adding corn flakes seems like the easiest fix, with more water added.

I also read that I could add dead yeast 1/2 tea spoon, per gallon?

Last night I added more hot water and added 6 TBS Dady yeast and 3 TBS DAP. Not sure if that was a good thought, but it's done now.

My next wash, I will definitely use Shady's sugar shine recipe.

Appreciate all the help

"I also read that I could add dead yeast 1/2 tea spoon, per gallon?"


Yes that's what I was suggesting by adding a couple TSP to the hot cornflake mash, it will turn that yeast into additional nutrients.

If what you've done doesn't get it going, aerate the shit out of it.
Just FYI, hot water will lack Oxygen, so you will probably have to add some.
Think SPLASHY!

Edit: And yes, next time follow a tried and true from this forum and you'll have no issues like this.

I really appreciate the help. I’m definitely using the recipes here next time!!

Can I use All-Bran Buds. I have a box that went stale
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TDick
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Re: Please help

Post by TDick »

This is NOT meant as a shot or dig at you or any other members of the Forum. Actually, just the opposite.
In years past, you would have been ripped a new one for asking a lot of basic questions without doing some due diligence.
These days, sites like Reddit supply simple answers to simple questions. Sometimes the answers are even correct :lol:
But you really don't learn anything.
Tried & Trues are long form discussions of trials, successes and failures.
Here You LEARN.
Shady's & Birdwatcher's seem to be the main go-tos for sugar washes and an easy introduction to The Craft.
(I prefer WineO's Plain Ole Sugar Wash, but that's me.)
Read all the T&T's and see what makes sense to you.
When you find one, read the entire thread again.
Study it until you know what may or may NOT happen and what to do next.
Won't make it easy but it will make it EASIER.

btw, when I did WineO's, I allowed plenty of time for it to settle. Even though it's "just sugar" there is trubb, sediment in the bottom of your fermenter.
It's that dead yeast. I boiled the trubb and bought little "condiment cups" for a dollar. Filled and froze the trubb to use as Yeast Bombs, nutrient for future washes.
Good luck and Welcome Down The Rabbit Hole!
MooseMan
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Re: Please help

Post by MooseMan »

Yes Zoot, pretty much any cereal will help you out and all bran is a good one as it happens.

TDick speaks a great deal of sense here, do the reading and you'll begin to understand things better.

Anyone who says they don't have the time to do the reading, is lying/kidding themselves.
Make Booze, not War!
zootzee
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Location: Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Re: Please help

Post by zootzee »

Thanks again, everyone that commented.

I boiled the box of All Bran with 6tsp of yeast. Mixed everything by dumping from pail to pail over and over again, to get plenty of air in.

I’ve already learned a bunch here and plan on learning more.

Cheers all!!
MooseMan
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Re: Please help

Post by MooseMan »

zootzee wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2026 11:36 am Thanks again, everyone that commented.

I boiled the box of All Bran with 6tsp of yeast. Mixed everything by dumping from pail to pail over and over again, to get plenty of air in.

I’ve already learned a bunch here and plan on learning more.

Cheers all!!
Always glad to help, and if there's one thing I can suggest to help more, it's to read the forum at every chance you get. You'll learn things that you didn't even know you needed to know!

So did the wash recover and is it fermenting now?
Make Booze, not War!
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