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It's Tried & True............ Works everytime:

This recipe is for a 6.5 gallon wash (25 Liters) & Will yield 10% ABV wash (2.5 quarts) of ethanol.

Ingredients:
10 lbs Sugar (dissolved in hot water)
6oz tomato paste (Yeast Nutrient)
1 Tbsp DAP (Optional but Recommended)
1/3 cup bakers yeast (2 2/3 ounces)

Instructions:
(1)Dissolve 6 ounces of tomato paste in 5 liters of hot water.

(2)Dissolve 10 pounds of sugar in 10 liters of hot water stiring until all of the sugar is dissolved and not gritty.

(3)Pour the dissolved sugar into the fermenter with the tomato paste.

(4)Top off the fermenter to 25 liters with cold water and stir well.

(5)Once the wash has cooled to 80 degrees Fahrenheit or less add 1/3 cup of bakers yeast and stir well.

(6)Place lid on fermenter add airlock and allow to ferment for 7 days or so.


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"arich,

What Bayou describes is a great recipe ... VERY forgiving. Instead of DAP I use 1/8 tsp epsom salts and the juice squeezed from half of a lemon ... and it still finishes just fine.

--JB"

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Well all you have to do is simply use the upper portion of the column with the packing removed. The only water lines you use is the ones for the condenser.

It is a good idea though to put one copper mesh roll in the upper portion of the column when using it as a pot still, you always need copper in the vapor path to remove sulphates.

I never run my washes with the reflux column. I do stripping runs in pot mode and then when I have enough low wines to charge the boiler, I dilute it to 40%ABV and then do a spirit run using the complete reflux column."

Well it seem a big enough pain in the coola to run it once let alone twice. Guess I am still in the drinking phase. My old chum claims the ethanol in the gas is ruining the hoses on his high dollar 10 k used zero turn radius lawn mower. Seems like Alfgore may be playing a trick on us trying to use hooch for fuel. But then when a person thinks on it ..he invented the Internet and Global Warming...hanging chads in Fla. etc. lol. You fixing to get me spitting shine on the keyboard again.

"I'm making my first batch of this wash and I'm using Distillers Yeast instead of bakers yeast. Can someone verify how much I need to pitch? The original recipe says 1/3 cup bakers yeast (2 2/3 ounces) but the suggestion below that is 1 tablespoon of distillers yeast.

1 Tablespoon is enough? Really?

I got two 25L batches of wash showing 1.070
91.4F and I'm just waiting for it to cool before pitching tomorrow. Please advise how much distillers yeast to pitch.

Thanks, y'all!"

"Rasher,

There are good reasons why ""Tried and True"" recipes are tried and true. Stick with the recipe until you get consistent results, then you can experiment if you're so inclined. If you put in the amount of yeast that was called for, you probably would have had a nice thick krausen within an hour or so after pitching.

If you have an airlock, put it on immediately. The whole point is to keep bad things out -- especially if you don't have a vigorous fermentation going -- and by the sound of things, you don't But unless you sanitized your paint mixer before dropping it in your wash, that may not matter anyway.

--JB"

I don't know if this is a dumb question or not, but how are y'all taking SG measurements during your ferments? I've been using a turkey baster to get a sample from below the froth, but it's still full of particles (yeast hulls, I assume). Is that the best way to get a measurement?

"Gents, you only need 2 readings, one before you add yeast and the other when you think its done fermenting. badbill you said you could'nt get one with a grain mash... not sure what you mean sense you only need liquid for the measurement. I infered that you ment the grain was getting in the way of a measurement????
You said -- i tried to skim it but dont trust it? Again confused!! Sorry.
Try this...after fermenting for how ever long you think it needs to finish you should be able to -skim- or dip out (or use a wine thief) enough to check the FG or final gravity of the wash, or you could just sink the hydrometer in the fermenter if you wish.
Also someone asked about airlocks...as soon as you add your yeast put on the airlock and leter go theres no reason to keep peeking inside -- if you were patient berfore adding yeast and used a tried and true recipe well it should start in a little while and whalaaaa...hooch."

badbill, the longer you ferment things you find that the lack of airlock activity doesn't always mean fermentation is done. It might be that the vigorous stage is done and its settling in for the long haul. Thats where your hydrometer comes in if you so choose to use it. I never use one for the finish of fermentation in hooch cause I just leave it for 15 or 20 days (just lazy I guess). I've never seen a wash or mash thats perfectly clear - some sugar washes ar clearer than others but a grain mash will be heavier and darker than a sugar wash and most folks seem to get a true reading. ==== Thats just my expirience though.

"I'm planning on beer stripping this batch and then doing 2-3 more batches, stripping them, putting it all together and then a spirit run. Does that sound about right?

I was hoping I could get these ferments done in one week, so I could so my strip runs once a week on Saturdays..."