Enzymes are active between 140 to 162. 140 to 152 are the beta amylase, alpha amylase are between 156 to 162. 152 to 156 is the best temp as a rest at both (sweet) spots for each type of amylase will help free up more fermentable sugars.

Edited by user Wednesday, January 07, 2015 7:55:14 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

What is AG?
(i thought it meant All Grain)

Edited by user Thursday, January 08, 2015 5:49:01 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Thanks,that makes sense.Sorry, I read that other post before I read this one ,and I asked you another question. I thought AG meant Amyloglucosidase. I'm learning a lot.I'll get it straight. Thanks again!

The BEST way to tell would be to use an hydrometer(got one?) and check
your SG ( specific gravity ).
That is really the only way to know how much sugar you have in your mash.

It will also tell you when all the sugar has been consumed and your mash is done.

There will be sugar, I'm not sure how much though. I would guess enough for a 5% alcohol content after fermenting. If you boil your wort longer than the 10 minutes as stated in the other thread to one to two hours, the evaporation will increase the sugar content by several percentage points.

I don't use citric acid so I have no idea. I have a Hanna PH meter, well worth the investment. I use a product called 5.2 PH stabilizer and that's just what it does. With this product you can ALMOST ship using the PH meter as it raises or lowers the PH to 5.2.




A good hydrometer has several scales usually. One will be the percent of alcohol if the wort was finished fermenting(potential alcohol by volume), Percent of Sugar(balling) and specific gravity (SG), no formula required.

Once you follow the steps I posted this morning in your other thread and your wort is cooled to pitching temperature, stick the hydrometer in the wort and see what the finished alcohol content will be. If your are not happy with the finished number than add the sugar to the desired finished alcohol content. The sugar will not degrade you finished sprit, you will just lose your bragging rights; you will not be able to say you mad it with All Grain. Granulated sugar makes Rum, corn makes Whiskey, barley makes beer. No ingredients are wrong, it's just how proud you will be, and none of that matters if you plan on stripping all the flavors away with a reflux still.

Before you spike your batch with sugar, like most of us do, get to know your intended yeast. Find out what alcohol content it will produce. If you use sugar, don't use more than the yeast can turn into alcohol.

I was making sugar washes when I first started, I've had the SG as high as 1.15 which is 20% alcohol once finished fermenting. EC-1118, That is a yeast strain used in wine making and can tolerate 20% alcohol before it kills itself off, if you are lucky. A SG of 1.15 will take a month to finish fermenting but a SG of 1.04 (5% percent alcohol) will finish in under two weeks.

If I ran a 5gal batch of SG 1.15 through the still, I would end up with almost a gallon of spirit proofing at 186. With all that rambling said SG doesn't matter as long as your yeast can handle it.

Thanks 'more than I can drink' That puts a lot of things/posts in perspective. That really

clears up a lot of things. I just ordered that 5.2 pH stabilizer. Now I have to find my

hydrometer in the basement somewhere. Thanks again