Did you aerate the wash ? What was the PH ?

Hi Jim,

There are a few simple things you can try:

-- Use less nutrient. Based on the amount of sugar & water you listed, you should be at about 4 gal of wash. Two tsp nutrient is more than enough. Too much can be worse than not enough. Or skip the prepared nutrients altogether & just use a few tsp of lemon juice & a can of tomato paste (you can break it up in a saucepan with a cup or two of hot water -- like tomato soup).

-- Get the wash down to a lower temp. 80 - 85 F is a bit high. Get it down to 75 max before pitching.

-- Dissolve the sugar with a small amount of water, then top off with cold tap water from a faucet with an aerator. Two times back 'n forth between buckets won't give you much with distilled water.

-- Use an extra gallon of water or about two pounds less sugar. The lower gravity is more friendly to the yeast. 7 lbs sugar + 3.5 gal water would be about 1090 or so (~ 14%). That's pretty high for a sugar wash. Keep it in the 10 - 11 % range (~ 1065 to 1072).

-- Don't use distilled water.

-- Test your yeast. A tbsp sugar & 1/2 tsp yeast in a cup of water at room temp.

Basically, make sure your yeast is viable and create a friendly environment: lower gravity, cooler temps, plenty of O2, and appropriate nutrient level.

Regards,
--JB

I went to Home Creepo and got a (Metal) paint stirring wand to go on my portable drill. I sterilize it, and use it to really whip the wash up to get air back in. I cook my grain based washes for 90 mins so they are Ox depleted by nature so "whipping it up" is something I always do.

One cannot have too much O2 ;)

Edited by user Wednesday, June 08, 2016 7:19:04 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified