Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Sounds like it’s done to me :handgestures-thumbupleft: the longer you leave it now the more it’ll settle out and clear naturally, 1 week is always good (I’ve once had to leave one for 6 months and it was perfectly fine)
Plus I never used a low salt TP

ZEROINSTINCT wrote:

Boomgate wrote:

ZEROINSTINCT wrote:Have got my tpw fermenting atm but just wanting to know if I have done a no no by using a tomato paste that has sodium in it??
Also do I need to “degass “ it before stilling?

Not sure what you mean by tomato paste with sodium in it.... sodium is a naturally occuring element in most things, although tomatoes are quite low on sodium... If they have added salt, the sodium content will go up. But I dont think it will be a big deal.

No need to degass before stilling... You will find that that the wash will clear itself when it is ready.

Hey boom gate, thanks for the response. Sorry I meant I used a tomato paste that didn’t say no added salt. So I’m thinking it must be a paste with added salt.
The wash has been fermenting for 8 days now and seems to have stopped bubbling.hydro showing 990.

It probably wont be the salt... I have used a bunch of different tomato pastes and never paid attention to whether or not they have added salt.. When my ferments get stuck I just wait a bit more, it has always finished correctly (it will clear itself).

There is a section on this forum about stuck fermentations... perhaps that will help you... http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=11307 If you know the starting gravity, you can work out the ABV by using the calculator on this site. http://www.aussiedistiller.com.au/xcalcs.html

Doubleuj wrote:Sounds like it’s done to me :handgestures-thumbupleft: the longer you leave it now the more it’ll settle out and clear naturally, 1 week is always good (I’ve once had to leave one for 6 months and it was perfectly fine)
Plus I never used a low salt TP

I checked my tomato paste, i generally use Remano tomato paste (from Aldi) and it doesnt say it has no added salt.... So I second Doubleuj's post.

So today I’m going to run my tpw for the first time....
Compared to the first turbo sugar wash I did I’m finding there is no fizz to the tpw wash... thinking I had stuffed up my sugar wash or this wash is no good?? Also I am run my water flow at full speed.. getting a leak from the thermometer input.. maybe my house pressure is to much??

Don’t run the water flat out you will blow the lines off
Use the supplied tap to slow the flow

I found that t500 temperature probe is too loose of a fit. Mine used to pop out if I opened the needle valve too far, then become a water fountain. I put a little bit of plumber tape around the middle of the probe to make it a snug fit. Never had a problem since.

Buy a Water Flow Regulator from the "5 Star Store". Water pressure problems solved and the still will run at a constant speed, which in the case of the T500 vastly improves spirit quality.

Just throwing down my first run of 25L to ferment, my first batch of anything actually so I hope I've done it right. Seems basic though, get everything in some warm water (30-35c) and mix it.

I did roughly 5-6kg of white sugar
250gm tomato paste
1/4 citric acid
80gm bakers yeast

Wash was @ 38c and was going to wait but for it to cool but got excited, doubted if couple degrees matters to pitched yeast gently and lightly stirred the surface until it had mostly separated. Why do some say pitch it and others say mix it, does it matter? What a pretty pink colour, much nicer looking than that black turbo crud (using that to practice and clean the still out lol first run). I was surprised by how much the yeast foamed at first, maybe I should have waited for a lower start/pitch temp lol.

Does that surface foam/yeast break down a bit or do you just scoop it out once it's finished fermenting?

If I've muffed it that's cool cheap way to learn TPW :-D

another question for anyone with an answer..... :doh: so i am always questioning myself and want to do it right... i have used the leggos squeeze bottle 400ml..... i have just done a google search on this particular bottle and it says it contains preservative 202 and 234. also added salt. is this going to be a problem? :think: thankyou

ZEROINSTINCT wrote:another question for anyone with an answer..... :doh: so i am always questioning myself and want to do it right... i have used the leggos squeeze bottle 400ml..... i have just done a google search on this particular bottle and it says it contains preservative 202 and 234. also added salt. is this going to be a problem? :think: thankyou

I used that for my first 5-6 TPWs, with no issues.

Moved onto Coles Home Brand, and has no noticeable differences in taste, yield or speed; only price :dance:

Thanks Dark Alchemist... wasn't sure if the preservatives would have an effect on the yeast and also thought maybe may mutate the fermentation.... 8-}
i discarded the first 150mls off the run and managed to get around 3l at around 93% this sound right?

Hmmm, do we have an edit feature for the posts we've made so we can update them ? EDIT: I notice the feature is there on early posts, nice. Oh and tomato paste I used was homebrand from coles or woolies, can't remember.

Seem's my initial froth has settled already, maybe it's just happy yeast :dance: so what's the yield normally from a 25L TPW, would 2.5-3L of 92% be reasonable outcome? Already thinking about grabbing myself some oak staves form the local vineyards x_x

You can only edit your posts if done so within 15 minutes.

Yield will be governed by how well it ferments and your still but 2-3 ltrs will be about right but then cuts will lower that figure of course. Have a look at the calculator page it has quite a few in there that may help you out.
viewtopic.php?f=57&t=2864

Done quite a few TPW's and a few batches ago ran out of tomato paste, threw a tomato in the blender and used that and its worked a treat.
Last wash used 100 grams tomato paste and 2 x good sizes tomatoes blended up. (with water)

Been great

just a FYI

Cheers

Brent

Hi,

I prepared my first TPW following the original recipe. I found the OG to be 1.042 which i thought was low and the FG is 0.986. Works out about 7.5% after 2 1/2 weeks.

I don't think i measured wrong but could there be a reason for the low OG and if so is it still possible to run the 7.5% wash through the still?

Thanks

It’s absolutely fine to run that and perhaps your low sg was from not dissolving the sugar fully. If that was the case then the reading would be wrong and your wash would be higher in abv than you think.

Mine went dead last night, may have been bit cold for it so hoping it'll come back ok today and all is not lost. I've put a little 14w heat pad under now and set it to hold @30, will see what happens after tonight.

I'll apologise in advance but I'm stuffed if I can find it again...I'm wanting to put down a 75ltr batch of TPW and I seem to recall someone pointing out I don't need as much
yeast, eg: for a 25ltr batch = 80gms (X3 = 240gms).
Is this correct that I just need a little less yeast or is it not going to effect anything multiplying all X3?

Cheers,

Chocko

Commune wrote:Hi,

I prepared my first TPW following the original recipe. I found the OG to be 1.042 which i thought was low and the FG is 0.986. Works out about 7.5% after 2 1/2 weeks.

I don't think i measured wrong but could there be a reason for the low OG and if so is it still possible to run the 7.5% wash through the still?

Thanks

I finished my first Tpw last week.. og was 1.070 and fg was .990
Mine only took about 8 days but it was sitting at 28-32c the whole time. I will let this next one sit longer as do it clears better. Is it worth filtering the wash before running??

Chocko6969 wrote:I'll apologise in advance but I'm stuffed if I can find it again...I'm wanting to put down a 75ltr batch of TPW and I seem to recall someone pointing out I don't need as much
yeast, eg: for a 25ltr batch = 80gms (X3 = 240gms).
Is this correct that I just need a little less yeast or is it not going to effect anything multiplying all X3?

Cheers,

Chocko

All good, the yeast will naturally multiply so you only need to add the same amount as for a 25L wash.
I like to rehydrate my yeast in 1L of warm water and a teaspoon or two of sugar first, use a big 5L jug and keep an eye on it, after 10min or so she’ll froth over the top and make a mess 8-}