Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

bigadz wrote:I threw down 46L in my 60L fermenter but I've never had the SG over 1050, most times it's 1040.

I'm following the recipe to the letter but yeh seems that I always have a lower sg then some of the guys here.

Any ideas?

How do you measure sugar and water the makings on the fermenter may be wrong i use 2 liter drink bottles can mark where its filled up to and get a very accurate measurement .If the sugar and water ratio is correct there is no need to measure the gravity.

Did you add the final volume of water then the other Ingredients or Did you add the ingrediants then fill up to final volume....

Also when you make up the wash if its not stirred up after topping up with water it is possible that the gravity measured is not correct because the sugar is sitting lower down in the wash this can happen in creeks where when the tide comes in the salt and fresh water can be in layers.

Thanks for the replies guys!

I use whole bags of sugar just from the woolies, so 2 x 3kg bags and 1 x 2kg gives me 8kg for a double batch.

I follow the recipe per Teddy's instructions, so I add sugar and hot water to dissolve it until it's clear, then top up water to say 30L so I can add cool water if I need to after adding the bran. Add the rest of the ingredients, top to 40L (as per the line on the fermenter which may be wrong!) and then use a 3L bottle I have to measure out 6L, measure starting gravity, then pitch yeast.

So I certainly could be a little more accurate.

Appreciate all the feedback!

Starting gravity is not important if the water and sugar are close to the 46 liters because your sugar must be correct so waste of time measuring.

bigadz wrote:Thanks for the replies guys!

I use whole bags of sugar just from the woolies, so 2 x 3kg bags and 1 x 2kg gives me 8kg for a double batch.

I follow the recipe per Teddy's instructions, so I add sugar and hot water to dissolve it until it's clear, then top up water to say 30L so I can add cool water if I need to after adding the bran. Add the rest of the ingredients, top to 40L (as per the line on the fermenter which may be wrong!) and then use a 3L bottle I have to measure out 6L, measure starting gravity, then pitch yeast.

Well your 8 kg into the final volume of 46lt is 10.2% .
How did this wash ferment out and distill

I recently started looking for some alternatives to the TPW. This looked like an easy alternative. Today in my final spirit run from 4 x 50l batches of FFV. I must say I am very impressed. I stripped these washes with 5 plates to minimise volume and then run this through my FSD neutraliser. The resultant alcohol is very clean with a slight wheat/sweet taste. I believe this will be my new standard neutral wash

Interesting MaKa.
How do you run your strip run?
5 plates and no packed section?

What output rate, fast and hot?


Another question for the mob.
When I make this up I adjust the ph to 5 with about a half of a level teaspoon of citric acid per recipe sized wash.
However, after 24 hours the PH has dropped to 3.5ish.
Is this a problem?
Now that I run aquarium heaters and/or heat mats, it goes off like a fire cracker.
Will I get a cleaner spirit if I adjust the PH by adding calcium carbonate/shellgrit etc?

Loving the recipe.

Amberale wrote:Interesting MaKa.
How do you run your strip run?
5 plates and no packed section?

What output rate, fast and hot?

Yeah no packed section. Too hard to clean after the strip for a spirit run.

I run it with 4400 kW input power and about 1.5 - 2 l/h output. I run just enough reflux to keep the plates sufficiently flooded. Collected ABV is about 75-85%.

Nice, so barely anything on the RC at this time of year in vic.
Do you clean your plates between runs(I’ve been doing it every 4-5 or after every rum run)?

Also, do you have any input about the PH?

Nice to get feedback from another Neutraliser runner.

I'm running off tank water at the moment, but yeah minimal through the RC, you are still going for speed. A 43 litre wash charge takes me about 2.5 hours to run once at temperature.

I haven't purchased a pH meter yet. It's on the list to buy one day. I've found that the ratios listed in the recipe work well without measurement.

I clean my plates and copper mesh every spirit run. I'm not too worried about stripping runs but when I have enough low wines I clean the copper for the spirit run. I haven't done any rum yet but that makes sense to clean after it if you are changing to another spirit.

Today I stripped 70 litres of Teddy's FFV. I am being a bit pedantic today with the product. I stripped on 5 plates and I'll run it through 2 spirit runs. Run it once with cuts, then re run the hearts with cuts. I am trying to get something very clean to run through my new Carter head

Nice.
I’ve got a couple of 45 litre FFVs clearing and another couple fermenting at the moment.
I need to spend a couple of days down the shed this week.

MaKa wrote:I recently started looking for some alternatives to the TPW. This looked like an easy alternative. Today in my final spirit run from 4 x 50l batches of FFV. I must say I am very impressed. I stripped these washes with 5 plates to minimise volume and then run this through my FSD neutraliser. The resultant alcohol is very clean with a slight wheat/sweet taste. I believe this will be my new standard neutral wash

I have been running this wash from its acceptance as tried and proven and t is a ripper exactly as you described a great drink :happy-partydance:

I want to try this recipe but don't have DAP, i have seen on this thread about boiling some yeast as a substitute but i didn't see how much, i will be using a 30l fermenting tub.

Shaun wrote:I want to try this recipe but don't have DAP, i have seen on this thread about boiling some yeast as a substitute but i didn't see how much, i will be using a 30l fermenting tub.

G’Day Shaun,
I don’t recal ever seeing an amount of yeast, but I took the grub from the last ferment added water, brought it up to the boil and then turned the heat down and kept it there until it turned into a ‘honey-like’ consistency.
After it cooled down, I ground up multivitamins and Epsom Salts then mixed it in to the yeast cake... couldn’t find my DAP seems to work OK

EziTasting wrote:

Shaun wrote:I want to try this recipe but don't have DAP, i have seen on this thread about boiling some yeast as a substitute but i didn't see how much, i will be using a 30l fermenting tub.

G’Day Shaun,
I don’t recal ever seeing an amount of yeast, but I took the grub from the last ferment added water, brought it up to the boil and then turned the heat down and kept it there until it turned into a ‘honey-like’ consistency.
After it cooled down, I ground up multivitamins and Epsom Salts then mixed it in to the yeast cake... couldn’t find my DAP seems to work OK

Since i don't have a previous ferment i will have to look for an alternate solution for now.

Shaun wrote:

EziTasting wrote:

Shaun wrote:I want to try this recipe but don't have DAP, i have seen on this thread about boiling some yeast as a substitute but i didn't see how much, i will be using a 30l fermenting tub.

G’Day Shaun,
I don’t recal ever seeing an amount of yeast, but I took the grub from the last ferment added water, brought it up to the boil and then turned the heat down and kept it there until it turned into a ‘honey-like’ consistency.
After it cooled down, I ground up multivitamins and Epsom Salts then mixed it in to the yeast cake... couldn’t find my DAP seems to work OK

Since i don't have a previous ferment i will have to look for an alternate solution for now.

Just grab a cup or half a cup of bakers yeast - use the out of date stuff and boil it up.

Cool, i will try that as i bought some yeast today for this recipe.

I know when you start out you are so worried of fluffing things up that it can cause you to become petrified with fear. I did. I recon most of us did, so as long as you continue to learn form what you're doing, you can't really call them "mistakes" - you're learning.

So have a go. The recipes are often tried & proven ( :-B hence the area you'll find them in) but if you don't have all the ingredients, don't stop and wait until you do! Have a go. No, it won't be as quick/good as the original but you're getting in some practice, and that is what helps you far more than doing things by wrote!

I've had so many pharque-ups that I was almost ready to give it away, but I persisted and am enjoying the fruits of my labours...

WalterWhite wrote::text-goodpost:

:dance: agreed