Confused about Sugar wash types

[Lesliev]

I am confused and hoping for some help.
I believe a neutral wash in its basic elements is a semi concentrated sugar and water mix with yeast introduced which creates the Ethanol and CO2. The yeast when introduced needs to propagate itself from a few billion to many billion then it goes to work. To propagate it needs oxygen and food we call nutrients. Once it reaches an acceptable point of population its diet becomes the sugars (dextrose?) and it starts doing its magic. Is that a fair assessment of the process?
So the oxygen comes from the air and the required nutrients are what we give it-sometimes Tomato Paste, sometimes weetbix, kale, wheat bran or several other things it can eat including epsom salts and a multivitamin tablet. So why don’t we just give it DAP or boiled bakers yeast or beer brewers nutrients, the epsom salt and a multivitamin tablet leaving out the organic components? Is there some magic in the organic forms of nutrients or do they just bring something extra to the feast and can that be provided in some additive form?. In my case I then run through a very basic Alcoengine Reflux Still so theoretically no flavours other than the fusels, methanols etc can get into the distillate.
Hope someone might explain and if there is a simple sugar wash used by some what that recipe might be.
Not against the organic additions just wondering if they are mainly used because they are inexpensive.

[RuddyCrazy]

G'Day Les :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Alot of of guy's and gals use the WBAB wash for making neutral and for me I just use the WB part :laughing-rolling: so a medium size box of weetbix and crush up 2 rows of them for a 60 litre ferment, heat up some water and dissolve 12 kg of sugar doing it in a few runs using about 3 litres of water and 4kg of sugar each batch.

Then test the mash PH and what we want is around 4.5 to 5PH and chuck a couple of clean oyster shells in for a PH buffer, after getting the PH right take a SG reading and add then add the bakers yeast and seal it up to ferment.

With having the PH in the right zone it will ferment and after a week open it up and take a SG reading and PH check, if the PH has crashed add some epson salts and rememeber a little goes a long way as it is easy to over shoot.

Cheers Bryan

[howard]

I am confused and hoping for some help.
I believe a neutral wash in its basic elements is a semi concentrated sugar and water mix with yeast introduced which creates the Ethanol and CO2. The yeast when introduced needs to propagate itself from a few billion to many billion then it goes to work. To propagate it needs oxygen and food we call nutrients. Once it reaches an acceptable point of population its diet becomes the sugars (dextrose?) and it starts doing its magic. Is that a fair assessment of the process?
So the oxygen comes from the air and the required nutrients are what we give it-sometimes Tomato Paste, sometimes weetbix, kale, wheat bran or several other things it can eat including epsom salts and a multivitamin tablet. So why don’t we just give it DAP or boiled bakers yeast or beer brewers nutrients, the epsom salt and a multivitamin tablet leaving out the organic components? Is there some magic in the organic forms of nutrients or do they just bring something extra to the feast and can that be provided in some additive form?. In my case I then run through a very basic Alcoengine Reflux Still so theoretically no flavours other than the fusels, methanols etc can get into the distillate.
Hope someone might explain and if there is a simple sugar wash used by some what that recipe might be.
Not against the organic additions just wondering if they are mainly used because they are inexpensive.

i think the oxygen comes from the whatever is in the wash, not from the air, that's why we aerate the wash with a paint stirrer/drill.
but you're correct, there are 2 stages of fermentation.
plain old sugar is mainly sucrose, yeast likes simple sugars but can't process complex sugars (dextrins)
i don't put a multi-vit in my FFV anymore, but still add DAP, epsom & wheat bran.
all these assist in a healthy brew and are a cheap alternative to buying expensive yeast nutrient products from the HBS.
the same goes for using bakers yeast, lowans yeast is $4.80 for 280gm.

as for flavour, anything can have an effect on that.
from using too much sugar and turbo yeasts(a usual novice error) to a badly run still and bad cuts (and allsorts in between :smile: )
i always recommend the FFV from the tried & proven, but all the others are generally bullet proof as well.

[RobMichelle]

+1 for the ffv I have tried adding more sugar bumping sg to 1080 add more water and sugar to get more than 23ltr, I have just recently reverted back to the recipe word for word and it just works simple as that, that’s for me where I live with the water quality that’s here, I add the multi vitamin cos I have a bottle of em just for this recipe, I also have 2 jars of tomatoe paste that I think il just do a tpw just cos but I always do a ffv we like it :obscene-drinkingdrunk: