DAP in a molasses wash - needed or not?

by **baldoss** » Sat May 18, 2013 10:05 am

Hi guys

Quick one - I am about to throw down one of pintoshine's fast ferment molasses washes but don't have access to a HBS to pick up some DAP until next weekend. I'm a bit impatient so have been looking at just going with the recipe minus the DAP or maybe substituting the DAP for say 200g of tomato paste to help out the little yeasties.

I'm not concerned if the wash takes a bit longer to ferment without the DAP, just wondering if it's necessary or an optional extra to get things to fire up quicker. Not sure what adding tomato paste into a molasses wash would do? Kind of leaning towards just leaving the DAP out and going with the recipe as is.

Thoughts?

by **BackyardBrewer** » Sat May 18, 2013 10:15 am

Leave it out and just do a starter.

Do not add tomato paste! :puke-huge:

by **baldoss** » Sat May 18, 2013 10:18 am

Yeah I was thinking the tomato paste would do some weird shit with the molasses and generate some pretty gross flavours. I'll go with the starter you suggested, thanks bloke :handgestures-thumbupleft:

by **wynnum1** » Sat May 18, 2013 10:32 am

Could try some cooked Pumpkin to replace DAP its in season now .

by **MacStill** » Sat May 18, 2013 10:41 am

If you dont have any DAP I would use a couple of teaspoons of tomato paste, it wont be anywhere near enough to influence flavour ;-)

Molasses is very low (if not void) of any nitrogen, so you do want some in there.... some folks even use 20-20-20 fertiliser from a garden centre if DAP isnt readily available.

by **baldoss** » Sat May 18, 2013 11:09 am

Hmm that's something else to think about Mac... doing a quick google leads me to believe that there's very little (or no) nitrogen in either brown sugar nor honey so how does the starter BYB suggested work? And if the starter works will the yeast still have nutrition problems once tipped into the main wash? I'll make a trip back down to the shops to get some tomato paste as I seem to have run out for some weird reason, just curious as to how the starter works based on what I've read - can't really join the dots so I must be missing something.

Time to sit down and read How To Brew I think...

by **MacStill** » Sat May 18, 2013 11:17 am

The starter is just to rehydrate the yeast and get them moving a little quicker once they hit the fermenter, you can add a little bit of a vitamin b pill to the starter also, then put the rest of it in the wash.

by **bt1** » Sat May 18, 2013 11:18 am

Here we go ...crow will be proud!

if you got no dap use the Crow well loved fix!

ground up clover nitrogen nodules off the root stock..handy, free, organic, no flavours provides the nitrogen needed.

I been waiting for a whole year for an opportunity to write this!

bt1

by **BackyardBrewer** » Sat May 18, 2013 11:29 am

Without dap your starter is just a way to get the yeast multiplying. The starter gets your yeast colony up to a point where it can get started on the sugar in the wash at a much more aggressive rate.

If mac reckons whack in some tomato paste then go with that - he's the rum master:-)

My advice is for general washes when you're worried either about the strength/amount or viability of the yeast you've got to hand.

A starter means you're adding a mini wash that is already charging and looking for more sugar to eat immediately when you add it to your main wash.

by **Cane Toad** » Sat May 18, 2013 12:45 pm

bt1 wrote:Here we go ...crow will be proud!

if you got no dap use the Crow well loved fix!

ground up clover nitrogen nodules off the root stock..handy, free, organic, no flavours provides the nitrogen needed.

I been waiting for a whole year for an opportunity to write this!

bt1

:laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: Ive been waiting to use it as well :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

by **baldoss** » Sat May 18, 2013 1:09 pm

Time to go for a walk to find a neighbour who has clover in their yard because we don't have any growing in ours :sad: :laughing-rolling:

Also today I learned something! I was wondering why the recipe said to add yeast to the small pot you boil up with the vitamins in it, thinking that boiling it will kill the yeast making it pointless to put yeast into that pot, especially when you just add more yeast to the fermenter after that anyway. Turns out that boiling the yeast does kill it but in doing so, the yeast 'bursts' and releases the nutrients it contains! You guys already knew that but maybe there's some lurkers out there who didn't...

Not sure my housemates will be too happy with the fermenters sitting in the bathtub and the smell but tough titties! It's getting down to below 0 at nights out here now so leaving it in the garage or outside isn't an option :laughing-rolling:

by **Dominator** » Sat May 18, 2013 1:53 pm

baldoss wrote:Also today I learned something! I was wondering why the recipe said to add yeast to the small pot you boil up with the vitamins in it, thinking that boiling it will kill the yeast making it pointless to put yeast into that pot, especially when you just add more yeast to the fermenter after that anyway. Turns out that boiling the yeast does kill it but in doing so, the yeast 'bursts' and releases the nutrients it contains! You guys already knew that but maybe there's some lurkers out there who didn't...

I was wondering the same thing! Thanks for sharing that. :)