Fermentation Speed

[Ricardo]

Set my first wash going 3 weeks ago & it is still fermenting very slowly.
Details as below.
23 litre
Still Spirits yeast / nutrient pack/carbon pack
6kg sugar
Temperature 27 degree C using aquarium heater.
Plastic bin wrapped in old sheet
Starting gravity 1.096

Took a hydrometer reading last night & it is down to 1.000 &
is obviously still fermenting.
Seems to be taking a long time ?? Or am I being a bit impatient ??
I thought these super yeasts & nutrients made for a super fast fermentation??
I am in no rush ( ) so I am just going to leave it alone.
Am I doing anything wrong here ??
P.S
I am not desperate to use my new Airstill.............honest !!

[Tasturbo]

thats a long time, check hydrometer reading next couple of days and if still 1.000 it could be finished, my washes only go for about 4 days and temps go up n down a bit from day to night.

some one with experience will help soon.

[chill]

Three weeks is pretty slow. My washes run slow compared to what some on here achieve. I figure 7-10 days until dry. It might be a couple of things. It could be too hot for that strain of yeast. The pH could be too low, do you have any way of measuring pH? It could have gotten infected. In the absence of any way to test pH, I'd stir in a tablespoon of baking soda (no, not baking powder!). It will fizz like mad! See if the fermentation is quicker a day after that.

Your best best is to have multiple washes if you have the space. I think I have five at the moment in various stages. That way, they washes wait for you rather than you waiting for the washes.

Chuck

[hampk]

+1 what Chill said - in the UK we call it sodium bicarbonate. He's right it will fizz like a mad thing. If you can, check the pH of your water. I need to use a buffer where I am - a wash is done in five days if I do, fourteen if I don't. 50g citric acid, 50g sodium bicarbonate - works every time

Cheers

Hampk

[Mash]

23 litre / 6kg sugar will take a while. Whatever the yeast that is a biiiiig dinner for the Yeast to chomp through.

in simple terms yeast eat sugar, breed like crazy, Fart CO2 & pee alcohol. The trouble is, they drown in their own pee! Depending on the strain of yeast, this is anywhere from about 8%. 20+% is a big ask. So a slowdown towards the end.. Simples.

But nature is on hand in the form of stock - your first brew is always that the one you are most impatient for. Once you have some stock in - an extra few days won't matter a jot. And like Chuck said it is often worth getting a couple on the go.

I'm yet have go with sodium bicarbonate. But I have to say it does seem to be taking the world by storm

[YHB]

I can well remember the anticipation of my first run, checking the SG of the wash every few hours, its more exciting than waking up on Xmas morning to see if He's been.

After much experimenting I have now settled on 4kg of Sugar for a wash the size of yours. I have tried stronger washes but just ended up with the problems that you have.

I don't do PH's, buffers, gassing or yeast starters and 4 kg's usually takes me 8 days to ferment out. When its finished I rack it in to a clean settling bucket so that I can start another brew.

So 3 brews @ 8 days is 24 days to use 12kg's of sugar.

Same length of time but twice as much alcohol, and it tastes much better.

[packapoo]

23 litre / 6kg sugar will take a while. Whatever the yeast that is a biiiiig dinner for the Yeast to chomp through.

I'm yet have go with sodium bicarbonate. But I have to say it does seem to be taking the world by storm

On that note, in another world recently, pH control by sea shells from the sea shore took that world by storm. Storm has gone now, plus I've recently seen that theory quietly debunked