StillSmart

Cherry Yidaki wrote:I'm watching this closely and am very glad for the pictorial tutorial. I may have to search out a translation guide for some of the Brit slang, though.

No problemo dude just ask..

Just wondering - when did you take your SG reading; when there was nothing but sugar and water in the wash? Is that the right time, or are you supposed to get everything incorporated, then pour a sample for the hydrometer?

I'm not 100% I think I took the SG after I'd mixed the sugar, while the lentils were in the boiling water.


Also, did you adjust your SG after aidanmac's comment? I've been trying to hit 1.052 SG and 5.5 ph on my fermentations since reading his guides/comments. Wondering if being outside that range affects this recipe, or if it's so robust it shrugs off niggling variations like that.

AHH...I must have missed that part in Aidan's comment..I've no worries on the PH as our tapwater is around 5/6. I also missed the SG of 1.052...I hit 1.780 which should come out about the 9/10 ABV mark, we'll have to wait & see.

Anyway, good luck and thanks for the helpful thread!

Cheers Cherry.

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Aidan wrote:These days I don't bother with the SG, it's always the same. FG is more important as this is how you'll know your wash has actually finished and not just stalled A stalled wash still has unfermented sugar but it will still clear

+1...Knowing how to use a hydrometer is one of the basic steps, a lot of guys who start brewing beer don't seem to bother with one, or don't think they need one. They soon find out what an interesting bit of kit they are.
The FG of any beer/wine or wash can tell you loads about what's going on
with whatever your fermenting.
Also if you use the same amount of sugar to water ratio the SG should be the same everytime.

Icefever

quote="Cherry Yidaki"

Just wondering - when did you take your SG reading; when there was nothing but sugar and water in the wash? Is that the right time, or are you supposed to get everything incorporated, then pour a sample for the hydrometer?
[/quote]

Yes mate sugar and water will give the the start SG,forget your box of cornflakes,packet of lentils etc.
It is the finishing gravity that is more important,to know that it has finished;the sugar has been used and it is time to rack.
Of course if you are a dweeb like me,you may want to know the potential alcohol of the wash,and why not?
So start and finish SGs maybe important to you.
HTH,
Robert.

Just calculate the SG and assume the FG is 1 or .990. I used to measure a lot when I started, now I don't. This is not beer making.
http://www.brewhaus.com/Calculators-C108.aspx

Chuck

I'll settle in and quit jittering about everything soon. Thanks for the wisdom - and even more thanks for the patience.

Cherry Yidaki wrote:I'll settle in and quit jittering about everything soon. Thanks for the wisdom - and even more thanks for the patience.

No worries Cherry... remember we were all newbies once..I still am I have a lot to learn.

Had nothing to do yesterday so checked on the wash..it's down to 1.050...so that's around 3.5 ABV at the mo, looking good.

BJ

I started out measuring and calculating everything too. It did not make my results taste any better. Then I learned to just relax, have a drink, and put another wash on. There are too many variables to reduce this to a scientific 1 2 3 4 done.

Chuck

Know where your coming from Chuck... I suppose it's because this distilling malarkey is all new to us newbies, this time next year we'll be all laid back.. there will be new kids on the block.

Might sound like a daft question but im new to all this and was thinking of making the lentil wash next time. my question is do you just top up your ingredients with water to make a 25ltr wash? or are your ingredients for a larger or smaller wash?

cheers

Not a daft question at all. But there will not be a consistent answer. Everyone will do it differently and they way most people do it will depend on the size of their bucket.

You are after the alcohol, this depends on the amount of sugar not the amount of water or the size of the bucket. The bigger the bucket the weaker the ABV of the ferment, the smaller the bucket the stronger ferment.

When you distil the two options you will get the same amount of alcohol with slightly different amount of water mixed in.

My bucket is 25 litres but then I have to leave room for the foam and this depends on the wash, with TPW (Tomato Paste) it is pointless using any more than 20 litres as the rest just blows the lid off and ends up on the floor. I have not had the opportunity of trying this Lentil Wash yet but looking forward to it, when I do I will see how much water to use. It's nothing to worry about just part of the learning curve.

I just followed Aidan's recipe tomemmett, started with 21 liters of water in the bucket. Then added the lentils with the 2 liters of water making a total of 23 lts. My buckets are around 28lts to the brim, but because of the way this wash takes off I didn't want to find myself cleaning the kitchen floor the next morning.

So I dropped it into a larger barrel with a lot more headroom...and I'm glad I did, it took off like a train.

BJ

Any update on your lentil wash?

I started a bucket a few days ago. Split green peas are what's cheapest in the dry goods, locally, so that's what I'm kicking through the fermenter. I did throw a tbs of citric acid in, because I know my tap water ph runs up around 9.

It took a couple days to build up the characteristic foamy kroisen - probably because my temp is about 73F in here - but it has shown good activity from a couple hours after dry yeast pitching. I'm in no rush, so not putting a brew belt on it.

In no rush because I had those cereal and cornmeal gallon washes finish and clear, so I've been running them. Did the first spirit run on them this morning and there are marked differences to the smells and flavors produced when running the "slime," particularly in the tails. I'm still catching a bit of "scorched popcorn" though. I wonder if this particular air still runs a bit hot.

Speaking of slime, I had it show up in another 5 gallon batch, but I dumped it right away and went into a cleaning frenzy. Hopefully it's gone for good this time.

Question: Do you intend to rack it into a different container after the first, furious, fomenting fermentation finishes as I think I saw aidanmac say he does?

Oh, I also wanted to know if you, Ice, are a hot or cold water cutter? chill advocates hot water, aidanmac wants it ice cold. I thought I got better "discovery" with hot, but my experience is so limited that I'll need to try it both ways a few more times.

I guess there are a couple aidanmac questions here, too (or anybody who follows the same practice):

A) What's the sign of the fermentation reaching the stage where it's good to rack it? Does the kroisen fall/dissipate?

B) Surely you immediately dump some sugar water on the left-behind legumes to get the next batch bumping. aidanmac says he uses them for 3 washes (I think) - is that arbitrary, or is something happening at that point to make it a good idea to dump it all and start fresh?

Enquiring minds, and all that.

I guess there are a couple aidanmac questions here, too (or anybody who follows the same practice):

A) What's the sign of the fermentation reaching the stage where it's good to rack it? Does the kroisen fall/dissipate?

The crust falling is a good sign that things are getting close, and then when the bubbles stop rising is another. I also look for the top of the wash starting to clear at the top and then rack.

I make sure that when I syphon that the liquid from the syphon tube makes a good splash and creates a nice froth in the settling bucket, this releases a large portion of the gas trapped in the wash, a vigorous stir gets rid of the rest.

B) Surely you immediately dump some sugar water on the left-behind legumes to get the next batch bumping. aidanmac says he uses them for 3 washes (I think) - is that arbitrary, or is something happening at that point to make it a good idea to dump it and start a fresh batch .

The lentils are there to provide nutrients for the yeast, when the nutrients have been used up the lentils have no purpose and it is time to dump them. You will be able to see from wash to wash the change in vigour and speed of the ferment, when the ferments is slow and takes longer it's time for a fresh batch.

Dude! Thank you for the clarity!

+1 YHB

One more thing CY asked: "Oh, I also wanted to know if you, Ice, are a hot or cold water cutter? chill advocates hot water, aidanmac wants it ice cold. I thought I got better "discovery" with hot, but my experience is so limited that I'll need to try it both ways a few more times."

Not quite right but close you're mixing your apples and oranges

Spirit Cuts
Chuck recommends using using hot water when cutting spirit samples for tasting. That involves a small amount of hot water and similar amount of distillate on a spoon. The hot water makes it easier to discern the different flavours in the distillate making cuts easier to identify. I agree with Chuck on this method

Clearing a wash
I recommend that, when a wash is finished fermenting, you should transfer the wash to a clean fermenter leaving the yeast and lentils behind. The wash should then be kept in a cold place to assist in clearing, the colder it is the better the wash will clear.

AM

Thank you, sir.

Now, it pains this humble one greatly to contradict you in any way, but I really wasn't comparing pommes to pomegranates when bringing up the hot/cold controversy. In your estimable "Guide to Spirit Cuts for Beginners" it reads:

"There's a small amount of kit required for making cuts that will make the job easier. In the picture you can see it consists simply of a glass of clean cold water, a teaspoon, a glass eyedropper and a separate 500ml (or so) bottle of cold water.

Obviously your technique has evolved since writing that and I am happy that I asked so I could clear up the quandary in my own mind, at least - and save myself some fitful dithering. heh

Thanks for the info in racking for better clearing, too. I was misunderstanding that.

One thing North Idaho winters are good for - even mild ones - is a good, cold place to put your wash when it's ready to clear.