Alcotec turbo 48

[marc83]

Sounds like it worked a treat hoppin.i must do that also sometime.

[Griff54]

Hiya

New to this site ..only just started brewing..anyway 16-03-11 disolved 8 kilo sugar with 3 litre boiling water & added 18 ltre warm water then added Alcotec 48 turbo yeast...just checked on hydrometer after 5 days reading is 1.062 is this about 8.5%...I have bucket with airlock fitted ..Just read on here maybe i shoun\'nt\'t have airlocked...so now removed airlock & lid & fitted pair of wifes tights to keep brew clean & to add flavor..lol.

So do i leave it a few days & retest ? or give a good stir ? also i have read about carbon & charcoal..do i need because nothing about this on instructions

Regards

Griff54

[MrCat]

I airlock the alcotec 48 with no problems.
You haven\'t said what it was but I guess your original gravity would have been about 1117 (21 litres of water with 8kg of sugar - using this calculator Homedistiller )
This means that your current ABV is about 7.47% (OG of 1117 - current SG of 1062 divided by 7.36)
It sounds like the ferment has stuck as the 48 normally ferments superfast (4/6 days max) - what is the ambient temp like where you are ?? Perhaps it got a bit cold or a bit hot ??
There are two trains of thought I\'ve read - one says if you stir the wash you\'ll add oxygen which means the yeast will convert the sugar to CO2 and more yeast as it\'s only in the absence of O2 that the yeast uses the sugar to produce ethanol and CO2. But it\'s probably worth giving the fermenter a stir to try to get the yeast back into action again. As you are stirring it try not to introduce air into the wash.
You don\'t use activated carbon with the Alcotec 48. It tends to be the very high yield yeasts (alcotec 23%/Still spirits extreme) or the \'ultra\' pure ones such as the S/S Triple distilled which require carbon putting in the wash.
The alcotec 48 is a great yeast - it\'s my favourite turbo yeast
Don\'t worry too much about a yeast not working right first time - it probably took most of us a few washes before getting it right and even in the worst case you can usually recover the wash.
Post back how you get on and we\'ll see what we can do
Cheers !

[Griff54]

MrCat

Thanks for reply....sorry did not do first reading (novice)...i keep by rad in back room ..reading is 22c..this will go down when rad off....outside temp 6c / 7am.....i am out all day & will do gravity reading at 6pm & post on here...

Thanks

Griff54

[phlogiston]

Another suggested approach is to split the batch into two and dilute each up to the original volume. Getting a wash of OG 1.117 to ferment out may be a bit optimistic. You\'ll end up with twice the volume to distil to get the same alcohol, but that may not be a bad thing. Many people think that going for, say, 10% with a non-turbo yeast gets you much cleaner alcohol.

[Griff54]

Hiy Mr Cat,,Think summat gone wrong with alcotec..now reads 1.040 & is a Milky white,,think its a dead duck...any advice or throw down the drain..lol

Regards

Griff54

[MrCat]

Ok - it looks like the fermentation has started up again - thats 3% more alcohol than the other day. The alcotec does tend to go cloudy so I wouldn\'t worry about that too much.
I\'d re-airlock it as then you can see when it\'s stopped producing CO2 and hence stopped ferementing rather than testing the gravity all the time.
What are you planning to put it through (Airstill/T500/ss reflux etc) ??

[Griff54]

MrCat,,,yet again this looks like where i am the novice...when i bought off ebay i thought you just put sugar ,yeast,syphon off ,add essence,,ready to drink, nothing on instructions to (Airstill/T500/ss reflux etc)..looks like i have wasted my time & yours sorry

but i will put air lock back on until you reply

Regards

Griff54

[MrCat]

Aaah - I see where you are coming from
Ok - no problems then. With any luck just leave the airlock in and over the next couple of days it will continue to ferment. Hopefully it will get down to 1000 or less on your hydrometer. This should give you about 15% abv. But there is quite a bit of un-fermented sugar so it will probably be quite sweet.
Have you got some turbo clear ?? The next step once the fermentation has finished is to clear it (remove the milky clouds) which you can do with a turbo clear/finings or by putting it somewhere cold and leaving it for a couple of weeks.
It might not be quite what you wanted or expected but it will be alcoholic!!
Or get a SS reflux or a airstill or a T500 and take it to the next level and turn it into Bio fuel....
Keep posting though and we\'ll help out as much as we can.
Cheers

[Griff54]

MrCat,

Thanks ..all is not lost..thought i had messed up.. willing to do the above..wait till i get a reading of 1000 or less. I will purchase some turbo clear . do i add turbo clear when fermentation finishes or syphon off into another 21 ltre bucket,then add turbo clear.

thanks once again for all your help

regards

griff54

[MrCat]

If it was me I\'d airlock the fermenter and then leave it until the bubbles slow down until you aren\'t sure if it\'s still fermenting. Then I\'d push the fermenter lid down a bit (but not much) so it pushes a little more CO2 out of the fermenter - then let the lid settle again and it will try to suck air back through the airlock. What you want to achieve is no air actually gets sucked back through but the water levels on either side of the airlock even out so if more CO2 is produced you can see it as the levels will change. If CO2 is still coming off then it is still fermenting.
Once the ferment stops and you are happy no CO2 is being produced in say a one hour period (the water level in the airlock will stay the same) then I\'d open the fermenter and check the gravity. If it\'s above 1000 then give the liquid a stir trying not to get air in the liquid - you are just trying to encourage the yeast to start working again (it may have settled into the bottom 1/3rd of the container)
Once the gravity is at or below 1000 I\'d give it another couple of days to really settle then syphon it into a separate container, give it a really good stir to get rid of all the remaining CO2 in the wash, give it a day to settle again and then follow the instructions on the turbo clear packet (I like the Alcotec 24 TurboKlar but the SS one is pretty much the same)
Now, I\'ve never seen a totally clear Alcotec 48 (and I\'ve made a few) but for what I want to do that doesn\'t matter. You may be expecting it to be crystal clear which will require a much longer period after you have put the TurboKlar in - maybe a week or so.
Happy to help btw
Post back how you are getting on.
Cheers

[Griff54]

Thanks MrCat...will accept your advice,,,Just to let you know...It is bublin like crazy...airlock sounds asif its on a set of drums...post back in a few days..let u kno whats occuring

Regards

Griff54

[Griff54]

Hi MrCat...Good news my Alcotec is clearing very nicely after adding the turbo clear..even had a little taster..very nice...a bit more info...i have purchased a Still Spirit mix,,& started 2day (4-4-11)...i added 21 ltres water at 30dgrees...added 6 kilo sugar...turbo yeast & carbon....I have done a reading at SG 1.108 & airlocked..my local brew shop is going to hire me his Smartstill 4ltre next monday..11-04-11..when i am going to still my original alcotec & the new Still Spirit if ready...will let you know the outcome...once again thanks for all your help

Griff54

[MrCat]

Sounds like it\'s working well.
Have a good natter with the LBS owner and pick up any hints and tips on the smartstill - you should get what you want out of that

[Ted5]

Hi

I found my Alcotec 48 did nothing until I used a heater.

I suspended one (a fish tank/beer heater from Hong Kong Ebay seller 4.88GBP) by the wire through the middle of the bin lid (blu tack to suspend and seal the flex). I am using an air lock with very little water in it.

Now it's going like a train. Alcotec say the 48 is more temperature tollerant than the 24 and goes fine in even 32c.

I'm actually still on my first brew which was interrupted when my old heater died and fermentation stopped dead. Now a new one's fitted its going fine again.

I'm more worried about clearing it with all that yeast etc in it (I just bought Alcotecs finings on Ebay).
And what to mix with it i.e. if I can finish with anything tasting acceptable (I'm not going to distill).

As some of the cider kits I used in the past weren't brilliant tasting I'm hoping to end up with a reasonable apple drink.

Time will tell.