StillSmart

Hi All,

had a bit of a nightmare...luckily its only a 25litre batch..
Ive done my first birdwatchers using tomatoe paste,sugar, lemon and fresh yeast.....
the fresh yeast id never used before and was from morrisons fresh dairy\butter section for 50p for a 4pack punnet...
the mistake i made is it probably needed starting....
so anyway i crumbled the correct amount into the wash and left it. The first few days some bubbles appeared so i thought no more and left it..
I checked it one week later and the hydrometer was halfway out the wash at something like 1050 lol.
Ive added two packs as thats all i had of fast action breadmaking yeast and its finaly gone off like a rocket...
My question is, will it be ok with the 1week inactivity (everything was meticulously sterile although i used untreated tap water..
and will 2 sachets of this yeast be enough?..
I know now i should have made a starter - its my stupid fault but i was also doing two other turbos at the time and getting weary...
thanks
Rich

Should be fine.

thanks

What is the hydrometer reading now? As long as it appears active then all is well.

Birdwatchers has always been my favourite wash so far and has almost always fermented beautifully without much effort.

Here's what I use for ~27 litre wash

6kg sugar
250g tomato puree
1 whole lemon { ~90ml juice)
75g yeast ( Cheap allinson's active yeast from supermarket ) Probably dont need that much but its really cheap..
Pinch of Epsoms salt

Keep it at about 25deg C with a cheap fish tank heater and most times it will be done in 5 days or less and then leave another 5 to clear...You will get to know when it's done if you stick to the same wash.

Always ferments really well for me If I can keep the temp up at this time of the year.


If its stalled then it can probably be brought back to life. I'm not hugely experienced in making washes but I have noticed that temperatures and PH levels will make a huge difference to fermentation speed...

What temp is your wash? what is the PH? and the hydrometer reading. I think you can save it, don't throw it out just yet

Thanks Uber..

Yes ive got the old fishtank heater at 25...its an invaluable bit of kit.
I havent done another hydrom reading as i cant see it bobbing in the wash for bubbles !...
All seems ok now so ill let it calm down and then check in a few days..
The turbos have finished...cleared and halfway through a stripping run !

Rich

@monkeyb0uk....mate if its a sterile ferment environment and you havent gone ABOVE the maximum yeast temp tolerance it will 'always' be fine....in this case, the real issue is to provide/maintain a wash temp ABOVE the minimum yeast tolerance for an appropriate ferment time, relative to the amount of sugar/yeast.

Using a typical recipe, theres no issues except (maybe) keeping the wash temp inside the yeast activation range for a week, or more....

Birdwatchers (aka TPW) is a great neutral wash IMHO....just have the patience; and maybe a hydrometer; to ensure its well-and-truly settled (constant final gravity readings over a few days) and perhaps also consider racking it off, pre distill.

I've distilled a lot of BirdWatcher's straight from the fermenting tub and have had no problems with scorching or burning to the base.
I never wait for my wash to clear, it's just a waste of time and really bad for the patience when you would like a couple of fingers with ice.