StillSmart

hello all how many kilos of sugar do you all use for a wash 6 or 7 kilos ?

im going to use alcotec triple distilled yeast as my airstill came with 3 free packs , then im going on to vodka star yeast

thanks , john.

You probably won't believe it but no more than 5 - after that it will not taste as good.

5Kg is my limit too.

Really?

But if my sums are correct that's only going to give OG 1.075 and about 11.5% abv.

High strength wash stresses the yeast cells which then die in huge numbers creating loads of off smells and tastes.

This is why most of us stick to 5Kg in a 25lt wash (that's total volume) and believe me that will be enough.

As time goes by you'll find that the amount of spirit you will produce from wash finishing out dry at 11%ish will far outstrip your ability to consume it, even those with an Airstill.

AM

I've recently been doing side by side trials of a turbo (alcotec 48) and my own nutrients using pH buffers.

Did both the spirit runs at the weekend there, so will give it a few days before doing the taste test and posting results on here.

But for the tests I'm using 10kg in 50-55L and a single packet of turbo (1.070 sg). The turbo takes 4 days at 26oC.
Using a single packet on a double size wash makes the turbos much better value for money.

I await your results with interest CC,being a long time user of this turbo.
I am now sperimenting with other yeasts,but found cutting the amount of alcotech 48 in half for a wash gave both taste and cost benefits.
Curious to know your experience.
Robert.

Got to disagree with some of my mates here but I alway do 7kg with a 26 litre VS

Gives a great 16% plus wash

But I alway distill twice or thrice and carbon (essencia) filter for neutral

I'm my defence my triple distilled filtered sugar wash 'vodka' won 3 to 1 in a blind tasting against a £40 bottle of posh Russian stuff

Happydays

I use .25K per liter. Works just fine. I used to go no more than .17K /L but over time found I could take it up and still finish with an SG of below 1.000.

It's this type of vagaries that make this thing so interesting to me.
As the song goes,-if it feels good then Do IT!

Need to be careful when comparing our stuff to store bought vodkas. The Iceberg brand gets a lot of hype, Kentucky grain neutral spirit diluted with melted icebergs blah blah. Quite a few of the user reviews cite banging hangovers so not really neutral Kentucky spirit is it?

I use 6Kg of sugar with VS but aim for 2 week ferments.

John, I'm curious to see how you think the Triple compares to Vodka Star.

Here is a link to wash calculator page on the OLD AD history pages...

http://homedistiller.org/calcs/rad14701 save it if your asking this type of question for future reference