First time - Advice please!

by **mrweizen** » Tue May 18, 2010 7:24 pm

Hi All,
I\'m new to this, on Sunday i put my 1st wash on the go, with 6KG granulated sugar and SS Turbo Triple Distilled.
At first i had issues with keeping the temperature down, as it says on the packet above 24 fermentation will stall.. The temperature was stuck at 27c+. Ive now managed to get the temperature to stay around 24.4c.
My question is, will this ferment correctly at this temperature? And what kind of % should i expect?
Thanks in advance!

by **Phantom** » Tue May 18, 2010 9:42 pm

Yes, it should be fine. In the winter period, I usually have to chuck a brew belt round mine and that keeps it at about the same i.e. 24C +/- .5C
It should still come out in the region of 14% ABV. Of course, if you have somewhere that has a constant 18 to 20 C it\'ll still be Ok but there\'s lots of theory around about keeping ferments as low as the yeast will tolerate, but in practice, if you\'re somewhere where it\'s difficult to keep the numbers down, then investigate different turbo yeasts as there\'s one that is recommended for higher temps
Oh and it should still be \"done\" in about a week, then it\'s just a case of clearing and distilling. I use the 2 part SS turbo clear.
If you have time, I\'d recommend that you get yourself a bottle of the distillers conditioner as it helps reduce the possibility of over boils on the still - and a couple of packs of the rashig rings to put in the still while it\'s running.
regards
P

by **marc83** » Wed May 19, 2010 12:15 am

Welcome mrweizen to the best forum around..

I would say by now the temp on you wash should come down for the rest of the fermentation process,The first couple of days the wash will produce a bit of heat,my SS triple stayed at approx 27 for the first couple of days,then it sat around 24 for the rest of the week.Its getting colder now so the next triple i put on may need a bit of warmth.

If you have got it around 24.4 C it will be fine.Keep an eye on it for the rest of the week and it should be done nicely.

Let us know how you get on.

Marc

by **hoppinmad** » Wed May 19, 2010 12:59 am

hello mrweizen,

marc83 is correct the yeast ferments quite violently for the first few days and produces its own heat as a result. its completely normal and will calm down. if you live where the ambient air temp is above 25degrees c you could keep throwning a few ice cubes in to keep the temp down, otherwise phantoms advice to use a high temp turbo is best or you could try the bakers yeast recipe thats on here (i do use more yeast nutrient though) as that ferments best at 30c IMO,
cheers hoppin

by **mrweizen** » Wed May 19, 2010 2:26 pm

Hi again,
Thanks to everyone for prompt and detailed responses! If it ferments to 14% is this enough for my SmartStill to produce 50-55% alcohol?
As for the turbo clear, i will be using the two part turbo clear. I also have the SS carbon additive in the fermenter to help a bit more with purity. I also have the distillers conditioner ready at hand

can\'t wait to do my first run!

by **marc83** » Wed May 19, 2010 3:30 pm

If it ferments out to 14% thats plenty enough,I use a 25L essencia still,so unsure of what a smart still produces.

Using the turbo carbon,turbo clear and your distilling conditioner will all contribute to a nice clean product,happy stillin.

by **hoppinmad** » Wed May 19, 2010 11:14 pm

mrweizen,

personally i dont use carbon in the wash, tho saying that i dont use ss turbo either, but it will produce between 14-20% alcohol just leave it bubbling until its 0990sg or below. you may want to try alcotec vodka star as it produces much cleaner smelling and tasting spirit IMO. i normally get it fermenting dry to 0980 which produces consistently 60% through my still,
cheers, hoppin

by **Jimmy** » Thu May 20, 2010 5:44 am

Don\'t worry too much about chasing percentage, concentrate on getting a good clean fermentation and distillation, you can always double or triple distill to boost the ABV but it\'s more important to avoid trying to be greedy and taking too much when you distill, which can give off-flavours to the entire batch.

by **mrweizen** » Thu May 20, 2010 8:00 pm

Thanks for the tips. Will these 24/48 hour & three day turbo\'s be just as good as the SS Turbos? Would be nice to have a shorter wait next time.
Also, are these going to be ok in the SmartStill without using carbon? I\'ll probably try the alcotec range next.

by **mrweizen** » Thu May 20, 2010 8:02 pm

Also, stupid question, can i use the hydrometer i got with my lager kit to measure the SG on the wash?

by **Jimmy** » Thu May 20, 2010 8:53 pm

Yes, you don\'t really need carbon in the wash, although with a turbo it can help, I would always carbon filter after distilling a turbo though. You should be OK with your hydrometer - until you hit the still you\'re basically winemaking so the same kit should work.

by **hoppinmad** » Fri May 21, 2010 1:12 am

Will these 24/48 hour & three day turbo\'s be just as good as the SS Turbos?

mrweizen,

as a rule of thumb the longer the wash takes to ferment dry the better the result, therefore the less time the poorer the quality. i know its tempting to go for the shorter ferments but this stresses the yeast and it produces more of the nasties that cause the off smells and taste to the finished spirit, by all means try them but i reckon you wont be using them regularly,
cheers, hoppin

by **mrweizen** » Fri May 21, 2010 2:37 pm

Cheers Hoppin/Jimmy
I\'m using the tea bag carbon filters that go in the neck of the bottle on my Smart Still for filtration. I probably wont bother with the 48 hour, defiantly not the 24 after hoppin\'s advice.
I have to ask the question though, what if you use the Alcotec turbo 48 on a 5 day ferment for 20%? Will this still stress the yeast?
* update on my wash, i checked the SG yesterday after work and it was in the yellow.. Nearly green! If its not fully in the green today can i still clear it to distill this weekend?

by **mrweizen** » Fri May 21, 2010 3:43 pm

I\'ve read in a few places now that only the stinky SS Triple Turbo can be used with my Smart Air Still, one place being.. Is this really the case? I would have thought that wash is wash? If it needs to be triple distilled yeast surely i can use another brand of triple distilled?
http://www.wineworks.co.uk/product/trip ... iple-pack/

by **marc83** » Fri May 21, 2010 4:29 pm

Surely wash is wash,dont use an airstill myself but im sure you dont have to stick to one type...and the SS triple stinky????no way,thats the least smelly of the ones i have used,and i have used all of them.

Have you tried usinf the turbo 48 and splitting the packet into two lots??apparently it works quite well...5kg of sugar in each,split the turbo yeast into two lots and use as normal...From what i have read they ferment out to approx 10-12%abv,so it doesnt stress the yeast which can cause the off smells and flavours.The alcotec stuff must be jam packed with nutrients to be able to do this.I have wanted to try but have others on the go.

If anyone can confirm this please do...or correct me if im wrong.