StillSmart

This recipe may surprise some but I can absolutely guarantee consistent fermentation to produce a good neutral at minimal cost.

Ingredients;
21lt water
5.5kg Sugar
400g Red Lentils.
50g Allinsons Bread Yeast

Method;
Put the Red Lentils into a bowl and add 2lt boiling water then leave to soak for 30 mins while getting the rest of the wash ready.

Heat the balance of the water to 35oC then add to the fermenter along with the sugar. Stir until all sugar is dissolved.

Take SG reading.

Once the Lentils have had a good soak for 30 minutes, give them a good stir and add the lot, water and all, to the fermenter.

Check that the starting pH is approx 5.2 and adjust with Citric Acid if necessary.

Aerate the wash with a stick blender or your usual method.

Temp should be 30oC then pitch 50g of dry bread yeast or a 1lt yeast starter if available.

(N.B. If using a Yeast Starter it is not necessary to aerate)

After 24 hours the wash has a thick Krausen should have formed to protect the wash.


Keep the ferment at 30oC throughout and it should finish in 6 days. If left for a further 3 days in a cold location it will almost clear enough to run without any help.

Many thanks and credit due to Scarecrow who helped me with this recipe.

AM

Got to be worth a try Thanx Aidan

You say a thick Krausen should have formed to protect the wash

Don't mean to be stupid but what do you mean by protect it?

A Krausen or Cap on the wash will prevent wild yeasts and other undesirables getting into the wash. In commercial breweries the wash is usually open to the air and the Krausen makes it unnecessary to have a lid on during fermentation other than to prevent solid objects falling into the fermenter.

A thick Krausen is generally taken as a sign of a healthy ferment too

AM

Cool thanks Aiden that actually solves a problem I have, with winter coming up I have bought a couple of aquarium heaters to keep the washes at a constant temp, these of course have power cables that I would have otherwise have to have found a way to get them through the lid without losing the seal - cool

Superslim007 wrote:Cool thanks Aiden that actually solves a problem I have, with winter coming up I have bought a couple of aquarium heaters to keep the washes at a constant temp, these of course have power cables that I would have otherwise have to have found a way to get them through the lid without losing the seal - cool

I don't use air locks on any of my fermenters,just a loose fitting lid to keep insects and dust out.

For beer and wine this would be unthinkable, but we are usually fermenting higher ABV washes, and not leaving it sitting for months on end for any nasties to make it go off.

I hardly ever use steriliser, just a rinse out with hot water, often I don't even do that if running the same wash again on the lees.

Superslim007 wrote:...........with winter coming up I have bought a couple of aquarium heaters to keep the washes at a constant temp, these of course have power cables that I would have otherwise have to have found a way to get them through the lid without losing the seal - cool

Maintaining a constant wash temp is important for getting fermentation finished quickly and those heaters will help but only if you have good insulation to prevent heat loss from the walls of the fermenters.

To Insulate my washes I used to use a cheap sleeping bag, bought in Tesco. I cut it in two and got the cut ends sewn to stop them falling apart. The two halves provide an insulation sock that you can sit your fermenter into and pull it up over the top to keep the heat in

If you're worried about the cable thing, you could drill a hole in a rubber bung, remove the plug from the heater and pass the cable through the hole in the bung before refitting the plug but as Cap'n C says, it's not really necessary to have an airlock or positive seal on the fermenters.

AM

Great, thanks for the advice, I really thought keeping an air tight seal was very important but it seems that maybe keeping the temp constant is more important

Hi Amac
Tried your lentil wash for the first time tonight. Took off like a rocket. Hope it continues like this and makes great neutral. Thanks for that. Speak to you later.
Regards
RM

I found with the last lental run I did exactly as the recipe asked for, things had cooled down so my aquarium heaters kept a constant 28ish degrees left it for 7 days and only got it to 9.5abv so left for a further week and got it to about 11 ish abv but I think that's where it peeked out, oh and after 24hrs there was indeed the protective crust foam which proceeded to disappear 24hrs later

The temp really is essential with this or any recipe. As the temp drops the ferment will slow down considerably. The starting pH of 5.2 is also essential but once started you can more or less forget this element.

Also, 11-12%ish is about right for this wash. Nice and clean for a purer neutral.

AM

What do you guys generally use to read the PH levels?

Thinking on giving this a try in my air still but don't have ph paper or a meter

Cheers

i use this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-Pock ... 4176d39221

"McGatchie"What do you guys generally use to read the PH levels?

I use absolutely nothing.

Why bother, it works for me without knowing what my PH is, I am lucky !!! But there again, maybe you are too.

My water comes from the local utility company who seem, in my area, to be doing a reasonable job.

I have brewed beer, made wine and now I am fermenting washes, the only problems I have ever had are temperature related. If I keep the yeasties warm then they do what they do best.

My theory is that if I do not test then I will not need to start introducing all sorts of stuff into the fermenter at which point everything would go pear shaped.I know that if I checked the PH then I would need to do something, I also know that if I tried to do something then I would stuff it up.

Forget about PH until you have to think about it. Try the wash as stated. If you are worried about wasting sugar and lentils, then only do a half wash the first time to see if it works. If it works forget papers, colour charts and meters, just sit back and relax and let the yeasties do their thing.

But there again I am known for my laziness.

Just bought one...Cheers Bill!

As a General Guide, if your kettle has a little limescale in it you needn't worry too much about pH. If your kettle is as clean as the day you bought it you may have an issue with acidity and the pH will matter but once you know where it is you can make an adjustment to any recipe e.g. Leave out adding acid like tomato paste or lemon juice.

AM