StillSmart

Right I'm doing a green kale wash not the purple one i frozen the liquid down so I've used 5kg of sugar 500 ml of kale liquid and 70g of baker's yeast for a 25l wash my starting gravity is 1.195 and I've also put an aquarium thermometer set at 26© so fingers crossed.

1.095?

Our timing is similar, I started my first kale wash at the weekend. I was 1.080. (edit: correct, 1.088)

I've not seen any bubbles yet but I think that's because I'm using my fourth and rarely used bucket with a deformed lid, so I think gas can get out through other means. I'm not at all worried about that. I can smell bread yeast so I think its going well.

Mines not doing any bubbling as of yet but will keep you posted have you used a tropical thermometer ?

Robbo..did you get a correct SG?? the reason I ask is....if you have an SG of 1.195 and it finishes, (if it finishes out) at say 1.000 that would give you over 25% wash???

Now I've never known bakers yeast go so far....the high alcohol will kill the yeast somewhere between 9% or 12%...this means you'll finish up with a high sugar content in your wash.

In fact, if it stops at 1.100 you'll have over 12%. If you use a calc with 5kg of sugar in 21.92 lts of water you should have an SG 1.077 giving you 11.8%.

ITMA wrote:1.095?

Our timing is similar, I started my first kale wash at the weekend. I was 1.080.

I've not seen any bubbles yet but I think that's because I'm using my fourth and rarely used bucket with a deformed lid, so I think gas can get out through other means. I'm not at all worried about that. I can smell bread yeast so I think its going well.

I never use an airlock - you will be able to smell, hear and see if it is going.

I will check it again tomorrow and see what's its says and report back.

I remember now when i looked at the measurement on the hydrometer it was on the low wine at around 11%.

Robbo12 wrote:I've also put an aquarium thermometer set at 26© so fingers crossed.

I am sure that you meant to say aquarium heater here, I am only being pedantic 'cos others may find it confusing.
Good luck with the brew.

Robert.

Yes that's what i meant.

Robbie...you say you took the measurement from your low wines??? As it's a wash this is not correct mate..read the following info from a whisky site...


In the first distillation the fermented liquid, or wash, is put into the wash still, which is heated either directly by fire or by steam-heated coils.

At this stage the wash contains yeast, crude alcohol, some unfermentable matter and the by-products of fermentation. During the process of boiling the wash, changes take place in its constituents which are vital to the flavour and character of the whisky. 

As the wash boils, vapours pass up the neck of the still and then pass through a water-cooled condenser or a worm, a coiled copper pipe of decreasing diameter enclosed in a water jacket through which cold water circulates.

This condenses the vapours and the resulting distillate, known as low wines, is collected for re-distilling. The liquor remaining in the wash still is known as pot ale or burnt ale and is usually treated and converted into distillers’ solubles for animal feed. 

The low wines are distilled again in the spirit still, similar in appearance and construction to the wash still but smaller because the bulk of liquid to be dealt with is less. Three fractions are obtained from the distillation in the spirit still. The first is termed foreshots, the second constitutes the potable spirit, and the third is called feints. The foreshots and feints are returned to the process and redistilled in the spirit still with the succeeding charge of low wines. The residue in the still, called spent lees, is run to waste. 

Ok i get what your saying wording eh it's the fermentation process not the wash i stand to be corrected but I'm learning and this is a learning curve but i will get their as for the kale fermentation it's slow not very much happening is this normal with the recipe i did ?

Icefever wrote:Robbie...you say you took the measurement from your low wines??? As it's a wash this is not correct mate... 

I think he meant the markings on the hydrometer, on mine between 1.060 and 1.100 it says table wine, so a low reading in that area would be around 1.095.

Did my first lentil wash last weekend (5kg sugar, tub bread yeast, 25l) went off like a rocket, finished 1.000 ,so quite happy with that.

Ok on my hydrometer reading it's on the low wines 70 can you put some light on this reading I'm still getting to grips with it.

It’s the terminology mate.
Low wines is the name for the spirit that comes off the wash still in whisky production term and is usually about 20 ish % abv........it’s also used in home distilling to describe the product of a first stripping run through a pot still. It’s low in abv.. it’s nothing to do with a hydrometer except that it’s low in abv compared to a finished spirit.

Ok the sg is in the low wines at 70 thanks for your input i do appreciate everyone's comments and taking it all on board.