StillSmart

I have finally taken the plunge with a tomato wash.

I followed the recipe on page 1

The thing is bubbling away like a little trooper, started bubbling almost immediately.

The only thing I changed was the sugar for dextrose @ 6kg.

Thanks to the op for the recipe.

Cheers

will be intersting to see how much yield you will get from the 6kg dextrose andy

Have just stilled mine off on the weekend. It all went fine with the T500 and got about 2.85L and smelt as good as the triple distilled. I carbon filtered it as well, not 100% convinced if it is needed or not. Just figure using a reflux still, I\'m only after clear sprit, so it cant hurt to filter it.
Back to the start of this batch using Marc83\'s recipe, I was a bit lazy and thought it had finish fermenting as the bubbles had stoped. So I racked it off to clear. After a week it was still as cloudy as, so I checked the SG and it was still 1000 (I also used 6kg of sugar, maybe too much for it). I decided to use Turbo clear and just still it any way as I have (God forgive me) run out of Booze.
I have already put down another batch (with only 5kg of sugar this time) using the old yeast bed as suggested on another site (to reuse the yeast). After a day of no activity, I added 75g of yeast which got things moving nicely. I think I will just start a from fresh each time from now on. It has just finished bubbling so will test it in a day or two (with the hydrometer) and leave it to clear over the next month (or if I run out of spirit sooner). Think I need to stop giving away my booze and build up my stocks

yeast is cheap enough surely it pays to give the fermenter a good clean and start a fresh.

i used 5kg of sugar and got 2.85 with the t500, i thought you might of got more bundy.

with the 5kgs the first batch finished in 5 days, a week to clear by itself and i ran it through the still with no dramas.

the second batch the weather was a bit cooler and it took a couple more days to ferment, will give this a week to clear as well.

i might try not filtering and see how it goes.

cheers

Havent had the balls to not filter mine,haha.I figure i might as well,the booze im making is already CHEAP as.Im going to put 3x25L washes down starting this weekend hopefully.One each weekend,should build up the stocks nicely,cos like you bundy,i would hate to run out!

Tomato wash on left and Vodka Star on right. This is 3 days into fermentation.

Andy, having seen this one and the barrel thread, can I have your house?

LOL umm no LOL

But your welcome to call in any time

I read thru this thread about tomato washes but must have missed something. Whats the tomato and lemon for? What benefit do you get out of it?

2nd batch today distilled.

3.50 litres v the 2.85 i got first time with the same ingredients :S

I read thru this thread about tomato washes but must have missed something. Whats the tomato and lemon for? What benefit do you get out of it?

I am not 100% sure but I guess its something to feed the little yeast beasts.

2nd batch today distilled.

3.50 litres v the 2.85 i got first time with the same ingredients :S

Sweeeet, wonder why the difference though - could be the weather/ambient temp\'s.

.

I will let you know what I get next Sunday when I run both the VS and the TP back to back.

Batches both started at 32c.

First batch was a hotter week and fermented in 5 days.

Second batch took about 8 to fully ferment out.

With the second i ran less water and kept the water temp up to 65 and a little over, maybe this was the reason.

Yeah be interesting to see Andy

Just run into a glitch, next Sunday is out of the question.

WSBK is first round at Phillip Island and I cant miss that.

Will run Saturday or Monday.

Good news is that the VS just finished today and the TP finished yesterday, so they will both be ready next week.

My 2nd batch has also finished. I found the wash takes longer to clear but, may have to leave it longer than a week or use some clear.

The tomato paste is the nutrient for the yeast.I tried reading through the original Birdwatchers recipe thread on homedistiller again to try and find a valid answer for the lemon juice.Got a few pages in but feel free to browse the thread http://www.homedistiller.org/forum/view ... 8&start=45
Its actuaqlly an interesting read.Heaps of info and experiences.I think its to adjust the ph of the wash,but not 100% on that one.
And i guess the benefit that you get out of it is the fact you can buy all ingredients for the wash from a supermarket.Its a great alternative to using turbo yeasts.