alcotec 23% turbo?

[optic]

i have got an alcotec 23% turbo from the local HB shop,on reading the instructions it says to use brewing sugar (dextrose mononydrate)do not use any other sugar,i phoned the HB shop they dont sell it,so has anyone used this yeast with just normal sugar,if so how much should i use?,will it reach 23%abv?,what sort of yield will i get per 4ltr run abv?

[HangOver]

only dextrose is rubbish IMO but still 23% is quite high not sure what the end product will taste like, in my experience the higher the initial wash the worst it tastes but keep us updated if it does do 20+ and tastes ok it\'ll be well worth trying.

The current wash i use gives about 10-12% but it hardly smells and gives a nice clean spirit.
for the amount of sugar put in whatever they suggest for dextrose, eg 1KG dextrose use 1KG sugar. I use raw sugar, brown, white, just whater is cheapest in the supermarket. The brown/raw sugar leaves a brown tinit to the wash so is harderer to tell when its cleared after fermenting but it distills clear.

[optic]

I will give it a go with ordinary sugar Hangover,reckon it will struggle to reach 23%ABV,they tend to qoute figures that are only possible under really strict temperature conditions,seeing as its only gonna cost £7 for the sugar from poundland (they must think ive got a sweet tooth in there... lol)its worth a go,will post how it turns out.

[goinbroke2]

While dextrose and table sugar may be different, if you add table sugar to boiling water and stir it in the end result is the same. Your breaking long chain sugar chains down to short ones which can be eaten by the yeast just as easily as dextrose.
If I had a better memory I\'d tell you what that\'s called....., can\'t think of it.
....########ised sugar
..crap I hate that....

[goinbroke2]

AHA!! Inverted sugar!
See, I got a good memory...it\'s just short, that\'s all. LOL

[HangOver]

so its upsidedown as well ?

[Electrif]

Na, just effects of alcohol.

[bluecap]

Probably to late now but I would have because I don’t frequent the site as much as I used to but I would have tried half the bag of the yeast in 6 kilo of sugar (25 litre) to make a 13% wash. I tried it with an alcotec gold and half the bag of yeast fermented 6 kilo of sugar fine just took an extra 3 days.
If you do want to be tight as a bears arse like me make sure you mix the bag of yeast up first before you split it. lol I have my yeast bill down to 0.90p for a 6 kilo sugar wash.

[goinbroke2]

\"upside down\" hahaha, actually here\'s the \"official\" blurb. (I think you guys already know this, but here goes)
Inverted sugar syrup can be easily made by adding roughly one gram of citric acid or ascorbic acid, per kilogram of sugar. Cream of tartar (one gram per kilogram) or fresh lemon juice (10 millilitres per kilogram) may also be used.
The mixture is boiled for 20 minutes, and will convert enough of the sucrose to effectively prevent crystallization, without giving a noticeably sour taste. Invert sugar syrup may also be produced without the use of acids or enzymes by thermal means alone: two parts granulated sucrose and one part water simmered for five to seven minutes will convert a modest portion to invert sugar.
So basically, bring water to a boil, stir in the sugar and keep stirring for 10 minutes or so and it will be broken down or inverted.

[HangOver]

going brok , thats interesting, I only put about 40ml of lemon juice into 5.5KG of sugar so i need to increase it to 55ml, hmm maybe see in an increase in %

[Phantom]

Whatever is used, it should be bourne in mind that Dextrose is a commercial name for Glucose. It can be obtained in 25kg bags, but not that easily. The sellers usually want a \"paper chain\" because it\'s one of the cleaner materials used for \"cutting\" class A narcotics.
Also, it\'s only about 70% as sweet as \"table\" sugar. So if the recipe says 6kg of table sugar, you\'d need 7kg+ of dextrose/glucose to attain the same starting gravity (if tested).
Personally, I have tried it and couldn\'t notice any specific difference in the finished product. So rather than going to the hassle of sourcing the Dextrose/Glucose I just get the cheapest table sugar I can find (actually, not the cheapest because I don\'t have the facilities to handle the 28tonne tanker loads -- which really is the cheapest).
regards
p

[optic]

Thanks for the info guys will give it a go after the triple distilled wash i have got going now,using good old poundland sugar lol,the other thing is it says to be carefull where you site the fermenter as it migh over flow,how likely is this?,as a kitchen floor covered in yeasty smelling wash will not be good!,i could put it out in the shed but its quite a bit cooler in there,and i have not got a heat tray or belt for the fermenter.

[Phantom]

Thanks for the info guys will give it a go after the triple distilled wash i have got going now,using good old poundland sugar lol,the other thing is it says to be carefull where you site the fermenter as it migh over flow,how likely is this?,as a kitchen floor covered in yeasty smelling wash will not be good!,i could put it out in the shed but its quite a bit cooler in there,and i have not got a heat tray or belt for the fermenter.

Never had a batch foam enough to come out the bucket..... but I use a 30 litre bucket.
Yes I do secure the lid properly, but usually put a bit of cotton wool lightly in the grommet hole.... and I\'ve had it where the bottom of the cotton wool is black from the carbon rising with the foam.
If you do put it in the shed don\'t forget, the lower ambient temperature will slow the fermentation. Yes, it will probably give you a cleaner fermentation but will take longer. You could google for "fermentation+temperature+wine" which should give you enough info about it. I don\'t know what the yeast strain in the various turbo\'s is so I have no info about minimum and maximum temps.... I\'d guess though that you\'d probably want to keep it between 15 and 18 degree\'s C - at normal room temperature it will probably go to the early to mid 20\'s C (you could always stick one of those "colour change" thermometer strips on the bucket to see.......like the ones you can get for a fish tank....in fact the fish tank ones would probably do the job, though how lower temp they run to ????? they definitely cover the mid range of ferment temps.....
regards
p

[umpa]

I have used fish tank ones, they went as high as 30 and as low as 10, other types may have different scales. They cost the same as the beer ones, so no advantage there. I think the beer ones go from 40 down to 10 in 2

degree segments. I only looked at one this morning and can\'t remember lol.
The fish type worked fine, and I used them before finding the beer ones.

[Pharma]

I used Alcotec 23% to ferment 25l of mead. It ripped through it in about 3 days and took most of the flavour with it!

I put that down to the carbon that was added to the wash (as per instructions), but I added it as I wasn\'t sure if the yeast would put loads of nasties in, so played safe.
Looking back, I should have put it through the SmartStill, but it tasted so awful that I just poured it away!
Saying that however, I have 25l of Triple-Distilled on the go at the moment (for an experimental wash), and it smells foul in comparison to the Alcotec.
I also have Birdwatcher\'s tomato wash going from the homedistiller site and it smells divine!