Birdwatcher recipie, a T500 and my results

[cmbtsmrf]

Hi All !

Thought I would share. I'm fairly new to this but have made about 8 x 25L washes up till now using a turbo yeast. Specifically, Vodka Star Turbo yeast. I have run it through a T500 and must admit, have gotten good results. Some batches seem to have been a little 'rougher' than others, but that was fixed by running my output water between 55 and 60 celsius.

My latest foray, I tried something different. I finally made the birdwatchers recipe. I started with 23L water, 2 tins of Tomato paste, 6kg sugar, the juice of 1 squeezed lemon and about 70g of bakers yeast.

What I found was that it took about 2-3 hours before the bubbling began. Once it started, boy oh boy did it go !! I let it ferment for about 1 week, then gave it a good degassing, and let it sit another week to settle and finish up. I then transferred it to the T500 boiler.

I ran it slow trying to keep it at 55 celcius. Most of the time it fluctuated around 58-59. If your familiar with the T500, you know how difficult it is to sometimes keep the temp steady. The first 500ml was collected as my heads and will be used to clean stuff with. I then ran it for almost 4 hours till it almost stopped on it's own.

I collected just under 5L of about 94% distillate. I then diluted it to make almost 12L of 40%. I used regular tap water for all of this. Next time I will try spring water or filtered water from the water store. (or whatever you call those places)

So, what do I think ? Far better than the stuff using a turbo yeast. How much better ? Personally, and this is definitely my own opinion, I would score it like this:

Vodka Star Turbo Yeast - 7.5/10
Alcotec 48 Hour Turbo Yeast - 4.5/10
Still Spirits Classic Turbo - 6/10 (maybe 7/10)
Birdwatchers - 9/10

The birdwatchers recipe made a much smoother product. All the other turbo batches I had to refine by running it through carbon. I did not feel the need to do so with the birdwatchers batch.

So, in conclusion, the birdwatchers recipe took longer to make, gave me almost an equal sized batch but I did not feel I needed to use carbon and it made what I consider a superior neutral. I think my turbo yeast days are over.

Feel free to comment or ask questions.

Cmbtsmrf

[Icefever]

I came to the same conclusion about turbo yeasts a while back, some guys swear by them.....others swear at them.

[packapoo]

As I am against turbo yeasts, I would normally chime in here and point to yet another who considers Vodka Star as a turbo yeast.
Now, as this POV is something that has been disputed, I won't.....
Chime in that is.....

[Mash]

I have to say I prefer more natural fermentations - I'm too tight to buy Turbo's and then the carbon and all the extra time that is required, when a handful of chicken wheat & some bakers yeast makes a lovely job.

PS I still think 50 g is a big pitch of any yeast in 23 L - 70g is the sort of figure that gives my inner Yorkshireman nightmares.

25g in 23l IMO is plenty.

[Frank]

@Cmbtsmrf:
good for you trying TPW and good results too!
If I may make a few suggestions (?) (I dont own a T500, but)
try 4 or 5kg sugar in said 23l wash
stick with a good dose of yeast (at least 50g) and keep it fermenting at around 28-30degC if possible.
Also, let the fermented wash sit in a cold place after FG for some days prior to distilling, consider racking off first too.

See what you find then....perhaps even better result, quality-wise, I hope.

[cmbtsmrf]

Thanks to everyone who has been giving me advice, exactly what I'm looking for.

Since this was my first (but not last) Birdwatcher run, I do like to take notes and will be trying some other things.

Next batch experimentations I am going to:
-try using purified water or spring water
-reduce the amount of sugar (lower abv but want quality rather than quantity)
-try it with less staring yeast

Question: Should I try the water first only and check the results, then another batch and do the sugar and check the results and then a third batch with all 3 ? I'm thinking of process of elimination.

By the way, 24 hours later (more actually) and the smell of the Birdwatchers distillate (at 40%) is non existant. The smell of a previous turbo distillate (at 40%) has a sharp and interesting smell. I can definitely tell that they are different and that one is better than the other.

Maybe I'll re-distill the old stuff.

cmbysmrf

[packapoo]

You might find there are other recipes that will satisfy the end result for whatever you use your Birdwatchers for. TPW is a good starting point as you've found, but the kale wash of goog's - on this site - and the lentil, similarly, both showed me I need never go near TPw again. So, perhaps you've no need to explore those particular options you're envisaging.
Just a thought......

That you've got away from the clutches of the Turbo purveyors with all the baggage necessitated is a huge positive though.