StillSmart

Almost +1 with Chuck here,I usually soak mine for a couple of hours,at this time of year on top of the woodburner,then I blitz them with a stick-blender until they are soup,and use the whole lot.'Tis yeastie food,not fine cuisine.
I use Allinson's regular yeast not the "active" version,both will work,one costs less,and yes,pour it in dry and watch it work.
HTH
Robert.

well mine was a bit slow to start off but now its got a lovely 3" cap on and it smells lovely lol..

i didnt take gravity readings as i dont have a hydrometer lol, ( no need with turbo's), so il have to guess when its finished.

Thanks Chill....here goes

Sorry I missed your question myself but, as always, the crew here are always on the ball

Once you observe the basics I put in the original post it's very hard to get this recipe wrong

I've amended the original post to clarify that the water used to soak the lentils should be added to the wash too.

AM

could someone also clarify if its better to blitz the lentils in its own water prior to adding it to the wash?.

I can understand the logic behind thinking it might be better to blitz them but I don't really think it's necessary. Having said that there's equally no reason not to if you want todo so.

Any Lentil wash I've ever done I've followed exactly what's in the original recipe now and the wash has always finished dry around 0.990-0.994

For me, the advantage of not blitzing the Lentils is separation from the wash at the end. They just sit on the bottom and I chuck them on the compost heap

AM

aidanmac wrote:For me, the advantage of not blitzing the Lentils is separation from the wash at the end. They just sit on the bottom and I chuck them on the compost heap

And that is exactly why I said "Don't boil until they come to pieces.". You wan't them soft enough that they are available to the yeast as nutrition, but not so soft that they make getting a clear lentil-free wash difficult. You can blitz them if you want, the ferment will go well. It is just racking the wash clean that may be more of a challenge. Try it and see.

Chuck

chill wrote:
You can blitz them if you want, the ferment will go well. It is just racking the wash clean that may be more of a challenge. Try it and see.

Chuck

thats fair comment.

vodka star never ever clears to be fair.

beerbeermorebeer wrote:vodka star never ever clears to be fair.

For anyone using an Airstill you've got to get it clear to get the best result. the Airstill has no tolerance when it comes to suspended solids and they will cause off flavours.

Sparkolloid is by far the quickest way of getting a VS wash, well, sparkling

AM

cheers again guys...and cheers AM just seen ya edit on original...made the wash up and within 2 hours thick on the top....am using fish tank heaters to keep the temp so hope all goes to plans...got a couple ov turbos on to keep me going in the mean time...stepping up to double distilling next...and with you guys helping me along i cant go wrong.

Not looking to pick a fight here, but my Yellow Split pea soup,(half the price of green or brown lentils,I'm a cheapskate where I can be) seems to settle out as fast as the yeast can.
And there are still big enough pieces for the chickens to pick up,when I empty the fermenters.
The worms in the compost bins REALLY don't like it,or maybe they do,they acted stupefied..I thought I had killed them all!

Robert.

aidanmac wrote:
Sparkolloid is by far the quickest way of getting a VS wash, well, sparkling

where do i get that cause i cant find it on ebay or anywhere?

Only place to get it is from the U.S. But don't let that frighten you off, go here http://www.brewhaus.com/Clearing-Agent- ... -P853.aspx and tell Rick Morris (good guy) that I sent you. I bought a year's supply and including shipping it cost me less than €25

AM

right.. what i did was i boiled the lentils for 10 mins until soft, then i blitzed them with the stick blender and run the wash with that in and christ is it alive lol.

it got a nice thick head on within the hour and its still there 3 days later, and bubbling that hard that its making the cap move lol.

i didnt faff about with gravity or ph though, i just threw it all in at about 34c and left it to it.