"Sweet Feed" In the UK

[YHB]

In a couple of weeks my neutral campaign will be complete and my fermenter ready for the next trials.

I have a notion to try “sweet feed”.

Reading many posts from the US it appears that you can buy this at any corner store, I have searched for a comparable product in the UK but cannot find one. I have been told that I can make my own from. Corn, Oats, Barley & Molasses that I can get from an animal feed store.

Buying these items from an agricultural source means that I will end up with large sacks of meal and nowhere to keep it, so I have been having a look around and come up with this.

H & B Special.- Holland and Barret are a nation wide, health food, chain store in the UK.

Proposed Recipe

2 bags of Muesli Base
http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/ ... rodid=3653

2 Bags of Maize Meal
http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/ ... ze&rdcnt=1

1 Bottle of Molasses
http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/ ... 76&cid=556

Which for a 25 litre ferment will give me a grain bill of

600g Oats
600g Jumbo Oats
300g Wheat Flakes
300g Barley Flakes
200g Rye Flakes
1000g corn (Maize Meal)
450g Molasses

3.450Kg in total costing £8.20, if I can get 5 generations out of it, it will work out at £1.50 per brew.

That’s the proposal; does any one have any comment or suggestions on quantities, additions or omissions?

One question bothers me and any advice would be appreciated.

This is intended to be a sugar head and I do not propose to try any conversions or use any enzymes but; will simply adding boiling water to this cause the ingredients to gelatinise??

[chill]

My first thought is, "but why?" I was under the impression that people used sweet feed as it was cheap and convenient more than awesomely delicious. I've made rums and grain based drinks but I am not sure that I would want them combined.

Take out the molasses and you have a multi-grain variation on UJSSM. I've done things like this, though mostly playing around with enzymes and aiming at partial conversion for the first go around. No real reason for that, I just like to play.

The Muesli Base looks like a good ingredient. The Maize Meal looks really finely ground, I think that would make glue and not be around for subsequent generations. I have used this and it works OK (not sure if better or worse than cracked corn):
http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/ ... rodid=3841

I aimed for about 2Kg of grains in a 23L wash. More won't hurt. If you are not looking for any conversion, you don't need to worry about gelatinization. Soaking in the water and the action of the yeast will extract plenty of flavour.

Chuck

[YHB]

I decided to do a couple of cornflake runs before I started the "Holland and Barret Sweet Feed" but I have been picking up the ingredients when I can and am just about ready when my fermenter is available.

Today I bought a large straining bag, my thoughts are to put all the ingredients in it and have a go at "Brew in a Bag". I am anticipating that I should be able to transfer the bag and its contents from one fermenter to another and get the maximum amount of wash from the brew.

Anyone have any experiences of BIAG?

[alan]

I tried for weeks to get sweet feed in the end i bought 25kg bags of cracked corn rolled crushed oats and rolled crushed barely,and 5lt molasses
alan

[Almanac]

In the UK & Ireland Sweet Feed is called Coarse Feed look in Equine Suppliers. It's quite cheap - relatively

AM

[RumJohn]

I have not owned horses in several years, but in the 70's and 80's while in the states we used a sweet feed to condition the stock. But I cant remember what it was called. It was a mix of cracked grain and molasses and would have made a good "shine".

Could only find English sites today, but Murray Farmcare @ 01387 722301 might be able to help. They also have bags of flaked corn and other grains.

If that will do anybody any good - Cheers

[Almanac]

Coarse Feed

AM

[YHB]

Having already boughtthe bits from Holland & Barret I decided to stick with them.

I started to empty the packets into the fermenter but suddnly realised that the amount would be to muh and decided to halve the quantities to 1Kg Maize, 1 Packet of Muesli Base and Half a jar of Molasses.

This gives a bill of
300g Oats
300g Jumbo Oats
150g Wheat Flakes
150g Barley Flakes
100g Rye Flakes
1000g corn (Maize Meal)
225g Molasses

To this I added 4kG of sugar and 1.1/2 gallons of hot water, stirred until the sugar was dissolved, topped it up to the 5 gallon mark with cold water and pitched half a can of Allinsons yeast.

After my experiences with the cornflakes wash I think that |I will be struggling to get a couple of gallons of wash to strip, there is a very large amount of ingredients in it. I think that a 7 gallon fermenter would be more suited to this recipe.

If my plans work out I will be moving in a few weeks and I am hoping that I can get a couple of generations of this wash done before I go, to put aside for long term ageing.

It's been a couple of hours since I pitched the yeast and it is bubbling away like a good'n.

[alan]

Hi Brian you need a bigger fermenter for sweet feed i use a 60ltr as the feed swells up about 1/4 way up i top mine up to 50lt
alan

[YHB]

This is the most vigorous ferment I have done,

24 Hours and the gravity is now 1.000 the little yeasties have gone through 4 kilo's of sugar in a day.

There is no cap or crust on the wash but it looks like a rolling boil and smells heavenly.

[Almanac]

I don't get it?

All that starch from the grains is going nowhere without an enzyme, so what's the point?

I did a DWWG once and it was the maddest ferment I've ever seen and I had to use a blow tube to let the foam escape to a bucket. At the end of the day the stripped wash was no different from an all sugar wash

AM

[FullySilenced]

As a sweet feed, if you work it like a UJSM its does make a good 2nd 3rd 4th generation sour mash style wiskey. IT will run much longer than that using the original yeast and grain bed with a little UJ style grain supplement and sugar added.. Its truly makes a good tipple.

[YHB]

Today, I think I screwed up.

My sweetfeed was ready to rack off and start the 2nd generation.

This morning I dissolved 4 kg of sugar in some Cornflakes backset and left it to cool.

Tonight I went to the shed to rack the wash, and add the sugar/backset to the grains in the fermenter. I do not know when, but at sometime this morning I must have removed and never replaced the sensor for the fermenter’s heat controller, so for around 12 hours the heater has been switched on.

The thermometer in the fermenter was reading 58 degrees.

I carried on, racked the fermenter added the sugar /backset solution and assuming that I had killed off all the yeast added another half a tin.

The heat in the fermenter, has stirred things up so it will take a while for the wash in the settling bucket to settle out again.

I wonder what the addition of the heat in fermenter will do? The new yeast is doing what it is supposed to be doing and it is once again merrily bubbling away.

[Runningman]

HI brian
Whats this sweet feed product like and where do you get it from. Any info much appreciated.
Regards
Runningman

[Almanac]

Sounds like you got away with it this time

AM