Ahhhh the old stuck fermentation! Definitely not fun to find a wash stuck. And you are right George, it's definitely a common mistake for the newer chasers of the craft. Cheers mate.
I have been doing it wrong for years. Since I discovered your videos a few months back, my final product has been much better, more smooth, less harsh. I’ll be calling you in a month or so to see if you can build my a PID. That’s a whole new world
Happydistilling George! Thanks again for another great one!! Saw the sign on the floor for the live show on April 4th at 7:00 central and hope everyone will be there. Thanks for what you do!!
Hey G .... you were quite nice to me when I sent you an e-mail talking about this very issue and my impatients. you said I hit A homerun you were being a kind mentor. I get it now totally !!! we have limits to function within...... AND!!!! what goes on during/after the fermintation is just as important as what goes on after the distillation. recently I have become very partial to oats and toasted french oak chips..... you are the guru keep going. put all the knowledge you can out there. You can call me a fan boy if you want but I've tested his concepts and this guy is on point!!!
Holy moly, split it, finally I know what to do! Thank you 😊 I followed rum recipe in a book before discovering your videos. (1gal water, 3lbs brown sugar, yeast (1pkg)). It keeps stalling, I stir it. Tastes sweet still, but yeasty and only slight alcohol smell. Been fermenting for 16 days. Watching this video helps me know what to do or at least try.
Thanks George! You saved my stuck batch. All she needed was a little warmth and a gentle swirl. My first instinct when it stopped was to add more sugar or yeast, I’m very glad I consulted the Oracle first! This is THE go to channel if you want to properly understand brewing and distilling, thanks again George.
I really love your channel. It's incredible how many people just don't listen to you. You spend a ton of time just telling people to listen. Just ignore them and keep doing your magic. You can't save everyone.
Thanks George, you've helped me out with my Ribena wine, forgot to take into account the sugar in the juice consentrate, split it, added water and now it's on the move, I love watching your video's and all the technical advise you offer, Thank you for all that you have done and will do in the future, your a star.
Thanks for this George. Had two stalls. Turbo pure and carbon. One 6kg. The other 7. Both above 1.100 and both stalled around 1.020. Added a little DADY which didn't shift it but .002 or so points. Tried adding 3 extra liters to each 21ltr batch and within 24 hours was nicely bubbling away again! Should get to run it very soon! Thanks buddy! Glad to see you are back with new videos x
ah thanks so much for this video George, I have been wondering why you cant just add more sugar and yeast to a wash and you have just explained it so, so clearly, thanks a million mate, well done
There is one important point which needs to be elaborated is that the process of fermentation produces methanol and ethanol both. The methanol is poisonous even fatal whereas the ethanol is the alcohol desired. The point is, after complete fermentation, how much methanol is present in percentage and how much ethanol and other ingredients ( water etc).
George, I’ve had the opposite happen also. I put 1 pack of turbo yeast in a 60 litre fermenter thinking the yeast will multiply out and I’ll get a great 60 litre barrel. Well, it took 2 weeks to ferment to 10% abv and it stopped dead. Distilled it and I reckon I could’ve chucked it back in the fermenter with another bag of turbo. I have learned my lesson, I now have 2 25 litre fermenters and stick to the damn recipe, and magically, it works!
Get some dady and thank me later. Turbo yeast is alright mainly for sugar washes but I just don't care for the product afterwards. %10 abv is pretty decent also %11 to %12 is what I aim for but every wash is different than the one before so if you get %10 its fine. Can I ask what you were distilling? Im also a firm believer of 2 pounds of sugar per gallon and I always add a few more pounds just to make the yeast happy but 2 ppg is a good rule of thumb to go by. Happy distilling buddy and keep on distilling. 🤘
On this sugar wash won’t ferment at about 11:45 min into it have you seen the clarity between each ? The one that looked cloudy seems to do the best. Could the wash , mash , wart … be done by clarity to change the final product such as flavor accent ? Before yeast is added ? Like gasoline is done by color to create octane grades ? O ya one more question can I use grass clippings from my yard to make spirits 😝😆😂 sorry couldn’t help it . Your doing a great job I have to watch the videos several times to let it all sink in thank you for the time and effort
GAWD your videos and your personality is AMAZING and Addictive to watch!. Just started my first batch a little over 48 hours ago and found the fermentation slowed down a lot... I opened it up and found the gravity to be back down to below 1.000. I added more sugar and brought back up to around 1.045. Hopefully I'll get my targeted 18% - 20%!
Talk about right on time! I'm currently dealing with this situation (last night). Everything was going great and all of the sudden... STOPPED!!! I was using a tried and true recipe, however with additional 3 lbs of molasses. which in turn put me over that "healthy environment" for my little friends do what they do best. they were happy for a few days, then BAM!! Screeching halt at 1.060 ...... Time to give them some more water, they must be "PARCHED" LOLI ALWAYS know where to turn for straight forward answers.Thanks again for your insightful, knowledge and delivery of such wisdom!! You are brilliant!! Cheers my friend!
Yup, I dare to say that everyone at first is chasing the ABV, most people after a while will revert to chasing the taste instead. No point having a liquid that is only good for cleaning glassware.
With IPA being completely unavailable in my area and it being $35 a quart on Amazon for technical grade, there is an equal need to have a thirst quenched AND clean glassware. I'm a dabbers best friend with anhydrous ethanol. Molecular sieves after a fractional distillation keeps it right.
Great info as usual! I use 14 lbs/6gal so I use all of the packaged sugar up. 1 10lb bag of sugar & 1 4lb bag. No weighing the sugar & no left over sugar to store. I use turbo yeast I make & have no problems getting full fermentation.
Got to also keep in mind that if doing a fruit or grain mash these will increase the sugar level. As George says, monitor the mash build so if you add sugar keep the final soecific gravity below 1.100.
This was the most informative video I have watched with wine making. I am glad I watched it. Thank you for making it. I will not try for High ABV anymore it is not worth it.
George makes it make sense because he plans the result he is looking for and then plans backwards on how to achieve that goal. Just like planning an op order!
Great little video George!! I have a stalled wash so last night I racked it and strained the black cherry pieces out of it. I pitched a 2nd yeast this morning and added a little water. So far there's a only a little, little bit of foam on top but no active activity to the eyes. If it remains like this I will split it and add more water in a couple of days. Its weird because the fermentation in the beginning was so bloody incredible!! Fingers crossed I hope I can correct whatever is wrong with it. It tastes too sweet so I know it isn't through fermentin. I origionally put 3 cups brown sugar to the 1 gallon wash in the beginning. So I dont think I over did it. Hmmm, hopefully I'll get to the bottom of it and fix it. Happy distilling!!🍷Cheers!!
I’ve always had a problem starting off my yeast by just pouring my yeast in a jar with a bunch of sugar. Now this makes a lot of sense why my yeast doesn’t take off right.
Next expirement, start out at 2 lbs pg. then after the gravity comes down, see how much suger you can add in later and get a high abv, and good tasting outcome.
I got 2lbs per gallon in five gallons of my first ever sugar wash , it has stalled twice , two table spoons of lemon juice fixed it the first time and increasing the temperature 1 degree C fixed it the second time , fermentation has been running 9 days in all and the hydrometer reads 21 % alcohol and it still fermenting all be it more slowley now .
George it was great to see the examples. At my house the sweet spot is around 1.085 sg that is 2. something lbs per gallon u.s. It is always so much fun when it works.
I'm so glad I watched this video I tried my first peach mash and it had a violent reaction the first 2 days then stopped I was gonna just write it off as a failure and run it to see what I could get out of it.. split it and made it into 2 r gal mash and the fermentation instantly restarted. Thanks for all you do
Goerge I love your channel. You explain everything so well. This video has become my go to for all my brew calculations now. I am very new to this,thanks for putting the values in metric as well as imperial measurements. I can work with pounds and pints as well as grams and millilitres, but yeah I can do metric quicker in my head Cheers mate ! 👍
George - does it matter if the sugar is inverted? Your inverted sugar wash recipe calls for (if I remember correctly) 24 lbs into 3 gallons of water. If I split that put into 2 - 5 gl batches then I should end up with 12 lbs per batch but every now and then I get a stuck batch.
Hi George- Great experiment. I think you are especially correct to point out at the end that each person needs to figure this out for their process. As you know different yeasts have different alcohol tolerance levels. I don't have access to DADY and the brewing yeast I use has an alcohol tolerance of 9%-11%. So, while you are able to have a starting gravity target of 1.090 I need to stay below 1.080. I discovered that if I exceed the potential alcohol with too high of a starting gravity I get really vigorous fermentation that stops rather quickly. So, it ends up being counterproductive and my wash ends up with a low ABV. The environment is no longer correct for that yeast to continue fermenting when the starting gravity is above the maximum for the yeast. I think this is really good to know because I have a small still and I want to get as much final product while retaining flavor as possible because this is a lot of time and effort. The difference can be as much as only getting one bottle vs. three bottles of final product. You have to learn and understand all of the different inputs to get the output you desire. There's been trial and error for me. Happy Distilling.
Temperature has been my biggest struggle. I get my basement to play in and it's always 58 - 60° F Using aquarium heater has been best investment. Thanks George for that video btw. #Happydistilling
Safety is number 1 These beginner series videos are the best George thank you sir. Would adding the sugar is batches over the fermentation period allow the yest to stay hydrated. For example add 1lb/gallon initially and then later (when appropriate) add another 1lb/ gallon? Repeating this process.
Your right,I had too much sugar in there,I split the container into two then added water to one,watched this video and by the time i added more water to the other container,number 1 was starting to bubble again,thank you man from the deep south of New Zealand.
I get all that has been explained and I truly appreciate it. I think for me since I'm not/have never done any distilling I have chased a high ABV that I can flavor. From what I've seen on B&H, if I were distilling, I would not chase high ABV like I have. I haven't learned enough yet to delve into distilling at this time.
to sum up after listening halfway, since yeast requires water to operate, adding too much sugar could be bad because water is turned into syrup. so there's not enough water for yeast to use.
The most successful fermentation i did was a tea shine i used 2.5 lbs per gallon i did 2 gallons and got a full 750ml of really high proof use hillbillly calculator on google great measuring system my second most successful one was a corn beer mix did 2 and a half gallons got over 750ml and i used 2lbs per gallon cause i got the starch to turn into sugar so i didnt need as much thank you George for all you great work HappyDistiling
I’ve learned a lot from your videos George keep up the great work. I do have a question I want to make homemade caramel sauce white sugar heavy cream and butter, Will this ferment Without adding extra white sugar? I don’t know if the cream and butter would mess with the yeast.
Thanks for the guidance! I'm on my second wash. First one had some off flavors from pitching in at too high a temp. I did a double batch this time and brought the temp down before the yeast, split it in two, one is going fine, the other seems to have stalled, I checked for leaks and diluted it. Seems to have done the trick.
I would note that there isn't only a difference in water available to the yeast in this test, but there is also a difference in oxygen available to the yeast in each jar. The more sugar you put into the water the less oxygen the water is able to hold per volume leaving less oxygen for the yeast to use as well. I was reading about commercial setups yesterday and their use of oxygen pumped into the fermentation during fermenting to aid and speed the process. Is there any way to do this test and cancel out the differences in oxygen saturation in each mixture? Otherwise this experiment is showing the effects of "both" water shortage "and" oxygen shortage in the higher sugar concentrations rather than just water shortage.
Good one George - Thanks for that. Did indeed have too much sugar (32 Brix), added to that a PH of 3.... Got it going again by splitting & diluting to 25 Brix and raising the PH to 4.5 with Baking soda. Oi...
7gal fermentation tank 17lb sugar 3 frozen grape juice cans . 1packet quick yeast plus 1/3 cup of regular yeast. Immediately started burping and has been pumping steady for the last two weeks. it has slowed down, but it is still bubbling .I am going on complete faith and hope . how long does it usually take? Should I rock the still or wait a couple more days ?
Patience is the best principle. Let the ferment complete all the way. Give the fermenter a good swirl stir and see if CO2 is still collecting. Let it ferment until the CO2 stops thereby maximizing your conversion. Also, give it a quick taste. If it is sweet let it run longer until the flavor sours. When the taste is sour the conversion is complete. Oh, also check your hydrometer.... a change in reading over 24 hours means it is still fermenting and needs more time. Each batch is unique and is dependent upon pH, temperature, dissolved sugar content, etc. The principles outlined above should help you figure out when it is complete and ready for separation and then the still. If it seems done but is still sweet in flavor add a little bit more water or split if necessary. #happydistilling :)
Perfect timing. I have just this issue sitting in one of my rooms now. 15 lbs of sugar in 5.5 gallons is now stuck about halfway through. Sounds like I'll be splitting them and see where it goes. Thanks for sharing with us. #HappyDistilling
Hi George, This is very timely for me also. I too have fallen into the trap of adding too much sugar, which has in turn caused the ferment to stall. If I split the wash in two with more water, I would assume I will need more yeast also? (or will the old yeast suffice?) Your videos rock by the way. Keep it up!
Wow, timing couldn’t be better. Saturday made up some sugar wash and it was way too much on the sweet side, so I did remember that you always said too much gravity is not the best, so I added some more water. And just like you show it got started. But it’s still a little slow. So today I’ll bring the gravity down to a level that will keep the yeast happy 😊 Thanks again
Barley and Hops Brewing I do have a question, after fermentation is almost done what should the PH of the wash-mash be. On most I’m getting anywhere from 3.0 to 3.6. Is this right?
BIG shout out to you oh wizard of distilling . just wanted to say thanks for your Vids , you saved me again . I got greedy and tried 16lbs in 5 gals not remembering the rule so of coarse NO fermentation . Then I went back rewatched this vid followed it and presto both carboys are bubbling away . thanks.
Ahhhh the old stuck fermentation! Definitely not fun to find a wash stuck. And you are right George, it's definitely a common mistake for the newer chasers of the craft. Cheers mate.
You bet!
I have been doing it wrong for years. Since I discovered your videos a few months back, my final product has been much better, more smooth, less harsh. I’ll be calling you in a month or so to see if you can build my a PID. That’s a whole new world
I have to say this was a great visual experiment with little room for debate on the content. Much appreciated.
Thanks George
Great videos and great manner of education! As a european who uses the metric system, I also appreciate the conversions you've made. Keep it up!
Happydistilling George! Thanks again for another great one!!
Saw the sign on the floor for the live show on April 4th at 7:00 central and hope everyone will be there. Thanks for what you do!!
Very cool!
The best sense spoken on the subject by anyone. Brilliant stuff.
Hey G .... you were quite nice to me when I sent you an e-mail talking about this very issue and my impatients. you said I hit A homerun you were being a kind mentor. I get it now totally !!! we have limits to function within...... AND!!!! what goes on during/after the fermintation is just as important as what goes on after the distillation. recently I have become very partial to oats and toasted french oak chips..... you are the guru keep going. put all the knowledge you can out there. You can call me a fan boy if you want but I've tested his concepts and this guy is on point!!!
Holy moly, split it, finally I know what to do! Thank you 😊 I followed rum recipe in a book before discovering your videos. (1gal water, 3lbs brown sugar, yeast (1pkg)). It keeps stalling, I stir it. Tastes sweet still, but yeasty and only slight alcohol smell. Been fermenting for 16 days. Watching this video helps me know what to do or at least try.
Thanks George! You saved my stuck batch. All she needed was a little warmth and a gentle swirl. My first instinct when it stopped was to add more sugar or yeast, I’m very glad I consulted the Oracle first! This is THE go to channel if you want to properly understand brewing and distilling, thanks again George.
Glad it helped
Thanks George! Glad your still making vids!! saw the shop closed, Happy to still see you!!
Thanks 👍
I really love your channel. It's incredible how many people just don't listen to you. You spend a ton of time just telling people to listen. Just ignore them and keep doing your magic. You can't save everyone.
George you have just solved my stalling problem
Thanks George, you've helped me out with my Ribena wine, forgot to take into account the sugar in the juice consentrate, split it, added water and now it's on the move, I love watching your video's and all the technical advise you offer, Thank you for all that you have done and will do in the future, your a star.
Thanks for this George. Had two stalls. Turbo pure and carbon. One 6kg. The other 7. Both above 1.100 and both stalled around 1.020. Added a little DADY which didn't shift it but .002 or so points. Tried adding 3 extra liters to each 21ltr batch and within 24 hours was nicely bubbling away again! Should get to run it very soon! Thanks buddy! Glad to see you are back with new videos x
ah thanks so much for this video George, I have been wondering why you cant just add more sugar and yeast to a wash and you have just explained it so, so clearly, thanks a million mate, well done
Thanks George, explaining it in terms of the minimum water requirement for yeast to survive is super helpful
There is one important point which needs to be elaborated is that the process of fermentation produces methanol and ethanol both. The methanol is poisonous even fatal whereas the ethanol is the alcohol desired. The point is, after complete fermentation, how much methanol is present in percentage and how much ethanol and other ingredients ( water etc).
Well done George!!
George, I’ve had the opposite happen also. I put 1 pack of turbo yeast in a 60 litre fermenter thinking the yeast will multiply out and I’ll get a great 60 litre barrel.
Well, it took 2 weeks to ferment to 10% abv and it stopped dead. Distilled it and I reckon I could’ve chucked it back in the fermenter with another bag of turbo.
I have learned my lesson, I now have 2 25 litre fermenters and stick to the damn recipe, and magically, it works!
Get some dady and thank me later. Turbo yeast is alright mainly for sugar washes but I just don't care for the product afterwards. %10 abv is pretty decent also %11 to %12 is what I aim for but every wash is different than the one before so if you get %10 its fine. Can I ask what you were distilling? Im also a firm believer of 2 pounds of sugar per gallon and I always add a few more pounds just to make the yeast happy but 2 ppg is a good rule of thumb to go by.
Happy distilling buddy and keep on distilling. 🤘
Thank you for focusing on freedom units.
Excellent demonstration George.
Thanks, George. Another fantastic presentation!
Great video once again George.
George says ,,,,,
Give that a try and let me know how that works out !
Love it !!!!!!!!! Lol.😂😂😂
On this sugar wash won’t ferment at about 11:45 min into it have you seen the clarity between each ? The one that looked cloudy seems to do the best. Could the wash , mash , wart … be done by clarity to change the final product such as flavor accent ? Before yeast is added ? Like gasoline is done by color to create octane grades ? O ya one more question can I use grass clippings from my yard to make spirits 😝😆😂 sorry couldn’t help it . Your doing a great job I have to watch the videos several times to let it all sink in thank you for the time and effort
GAWD your videos and your personality is AMAZING and Addictive to watch!. Just started my first batch a little over 48 hours ago and found the fermentation slowed down a lot... I opened it up and found the gravity to be back down to below 1.000. I added more sugar and brought back up to around 1.045. Hopefully I'll get my targeted 18% - 20%!
Talk about right on time! I'm currently dealing with this situation (last night). Everything was going great and all of the sudden... STOPPED!!! I was using a tried and true recipe, however with additional 3 lbs of molasses. which in turn put me over that "healthy environment" for my little friends do what they do best. they were happy for a few days, then BAM!! Screeching halt at 1.060 ...... Time to give them some more water, they must be "PARCHED" LOLI ALWAYS know where to turn for straight forward answers.Thanks again for your insightful, knowledge and delivery of such wisdom!! You are brilliant!! Cheers my friend!
As always great advice George, you are the best teacher on youtube
Wow, thanks!
You are utterly the man! I can follow u well and never thought of this even for a moment. Thankyou!
great video.... keep up good work George
Yup, I dare to say that everyone at first is chasing the ABV, most people after a while will revert to chasing the taste instead. No point having a liquid that is only good for cleaning glassware.
i mash all grain with no sugar at all. i much prefer taste over quantity.
With IPA being completely unavailable in my area and it being $35 a quart on Amazon for technical grade, there is an equal need to have a thirst quenched AND clean glassware. I'm a dabbers best friend with anhydrous ethanol. Molecular sieves after a fractional distillation keeps it right.
@@PoppaLongroach Put through a reflux still it will make very little difference.
@@TechGorilla1987 ❤️👍🏽
Except when trying to make something to infuse with or mix with.
I would've liked to see the results of splitting the fourth jar and adding half the volume of water, but I'll take your word for George.
Great info as usual! I use 14 lbs/6gal so I use all of the packaged sugar up. 1 10lb bag of sugar & 1 4lb bag. No weighing the sugar & no left over sugar to store. I use turbo yeast I make & have no problems getting full fermentation.
George is the Bob Ross of brewing and distilling.
Excellent video as always, George.
Many thanks!
Great teacher
George just started hope u r good u r the professor
You're teaching is top class
Got to also keep in mind that if doing a fruit or grain mash these will increase the sugar level. As George says, monitor the mash build so if you add sugar keep the final soecific gravity below 1.100.
This was the most informative video I have watched with wine making. I am glad I watched it. Thank you for making it. I will not try for High ABV anymore it is not worth it.
George makes it make sense because he plans the result he is looking for and then plans backwards on how to achieve that goal. Just like planning an op order!
Collecting Hart's for the first time after 1 failed attempt...Thanks for all your help
Blue flame never looked so good.
Great little video George!! I have a stalled wash so last night I racked it and strained the black cherry pieces out of it. I pitched a 2nd yeast this morning and added a little water. So far there's a only a little, little bit of foam on top but no active activity to the eyes. If it remains like this I will split it and add more water in a couple of days. Its weird because the fermentation in the beginning was so bloody incredible!!
Fingers crossed I hope I can correct whatever is wrong with it. It tastes too sweet so I know it isn't through fermentin. I origionally put 3 cups brown sugar to the 1 gallon wash in the beginning. So I dont think I over did it. Hmmm, hopefully I'll get to the bottom of it and fix it. Happy distilling!!🍷Cheers!!
How can anyone give George a thumbsdown? How dare they.
I’ve always had a problem starting off my yeast by just pouring my yeast in a jar with a bunch of sugar. Now this makes a lot of sense why my yeast doesn’t take off right.
Next expirement, start out at 2 lbs pg. then after the gravity comes down, see how much suger you can add in later and get a high abv, and good tasting outcome.
I got 2lbs per gallon in five gallons of my first ever sugar wash , it has stalled twice , two table spoons of lemon juice fixed it the first time and increasing the temperature 1 degree C fixed it the second time , fermentation has been running 9 days in all and the hydrometer reads 21 % alcohol and it still fermenting all be it more slowley now .
Great video. Well presented and informative!
Keep safe George....during these rough times
George it was great to see the examples. At my house the sweet spot is around 1.085 sg that is 2. something lbs per gallon u.s. It is always so much fun when it works.
So nice to see the difference in volume caused by more sugar and why it changes SG🙆
George, please tell us how to make fuel. That would be good to know.
Why would you want to make fuel? There’s gas stations everywhere 🤷♂️
I'm so glad I watched this video I tried my first peach mash and it had a violent reaction the first 2 days then stopped I was gonna just write it off as a failure and run it to see what I could get out of it.. split it and made it into 2 r gal mash and the fermentation instantly restarted. Thanks for all you do
Could you do a tutorial on lawnmower fuel?
Goerge I love your channel. You explain everything so well. This video has become my go to for all my brew calculations now. I am very new to this,thanks for putting the values in metric as well as imperial measurements. I can work with pounds and pints as well as grams and millilitres, but yeah I can do metric quicker in my head
Cheers mate ! 👍
top value his bloke knows what he is talking about reminds me of Professor Julies Summer Miller. thanks George
George - does it matter if the sugar is inverted? Your inverted sugar wash recipe calls for (if I remember correctly) 24 lbs into 3 gallons of water. If I split that put into 2 - 5 gl batches then I should end up with 12 lbs per batch but every now and then I get a stuck batch.
Thank you George!!
Great demonstration, can't think of a argument for that one.
Thank you for sharing all this info - and for not mixing up those lids :)
.
I really like your whisky and music
Fantastic.
As always George, a beautifully educational video. Always learning and thinking about things based on your insightful content. :)
Many thanks!
Great little experiment, really brings the concept home.
We love ya George! Hugs from Australia mate.
now i understand why i had 50 liters of fruit wine stuck :*( thank you so much i subscribed!! diluted my brew and its fermenting like mad now!!! ty!
Sir
I recall using glycerine in a blended spirit which was “harsh” and it turned a treat. We ended up drinking the whole bottle that evening!!
Hi George- Great experiment. I think you are especially correct to point out at the end that each person needs to figure this out for their process. As you know different yeasts have different alcohol tolerance levels. I don't have access to DADY and the brewing yeast I use has an alcohol tolerance of 9%-11%. So, while you are able to have a starting gravity target of 1.090 I need to stay below 1.080. I discovered that if I exceed the potential alcohol with too high of a starting gravity I get really vigorous fermentation that stops rather quickly. So, it ends up being counterproductive and my wash ends up with a low ABV. The environment is no longer correct for that yeast to continue fermenting when the starting gravity is above the maximum for the yeast. I think this is really good to know because I have a small still and I want to get as much final product while retaining flavor as possible because this is a lot of time and effort. The difference can be as much as only getting one bottle vs. three bottles of final product. You have to learn and understand all of the different inputs to get the output you desire. There's been trial and error for me. Happy Distilling.
George is the man he really is for sure
Another great video George.
Glad you enjoyed it
Excellent video, much appreciated 👍
Temperature has been my biggest struggle. I get my basement to play in and it's always 58 - 60° F Using aquarium heater has been best investment. Thanks George for that video btw. #Happydistilling
Wrap it with a blanket is what I have done. Works well for me.
Yeah, I thought the aquarium heater was an absolutely fantastic idea! George is an amazing guy.
Brilliant idea!
Thanks George. A pleasant distraction today! Enjoy and appreciate every single video. Thanks for your time!
My pleasure!
Safety is number 1
These beginner series videos are the best George thank you sir.
Would adding the sugar is batches over the fermentation period allow the yest to stay hydrated. For example add 1lb/gallon initially and then later (when appropriate) add another 1lb/ gallon? Repeating this process.
That's called step feeding. And yes it is possible.
Your right,I had too much sugar in there,I split the container into two then added water to one,watched this video and by the time i added more water to the other container,number 1 was starting to bubble again,thank you man from the deep south of New Zealand.
I get all that has been explained and I truly appreciate it. I think for me since I'm not/have never done any distilling I have chased a high ABV that I can flavor. From what I've seen on B&H, if I were distilling, I would not chase high ABV like I have. I haven't learned enough yet to delve into distilling at this time.
Great info! I am going to add more water
to sum up after listening halfway, since yeast requires water to operate, adding too much sugar could be bad because water is turned into syrup. so there's not enough water for yeast to use.
Great information George thank you. Are you a school teacher on the side lol. Thanks for sharing.
If I had high school teachers like him I probably would have gone on to higher education and been somebody
The most successful fermentation i did was a tea shine i used 2.5 lbs per gallon i did 2 gallons and got a full 750ml of really high proof use hillbillly calculator on google great measuring system my second most successful one was a corn beer mix did 2 and a half gallons got over 750ml and i used 2lbs per gallon cause i got the starch to turn into sugar so i didnt need as much thank you George for all you great work HappyDistiling
I’ve learned a lot from your videos George keep up the great work. I do have a question I want to make homemade caramel sauce white sugar heavy cream and butter, Will this ferment Without adding extra white sugar? I don’t know if the cream and butter would mess with the yeast.
Very informative!!! Thanks George! As always your the best!
My pleasure!
Great video George if people don't understand that they need to change hobbies
Thanks for the guidance! I'm on my second wash. First one had some off flavors from pitching in at too high a temp. I did a double batch this time and brought the temp down before the yeast, split it in two, one is going fine, the other seems to have stalled, I checked for leaks and diluted it. Seems to have done the trick.
That was a brilliant lesson. Being pretty new to this, that taught me loads thank you .
Thanks again George! 4 years ago & helped Cheers
This has been an illuminating video! Thank you for such a wonderful explanation.
I would note that there isn't only a difference in water available to the yeast in this test, but there is also a difference in oxygen available to the yeast in each jar. The more sugar you put into the water the less oxygen the water is able to hold per volume leaving less oxygen for the yeast to use as well.
I was reading about commercial setups yesterday and their use of oxygen pumped into the fermentation during fermenting to aid and speed the process. Is there any way to do this test and cancel out the differences in oxygen saturation in each mixture? Otherwise this experiment is showing the effects of "both" water shortage "and" oxygen shortage in the higher sugar concentrations rather than just water shortage.
Good one George - Thanks for that. Did indeed have too much sugar (32 Brix), added to that a PH of 3.... Got it going again by splitting & diluting to 25 Brix and raising the PH to 4.5 with Baking soda. Oi...
Nice work!
7gal fermentation tank 17lb sugar 3 frozen grape juice cans . 1packet quick yeast plus 1/3 cup of regular yeast. Immediately started burping and has been pumping steady for the last two weeks. it has slowed down, but it is still bubbling .I am going on complete faith and hope . how long does it usually take? Should I rock the still or wait a couple more days ?
Patience is the best principle. Let the ferment complete all the way. Give the fermenter a good swirl stir and see if CO2 is still collecting. Let it ferment until the CO2 stops thereby maximizing your conversion. Also, give it a quick taste. If it is sweet let it run longer until the flavor sours. When the taste is sour the conversion is complete. Oh, also check your hydrometer.... a change in reading over 24 hours means it is still fermenting and needs more time. Each batch is unique and is dependent upon pH, temperature, dissolved sugar content, etc. The principles outlined above should help you figure out when it is complete and ready for separation and then the still. If it seems done but is still sweet in flavor add a little bit more water or split if necessary. #happydistilling :)
This is simply amazing! Thank you so much for doing such a good chemistry class on how to make alcohol. :)
Perfect timing. I have just this issue sitting in one of my rooms now. 15 lbs of sugar in 5.5 gallons is now stuck about halfway through. Sounds like I'll be splitting them and see where it goes. Thanks for sharing with us. #HappyDistilling
You got this!
This was a very informative video. Thanks for putting this information together in an easy to view and understand format.
Glad it was helpful!
Hi George,
This is very timely for me also. I too have fallen into the trap of adding too much sugar, which has in turn caused the ferment to stall.
If I split the wash in two with more water, I would assume I will need more yeast also? (or will the old yeast suffice?)
Your videos rock by the way. Keep it up!
Wow, timing couldn’t be better. Saturday made up some sugar wash and it was way too much on the sweet side, so I did remember that you always said too much gravity is not the best, so I added some more water. And just like you show it got started. But it’s still a little slow. So today I’ll bring the gravity down to a level that will keep the yeast happy 😊 Thanks again
Perfect!
Barley and Hops Brewing I do have a question, after fermentation is almost done what should the PH of the wash-mash be. On most I’m getting anywhere from 3.0 to 3.6. Is this right?
And now, video part 2, adding water to jars 3& 4 and watch them go!
I wish I thought of that.
BIG shout out to you oh wizard of distilling . just wanted to say thanks for your Vids , you saved me again . I got greedy and tried 16lbs in 5 gals not remembering the rule so of coarse NO fermentation . Then I went back rewatched this vid followed it and presto both carboys are bubbling away . thanks.
So Simple . Why did I not understand .
Not Enough Water = To Much Sugar .
Thank You George
WOW That explains a lot Thanks George
That's some tasty info. Big Thanks.
Any time!