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January 29, 2014
Last updated

How to Know When Fermentation Has Finished

Chief Operating Officer at Clawhammer
Outdated. New article here.

Emmet Leahy is the Chief Operating Officer and lead product developer at Clawhammer Supply, a small scale distillation and brewing equipment company. He loves the process of developing new equipment for making beer at home just as much as he does using it to brew his own beer. He's also passionate about teaching people how to use distillation equipment to produce distilled water, essential oils, and with the proper permits, fuel alcohol and distilled spirits.

  • Is it possible to make a whiskey mash (or 2-3) during the winter, let it run the yeast out, and store it? Then put it in the still and fire it up in the spring.
    I can easily make wine and store it during the winter.
    Then distill it in summer.

    Posted by Doc Jose on January 29, 2019
  • I AM A nOVICE AT THIS ART, BUT i HAD A TREMENDOUS MENTOR MY DAD, WHO LEFT US IN SEPTEMBER OF 2017, IT IS MY HOPE TO CONTINUE THIS ART OF SHINENING FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. mY FIRST TRY AT DISTILLING WAS NEARLY A WASH NO PUN INTENDED, BUT i DID EVENTUALLY RUN OFF ABOUT A QUART AND A HALF OF 80 PROOF. i WAS GLAD TO HAVE AT LEAST HAD A LITTLE SUCCESS. i WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE KNOWN WHAT GOOD OLD pRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON"S WHISKEY TASTED LIKE. THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE SINCERELY R. ADKINS
    Posted by robinadkinsr621@yahoo.com on January 29, 2019
  • Do not pour out your remaining mash after you cook it off. It still has sugars in it, the alcohol content killed the yeast. Pour it back on the corn and add new yeast to ferment again. You should be able to ferment a corn ma’s three times. With each ferment getting smoother. The last ferment will produce less but have better taste.

    Posted by Bayyrat on October 11, 2018
  • fermenting after the first 24 hours (bubbling like crazy). can I stir it gentle once, then cover it back up and leave it?
    Will it harm the fermentation process?

    Posted by Dwayne Patlyek on August 23, 2018
  • Just looking through and it looks like,theirs a lot of people interested in this art . That’s great, Enjoy .

    Posted by Gregory Nodine on July 31, 2018
  • I made one of those cocktail type moonshine every into. And I put into the jar warm and sealed even with my alcohol is used. Is that okay? I made it for a couple parties we’re going to be going within the next week’s.

    Can I make those cocktail brews and seal them warm like that will they keep for any length of time? What is your subsections? I’ve got several different recipes I’d like to try. And I’d like to make and store. Do I let them cool completely before I put the lid on?

    Posted by Cheryl on June 18, 2018
  • ok, tHIS is how II make a mash. Add 1 part corn meal to 3 parts hot water (3 to1 ratio). Stir until it’s like a super thick glob of starch. Cook out for about 1/2 hour. Sprinkle amalyse enzyme to mash & stir until like a thin soup & cook for about 1 hour at 70C (converting the starch to sugar). Let cool to about 38C. Add mash to container with heated sugar water (2kg sugar to 4 litres water), activated yeast stirred through. Leave sit for about 2 weeks. strain well before stilling. .

    Posted by Dave on June 05, 2018
  • do i leave the corn goodies in the wash to fermet or does it have to be taking out

    Posted by josie on May 16, 2018
  • If the mash to make bourbon cooked long the 4 hours what happen the Mash

    Posted by Sal on April 09, 2018
  • has anybody heard of ti root and sugar cane moonshine

    Posted by ken on April 01, 2018
  • Can i put a glass carboy in a large aluminum bucket of water and heat the two together to vaporize? in other words, indirectly heat the carboy and use it as a still?

    Posted by Harry on January 16, 2018
  • At what temp should wheat mesh maintain until finished and what is the best yeast to used for wheat vodka

    Posted by DEnny sEnters on December 29, 2017
  • Man some of you guys need to do research on moonshine b4 you do a ferment. No Dnt add turbo yeast to an already fermenting bucket. You Dnt have to siphon water off there is no way for you to do that. That’s why you distill it. Nobody ever taught me anything. I watched moonshiners and did plenty of research and I’ve never had a problem. I have a 5 gallon going now with Fleishman yeast for 6 days at around 75 degree room it bubbles 1 time every 2 minutes. I’m gonna let it set another week

    Posted by Bill on December 17, 2017
  • Man some of you guys need to do research on moonshine b4 you do a ferment. No Dnt add turbo yeast to an already fermenting bucket. You Dnt have to siphon water off there is no way for you to do that. That’s why you distill it. Nobody ever taught me anything. I watched moonshiners and did plenty of research and I’ve never had a problem. I have a 5 gallon going now with Fleishman yeast for 6 days at around 75 degree room it bubbles 1 time every 2 minutes. I’m gonna let it set another week

    Posted by Bill on December 17, 2017
  • You guys are way overthinking this entire process. All you need is for yeasts to eat the sugar and turn it into alcohol. Then you boil off the alcohol at a temperature lower than which water boils (212) for those that don’t know that. Henceforth you get distilate that is always above 50% alcohol. Once your run starts to slow down even while still at 210 degrees you better start paying attention to the liquor coming out of your worm, it will get cloudy very soon thereafter. If its me, once it only drips at 210 degrees i shut er down and pour whatever else is left in the still out.

    Posted by SHine RHine on October 25, 2017
  • How long can fermentation sit after bubbles stop?? Is 2 or 3 days ok ??

    Posted by Stumpy Al on October 09, 2017
  • After fermentation do I need to let the mash set a few days before running it?

    Posted by LEwis on September 08, 2017
  • It states in this in this article pretty clearly that 1-2 minute spacing between bubbles in the airlock means it’s done, especially if it’s been fermenting for 14 days already. This is also not a place to ask questions, but to make comments.

    Posted by Joseph on September 07, 2017
  • Hi. I have a 5 gallon bucket of mash working, and I’m getting bubbles through air lock every 1.5 -2 minutes. How much time do I have before I have to run it before I’ve waited too long?

    Posted by Vince on September 05, 2017
  • I am on my second run. My first run didn’t turn out so hot as we were brewing up that batch every drop came out cloudy or had a taste of water with no alcohol content at all. We think we jumped the gun but our yeast wasn’t fizzing or bubbling as you said in this post still came out as water. Now this next batch we are running would it have a natural smell as to when the yeast is done with fermentation?

    Posted by John on September 05, 2017


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