How to Know when Fermentation Has Finished - Advanced (outdated)

What would be too long for corn whisky mash to sit?

can you use brown sugar for your wash to make alcohol to be more like rum than vodka

Should the mash be stirred prior to taking a final SG?

Im new to distilling however i read/watched, if your mash is real thick (corn meal is what this guy was using) add amalaze enzyme it turns the starch into a sugar is basically what I got from it.

After fermentation is complete, how long can you wait before distilling? Do you need to distill immediately or can you wait a few days?
Thanks,David h

jUST A FEW ANSWERS:

a THICK MASH IS PROBABLY THE RESULT OF USING A FINE FLOUR OR NOT NOT FILTERING THE GRAIN EFFICIENTLY. sUGARS IN THE WASH MAY BE CONVERTED TO ALCOHOL, BUT IT WILL BE VERY MESSY (IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE) TO DISTILL THE PORRIDGE IN THE STILL. i ALSO SUSPECT THAT A THICK CONSISTENCY INDICATES THE PRESENCE OF STARCH- YOU DO NOT WANT THAT IN THE FERMENTATION, JUST DEXTRINS AND SUGARS.

Why try to stop the fermentation? you are just losing alcohol on distillation! If you absolutely cannot wait, distill the fermentation as is. The heat will pretty quickly stop the fermentation. Some side effects may be foaming or burning on base of still- due to the presence of excess sugars not fermented.

I personally do not like solids in the fermentation (grains or fruit). If you do want this to enhance the taste, particularly in the case of fruit, rather use save some of the fruit after completing the mash to re-introduce for infusion or a second run. Grains should be discarded after no starch remains (do a iodine test on spent grains to test- please do not throw tested sample back into fermentation).

Adding twice the amount of yeast may affect the taste of a brandy/ fruit fermentation, but should not pose a problem with a sugar wash. I suggest keep the fermentation bucket still and decant after fermentation- you may have a bit more sediment (dead yest cells) after fermentation. Remember you initial innoculation of yeast multiplies exponentially in any event, so your initial dose is really just to get things moving along/ start off.

Likewise, event if you add too little yeast, once the fermentation kicks in and the yeast cells multiply, you should be fine. Remember to agitate/whisk the wash before you close the fermentation bucket, as this will give the yeast cells chance to procreate/multiply (which it does aerobically), when the bubbles start the yeast goes into its anaerobic phase where it eats the sugars it is done anaerobically, ie without oxygen, bubbling out CO2.

You may have sg of 1.000 and it’s still bubbling. You are probably doing a few things right, and the end of the fermentation is near. Most of the sugars have been consumed by the yeast!

Its is an oversimplification to say that a good fg is always 1.000. It depends on various factors, e.g. what was the initial sg, whether there are solids (etc) in the wash and whether the fermentation has stopped fermenting. Strawberries are very low in sugar, and it is for this reason probably not worth it to distill as a fruit. As in the case of kiwi, I would suggest making a sugar wash, and infusing the strawberry flavour into the alcohol afterwards.

What’s a good FG for strawberry mash?

there are some good questions here, how can I see what the answers are to these questions.
John M

Read read and read stop asking questions when answers are in the book its not rocket science i get 145 proof its easy man dont make hard for yourself read every answer is in the book

Do you sell the Patriot built.i can’t do that. Talk to me about the so called wash.very confused. Does the fermentation happen with the grain or without. Do you reuse some of the grain or not.once again confused.

What if…..the SG is at 1.000 but it’s still bubbling?

I just realized i added twice as much yeast as needed. how bad is this? can it be saved?

How long can my mash sit after fermentation? Also my mash was really thick before I added my yeast. Is that normal. I’m new to the process and any info is greatly appriciated.

Hi, I have a sugar and molases mash of 16.2Lts added some turbo yeast on friday (exactly 72hrs ago) it started fermenting about 63hrs ago.

Is there anything I can do to stop fermentation?
the rate of the bubbles seems to be going down but airlock still bubbling about once every 5 seconds.

Any help?

Thx

I just prepared a gallon of sugar wash as it’s my first time, and I wanted to keep it simple. I followed your guide on making sugar wash, but when it came to how much ingredients I needed for just 1 gallon, I scaled it back according to the guide. Because I just used needed 1 gallon, and the packet of yeast made 5, (was wine yeast) I used 1/5 of the bag. Should I of added more?

All the recipes I have read say it takes 2 weeks for fermentation to complete. It’s taking my stuff like 4 weeks to complete. What am I doing wrong, if anything?

Can your wash go bad after a couple of months even though it’s under anaerobic conditions? It’s been sitting there (hopefully fermenting) for almost 3 months. Sealed and air locked. Should I dump it?

What percentage of corn sugar yeast for 5 gallons