I just started in the hobby. I have been an all grain brewer for 10 years. So in the future I will be doing all grain mashes. For my first run I ran a sugar, because it is cheap. It was recommended by a friend who is already a home distiller. He said, "It's your first time running a still. You're going to mess something up. Don't mess up something nice." He was correct in that. I had several issues during the process and I learned a lot doing it. I am glad I didn't waste my grain and did a sugar wash. I have a half gallon of 190 proof neutral spirit now that is destined to be some 80 proof orange liqueur for margaritas.
Sugar washes are also useful for doing hybrid mashes: part grain/fruit, part sugar. Those hybrid mashes are great for getting the flavor of the grain/fruit but with the reliability of a sugar wash. Hybrid mashes are also useful for when the primary fermenting ingredient is in short supply or is expensive. I think, for example, that a sugar wash can help in making rum when molasses is not readily available in your area.
I tried to do an all grain with barley I malted myself, but the gravity fell short by a lot. like 1.015 (I recon it was my mill, which I made with my dad that afternoon and it wasn't very consistent in results). I topped it up with dry malt extract and sugar until I reached a decent gravity, fermented on the grain and it was actually surprisingly good! So I agree, using sugar to assist with a mash when you just don't get there with the necessary ingredients is a great option.
That's what people do when they make a "sugar head" whisky out of corn. Well, as I write my cornflakes whiskey is made just like that. Tried it before and I must say it makes a very nice white dog for sipping and it definitely gains flavor when aged on wood.
I'm a vodka fan so I've tried a variety of vodka recipes. Potatoes is something I guess every vodka fan must ultimately try, but to be honest, I don't think it is worth the trouble it takes to make it. The best I've found is using soft white winter wheat and sugar which I distill with a reflux or better yet a bubble plate column. It's a neutral spirit with just a hint of flavor from the wheat. Give it a try.
Sugar wash was my first try at distilling. I still do it because its cheep, fast and isn't all that bad. But .... I did find through my own research that if you swap the bleached sugar with Demerara sugar or raw sugar cane then let the finished product soak in charred oak chunks for a while, it will taste similar to Appletons
Inverting a sugar is a very good idea - vodka is then smoother than from the regular sugar. Also, some guys suggested it ferments a little bit quicker. And it's pretty easy to do, mix water, sugar, add some citric acid to pH 4 and boil it for about 30 minutes. I suggest 1kg:5l ratio of sugar and water and NOT using turbo yeasts - they work very fast, but produce some off flavours. Cheers!
You can use turbo yeast,the trick is to have it in a cool room because its fast and make alot of heat and if its in a cool place it has almost no bad taste, and if you also Filter int and only stop destilling at 50% you wil have no bad taste.
Potato Ratio as I remember is 5 to 1! Either in kilos or lbs. It takes about 5 kg of potatoes to equal 1 kg of table sugar. Same goes for 5 lbs of potatoes equals 1 lbs of sugar. So, If I normally do a 55 to 60 lbs sugar (45 gallons) in a 55 gallon fermenter. Process would be: Buy 250 lbs of potatoes, peel, chop, mash, cook (steaming wand), cool, then hit with enzymes, cool again, pitch yeast. Then the fun begins: Strain, rack, strip run, repeat three times. Then spirit reflux run. Rite now it's way to damn hot out. Maybe in the late fall. Cheers Jesse!
i still make sugar washes after 4years of doing this hobby. it's hot in the USA and i don't want to stand in my kitchen over a hot mash. it's easy to dump some sugar in a bucket and leave it on my porch for a couple of weeks. i just pick a cool distilling day. but can't wait for cooler weather to get back to making the good stuff.
Sugar here 20kg for 20$ and bottle of vodka at store is almost 30$ per 0.750lit i only keep the very middles of run, only hearts, only above 92% (usually 94-95%) home made gives ZERO headache next day, make 180 batch using wine yeast. Wheat germ is very good, tpw is great too. don't cheap out on nutrients you dont want yeast to stress at all. give it time and you will have the best vodka
I guess I do hybrid wash . Not sure what you would call it . I convert starch in grains and add a little sugar to reach my target gravity . less grain to mess with and so far that's been working out well .
I know of the term "sugarhead" but I think its more applied to adding grain as an adjunct in the ferment for flavour, not mashing it to extract sugars too.
In brewing this is called mini mash. Where you partially mash and then supplement with liquid malt extract (LME) or dry malt extract (DME). If you want to keep the character of the grain you may look into using DME or LME as your sugar supplement in your wash.
@@dylanluvzcolorado4369 yeah, experiment with it and refine your process. I've been being for 10 years and it's a lot of fun. Just starting to get into distilling now so I will be trying different things and experimenting there too. Both these hobbies are awesome
I just did my first 3 sugar washes, then did a few generations of nutrigrain, now I am onto corn/barley with a bit of sugar to bring it up from 1065 to 1090, around 13% and super corn flavour. I am using 10Kg of cracked corn (farm quality), 3kg of malted barley, alpha/beta amylase, 3kg sugar and bakers dry yeast. Ferments out in 9 days.
Love watching your videos, so much knowledge to learn! I started with doing sugar washes and did them for a while then couldn’t help but make the jump to brandys and just did my first grain wash and don’t think I’ll ever go back now!!!
Always do a sugar wash, cheap, little methanol, for 94-96% ABV, (Reflux) use gin baskets for my gin flavourings or char up some Jack 'D' chips and cherry chips pop in for a week or two in the jar and bingo.... great info, great videos.
You make an excellent point about time. I am a team lead in a production environment and do a decent amount of coaching. When you are teaching a fresh employee a new skill/process it is best to target stations with a short cycle time. This means that you get them trained in on a task that is short enough to do many times a day. This repetition is important and leads to the ability to make iterative and incremental improvements while the last cycle is fresh in thier mind.
Agree with you 100% about the quality of the distillate using a sugar washes. They're ok off you want something cheap. I have filtered them to get as close as a neutral taste, but still cannot get the quality that grain provides. If you want great vodka, try a sweet potato recipe. 25# will only yield ~8% potential ABV in a 5 gallon batch, but the end result is amazing. They self convert their starch to fermentable sugars.
You are spot on about all grain vs imitating with easier shortcuts like adding sugar. I'm finding that out now, Although I've been well aware of it through my 20 year beer making journey that ther is nothing that beats all grain. You may get close with extracts and steeps and even kits but they all fall a bit short of the all grain and I couldn't, and still can't. put my finger on that difference or describe it............... it's just different.
I'd be interested if you tried invert sugar as well. I used to invert sugar for beer, but I couldn't really taste the difference, except where I made darker kinds. It is a very good skill to learn though, especially for making bbq glazes or adding to liqueurs instead of sugar - in that case it definitely smooths things out.
I think this would be a good video too! I mean how do you extract the starch from potatoes efficiently? Do you boil them? It's not like a grain which has everything needed to convert the starch.
@@FoolOfATuque i think you boil and smash them, maybe strain the solids out for the most part after fermentation. I think malted grain is added to it to convert potato starch into sugars
Hey Jesse, I believe that taste/mouthfeel sensation you described is what the Japanese call Kokumi. Malted barley has got it in droves. For me, I feel that taste/mouthfeel hit the back corners of my tongue.
Sugar washes are excellent and super easy to do. You can add stuff like vanilla extract and spices to it if you want. And after you distill it, you can age it with various forms of wood. I did some with maple and people loved it. In fact they're asking for more of it.
I have an original ‘air still’ and all I ever do is sugar washes with Pure Still Spirits Yeast, and I get a CLEAN wash easily and I still it and filter it with the carbon filter system, (putting 1 ltr through the same filter 3 or 4 times) and I get a lovely pure clear vodka that I can flavour however I want. I get a gallon & 3 litres of vodka every time and it works out SO cheap, it’s easy and I love it. I’m flummoxed by using stills and I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle. I love the ease of the air still. 👍🇬🇧
I recently had the thought that sugar beets could be fun to try. Turns out sugar beet seeds are pretty hard to come by here because the farmers all get them through the sugar factories.
Just wondering what your thoughts are on using LME as opposed to full grain mash. Considering many breweries now use it over full grain they don’t seem to have a problem with flavour in their beer. Any comments on partial grain washes? I used to home brew that way; is it any good for distilling?
Sweet potato vodka! 3lbs sweet potatoes, 10 lbs sugar, one lemon, 12oz can tomato paste, in 5 gal pail with fermentation lock, top off with water leaving 1 1/2” headspace.
I do 58 lts of sugar wash with yeast, sugar and spirit enhancer (charcoal) I use a boka head and get 21 lts at 40% for my work. It takes approximately 24 hrs.for a still run and I then I flavour it to whatever the family members request. The excess is then distributed amongst work mates who appear to appreciate my product.
Hello Jesse. I am pretty new at this hobby. I have been following you for a bit now and you have given me a lot of good information. I am a bit confused about what is going on with my first sugar wash. Here are the specifics about the wash that is in my fermenter now. I am using a 5 gallon fermenter. 10 lbs of table sugar. 3 tbs of bakers yeast. 1/2 tbs nutrients. SG 1,088. Pitch yeast at 78 degrees F. I maintained that temperature using a fish tank heater. (George Duncan style). This wash started vigorously and has slowed to a bubble burp ever minute after about 15 days. I am at 21 days and still the same. I have checked the gravity and it reads 1.010. I have tasted it and it still has a sweet taste. Please give me your input as to the status of this batch. I would appreciate it deeply. Take care and be safe.
I am a beginner distiller as well, but have been making wines for the past years, learning a lot about primary fermentation. Three things spring to mind. First bakers yeast is not ideal as it has a limited alcohol tolerance and leaves hints of raw dough flavor in you wine or wash. In primary ferment the majority of alcohol gets produced in the first week to 10 days. Most yeast strains will be killed at an alcohol content around 13%. Hence the specially cultured yeast strains for wines (up to14-16% ABV) and distilling (18-24% ABV). It sounds your wash reached its max alcohol and went in secondary fermentation (which is important for the flavor of wine). For distilling the goal is to separate the alcohol from water so you don't need a secondary ferment. Second, your SG seemed slightly on the high side as most commercial distillers aim for 1.0639-1.0836 Specific Gravity. Too high SG can actually inhibit a good fermentation. Adding sugar/simple syrup over the course of a couple of days instead of all at once can help the yeast. Third, it sounds you placed your wash under an airlock from day one. The first 2-3 days the yeast needs a lot of oxygen to do its work. I usually do an open fermentation, with cheesecloth/dishtowel + loose lid over the bucket so bugs can't get in. Give it a good stir or swirl twice a day so oxygen can get into the wash. You did nothing wrong. Just a combination of high SG with a very limited yeast. Look for a distillers yeast or high alcohol wine yeast. These are just some tweaks to optimize your fermentation the next time. It is all part of the learning process. Since the response is a month late, you probably distilled your wash by now. Curious about the outcome and if the residual unfermented sugars carried over in your distillate.
Thanks for the information. I ended up double distilling with a bit of sodium carbonate as it had a bit of odor. Not bad but it was there. It turned out fair in the end. I did a second batch. This time using a turbo yeast. Much much better. The yield was higher and the flavor was good. Just added some oak and started the age yesterday. My next will do as you suggest, open ferment for a couple day. I also will avoid using bakers yeast. I home brewed ale for many years before trying the distillation. It has been fun learning something new like distilling. Thanks again for your input. It is appreciated.
@@charleswyatt180 Yeah, I figured the bakers yeast was the main culprit here and possibly an anaerobic fermentation. Bad flavor/odor. Glad you salvaged your batch and it might make a good base for strong flavored infusions, like apple pie moonshine or spices. I appreciate the exchange, so we can all learn from each others tries on the road to the ultimate beverage. It's pure Alchemy. Happy distilling ventures!
My missus and I live our vodka (she's Polish). But I love my rum. My still is really a high (passive) reflux pot still. Same wash gets us both vodka and rum.
I've done a few sugar washes for things like limoncello, blueberry liqueur etc. but I've never used it for vodka. I've done a small potato vodka batch, I currently have a beetroot vodka in the fermenter and lined up behind that is a sweet potato vodka (I understand they have amalayse in them?). Then I'm going to do a large batch of potato vodka because I like it more than I like commercial vodkas in the $35-50 range.
I do the sugar wash for a neutral alcoholic water Base and add flavours to that. I'm just nit brave to go into the massive steps needed to using wheat oats and what ever to make it a better base. However I am thinking of changing the sugars I used to something better as I use granulated sugar and it does have a harshness taste and looking for something more smoother or neutral. I have heard starch sugar or dextrose sugar is good for that tho?
@@deweydewey the brand Angel so quite a few different yeasts for different purposes, but the one you'll find referred to is a product which includes yeast, as well as enzymes for starch conversion. You can use it for no-cook mashing. in theory, you should be able to run a 10kg sack of potatoes through a cheese grater, make up to 30L volume in your vermenter (of cold water) pitch the yeast, and away you go. Works with raw rice and other grains too.
I like making fruit wines and I sometimes distill them. If I am making something just to distill I make sugar wash, but what I have started doing is placing some juniper berries or cinnamon at the top of my collom so the alcohol picks up some of the flavour from them, still working on how much to use to get the falour right for me :)
Yes please make a potato vodka, my wife is Irish and has told me about her Gran making poitín out of potatoes out the back of the family farm in Ireland, so I'm keen to learn how to use them.
I've used two different turbo yeast first was way more bubbles less foam next was a ton of foam and a few bubbles which one is better at the start of the wash?
Have you ever added a vodka (neutral alcohol) to your mash to kick up the ABV prior to running your still. Was think about making a cognac and was wondering if this would end in a good finished product?
I just asked the same question. Would it change the flavor of the final product? Would it have less mouth feel? Would you taste the sugar? Would it dilute the flavor of the final product?
Any chance you could make a video on your views on filtering with activated charcoal? Do you charcoal filter? There seems to be a bit of controversy around it in the distilling world. Would be great to hear your 2cents!
All wheat vodka, no malted grains, add enzymes and nutrients. Ferment on the cooler side (around 22-24C). Single distillation, packed reflux column, try to get a max ABV betwen 90-92%. Which should allow more of those grain flavours to come over.
Hi Jessie, great video mate, thanks. So, do sugar washes need to have head & tails removed, or it is all pretty safe once a bit of 'foreshots' are taken off at the start? James
Jesse, In some states, like Idaho, they raise sugar beets in the ground. They are rather round, large, and fibrous. And very sweet. Has anyone ever ground these up and used these as a mainstay for a sugar wash that you know of? What were the results?
Happy to use sugar washes for all the reasons you mentioned as I only want to make neutrals, just wish I could get a reliable fast ferment with a clean yeast. I tried EC1118 and bread yeast and they both failed to move the gravity a single point, but Turbo nuked the site from orbit. Shame its got a fairly horrible flavour..
The distilled liquor of fermented sugar is rum. It can be called vodka if it is distilled to 95% abv. and diluted. I enjoy the taste of rum made from table sugar, it's only inferior to vodka if you expect it to be neutral. It tastes like Newfie Screech, from the Canadian province of Newfoundland.
Crud. Started a TPW tonight and didn't notice that the paste was Garlic & Basil flavored until after I dumped it in. Well I guess this will be an experimental vodka now. Damn.
I would love to experiment with all grain and the process. But I am a town dwelling and really don't have anywhere to go with my byproduct. Sugar wash is just so versatile and clean. And my spent wash waters the grass.
I have a 6 gallon fermentation bucket. And a 5 gallon steel soup pot. And a 10lb bag of sugar and a vacuum sealed hand full of yeast. I understand that I have to let it ferment. But how long do I wait for the “bubbler” to be correct. And I’m using an electric distiller.
Thanks again, Jess! I was just given a 50pound... err. 22.68kg bucket of invert sugar. Gonna try a few different things with it. I'll let ya know how it works out! Once again! Thank you!!
Had an awful tasting pumpkin from my garden and some out of date bread improver with amylase in it - managed to convert it and ferment with bakers yeast. The resulting neutral was for gin and quite a mouthfeel, but was fine.
The person who made my still did not put a thermometer at the top or on the kettle. Can I drill a small hole at the bottle of the column and another one at the top and insert a cooking thermometer, sealing it with silicon glue?
Use pure cane sugar and spring water. Make the wash a consistency of almost corn syrup thickness, just to the point the sugar doesn’t dissolve into the water anymore cloudy in appearance. Run it on a reflux and chill in freezer for at least 24-48 hours before drinking. Best use imo is summer get together, use 1 gallon shine per 2 gallons fruit punch in cooler, use old whiskey bottle full of the shine into hole on watermelon let sit for 24 hours upright. Add strawberries and pineapple to cooler along with cut up watermelon after 24 hours. Fill remaining cooler with punch and ice. (And warning label)
If made right when drinking straight should taste like ice cold well water on a hot summer day that doesn’t burn till it hits your belly and have a slight sweetness to it. Another super easy way for your viewers to get into it is using corn meal for the wash. Really accessible as well can buy from any grocery store.
Hey Jessie, i have an all grain fermenting in the style of a Kentucky Bourbon. 80% corn, 12% Rye, 8 malt. It's ticking away pretty slowly atm. I can agree with everything you have said here.. Im wondering if diaceytl in all grain accounts for that more slightly more buttery mouth feel?
I would really appreciate better understanding the process of how flavours / odours and colours move from the mash to the distillate. Does it depend on the type of equipment pot/reflux, temperature, separation or anything else? So for example making a wash with molasses resulting in a strongly flavoured liquid in a reflux still, how does one go about getting those qualities into the spirit? (Hope this makes sense!
pot still straight into a worm gives most flavor cary over. i run a thumper with same wash in my pot n does good. i dont do sugar washes tho only grain mashes
True a pot still will yield the most flavor carry over, but don't expect it to taste much like you might expect. Pretty much all flavors are added post distillation or through aging with wood or barrels.
@@rocketsroc i agree completly. my son and i both have small barrels but those are for personal lol. i grew up drinkin plain white dog corn and rye likker if its made right it doesnt need anything added
I use dextrose. Flavor it w melted hard candies at 140 proof. Fun as the day is long but want my own wheated bourbon..... I absolutely LOVE I didn't buy that brewing equipment, just the keg.
Would using say brown, raw or a mix of several sugars make a better product? I even would say try caramelizing some of if not all of the sugar before pitching the yeast. If it works, it won't bring the price of the wash up by much.
I’m in the process of marking a suger wash with sugar and cinnamon any tips it’s been fermenting for 2 days now I’m using a turbo yeast and I’m planning on step feeding it till it hit my yeast ABV tolerance of 20% I’ve made lots of mead and wines but I’m new to distilling so any tips would be greatly appreciated
Depends on what you're making. I've heard of people double distilling sugar wash, then mix 3 parts 180 proof and 1 part water, mix in sugar and Kool aid , and people seem to love it. Sugar wash seems to be goid for creating your own flavors after distillation. Whereas, I'd you wanted rum, brandy, whiskey etc.... you would need to get your flavor through the process. Which requires more skill.
I just started in the hobby. I have been an all grain brewer for 10 years. So in the future I will be doing all grain mashes. For my first run I ran a sugar, because it is cheap. It was recommended by a friend who is already a home distiller. He said, "It's your first time running a still. You're going to mess something up. Don't mess up something nice." He was correct in that. I had several issues during the process and I learned a lot doing it. I am glad I didn't waste my grain and did a sugar wash. I have a half gallon of 190 proof neutral spirit now that is destined to be some 80 proof orange liqueur for margaritas.
Sugar washes are also useful for doing hybrid mashes: part grain/fruit, part sugar. Those hybrid mashes are great for getting the flavor of the grain/fruit but with the reliability of a sugar wash. Hybrid mashes are also useful for when the primary fermenting ingredient is in short supply or is expensive. I think, for example, that a sugar wash can help in making rum when molasses is not readily available in your area.
I tried to do an all grain with barley I malted myself, but the gravity fell short by a lot. like 1.015 (I recon it was my mill, which I made with my dad that afternoon and it wasn't very consistent in results). I topped it up with dry malt extract and sugar until I reached a decent gravity, fermented on the grain and it was actually surprisingly good! So I agree, using sugar to assist with a mash when you just don't get there with the necessary ingredients is a great option.
Agree on hybdrid mashes for sure.
I ferment it in 50 gallon drums. Let ot settle. Filter it and just use it to make hard sodas and lemonade.
That's what people do when they make a "sugar head" whisky out of corn.
Well, as I write my cornflakes whiskey is made just like that. Tried it before and I must say it makes a very nice white dog for sipping and it definitely gains flavor when aged on wood.
I'm a vodka fan so I've tried a variety of vodka recipes. Potatoes is something I guess every vodka fan must ultimately try, but to be honest, I don't think it is worth the trouble it takes to make it. The best I've found is using soft white winter wheat and sugar which I distill with a reflux or better yet a bubble plate column. It's a neutral spirit with just a hint of flavor from the wheat. Give it a try.
Sugar wash was my first try at distilling. I still do it because its cheep, fast and isn't all that bad. But .... I did find through my own research that if you swap the bleached sugar with Demerara sugar or raw sugar cane then let the finished product soak in charred oak chunks for a while, it will taste similar to Appletons
What's an Appletons?
@@vtbn53 Jamaican Rum
_Pops head up out of video editing software..._ Did somebody say inverted sugar?
Yes, please do the potatoes
So.
Much.
Work.
So little reward
What about potato starch.
How would that work?
I like the concentrated juice washes..easy and tasty...
I've been making sugar wash for a year now. Flavoured it to... Great results high strength...
+1 on potato neutral, it is on my list. I just put down a birdwatchers, maybe potato next.
Inverting a sugar is a very good idea - vodka is then smoother than from the regular sugar. Also, some guys suggested it ferments a little bit quicker. And it's pretty easy to do, mix water, sugar, add some citric acid to pH 4 and boil it for about 30 minutes.
I suggest 1kg:5l ratio of sugar and water and NOT using turbo yeasts - they work very fast, but produce some off flavours.
Cheers!
You can use turbo yeast,the trick is to have it in a cool room because its fast and make alot of heat and if its in a cool place it has almost no bad taste, and if you also Filter int and only stop destilling at 50% you wil have no bad taste.
Potato Ratio as I remember is 5 to 1! Either in kilos or lbs.
It takes about 5 kg of potatoes to equal 1 kg of table sugar.
Same goes for 5 lbs of potatoes equals 1 lbs of sugar.
So, If I normally do a 55 to 60 lbs sugar (45 gallons) in a 55 gallon fermenter.
Process would be: Buy 250 lbs of potatoes, peel, chop, mash, cook (steaming wand), cool, then hit with enzymes, cool again, pitch yeast.
Then the fun begins: Strain, rack, strip run, repeat three times. Then spirit reflux run.
Rite now it's way to damn hot out. Maybe in the late fall.
Cheers Jesse!
You can also use potatos raw ,but,it wil give you different taste because its raw
Sweet potato has been one of my number one movers! I never would have thought it would be that great originally.
i still make sugar washes after 4years of doing this hobby. it's hot in the USA and i don't want to stand in my kitchen over a hot mash. it's easy to dump some sugar in a bucket and leave it on my porch for a couple of weeks. i just pick a cool distilling day. but can't wait for cooler weather to get back to making the good stuff.
@Jane Doe Drinking and distilling do NOT mix! Trust me. Lmao
@Jane Doe BAHAHAHAHAH
@Jane Doe You get one HUGE ATTA GIRL!!
i love being true to tradition and very much enjoy thed mashing in proccess of cooking and converting grain. very satisfying lol
Sugar here 20kg for 20$ and bottle of vodka at store is almost 30$ per 0.750lit
i only keep the very middles of run, only hearts, only above 92% (usually 94-95%)
home made gives ZERO headache next day, make 180 batch using wine yeast. Wheat germ is very good, tpw is great too. don't cheap out on nutrients you dont want yeast to stress at all. give it time and you will have the best vodka
I guess I do hybrid wash . Not sure what you would call it . I convert starch in grains and add a little sugar to reach my target gravity . less grain to mess with and so far that's been working out well .
I know of the term "sugarhead" but I think its more applied to adding grain as an adjunct in the ferment for flavour, not mashing it to extract sugars too.
In brewing this is called mini mash. Where you partially mash and then supplement with liquid malt extract (LME) or dry malt extract (DME). If you want to keep the character of the grain you may look into using DME or LME as your sugar supplement in your wash.
@@FoolOfATuque I will have to give this a try . Thanks for the advice .
@@dylanluvzcolorado4369 yeah, experiment with it and refine your process. I've been being for 10 years and it's a lot of fun. Just starting to get into distilling now so I will be trying different things and experimenting there too. Both these hobbies are awesome
@@FoolOfATuque I started this spring and right now experimenting with molasses. Yummy rummy lol
I just did my first 3 sugar washes, then did a few generations of nutrigrain, now I am onto corn/barley with a bit of sugar to bring it up from 1065 to 1090, around 13% and super corn flavour. I am using 10Kg of cracked corn (farm quality), 3kg of malted barley, alpha/beta amylase, 3kg sugar and bakers dry yeast. Ferments out in 9 days.
Love watching your videos, so much knowledge to learn! I started with doing sugar washes and did them for a while then couldn’t help but make the jump to brandys and just did my first grain wash and don’t think I’ll ever go back now!!!
I've always wanted to try making a sweet potato vodka
I have also
George Duncan is making some.
George from Barley and Hops brewing did that a few weeks ago!
What about a potato vodka. Any well made video you can recomend me. Thanks a lot
Made some a few years ago, from the field leftovers, turned out real good.
Always do a sugar wash, cheap, little methanol, for 94-96% ABV, (Reflux) use gin baskets for my gin flavourings or char up some Jack 'D' chips and cherry chips pop in for a week or two in the jar and bingo.... great info, great videos.
You make an excellent point about time. I am a team lead in a production environment and do a decent amount of coaching. When you are teaching a fresh employee a new skill/process it is best to target stations with a short cycle time. This means that you get them trained in on a task that is short enough to do many times a day. This repetition is important and leads to the ability to make iterative and incremental improvements while the last cycle is fresh in thier mind.
Agree with you 100% about the quality of the distillate using a sugar washes. They're ok off you want something cheap. I have filtered them to get as close as a neutral taste, but still cannot get the quality that grain provides. If you want great vodka, try a sweet potato recipe. 25# will only yield ~8% potential ABV in a 5 gallon batch, but the end result is amazing. They self convert their starch to fermentable sugars.
I did a pineapple mash came out really good had a hit of the pineapple in it
I put pineapple mash and coconut in my thumper with 1 quart of 100 proof it makes a great fruity whiskey
Totally agree with you on the pineapple, definitely makes a great brandy.
Yep! Stayin at home a lot more and your videos are going a long way to shorten my learning curve! Cheers
You are spot on about all grain vs imitating with easier shortcuts like adding sugar. I'm finding that out now, Although I've been well aware of it through my 20 year beer making journey that ther is nothing that beats all grain. You may get close with extracts and steeps and even kits but they all fall a bit short of the all grain and I couldn't, and still can't. put my finger on that difference or describe it............... it's just different.
I'd be interested if you tried invert sugar as well. I used to invert sugar for beer, but I couldn't really taste the difference, except where I made darker kinds. It is a very good skill to learn though, especially for making bbq glazes or adding to liqueurs instead of sugar - in that case it definitely smooths things out.
You really should make vodka out of potatoes, really looking forward to making that too
I think this would be a good video too! I mean how do you extract the starch from potatoes efficiently? Do you boil them? It's not like a grain which has everything needed to convert the starch.
@@FoolOfATuque i think you boil and smash them, maybe strain the solids out for the most part after fermentation. I think malted grain is added to it to convert potato starch into sugars
@@FoolOfATuque but I have no idea how the recipe would go
@@starshot5172 probably would need to add enzymes for sure. No idea though either since I'm new to this.
@@starshot5172 yeah, the malted grain will contain amylase which is the enzyme that breaks down starches into simple sugars.
Hey Jesse, I believe that taste/mouthfeel sensation you described is what the Japanese call Kokumi. Malted barley has got it in droves. For me, I feel that taste/mouthfeel hit the back corners of my tongue.
I've done milk whey from a cheese maker and sugar wash and it turned out quite well
Sugar washes are excellent and super easy to do. You can add stuff like vanilla extract and spices to it if you want. And after you distill it, you can age it with various forms of wood. I did some with maple and people loved it. In fact they're asking for more of it.
How long did you age it?
When did you add the vanilla and spice?
I have an original ‘air still’ and all I ever do is sugar washes with Pure Still Spirits Yeast, and I get a CLEAN wash easily and I still it and filter it with the carbon filter system, (putting 1 ltr through the same filter 3 or 4 times) and I get a lovely pure clear vodka that I can flavour however I want. I get a gallon & 3 litres of vodka every time and it works out SO cheap, it’s easy and I love it. I’m flummoxed by using stills and I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle. I love the ease of the air still. 👍🇬🇧
I recently had the thought that sugar beets could be fun to try. Turns out sugar beet seeds are pretty hard to come by here because the farmers all get them through the sugar factories.
It would break my heart to make neutral out of a good all grain wash!
I'm literally doing that this weekend. Got a cheap bag of malt
@@bensoulsby86 all the power to you. I'm sure it will be a kickass vodka. I just much prefer whiskey
@@orbitalbreaky oh for sure, didn't mean anything like that. I just had a $20 sack off malt handy and am almost out of gin so saw the opportunity
Lots of food for thought here. Now I know why I might want to proceed to all grains. Thanks Jesse.
Love the video's. Always learn something new. Thanks Jesse.
Started with a sugar wash, but now my favorite is birdwatchers thanks to you,do it for convenience
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I was the same till i did a kale wash
Thank you, Jesse!!
Hey brother I have been working for a white wheat! Good luck it’s messy! If you don’t plan accordingly!
For potatoes you are in the right location. Get if you can the big starchy ones usually sold for chips. Look for Chippewa
Just wondering what your thoughts are on using LME as opposed to full grain mash. Considering many breweries now use it over full grain they don’t seem to have a problem with flavour in their beer. Any comments on partial grain washes? I used to home brew that way; is it any good for distilling?
Sweet potato vodka! 3lbs sweet potatoes, 10 lbs sugar, one lemon, 12oz can tomato paste, in 5 gal pail with fermentation lock, top off with water leaving 1 1/2” headspace.
I do 58 lts of sugar wash with yeast, sugar and spirit enhancer (charcoal) I use a boka head and get 21 lts at 40% for my work. It takes approximately 24 hrs.for a still run and I then I flavour it to whatever the family members request. The excess is then distributed amongst work mates who appear to appreciate my product.
Love ya work Jessie
Hello Jesse. I am pretty new at this hobby. I have been following you for a bit now and you have given me a lot of good information. I am a bit confused about what is going on with my first sugar wash. Here are the specifics about the wash that is in my fermenter now. I am using a 5 gallon fermenter. 10 lbs of table sugar. 3 tbs of bakers yeast. 1/2 tbs nutrients. SG 1,088. Pitch yeast at 78 degrees F. I maintained that temperature using a fish tank heater. (George Duncan style). This wash started vigorously and has slowed to a bubble burp ever minute after about 15 days. I am at 21 days and still the same. I have checked the gravity and it reads 1.010. I have tasted it and it still has a sweet taste. Please give me your input as to the status of this batch. I would appreciate it deeply. Take care and be safe.
I am a beginner distiller as well, but have been making wines for the past years, learning a lot about primary fermentation. Three things spring to mind.
First bakers yeast is not ideal as it has a limited alcohol tolerance and leaves hints of raw dough flavor in you wine or wash. In primary ferment the majority of alcohol gets produced in the first week to 10 days. Most yeast strains will be killed at an alcohol content around 13%. Hence the specially cultured yeast strains for wines (up to14-16% ABV) and distilling (18-24% ABV). It sounds your wash reached its max alcohol and went in secondary fermentation (which is important for the flavor of wine). For distilling the goal is to separate the alcohol from water so you don't need a secondary ferment.
Second, your SG seemed slightly on the high side as most commercial distillers aim for 1.0639-1.0836 Specific Gravity. Too high SG can actually inhibit a good fermentation. Adding sugar/simple syrup over the course of a couple of days instead of all at once can help the yeast.
Third, it sounds you placed your wash under an airlock from day one. The first 2-3 days the yeast needs a lot of oxygen to do its work. I usually do an open fermentation, with cheesecloth/dishtowel + loose lid over the bucket so bugs can't get in. Give it a good stir or swirl twice a day so oxygen can get into the wash.
You did nothing wrong. Just a combination of high SG with a very limited yeast. Look for a distillers yeast or high alcohol wine yeast. These are just some tweaks to optimize your fermentation the next time. It is all part of the learning process. Since the response is a month late, you probably distilled your wash by now. Curious about the outcome and if the residual unfermented sugars carried over in your distillate.
Thanks for the information. I ended up double distilling with a bit of sodium carbonate as it had a bit of odor. Not bad but it was there. It turned out fair in the end. I did a second batch. This time using a turbo yeast. Much much better. The yield was higher and the flavor was good. Just added some oak and started the age yesterday. My next will do as you suggest, open ferment for a couple day. I also will avoid using bakers yeast.
I home brewed ale for many years before trying the distillation. It has been fun learning something new like distilling. Thanks again for your input. It is appreciated.
@@charleswyatt180 Yeah, I figured the bakers yeast was the main culprit here and possibly an anaerobic fermentation. Bad flavor/odor. Glad you salvaged your batch and it might make a good base for strong flavored infusions, like apple pie moonshine or spices. I appreciate the exchange, so we can all learn from each others tries on the road to the ultimate beverage. It's pure Alchemy. Happy distilling ventures!
@@UgTheViking1I did exactly that. I infused spices. Thank. Great minds think alike. Take care and be safe.
My missus and I live our vodka (she's Polish). But I love my rum. My still is really a high (passive) reflux pot still. Same wash gets us both vodka and rum.
I've done a few sugar washes for things like limoncello, blueberry liqueur etc. but I've never used it for vodka. I've done a small potato vodka batch, I currently have a beetroot vodka in the fermenter and lined up behind that is a sweet potato vodka (I understand they have amalayse in them?). Then I'm going to do a large batch of potato vodka because I like it more than I like commercial vodkas in the $35-50 range.
first generation of UJSSM, putting cinnamon sticks in the vapor stream, makes a great flavor for mixers!!
Lol just don't put too much cinnamon sticks in. I did 5 and it was effing hot. Fireball hot. Added simple syrup and had a tasty cinnamon schnapps.
I do the sugar wash for a neutral alcoholic water Base and add flavours to that. I'm just nit brave to go into the massive steps needed to using wheat oats and what ever to make it a better base. However I am thinking of changing the sugars I used to something better as I use granulated sugar and it does have a harshness taste and looking for something more smoother or neutral. I have heard starch sugar or dextrose sugar is good for that tho?
Beets! I wonder if I could get a hold of Sugar Beets? They would probably be awesome for a mash.
Potato wash with Angel yeast vs potato wash converted with some malt addition would be an interesting test.
I'm not familiar with Angel yeast ,what is it
@@deweydewey the brand Angel so quite a few different yeasts for different purposes, but the one you'll find referred to is a product which includes yeast, as well as enzymes for starch conversion. You can use it for no-cook mashing. in theory, you should be able to run a 10kg sack of potatoes through a cheese grater, make up to 30L volume in your vermenter (of cold water) pitch the yeast, and away you go. Works with raw rice and other grains too.
*do quite a few
I like making fruit wines and I sometimes distill them.
If I am making something just to distill I make sugar wash, but what I have started doing is placing some juniper berries or cinnamon at the top of my collom so the alcohol picks up some of the flavour from them, still working on how much to use to get the falour right for me :)
Yes please make a potato vodka, my wife is Irish and has told me about her Gran making poitín out of potatoes out the back of the family farm in Ireland, so I'm keen to learn how to use them.
Thanks very much for all your videos, can i ask that when you mention an acronym you say the long meaning at least once please?
I've used two different turbo yeast first was way more bubbles less foam next was a ton of foam and a few bubbles which one is better at the start of the wash?
Have you ever added a vodka (neutral alcohol) to your mash to kick up the ABV prior to running your still. Was think about making a cognac and was wondering if this would end in a good finished product?
I just asked the same question. Would it change the flavor of the final product? Would it have less mouth feel? Would you taste the sugar? Would it dilute the flavor of the final product?
Any chance you could make a video on your views on filtering with activated charcoal?
Do you charcoal filter? There seems to be a bit of controversy around it in the distilling world. Would be great to hear your 2cents!
I just distilled a tomato paste wash and I'm thinking about adding fruits or spices to it to make a liquor out of it
All wheat vodka, no malted grains, add enzymes and nutrients. Ferment on the cooler side (around 22-24C). Single distillation, packed reflux column, try to get a max ABV betwen 90-92%. Which should allow more of those grain flavours to come over.
Missed an opportunity to play ‘Pour some sugar on me’ in this episode
that would have been great! hahaha
Copyright
Sugar wash,good to start off..Looking forward to my first all grain session
Hi Jessie, great video mate, thanks. So, do sugar washes need to have head & tails removed, or it is all pretty safe once a bit of 'foreshots' are taken off at the start? James
Jesse,
In some states, like Idaho, they raise sugar beets in the ground. They are rather round, large, and fibrous. And very sweet. Has anyone ever ground these up and used these as a mainstay for a sugar wash that you know of?
What were the results?
Happy to use sugar washes for all the reasons you mentioned as I only want to make neutrals, just wish I could get a reliable fast ferment with a clean yeast. I tried EC1118 and bread yeast and they both failed to move the gravity a single point, but Turbo nuked the site from orbit. Shame its got a fairly horrible flavour..
Did you manage to perfect your sugar wash recipe ?
Would using sugar liquor for proofing up a grain wash dilute the flavor of the final product?
Recommend silver queen corn for whiskey, part of my uncle wheeler recipe. He had been passed on 45years but his products were very high dollar
Thanks Jesse...
The distilled liquor of fermented sugar is rum. It can be called vodka if it is distilled to 95% abv. and diluted. I enjoy the taste of rum made from table sugar, it's only inferior to vodka if you expect it to be neutral. It tastes like Newfie Screech, from the Canadian province of Newfoundland.
Crud. Started a TPW tonight and didn't notice that the paste was Garlic & Basil flavored until after I dumped it in. Well I guess this will be an experimental vodka now. Damn.
Hi Jesse, do you reuse the wash left in the fermenter for a neutral spirt or do use reuse this yeast leftover.
Thanks Bhai..🙏
I would love to experiment with all grain and the process.
But I am a town dwelling and really don't have anywhere to go with my byproduct.
Sugar wash is just so versatile and clean.
And my spent wash waters the grass.
I have a 6 gallon fermentation bucket. And a 5 gallon steel soup pot. And a 10lb bag of sugar and a vacuum sealed hand full of yeast. I understand that I have to let it ferment. But how long do I wait for the “bubbler” to be correct. And I’m using an electric distiller.
I make a scotch whiskey wash using 6 kgs of sugar and a coopers dark ale pack and turbo yeast .
Thanks again, Jess!
I was just given a 50pound... err. 22.68kg bucket of invert sugar. Gonna try a few different things with it. I'll let ya know how it works out! Once again! Thank you!!
Does your vodka have an apple smell and taste?
Excellent
Had an awful tasting pumpkin from my garden and some out of date bread improver with amylase in it - managed to convert it and ferment with bakers yeast. The resulting neutral was for gin and quite a mouthfeel, but was fine.
Thanks for the great info.
+rice and wheat vodkas are king. Gives it a creamy sweet flavor.
Rice over potatoes?
wheat vodka gave a mouthfeel i didnt like... tpw feels better in the mouth for me..
Anthony Ingram for me personally yes. Have a local distillery with a rice vodka that is liquid butter.
Beets. The sugar content in beets is Amazingly good for the making of vodka.
90% of sugar used in the world is derived from beets! So basically it’s been done!
It's a funny joke in my circles as I made one and messed up temps so it tasted like beets and so it came out at parties as a joke
@@voodoosnakebite Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
Great videos keep up the good work. Have you ever added rye lme to a sugar wash?
5:40 subjective I guess. But everyone got the point anyway. Thx for the video
The norm with sugar wash is 2pds sugar per 1gal water.how much yeast?
For a good clean AG vodka/neutral, try long grain white rice. For some complexity, try adding a small amount of wheat.
Oooh, got a few questions (soz/thank) - Is that using yellow label yeast? What ratio of rice to wheat do you recommend? Any particular type of wheat?
Great video bro!!!
The person who made my still did not put a thermometer at the top or on the kettle. Can I drill a small hole at the bottle of the column and another one at the top and insert a cooking thermometer, sealing it with silicon glue?
If you double or triple distill, do you discard heads on each run or just first. Yes I'm new.
My first mash tasted like old sox used corn so I experimented with molasses and brown.sugar rum not to bad lol
Just studied up on sweet potato vodka made by george from barley and hops.. looks great
Recetly got a boat load op bell peppers...
Whats the possibility of making a wash of that for vodka?
I second potatoes. I want to see how they're processed to make fermentable sugar from the starch.
Potatos are a pain in the ass compared to malt cod you ned to and the enzime to the potatos and i get my malt for less than £20 for 25kg
I actually like the flavor profile of a high abv sugar wash afrlter distillation
Use pure cane sugar and spring water. Make the wash a consistency of almost corn syrup thickness, just to the point the sugar doesn’t dissolve into the water anymore cloudy in appearance. Run it on a reflux and chill in freezer for at least 24-48 hours before drinking. Best use imo is summer get together, use 1 gallon shine per 2 gallons fruit punch in cooler, use old whiskey bottle full of the shine into hole on watermelon let sit for 24 hours upright. Add strawberries and pineapple to cooler along with cut up watermelon after 24 hours. Fill remaining cooler with punch and ice. (And warning label)
If made right when drinking straight should taste like ice cold well water on a hot summer day that doesn’t burn till it hits your belly and have a slight sweetness to it.
Another super easy way for your viewers to get into it is using corn meal for the wash. Really accessible as well can buy from any grocery store.
Hey Jessie, i have an all grain fermenting in the style of a Kentucky Bourbon. 80% corn, 12% Rye, 8 malt.
It's ticking away pretty slowly atm.
I can agree with everything you have said here.. Im wondering if diaceytl in all grain accounts for that more slightly more buttery mouth feel?
I would really appreciate better understanding the process of how flavours / odours and colours move from the mash to the distillate. Does it depend on the type of equipment pot/reflux, temperature, separation or anything else? So for example making a wash with molasses resulting in a strongly flavoured liquid in a reflux still, how does one go about getting those qualities into the spirit? (Hope this makes sense!
I believe a pot still is the best way to go if you're looking for lots of flavor .
pot still straight into a worm gives most flavor cary over. i run a thumper with same wash in my pot n does good. i dont do sugar washes tho only grain mashes
True a pot still will yield the most flavor carry over, but don't expect it to taste much like you might expect. Pretty much all flavors are added post distillation or through aging with wood or barrels.
@@rocketsroc i agree completly. my son and i both have small barrels but those are for personal lol. i grew up drinkin plain white dog corn and rye likker if its made right it doesnt need anything added
I use dextrose. Flavor it w melted hard candies at 140 proof. Fun as the day is long but want my own wheated bourbon..... I absolutely LOVE I didn't buy that brewing equipment, just the keg.
Would using say brown, raw or a mix of several sugars make a better product? I even would say try caramelizing some of if not all of the sugar before pitching the yeast. If it works, it won't bring the price of the wash up by much.
I’m in the process of marking a suger wash with sugar and cinnamon any tips it’s been fermenting for 2 days now I’m using a turbo yeast and I’m planning on step feeding it till it hit my yeast ABV tolerance of 20% I’ve made lots of mead and wines but I’m new to distilling so any tips would be greatly appreciated
Can you use cornstarch to boost your mash
Depends on what you're making. I've heard of people double distilling sugar wash, then mix 3 parts 180 proof and 1 part water, mix in sugar and Kool aid , and people seem to love it. Sugar wash seems to be goid for creating your own flavors after distillation. Whereas, I'd you wanted rum, brandy, whiskey etc.... you would need to get your flavor through the process. Which requires more skill.
Hey Jessy. There's a brewery near me that uses milk to distil vodka, I think you need to try that