A flurry of Blessed activity

Tonite, I am going to begin a second wash with a different intention. I am going to try two things:

(1) Do a lower sugar content wash, using ordinary baking yeast as the live culture
(2) Do a stepped addition

So, this means I will not bring the alcohol content over 14%, as baking yeast can only tolerate 12 - 14% alcohol. Given that they are more fragile, I am also going to do the sugar addition in 3 parts, to keep the concentration lower.

So lets do some math (St Thomas, hear me roar!):

to get a 14% sugar concentration in 20L of wash, you need 4.76kg of sugar. So I will use 4.5kg of white sugar and 450g of sweet molasses.

I will cut my DAP addition and increase my yeast hull inclusion.

So, the recipe will be as follows:

White Sugar - 4.5kg
Sweet Molasses - 450g
DAP - 15g
Yeast hulls -40g
MgSO4 - 6g
CaCl2 - 3g (added as a trace.. not really needed)
One A day vitamin, powdered - 1
water (well) - 20L

Live Yeast - Red Star baking yeast. Pitching 15g. Rehydrated by putting in 38C water, stirring, and letting rest for 15 minutes. Then adding a "starter" with a small amount of nutrients and sugars to the colony in small amounts, until the temperature of the yeast is at 25C or so. Letting rest for one hour, then pitching into the fermenter.

I am also going to do something recommended by many and Invert the sugars. This is simply adding acid to the sugar and boiling it for awhile. It breaks it down a bit, and it is said this makes a ferment come out cleaner.

Here is a process for it:

For 2 lbs of sugar (1 kg.), 1 pint of water (500 ml.), add 1/4 tsp. (1 g.) acid (or juice of 1/2 lemon). Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool.

There is a relationship between pH, temperature and time. At 100C, and a pH of 3.6 (6g acid/litre) you need to simmer for 15 minutes.

So, normal acidification to 3.6 and boiling for 15 minutes should take care of that. Then I can add the nutrients and boil for a few more minutes, and then add it to the fermenter, neutralizing to 4.5 with bicarbonate of soda.

My sugar additions will be as follows:

1) 1.7kg of sugar, 450g of molasses
2) after measuring that half or more of the sugars have been converted, 1.7kg of invert syrup will be added in small parts, stirring well
3) final 1.7kg of invert syrup will be added after another 24 hours, or when sugars are back to below 5%.

DAP and yeast energizer will be added in three portions. MgSO4 is added in one portion. 3g of CaCl2 is added in one portion. Yeast hulls are added in one portion. Additions of nutrients are done after the sugars are inverted, and while the starter is still on a low boil. CAUTION: Adding yeast energizer or yeast hulls to a boiling mixture will cause foam off. Add in small portions stirring until foam has subsided.

pH will be monitored to ensure it is between 3.2 and 4.8 (preferably below 4.0)at all times, once the ferment has begun. Temperature will be checked each time and heat applied or removed as needed.

The wash water + sugars will be aerated overnight after the yeast has been pitched.

So.. lets get to it, shall we?

Pax Vobiscum