I dont have a seedling heat mat or reptile mat. I thought I had an old heating pad I could use with one of my InkBirds, but Im still looking for it…
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Im planning to skip that part. Based on my very limited understanding, thats mainly for flavor? I dont care about the flavor because Im not going to drink it.
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It’s kind of funny that you guys were talking about this on here. I’m distilling my mash at this very moment. 15 gallons worth.
P.S. you can reuse your cornmeal at least three times and if your sour mash still has some sugar left in it you can dump that back in and just add some more sugar. Saves a little money.
While some of these ingredients seem really weird. This link is a good read in case of an apocalypse (Corona virus 
) . Apocalypse Beer: How to Ferment Anything - The Brew Site
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I believe it also helps with fermentation. They claim you can also add Grape Nuts cereal as a Yeast Energizer Yeast Energizer – Midwest Supplies because it has some of the same ingredients. (dead yeast)
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Quick up-date. Reducing the sugar concentration increased bubbling a good bit - at first. However, it had slowed down and actually stopped by the time I got my heating system in place and started warming up the sugar mash.
While I was re-hydrating more yeast, the temp had climbed to the upper 70’s in the bucket, and I could see that the bubbling was re-starting, but at a pretty slow pace. I added the new yeast batch and closed it back up. Almost immediately, the bubbling was back and going strong again. Once the temp got over 80F, it was the fastest I have seen so far.
Temp in the bucket is now holding between 84-86F and the bubbling has been almost a solid stream of bubbles for close to 12 hours now.
So, lowering the sugar made a significant difference, but raising the temp made an even bigger difference.
My fingers are crossed that this will keep going this time! I would think that even with all the starts and stops, I should be at least 1/2 way through by now.
I think the key lesson here is to know how your particular yeast behaves.
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I glad to hear it’s going good. Good job!
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Its been two days of strong bubbling since I raised the temps and lowered the sugar. Today the bubbling started to slow down some, then it really slowed down. Small bubbles maybe once a minute instead of a big stream every second or less.
So I opened it up and it looked close to dead. I took a sample and the hydrometer is sitting much lower its reading close to 10% ABV or 20 proof!
compare that to two days ago.
I re-hydrated some more yeast and put it in to see if I can push it a little more. Its been maybe 10 minutes and its bubbling a lot more now, but still nothing like it was at the peak. Small groups of bubbles every 2 seconds or so.
I think Im getting close to still time 
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So I’ve been distilling now for years, use to use a ‘turbo’ yeast that is available from the home brew shops. Typically with a turbo yeast pack, I’d use 6 kilos of white sugar to about 20 litres of water and it would be finished fermenting in about 5 to 7 days.
Now days I use the tomato paste wash, 4.5 kilos of sugar, 20 litres of water, about 200 grams of tomato paste and about 55 grams of bakers yeast from the super market.
Takes about 2 weeks to ferment and then settle out ready for distillation. The tomato paste wash gives a better tasting end result tho.
Loading... Read up on this link as it’s what I refer to.
You also need a good still to achieve a high proof alcohol, I can get consistant result of around 95% readings. Here’s a pic of my home made still head sitting on a 25 liter electric crab cooker. It takes about 6 to 8 hours to distill out.
It’s about 4 feet tall (1200mm) over all.
Cheers Johnny
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Hi @Johnnybsmokin. You are the second one to suggest the tomato paste recipe. There are a couple of reasons Im not wild about that. One is the extra time, and added ingredients. The other is Im not sure I need to do that because I dont care what it tastes like. Im not going to drink it - just use it to make RSO, and then capsules.
I need low cost, and fast as first requirements.
Thats an awesome looking still you have there! Mine is going to be much cruder and stupid simple. Just an old pressure cooker and some copper tubing in a bucket with ice. Heating will be an electric single burner controlled by an InkBird controller. Thats about all I can aford - I had the inkbird, pressure cooker and electric stove already, so my only out of pocket for the still is the copper wire.
Im curious - how much alcohol do you end up with after the first pass through the still starting with that 20 liters and how much is left after the final distillation?
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The bubbling has stopped. Now its time to finish the still…
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Hey @anon32470837
Turbo yeast = quicker, but a couple of bucks dearer, taste so so
TPW = longer, a little cheaper, tastes better.
You will end up with more usable alcohol from the Turbo yeast. Turbo I usually get about maybe 5 litres of 95%, TPW about maybe 4 litres of 95%.
I use the TPW now days as I’m after quality rather than quantity.
Cheers Johnny
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Could be bad yeast. Old. That can do it.edit… wow I missed alot. Damn Corona virus has had me prepping for a shutdown. I better read everything before i post…
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Glad t see things bubbling along that hydrometer is still reading massively high in sugar content I’m not familiar with that hydrometer to me looks like the numbers are backwards in the the one pic it’s so high it’s not even on the scale ,to me looks as if the hydrometer needs to drop at least another inch or two into the sample. How’s it tasting? Still sugary or is it getting a hot burn yet? I just want you to make sure you’ll be distilling alcohol and not sugar water it would be a big waste of time if the ferment wasn’t finishing in time before distilling
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I’m intrigued by this tomato paste wash your referring to going to have to look that one up.
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I recognize that design! I looked at that closely when I was researching (I went with a standard Nixon McCaw).
I was going to build a parrot until I figured out it always comes off at 95%.
Have you tried EC1118 champagne yeast? Good sub. for those expensive turbos, works well with the tomato paste too. I run back-to-back washes and reuse the yeast from the primary. I ran a whole year on one package.
Cheers
G
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I’m thinking your yeast is having issues getting it going. Bad or old yeast? Could be but I don’t think so I’m thinking it’s the lack of O2 initially in your solution back in the day when making booze myself I’d shake the solution vigorously( 5 minutes minimum) before pitching .
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I may have to resort to brewing again also if this covid 19 keeps shutting everything down here in CO
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You will be in great shape (trade goods wise) after the apocalypse.
What do you figure a pristine roll of TP will be worth ‘down the road’? half a zip? A quart of 95% 
Either way you will have it covered!
Cheers
G
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I have an old bottle of some sort of booze somewhere around here - we dont drink much. I’ll have to find it and check to see if the hydrometer is reading even close. I think I also have some old wine I can check. Will let you know.
I was afraid to taste the brew. Guess I could try a drop or two next time.
Im pretty sure I have at least some alcohol in it. I ran the still last night for about 2 hours, and I was freaking out because nothing was coming out! Then I realized I had screwed up when I made the copper coils - I had created air locks by not being sure the copper coils had a steady angle down. I let some of them go UP!
So I shut it down, but as I was taking the coils out of the bucket, I got quite a bit of liquid out. Maybe 1/4 of a cup. I havent tasted it, but Im pretty sure its methanol plus some alcohol. I watched the temperature as it rose in the pressure cooker and it paused at two points. First at about 155. Thats just above the boiling point of methanol. Then it stopped at about 180, which is just above the boiling point of the ethanol. I shut it down.after it had been sitting at 180 for maybe 15-20 minutes, so Im pretty sure I have some methanol/alcohol mix.
I spent the last two hours re-doing the coils and just re-started the still. Its just up to 100F so far.
Now that I have the temperature and sugar levels worked out to what my yeast likes, I think its ok. Seems to be working great now.
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I’d think that a nearly full ferment would almost drop to 1.0 or lower, water measures right at 1.000 so that would be a quick compare any others have experience on what final gravity of distilled spirts drop to ?
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