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Uncle Jesses batch slow to drop SG-Help please
Hey all, I started my first Uncle Jesses run about 2 weeks ago and it was going really well. It started out a 1.3 and has only dropped to 1.2 SG in 2 weeks. When I tested it it has 0 alcohol content, what is my issue?
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You cannot use an alcometer to test a wash, only a hydrometer.
The most common cause of slow washes is low temperature. It should be in the high twenties/low thirties celcius.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
Its been sitting around the 28 degree mark, thank for the reply @punkin.
Take a shot - does it taste sweet, sour, or dry?
And what do you mean by 1.3? Is it 1.13?
Hey @grim the hydrometer is reading 1.020 right now and it tastes sour.
what was your reading at start? sour is good, means the yeast was working. you might still be stuck. Did you use and nutrients?
It started out at 1.030 and I only used corn, sugar and water.
I'd be checking your hydrometer if you used the recipe. Should be up around 1.080 to 1.100.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
1.030 sounds way off on start. Did use use the right amount of sugar? Did you use any amylase to work the corn starch? @punkin is right should be around 1.080 or at the very least in the 1.050 range for proper alcohol conversion.
At what temp was the the hydrometer checked?
need more info to help.
How much water / corn / sugar / anything else? Yeast used including quantity - was it fresh? What was the pitching temp?
Can you describe your process? What have you observed - right from the start to now? did it form a cap? was an airlock used? was it blooping? etc etc
Given the recipe was a dry corn macerated rum, 1.03 to 1.02 with sour taste after 2 weeks tells me that either a lacto infection from the uncooked corn won out over the yeast, or the yeast never got a chance to get started at all.
While the SG was too low, indeed, it still should have very quickly fermented dry, like 2 days quick, with a 4.4% alcohol if it got below 1.000.
I'm with @crozdog - What was the yeast pitch temp, and how much yeast was pitched into what volume liquid. Seems likely that the yeast never got a chance. If they did, they'd be done pretty fast.
7Kg for cracked corn, 7 KG of sugar and the sugar was dissolved in 5l of hot water. I then added 35 litres of warm water to the corn and sugar and the final temp was 38 degrees Celsius. The fermentation started with in 2 hours and a corn cap was formed, the fermentation lasted about 8 days then it slowed down. I have had the mash at a steady 28.8 degrees through out the process. I did not add any yeast to this mash, thank for all the help. Cheers Jett fuel
No air lock was used, should I be using a airlock?
There you go, it fermented, but it was a lacto fermentation (think sauerkraut, not whiskey). Dry corn is covered in various bacteria. Dump the batch, sanitize your equipment, and try again using yeast. I wouldn't waste the time and energy to try to run it, or save the batch. No worries though, you've made a few billion bacteria very happy! It's difficult to get a clean wild fermentation without sterilizing your mash.
on your SECOND run you won't need yeast but definitely do on the first.
Totally agree with @grim & @FloridaCracker.
As 7 kg sugar in 40L will give you a SG of about 1.067, you might want to consider your hydro & how you used it.
they are typically calibrated at 20°C but are usually marked inside - some are at 15°C. did you measure at that temp - or the 38°C pitch temp? you may need to temp correct your readings - or let it cool to the calibration temp. Does your hydo read 1.000 in plain water at the calibration temp??
FYI, using an online correction calculator I get your 1.030 measurement as being 1.035 corrected. So comparing this to the 1.067 that you should have read, I'd guess you also had a mixing issue.
download some brewing software or use the online versions to get an idea of what you're targeting, so when you measure, you know if things are good or not.
Im going the other way, If it tastes sour and dry, not sweet, there is a good chance its ready to go. Run it..what do you have to loose?