TPW very slow start is this normal??

gizzer48

I have a 50 ltr wash 10 kg sugar two teaspoons of citric acid, quarter teaspoon of magnesium sulphate, 500 grams tomato paste,started at 1070 SG , temps 22 degrees 24 hours in and very little happening is this the norm? Also I'm using city water with a start ph of 7 could the water be an issue eg chlorine ect ect??

FloridaCracker

Yeast?

gizzer48

Ec 1118 dried 10 grams sorry forgot to mention that

bachman

Did you aerated? How old is the yeast? It could possibly be the chlorine, if you have used the same water supply in the past, then it probably is not the water. What was the pitching temp? Did you rehydrate or pitch on top of wort.

AceNZ

First, no, that's not the norm. My last TPW was actively bubbling at the blow-off tube after 20 minutes.

Possible problems:

• 10 g EC-1118 seems very low for TPW. The recipe calls for about 130 g baker's yeast for a 50 L wash. Starting with much less might work out, though it would definitely mean a slower start.
• 2 tsp of citric acid seems high, particularly with city water at pH 7. The recipe calls for about 3 tbsp pulp-free lemon juice, and city water is normally somewhat above 7. That would very roughly be the same as about 1 tsp citric acid. Have you measured your final pH?
• What kind of tomato paste? Any ingredients other than tomatoes?
• Chlorine, aeration and temp might also be issues, as mentioned above.

Sunshine

I always hydrate the yeast in about 200ml 35° Celsius water, put a teaspoon of white powder sugar into it, wait about 30 minutes, when it is foaming a lot I dilute the yeast with a cup of wash, which is also 35° warm, the wash and the yeast should have nearly the same temperature. Then everything goes into the fermenter and off it goes. PH is mostly at 4, I use citric acid granulate for TPW. Never had any problems with fermenting so far.

Sunshine

fermentation starts immediately, forgot to say.

gizzer48

what is the best way aerate the wash effectively?

Smaug

Best way?

Can blast it with Gramma's oxygen bottle or simply pour from bucket to bucket from a height. Can also mix with a drill motor and mixing paddle.

FloridaCracker

What I do is after the sugar has been dissolved with hot water, I take my garden hose with 2 inline filters attached and blast away into the barrel. Once the level is where I want it, I check the temp and if good (I've gotten good at knowing how much hot and cold to add) I then pitch the yeast. I have also seen a guy who has cool single malt videos (The Doctor) use a hand held mixer to aerate the wash. The kind with the blades at the end.

BourbonJunkie

@gizzer48 said: ...two teaspoons of citric acid,... 500 grams tomato paste

Hi @gizzer48, These days doing a tomato paste wash I find the tomato paste I am using is more than acidic enough to pull the pH down to the middle to low 5's range, and I am only using 500gm of tomato paste in around 100 litres of wash. The tomato paste I am using is a cheap home brand paste from one of the major supermarkets. I gave up using citric acid because I personally don't believe it is needed as far as the pH is concerned. I find that within 24 to 36 hours of the yeast firing up the pH of the wash is down to between 3.0 and 3.3 pH.

@gizzer48, I would also check the "Best Before Date" (BBD) on the yeast packet to make sure it is reasonably fresh....

FullySilenced

A drill and a paint mixer is my preferred choice for batches up to 30 gallons... However a fish tank bubbler and a stone works it you leave it in there for a long enough period of time...

fadge

Every tpw wash l have done will ferment out, but definitely different depending on abinent temps and wash temp after l top up with the handy garden hose. Some take less than 10 days then clear in one or two, others take 4 or 6 weeks. I don't test pH or add citric very often. Bakers yeast does the job so far. Easy to buy and don't do anything but pitch dry. It's a easier wash that dies not fusk up at all.

Makes a fair-good neutral if run right.

Fadge