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Would you use this "molasses"?

Having a time finding any kind of molasses here in Central Florida which is odd because south of us is a HUGE sugarcane growing area (Smaug's area). Had my local feed store guy get me a 5 gal container. Looking at the label, there sure is a bunch of other crap besides molasses. Would you ferment this stuff? If so, what would you do to clean it up first if at all? Was going to use Buccaneer Bob's recipe so maybe the first step will help get some of the unwanted garbage out. Vegetable oil? Really???

Oh, and I'm no Rhodes scholar, but sure looks like more than 100% of ingredients. How is that possible?

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  • The vegetable oil will help reduce your puke problems...well it would have if it weren't for the addition of the lecithin, not sure what if any benefit you'll get from it now. The acids will help with your clarifying step. The extra sulfur from the sulfuric acid is unfortunate, your copper will be vital here...and likely fully black at the end of the run.

    The 74% dry matter also includes the sugars, normally the sugars in molasses is around 50% from memory so I hope you are able to get this cheap?

    Why not give it a crack it if it's cheap enough.

  • Well if you own it... take 2.5 gallons add 2 gallons of water to it in a big old pot and bring it to a boil add 2 teaspoons of table salt , stir it well then let it cool.... when it cold rack off the clear part and let the solids and other stuff stay in the bottom of the pot... add water to bring it up to 5 gallons. Leave some room in the fermenter as headspace. Stir the heck out of it to add air... add a teaspoon of epson salts or nutes, b vitamins if you so desire ... then add say 90 grams of bakers yeast... keep it at 85 to 90f . Loose lid the fermenter or air lock it... After about a week you should be completely fermented out...

    Distill it and see what you got... I would take it off the still in the 92 / 93 range untill you know what the taste profile is like

    have fun happy distilling

    FS

    ***This is a general guideline for unknown molasses. Once you see what you have then you and adjust it for personal preference or never run it again.... :))

  • edited January 2015

    Find a commercial restaurant supply, many of the good ones will have the good stuff (Grade A Light/Fancy) in gallon jugs (4 gallon cases), and may have the top grades plus some unsulphured blackstrap in 5-6 gallon pails. If they have both, you can blend to your wallet's desire (the good stuff is EXPENSIVE). If it's something like a Restaurant Depot, you'll need a tax id to open up an account, otherwise if it's a small one, just tell them your name is "Cash Sale", they never turn that guy down. :)) I think the brand I remember seeing was "Golden Barrel", and I recall it was pretty cheap, but I think they are semi-local.

    You need to hunt around. I'd have thought finding bulk molasses in NJ would be difficult, little did I realize that International Molasses was 15 minutes from me: Molasses For Rum @ International Molasses

  • International Molasses has a $150 minimum if you want to order from them send me a pm and i can provide the salesmans number and email add for you USA only i guess ... they also have LME and DME single grain and blends...

    Happy Stillin

    FS

  • Check if there's any Gordon's Food Service in your area. Non-membership walk on bulk place. (www.gfs.com) They have some blackstrap unsulphured molasses. I've done 2 ru(m)ns with them and they came out nice.

  • SASSAS
    edited January 2015

    In the US you can purchase from Web Restaurant Store for $36.99 and unknown shipping. Just molasses nothing else.

    Product: Golden Barrel 5 Gallon Sulfur-Free Supreme Baking Molasses @ WebstaurantStore

    Spec Sheet: Golden Barrel Supreme Baking Molasses (PDF) @ WebstaurantStore

  • Do bear in mind though that this whole molasses issue seems to have got out of context.

    The only reason for historical use of molasses is because it was locally available, cheap and in unlimited supply.

    If you have to go looking for it you might as well use a more available raw cane sugar (or panella) and just add a bit of more refined catering grade treacle for the flavour.

    Its just a cost and availability question. I haven't done a side by side flavour test though because I haven't actually used "propper" molasses myself.

    Even the agricultural feed molasses available here seems to be a bit more refined than what I think they used in the past. There is quite a wide range in the sugar content of molasses and I am not even sure what the origional molasses was like.

    I suspect the sugar content of real molasses is fairly low compared to our feed grade and a lot lower than our catering grade treacle.

    What should "molasses" be?

  • It should work ok, I'd put raw sugar with it to raise the abv. Let the shit in it settle after its finished, rack it for a week or so. I use fancy Myles, that's about the best you can get here, it's 58% sugar.

  • edited January 2015

    I've switched to food grade too.
    The price wasn't much more once I found commercial suppliers.
    Find a chef and ask him who the big local dry goods suppliers are.
    Then ask them what they can sell you. Bakers supply's might stock drums of molasses too.

    On another note, does anyone pretreat?
    Been trying to follow this (PDF)
    I'm hoping with the food grade stuff I can get away without the pretreatments.
    I found all sorts of crap in the stock food stuff I've been using so far.

  • edited January 2015

    The refinery doesn't extract sucrose any lower than 50%. The remaining potential yeild does not justify the expense.

    Anything labeled below 50% has been diluted and likely has preservatives added since mold can't hardly touch a 50%. This is the molasses often found in the feed store. Typically diluted to 30-33% sugars.

    Be mindful however that some propanoic / propionic acid is unavoidable since adding a propanol slurry to the centrifuge is the most common way to grow sugar crystals.

    Any food grade is fine. Taste it and your tongue will tell you no pretreatment should be needed.

    50% is gawd awful and only a small dab on your tongue is just not good...but will ferment a good heavy rum beer.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • Thanks guys.

    I'm gonna use it and will report how it goes.

  • daddad
    edited January 2015

    $5usd shipping and you're not shipping water!

    Molasses Powder 25 pounds @ Bulkfoods

    DAD... not yours.. ah, hell... I don't know...

  • Dad how does that taste?

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • We use it in everything, bread, rum, cookies, rum, muffins, rum,...

    It is food grade dried powder meant for professional bakers.

    I have a spec sheet for it, but of course can't find it. I think it was 50% sugar. The site should have one somewhere.

    The spec sheet tells how to mix it to match other brands. I just do it to taste now.

    Mostly I do a sugar wash and substitute this for about 1/4 for of the sugar.

    Like other molasses, yeast loves the stuff. It makes bread rise a whole lot faster.

    The rum from it is a bit more oily/buttery than the sorghum I've been trying lately.

    DAD... not yours.. ah, hell... I don't know...

  • Sounds like a good alternative.

    Is it really "powdered"? Do you know how they do that?

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • I had never even considered it but a quick google check shows that you can get spray dried honey and spray dried molasses.

  • The Baker's molasses is powdered. Ground or sifted very fine.

    I had looked at spray dried garden molasses before. And if it is the stuff from a feed store, it has almost all of the sugar removed.

    DAD... not yours.. ah, hell... I don't know...

  • Update:

    As some have predicted, I think that the propionic acid has had its way with my yeast; after 24 hours there is very little if any fermentation going on. Anything I can do to save this wash?

  • Is your beer still sweet? Or now tasting dry?

    Have you been monitoring fermentation temps.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • @Smaug said: Is your beer still sweet? Or now tasting dry?

    Have you been monitoring fermentation temps.

    Still VERY sweet. Yeast went in at 90 degrees and the recipe (Buccaneer Bob's) calls for it to be left in a cool place. Temp is now 75 with virtually no action.

  • I've put a heating blanket on it to try and get it back a little warmer. Maybe that will help

  • The propionic acid is there to create an acid atmosphere that mold or yeast can't survive.

    Did you boil or heat to invert the sugar? Did you or can you check the ph?

    Propionic acid is miscible with water, but can be removed from water by boiling, adding salt or calcium hydroxide. I'll bet adding calcium carbonate to rectify ph to 4.5-5.5 fixes this.

    Never throw a mash or wash out.

    DAD... not yours.. ah, hell... I don't know...

  • PH problem perhaps?

  • Not what I would call a fast ferment

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  • @FloridaCracker - how did you get it started? What yeast? I'm having a bucket that is now fermenting for a couple of weeks and it doesn't seem to significantly drop in SG. Checked PH already and adjusted to 5, re-pitched bread yest (once dry and once with a starter) still only minimal fermentation

  • Like a clown, I didn't record an SG because I always thought that molasses was too thick and wouldn't give a correct reading. Didn't check the Ph either. I basically did this:

    6 gallons of molasses approx 20 gallons of water 1 cup boiled yeast for nutrients about 1/4 cup of yeast trub that I had in the fridge about 6 pinches of citric acid 1 cup active dry yeast (Red Star baking)

    I got the water to a boil, poured it onto the molasses and added everything else. Stirred and left it for 3 hours. Racked it but found very little in the way of "thick" stuff at the bottom. Added water in a spray to get wash aerated. Re-hydrated the yeast in a 1/2 gallon jar with some of the wash at 90 degrees. Noticed right away that the yeast didn't really take off but I poured it in anyway. On all of my other washes, the yeast really takes off. Stirred it all up, loosely capped it and 24 hours later it looked like the picture; not what I had heard to expect.

  • You can still check the ph...I bet it's too acid.

    If so, you can correct it and it will take off.

    DAD... not yours.. ah, hell... I don't know...

  • @Unsensibel taste it and see if its still sweet. the sg is off with molasses like @FloridaCracker said.

  • I will check the Ph, Dad. I left it in the garage on Thursday and won't be able to check it until Sunday as I am out of town. I'll report what I find. If the Ph is acidic, what do you recommend to bring it up? Total volume is about 25 gallons.

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