Mash Fermentation
You can make your mash from a wide variety of ingredients depending on your chosen brew. You can begin by dissolving granulated sugar (detailed quantity calculations are mentioned below) in warm water and your chosen ingredients while ensuring that there are no clumps of un-dissolved sugar left behind in the water. It is very important for all the sugar to be dissolved in water for effective fermentation. You should also remember that adding sugar to 25 liters of water will increase the volume of the water to well above 25 liters.
Yeast is added next to begin the fermenting process within the “dough” of water, sugar, and your chosen raw ingredients. While some people believe that baking yeast can be used to produce alcohol, you should remember that baking yeast will produce alcohols with barely 11-12% alcohol strength and that too with several impurities. We prefer using Turbo Yeast (Prestige Turbo Pure 48 is a sturdy and popular yeast) that delivers stronger and cleaner alcohols in larger quantities thanks to the presence of both micro and macro nutrients in this yeast.
How to get the Best Turbo Yeast in Australia
Australian regulations differ from those in the USA and Europe, and Australian companies are compelled to utilize yeasts with specific nitrogen nutrients. This, in turn compels alcohol enthusiasts to use double the average weight of yeast (around 200 to 300 gms) that also reduces the temperature tolerance levels by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius while causing stuck fermentation before 18% ABV is touched and even producing more off flavors in the process. If you have faced such problems then ensure that you ferment in regulated temperature settings that are below 25 degrees Celsius air temperature. One simple tip is to cool the fermentation vessel with a fan while monitoring the temperature constantly.
Another vital tip is that you should import top quality Turbo Yeast from allfreightfree.com on your own. This Swedish Turbo Yeast is offered by Gert Strand of Sweden and you will not find better quality yeast on this planet. We acknowledge that this yeast is the best simply because we too make high quality yeast by the name of Black Bull Turbo, which is the best in AU yeasts. We have tested Turbos from all over the globe and grudgingly admit that our very own Black Bull Turbo is the second best Turbo, however it is still the best in terms of prices/quality.
This fact is a proven one since Gert Strand himself purchases our Black Bull Turbo Yeast to re-sell it again to his importers whenever they are in search of good quality and competitively priced Turbo Yeast.
The reason that Australia has specific fermentation rules is that they do not want bad quality yeasts fermenting mashes with high levels of Ethyl-carbamate. However, as compared to other Australian Turbos, both Gert Strand’s (Prestige) Turbo yeast and our own Black Bull Turbo produce very low levels than those permitted in wines and other fermented mashes. Thus Australian alcohol hobbyists using ordinary quality AU Turbos will need to not only use double the quantity of yeast, but will also receive weak fermented mashes in return.
Detailed Calculations while using Turbo Yeast
Here are some simple calculations if you wish to produce a 25 Liter batch of alcohol at home. Since 17 gms of sugar mixed in 1 Liter of mash makes slightly over 1% alcohol, you will need to follow the calculations mentioned below to produce 25 Liters of alcohol with 18% alcohol by volume strength. Remember to use top-quality Turbo Yeast for fermentation.
25 Liters x 17 gms Sugar x 18% (25x17x18) = 7650 gms or 7.650 kg of sugar
If you use Turbo Yeast then you simply need to read the instructions on the packet that mention that 25 Liters requires 6 kg of sugar to produce 14.5% strength alcohol and using 8 kgs will produce alcohol with 18% or more strength.
You should try to use a wine bucket for fermentation since it is the most practical vessel and if you remove the upper basket then you can easily keep it upside down within your dishwasher for quick cleaning. You can also dissolve sugar easily in warm water in your chosen vessel by using a paint mixer or a mixer paddle or even an electric drill or a stave mixer.
While fermenting, care should be taken to maintain the sugar solution temperature to between 25 and 33 degrees Celsius when adding the yeast. However, some enthusiasts suggest fermenting at slightly lower temperatures while using Turbo Yeast to ensure a steady and slow start while avoiding overheating and reaching the killing temperature by way of runaway fermentation.
One important tip is to allow your mash to ferment for at least 2 to 5 days longer than stipulated by all brands of Turbo Yeast. This will reward you with a clearer mash as well as stronger alcohol.
Fermenting your mash using a wine bucket
Use the above calculations to pour the amount of warm water and sugar into your wine bucket. Use a stave mixer, electric drill, or paint mixer to thoroughly dissolve the granulated sugar into the warm water. Let the mixture stand for some time before repeating the process until you observe a clear mixture of sugar solution. You can add more water to achieve the desired volume. You should use a thermometer to ensure that the sugar solution temperature is lower than 38 degrees Celsius.
Now, blend in a packet of Prestige Turbo Yeast and stir continuously until the yeast dissolves in the sugar solution. Use a lid equipped with a fermentation lock with extra water and let the fermentation begin. You might notice water being blasted out of the fermentation lock initially, but that is merely due to quick fermentation and is nothing to worry about.
After the fermentation is over, then siphon off 4 Liters of clear mash using a siphon right into the EasyStill and begin the distillation process to make strong alcohols and spirits.
Using a 10 Liter Plastic Container to ferment 8 Liters of mash
Use a plastic container with Liter indicators or pour 8 Liters of water in a plastic container and mark the level for further reference. Empty the container and pour in 5 Liters of warm water in your 10 Liter container.
Add 2.5 kgs of granulated sugar to the warm water and screw the lid of the container. Begin shaking the container to dissolve the sugar and leave it aside for a little while.
You can now begin shaking the container once again and repeat the process until the sugar dissolves completely in the water, and displays a clear sugar solution.
Fill the balance amount in the container with cold water until you reach your 8 Liter marking. You should ensure that the mash temperature at this stage does not exceed 38 degrees Celsius by using a thermometer. You can then add a packet of Prestige Turbo Yeast and keep on shaking the container until the yeast blends in completely with the mash.
Again, screw the lid of the plastic container, but not before fitting a fermentation lock on it. Just as in a wine bucket, the mash might blast out of the fermentation lock during the first few days, but that is just due to rapid fermentation and nothing to worry about.
Once the fermentation process is completed, then siphon off 4 Liters of that mash by using a siphon and transfer it to the EasyStill to start the distilling process.
Order your EasyStill here