Fermenting
Fermentation times will vary with how much sugar is used, the ambient temperature you are
fermenting in and if you are using a heater or not.
•6kg of dextrose at 25 degrees will ferment in 48 hours
•9kg of dextrose at 20 degrees will take 10 to 14 days
A fermenting temperature of 20-24 degrees will produce the cleanest wash.
Some points to note:
•When the yeast is first added to the wash in a warm environment, the fermentation is
very active and may blow the water out of the airlock. To prevent a mess, fit the airlock
after 2 days when the fermentation has slowed.
•If the temperature is too low (less than 20 degrees), the fermentation may stop, get the
wash to a warmer position or fit a heater belt or pad, stir well and fermentation should
restart.
•If the temperature is too hot (above 30 degrees), the yeast will become stressed and
produce “off” flavours, if the temperature gets above 35 degrees the yeast will die and
fermentation will stop.
•If fermentation gets “stuck” e.g. fermentation has stopped and will not restart, take a
hydrometer reading:
oIf the reading is below or near 0.990
(as shown on the photo) preferably at
the 80, the wash has finished
fermenting.
oIf the reading is significantly higher
than the photo, e.g. above the 1.006
green section, the fermentation is
“stuck”, and remedial action needs to
be taken.
•To restart a stuck fermentation, do not add
another packet of turbo yeast, there is a
measured amount of nutrient in each pack
and adding more increases the pH of the
wash, and unless the pH is lowered the wash can produce a spirit with a blue tinge.
•Use a champagne yeast from your local home brew store, it will take a lot longer to
finish fermenting, up to an additional 10 days.
