SUGAR WASH WON'T FERMENT OR HAS STOPPED

[@StillIt]

Ahhhh the old stuck fermentation! Definitely not fun to find a wash stuck. And you are right George, it's definitely a common mistake for the newer chasers of the craft. Cheers mate.

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

You bet!

[@allabout4019]

Holy moly, split it, finally I know what to do! Thank you 😊 I followed rum recipe in a book before discovering your videos. (1gal water, 3lbs brown sugar, yeast (1pkg)). It keeps stalling, I stir it. Tastes sweet still, but yeasty and only slight alcohol smell. Been fermenting for 16 days. Watching this video helps me know what to do or at least try.

[@edgrock1]

Hey G .... you were quite nice to me when I sent you an e-mail talking about this very issue and my impatients. you said I hit A homerun you were being a kind mentor. I get it now totally !!! we have limits to function within...... AND!!!! what goes on during/after the fermintation is just as important as what goes on after the distillation. recently I have become very partial to oats and toasted french oak chips..... you are the guru keep going. put all the knowledge you can out there. You can call me a fan boy if you want but I've tested his concepts and this guy is on point!!!

[@SatTracker]

I have to say this was a great visual experiment with little room for debate on the content. Much appreciated.

[@scottdesart275]

I have been doing it wrong for years. Since I discovered your videos a few months back, my final product has been much better, more smooth, less harsh. I’ll be calling you in a month or so to see if you can build my a PID. That’s a whole new world

[@cinemalego]

Great videos and great manner of education! As a european who uses the metric system, I also appreciate the conversions you've made. Keep it up!

[@williamarmstrong7199]

The best sense spoken on the subject by anyone. Brilliant stuff.

[@dixonjames4177]

Happydistilling George! Thanks again for another great one!! Saw the sign on the floor for the live show on April 4th at 7:00 central and hope everyone will be there. Thanks for what you do!!

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

Very cool!

[@JesusisJesus]

George, I’ve had the opposite happen also. I put 1 pack of turbo yeast in a 60 litre fermenter thinking the yeast will multiply out and I’ll get a great 60 litre barrel. Well, it took 2 weeks to ferment to 10% abv and it stopped dead. Distilled it and I reckon I could’ve chucked it back in the fermenter with another bag of turbo. I have learned my lesson, I now have 2 25 litre fermenters and stick to the damn recipe, and magically, it works!

[@scottyweimuller6152]

Get some dady and thank me later. Turbo yeast is alright mainly for sugar washes but I just don't care for the product afterwards. %10 abv is pretty decent also %11 to %12 is what I aim for but every wash is different than the one before so if you get %10 its fine. Can I ask what you were distilling? Im also a firm believer of 2 pounds of sugar per gallon and I always add a few more pounds just to make the yeast happy but 2 ppg is a good rule of thumb to go by. Happy distilling buddy and keep on distilling. 🤘

[@craigreynolds2539]

Thanks George! You saved my stuck batch. All she needed was a little warmth and a gentle swirl. My first instinct when it stopped was to add more sugar or yeast, I’m very glad I consulted the Oracle first! This is THE go to channel if you want to properly understand brewing and distilling, thanks again George.

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

Glad it helped

[@erindrummond398]

Thanks George, explaining it in terms of the minimum water requirement for yeast to survive is super helpful

[@marccampbell312]

ah thanks so much for this video George, I have been wondering why you cant just add more sugar and yeast to a wash and you have just explained it so, so clearly, thanks a million mate, well done

[@clivenorwell8388]

Thanks George, you've helped me out with my Ribena wine, forgot to take into account the sugar in the juice consentrate, split it, added water and now it's on the move, I love watching your video's and all the technical advise you offer, Thank you for all that you have done and will do in the future, your a star.

[@rakeshkchauhan]

There is one important point which needs to be elaborated is that the process of fermentation produces methanol and ethanol both. The methanol is poisonous even fatal whereas the ethanol is the alcohol desired. The point is, after complete fermentation, how much methanol is present in percentage and how much ethanol and other ingredients ( water etc).

[@ptzish]

I really love your channel. It's incredible how many people just don't listen to you. You spend a ton of time just telling people to listen. Just ignore them and keep doing your magic. You can't save everyone.

[@hacgarimman9660]

Thanks for this George. Had two stalls. Turbo pure and carbon. One 6kg. The other 7. Both above 1.100 and both stalled around 1.020. Added a little DADY which didn't shift it but .002 or so points. Tried adding 3 extra liters to each 21ltr batch and within 24 hours was nicely bubbling away again! Should get to run it very soon! Thanks buddy! Glad to see you are back with new videos x

[@ianirvingthorsonc]

So nice to see the difference in volume caused by more sugar and why it changes SG🙆

[@chrisgrocott4747]

top value his bloke knows what he is talking about reminds me of Professor Julies Summer Miller. thanks George

[@dj.3397]

George says ,,,,, Give that a try and let me know how that works out ! Love it !!!!!!!!! Lol.😂😂😂

[@axilla4877]

Thanks George! Glad your still making vids!! saw the shop closed, Happy to still see you!!

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

Thanks 👍

[@MartinPHellwig]

Yup, I dare to say that everyone at first is chasing the ABV, most people after a while will revert to chasing the taste instead. No point having a liquid that is only good for cleaning glassware.

[@PoppaLongroach]

i mash all grain with no sugar at all. i much prefer taste over quantity.

[@TechGorilla1987]

With IPA being completely unavailable in my area and it being $35 a quart on Amazon for technical grade, there is an equal need to have a thirst quenched AND clean glassware. I'm a dabbers best friend with anhydrous ethanol. Molecular sieves after a fractional distillation keeps it right.

[@vtbn53]

@@PoppaLongroach Put through a reflux still it will make very little difference.

[@a133m210]

@@TechGorilla1987 ❤️👍🏽

[@CowboyNation1977]

Except when trying to make something to infuse with or mix with.

[@justinavery4047]

This was the most informative video I have watched with wine making. I am glad I watched it. Thank you for making it. I will not try for High ABV anymore it is not worth it.

[@BrightRaven777]

Thank you for focusing on freedom units.

[@adamshine5]

Next expirement, start out at 2 lbs pg. then after the gravity comes down, see how much suger you can add in later and get a high abv, and good tasting outcome.

[@jansearle5088]

Great info as usual! I use 14 lbs/6gal so I use all of the packaged sugar up. 1 10lb bag of sugar & 1 4lb bag. No weighing the sugar & no left over sugar to store. I use turbo yeast I make & have no problems getting full fermentation.

[@lilymcalister1825]

Great little video George!! I have a stalled wash so last night I racked it and strained the black cherry pieces out of it. I pitched a 2nd yeast this morning and added a little water. So far there's a only a little, little bit of foam on top but no active activity to the eyes. If it remains like this I will split it and add more water in a couple of days. Its weird because the fermentation in the beginning was so bloody incredible!! Fingers crossed I hope I can correct whatever is wrong with it. It tastes too sweet so I know it isn't through fermentin. I origionally put 3 cups brown sugar to the 1 gallon wash in the beginning. So I dont think I over did it. Hmmm, hopefully I'll get to the bottom of it and fix it. Happy distilling!!🍷Cheers!!

[@Liesl_Cigarboxguitar]

Goerge I love your channel. You explain everything so well. This video has become my go to for all my brew calculations now. I am very new to this,thanks for putting the values in metric as well as imperial measurements. I can work with pounds and pints as well as grams and millilitres, but yeah I can do metric quicker in my head Cheers mate ! 👍

[@patmancrowley8509]

Thanks, George. Another fantastic presentation!

[@johnsteger8326]

Talk about right on time! I'm currently dealing with this situation (last night). Everything was going great and all of the sudden... STOPPED!!! I was using a tried and true recipe, however with additional 3 lbs of molasses. which in turn put me over that "healthy environment" for my little friends do what they do best. they were happy for a few days, then BAM!! Screeching halt at 1.060 ...... Time to give them some more water, they must be "PARCHED" LOLI ALWAYS know where to turn for straight forward answers.Thanks again for your insightful, knowledge and delivery of such wisdom!! You are brilliant!! Cheers my friend!

[@donnawallace9640]

How can anyone give George a thumbsdown? How dare they.

[@frank64409]

Excellent demonstration George.

[@jongollop6227]

You're teaching is top class

[@moparmagic8169]

George you have just solved my stalling problem

[@Voodoo8648]

GAWD your videos and your personality is AMAZING and Addictive to watch!. Just started my first batch a little over 48 hours ago and found the fermentation slowed down a lot... I opened it up and found the gravity to be back down to below 1.000. I added more sugar and brought back up to around 1.045. Hopefully I'll get my targeted 18% - 20%!

[@timhicks7482]

So Simple . Why did I not understand . Not Enough Water = To Much Sugar . Thank You George

[@The_Prankster]

I would've liked to see the results of splitting the fourth jar and adding half the volume of water, but I'll take your word for George.

[@TheMrpiggyboy]

George it was great to see the examples. At my house the sweet spot is around 1.085 sg that is 2. something lbs per gallon u.s. It is always so much fun when it works.

[@cryptoponics]

As always George, a beautifully educational video. Always learning and thinking about things based on your insightful content. :)

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

Many thanks!

[@davehennick9856]

You are utterly the man! I can follow u well and never thought of this even for a moment. Thankyou!

[@capt.caveman4602]

Collecting Hart's for the first time after 1 failed attempt...Thanks for all your help Blue flame never looked so good.

[@dannymeadowswa6mqz212]

I really like your whisky and music Fantastic.

[@patrickg.6438]

On this sugar wash won’t ferment at about 11:45 min into it have you seen the clarity between each ? The one that looked cloudy seems to do the best. Could the wash , mash , wart … be done by clarity to change the final product such as flavor accent ? Before yeast is added ? Like gasoline is done by color to create octane grades ? O ya one more question can I use grass clippings from my yard to make spirits 😝😆😂 sorry couldn’t help it . Your doing a great job I have to watch the videos several times to let it all sink in thank you for the time and effort

[@oojimmyflip]

I got 2lbs per gallon in five gallons of my first ever sugar wash , it has stalled twice , two table spoons of lemon juice fixed it the first time and increasing the temperature 1 degree C fixed it the second time , fermentation has been running 9 days in all and the hydrometer reads 21 % alcohol and it still fermenting all be it more slowley now .

[@DiegoRodriguez-pr1bf]

Hi George- Great experiment. I think you are especially correct to point out at the end that each person needs to figure this out for their process. As you know different yeasts have different alcohol tolerance levels. I don't have access to DADY and the brewing yeast I use has an alcohol tolerance of 9%-11%. So, while you are able to have a starting gravity target of 1.090 I need to stay below 1.080. I discovered that if I exceed the potential alcohol with too high of a starting gravity I get really vigorous fermentation that stops rather quickly. So, it ends up being counterproductive and my wash ends up with a low ABV. The environment is no longer correct for that yeast to continue fermenting when the starting gravity is above the maximum for the yeast. I think this is really good to know because I have a small still and I want to get as much final product while retaining flavor as possible because this is a lot of time and effort. The difference can be as much as only getting one bottle vs. three bottles of final product. You have to learn and understand all of the different inputs to get the output you desire. There's been trial and error for me. Happy Distilling.

[@rivenmain2175]

now i understand why i had 50 liters of fruit wine stuck :*( thank you so much i subscribed!! diluted my brew and its fermenting like mad now!!! ty!

[@personanongrata6981]

George is the Bob Ross of brewing and distilling.

[@countryboycharlie9793]

George I have watch a lot of your videos.i have heard u always talk about cleaning and sanitation... take a hydrometer reading before pitching and I do.. put airlock on I’m thinking what u always say about oxygen not good.. I’m thinking try to keep oxygen out. It always stop 🛑..after doing it and redoing it 12lbs 15lbs etc. I took 18lbs of dextrose with Mile Hi 48 hr turbo yeast with 6 1/2 gals of water... i learned before pitch yeast stir or introduce lots of oxygen and I stir yeast and more oxygen. SG 1.100 and FG mark above 0.990 and I like to know how to read them numbers above as well. Another great video 👍❤️

[@crazymorales9170]

The most successful fermentation i did was a tea shine i used 2.5 lbs per gallon i did 2 gallons and got a full 750ml of really high proof use hillbillly calculator on google great measuring system my second most successful one was a corn beer mix did 2 and a half gallons got over 750ml and i used 2lbs per gallon cause i got the starch to turn into sugar so i didnt need as much thank you George for all you great work HappyDistiling

[@henryshooch7554]

Great video once again George.

[@kevineastwood8701]

Great video. Well presented and informative!

[@paulkazjack]

4.5 litres in a gallon. Superb video on this subject.

[@skh4113]

Hi. I first should thank you sir for your super great tutorials. 🙏⚘ Second i want to know what is the exact best and optimum water-yeast ratio for one liter of water if we use 120 grams of sugar to be exact? Thanks in advance

[@jeffjarry4257]

Great information George thank you. Are you a school teacher on the side lol. Thanks for sharing.

[@chuckmilligan7824]

If I had high school teachers like him I probably would have gone on to higher education and been somebody

[@4dsdronefootage299]

As always great advice George, you are the best teacher on youtube

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

Wow, thanks!

[@doobie3278]

I’ve always had a problem starting off my yeast by just pouring my yeast in a jar with a bunch of sugar. Now this makes a lot of sense why my yeast doesn’t take off right.

[@jeremyjarvis3368]

Safety is number 1 These beginner series videos are the best George thank you sir. Would adding the sugar is batches over the fermentation period allow the yest to stay hydrated. For example add 1lb/gallon initially and then later (when appropriate) add another 1lb/ gallon? Repeating this process.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

That's called step feeding. And yes it is possible.

[@John-lc2lz]

Excellent video, much appreciated 👍

[@gorethegreat]

Well done George!!

[@martybernier9313]

Excellent video as always, George.

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

Many thanks!

[@kd6tas]

Specific to sugar washes is the fact that there is nothing to buffer the acid that is a byproduct of fermentation. This causes the pH to decrease (crash) and fermentation to slow to a crawl or stop entirely (stall). Add in a little calcium carbonate or baking soda and fermentation restarts or increases. With sugar washes pH is not as simple as set it and forget it. This video should be edited to include this information.

[@MrJudahdan]

7gal fermentation tank 17lb sugar 3 frozen grape juice cans . 1packet quick yeast plus 1/3 cup of regular yeast. Immediately started burping and has been pumping steady for the last two weeks. it has slowed down, but it is still bubbling .I am going on complete faith and hope . how long does it usually take? Should I rock the still or wait a couple more days ?

[@cryptoponics]

Patience is the best principle. Let the ferment complete all the way. Give the fermenter a good swirl stir and see if CO2 is still collecting. Let it ferment until the CO2 stops thereby maximizing your conversion. Also, give it a quick taste. If it is sweet let it run longer until the flavor sours. When the taste is sour the conversion is complete. Oh, also check your hydrometer.... a change in reading over 24 hours means it is still fermenting and needs more time. Each batch is unique and is dependent upon pH, temperature, dissolved sugar content, etc. The principles outlined above should help you figure out when it is complete and ready for separation and then the still. If it seems done but is still sweet in flavor add a little bit more water or split if necessary. #happydistilling :)

[@ciscovanschaik7861]

Good one George - Thanks for that. Did indeed have too much sugar (32 Brix), added to that a PH of 3.... Got it going again by splitting & diluting to 25 Brix and raising the PH to 4.5 with Baking soda. Oi...

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

Nice work!

[@steveroush425]

I’ve learned a lot from your videos George keep up the great work. I do have a question I want to make homemade caramel sauce white sugar heavy cream and butter, Will this ferment Without adding extra white sugar? I don’t know if the cream and butter would mess with the yeast.

[@top6ear]

Great teacher

[@jimbrock8310]

George makes it make sense because he plans the result he is looking for and then plans backwards on how to achieve that goal. Just like planning an op order!

[@mattcero1]

I added sugar to my final 155 F rest at about the 20 minute mark. Was that a mistake? I'm brewed 8.5 lbs of corn and 2 lbs of 6 row and pulled them off at about 157F. Thank you.

[@adamsmerek8880]

great video.... keep up good work George

[@katebovski6947]

The problem is with the osmosis the fluid on the outside of the yeast needs to be less viscous than the fluid inside the yeast. The solution is add the sugar as it is needed if you are doing 5 gallons split it into 3 gallons with 3lbs of sugar the second container has 2 gallons with 17lbs of sugar and no yeast or nutrients you then slowly add the 2 gallons into the the fermentation over the time the fermentation lasts(normally 4 days) ideally keeping the the level at 1lbs per gallon. You will find you will get a quicker fermentation this way and still get full strength. If you are stilling off 5 gallons of 20% you will use about half the electricity as stilling 10 gallons of 10%. Give it a try.

[@paulkazjack]

Nice one kate😉

[@Paora42]

Hi George, This is very timely for me also. I too have fallen into the trap of adding too much sugar, which has in turn caused the ferment to stall. If I split the wash in two with more water, I would assume I will need more yeast also? (or will the old yeast suffice?) Your videos rock by the way. Keep it up!

[@timg2776]

Temperature has been my biggest struggle. I get my basement to play in and it's always 58 - 60° F Using aquarium heater has been best investment. Thanks George for that video btw. #Happydistilling

[@jethrob258]

Wrap it with a blanket is what I have done. Works well for me.

[@patmancrowley8509]

Yeah, I thought the aquarium heater was an absolutely fantastic idea! George is an amazing guy.

[@LestonDr]

Brilliant idea!

[@billyblue922]

Thank you for sharing all this info - and for not mixing up those lids :) .

[@rondonelson9620]

BIG shout out to you oh wizard of distilling . just wanted to say thanks for your Vids , you saved me again . I got greedy and tried 16lbs in 5 gals not remembering the rule so of coarse NO fermentation . Then I went back rewatched this vid followed it and presto both carboys are bubbling away . thanks.

[@jasongannon7676]

Great demonstration, can't think of a argument for that one.

[@rocketsroc]

Got to also keep in mind that if doing a fruit or grain mash these will increase the sugar level. As George says, monitor the mash build so if you add sugar keep the final soecific gravity below 1.100.

[@stevegriffin2302]

Thanks George. A pleasant distraction today! Enjoy and appreciate every single video. Thanks for your time!

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

My pleasure!

[@danielpahoundis6321]

I must say George you are correct about more sugar not being a good thing...I just added a extra pound of sugar per gallon and I'm not impressed at all...the still is running the wash much slower,and at a lower proof...the liquor is sweeter bit not stronger and not much here so I'm heading back to 2 pounds a gallon for sure...thanks again for the explanation and I can see what I've done wrong here thanks to your knowledge bud.... happy distilling

[@elusive323]

Your right,I had too much sugar in there,I split the container into two then added water to one,watched this video and by the time i added more water to the other container,number 1 was starting to bubble again,thank you man from the deep south of New Zealand.

[@richardwalkden6349]

Sir I recall using glycerine in a blended spirit which was “harsh” and it turned a treat. We ended up drinking the whole bottle that evening!!

[@mrkeopele]

Thank You. I have fermented near 150 gallons of honey meade in the last few years, and then last year i purchased a 3 pot still, (Chinese), so, I am on a ferment now that i will possibly distill... my still is live fire heated, and i will use ice as the assisted coolant for condensation. By your appearance on a couple videos i've seen, you have much desired experience i could benefit from. Would you possibly recommend some of your videos on my first distillation, with a 3 pot gas fired still, times and temps , things to watch for?

[@jdoedoenet]

We love ya George! Hugs from Australia mate.

[@Jeff-xz5ww]

George just started hope u r good u r the professor

[@PlattR]

Great little experiment, really brings the concept home.

[@kellyclydesdale2836]

This just explained all my problems!! Thank you!! 🍻CHEERS!🍻

[@highergroundfarm7527]

Perfect timing. I have just this issue sitting in one of my rooms now. 15 lbs of sugar in 5.5 gallons is now stuck about halfway through. Sounds like I'll be splitting them and see where it goes. Thanks for sharing with us. #HappyDistilling

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

You got this!

[@340wbymag]

This has been an illuminating video! Thank you for such a wonderful explanation.

[@121hearc]

I'm so glad I watched this video I tried my first peach mash and it had a violent reaction the first 2 days then stopped I was gonna just write it off as a failure and run it to see what I could get out of it.. split it and made it into 2 r gal mash and the fermentation instantly restarted. Thanks for all you do

[@jeffclark9500]

Once I learned to step feed wine properly, the rest became very easy to understand. Cheers, with a glass of black cherry wine!

[@edlong8387]

I would note that there isn't only a difference in water available to the yeast in this test, but there is also a difference in oxygen available to the yeast in each jar. The more sugar you put into the water the less oxygen the water is able to hold per volume leaving less oxygen for the yeast to use as well. I was reading about commercial setups yesterday and their use of oxygen pumped into the fermentation during fermenting to aid and speed the process. Is there any way to do this test and cancel out the differences in oxygen saturation in each mixture? Otherwise this experiment is showing the effects of "both" water shortage "and" oxygen shortage in the higher sugar concentrations rather than just water shortage.

[@toddbiskupiak7170]

And now, video part 2, adding water to jars 3& 4 and watch them go!

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

I wish I thought of that.

[@hunn1580]

This is simply amazing! Thank you so much for doing such a good chemistry class on how to make alcohol. :)

[@homermayo4967]

Great video George if people don't understand that they need to change hobbies

[@mahdihozhabri]

Very useful data. I'm going to be interested on mathematic again😬Also I'd like to know more about the volume of wash and final volume of product after distillation.

[@turdferguson2982]

Thanks for the guidance! I'm on my second wash. First one had some off flavors from pitching in at too high a temp. I did a double batch this time and brought the temp down before the yeast, split it in two, one is going fine, the other seems to have stalled, I checked for leaks and diluted it. Seems to have done the trick.

[@circularfile2009]

I get all that has been explained and I truly appreciate it. I think for me since I'm not/have never done any distilling I have chased a high ABV that I can flavor. From what I've seen on B&H, if I were distilling, I would not chase high ABV like I have. I haven't learned enough yet to delve into distilling at this time.

[@JeffMohney]

This was a very informative video. Thanks for putting this information together in an easy to view and understand format.

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@raincoast9010]

Could you do a tutorial on lawnmower fuel?

[@thanapolraktham2291]

to sum up after listening halfway, since yeast requires water to operate, adding too much sugar could be bad because water is turned into syrup. so there's not enough water for yeast to use.

[@carlreed234]

Thanks George

[@Stewbphoto]

great information George!! i ordered 3- 4lb bags of corn sugar for my wash 5gallons. thought what the hell ill just put 12lbs of sugar in this and it started out great! within 4 hours it had totally stopped fermenting. i took a reading and it was only at 4% abv and i didn't know what to do. so now i only do 2lbs per gallon max... thinks for this video. #happydistilling

[@MHLivestreams]

depends what yeast you're using, and the temperature.

[@brianrightmyer5816]

Thanks again George! 4 years ago & helped Cheers