Fermentation problems?

[RickR]

last night I cooked up some mash. It is a corn barley recipe. 9lbs of cracked corn to 2 lbs cascked barley. All seemed to go well. I added the yeast and moved it to the carboy. Fermentation started and it seemed to be a slow go. Today, roughly 24 hours later, it seems to have almost stopped. Not much movement. Is it done? did something go wrong? Can it be restarted with fresh yeast? the specific gravity of the mash read 1.035 before yeast. Any idea? The recipe I used said it should take 7 to 14 days to ferment.

Thanks

[BeverageCommander]

Rick-
1.035 is a pretty low starting gravity- if this ferments down to 1.000 it will yield around 4.59% ABV. I usually like to start around 8% so I shoot for around 1.065

This does not mean this is bad- you will just get a lower yield. I bet the majority of fermentation is finished. Let is sit 5-7 more days and then take another gravity reading. I bet the yeast tore though that low ABV wash – let it work a while longer and clean everything up. Letting it sit will also let the yeast settle to the bottom.

Take another reading in 5-7 days- it will most likely be finished at the point. Run it as is- it will make good product – it just won’t yield as much as an 8-10% abv wash. I’ve had low ABV washes taste amazing after distilling.

what yeast did you use? what did the recipe state as a starting gravity?

Don’t add more yeast or anything else- just let it hangout and run it in a week or so

[RickR]

I seem to not have good luck producing a high yield product (any ideas would be appreciated). The recipe did not state a specific gravity to start with. I used 2 packets of fleischmann’s bread yeast to 5 gallons of mash. Thank for you quick response and advice. I guess I will just have to keep trying and learning. But that’s what this is all about, right?

[Schearonne]

I made my first batch of corn mash yesterday and I don’t know what to expect I used bread yeast and followed the instructions this morning the air was flowing through the airlock and when I opened it to have a look there was no foamy head but it was fizzing away is this normal?

[BeverageCommander]

I used bread yeast and followed the instructions
What recipe did you make?

this morning the air was flowing through the airlock and when I opened it to have a look there was no foamy head but it was fizzing away is this normal?

That sounds pretty normal- just leave the lid closed and let fermentation do its thing.

[Author]

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