Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hello i have to decided to move away from the " turbo' way of doing things and i have been reading as much as i can to gain a better understanding of the Tomato Paste Wash process going to give it a go this weekend but i have a few questions as im just a little confused as the seems to be some conflicting info out there im aiming at a 25 liter wash
Sugar which type to use IE White, Brown or Raw also the Birdwatchers calculator recommends 5.63 Kg but at this forum recommends 5 Kg not much of a difference but still
Tomato Paste what if only double strength is available do you use half the amount also are preservatives in the paste harmful
Ph correction do you use lemon juice or citric acid or a combination of the both for correct Ph
Specific Gravity if the wash is outside of the recommended ranges how can it be adjusted
Lastly does the wash need to be stirred during the fermentation period
Thank you for any help that you can provide, sorry if these questions are dumb but im still learning Cheers

NoHope wrote:Hello i have to decided to move away from the " turbo' way of doing things and i have been reading as much as i can to gain a better understanding of the Tomato Paste Wash process going to give it a go this weekend but i have a few questions as im just a little confused as the seems to be some conflicting info out there im aiming at a 25 liter wash
Sugar which type to use IE White, Brown or Raw also the Birdwatchers calculator recommends 5.63 Kg but at this forum recommends 5 Kg not much of a difference but still
Tomato Paste what if only double strength is available do you use half the amount also are preservatives in the paste harmful
Ph correction do you use lemon juice or citric acid or a combination of the both for correct Ph
Specific Gravity if the wash is outside of the recommended ranges how can it be adjusted
Lastly does the wash need to be stirred during the fermentation period
Thank you for any help that you can provide, sorry if these questions are dumb but im still learning Cheers

Welcome to the home distilling rabbit hole.

Sugar - whichever is cheapest, usually white sugar. Just stick to the 5kg. Its easier to buy in 1kg & 2kg bags, compared to .63kg bags.

Tomato paste - any is good, some have even used pizza sauce or pasta sauce which has garlic and herbs added. Still worked fine. Preservatives in the sauce are not a concern.

Ph correction - use whatever you have. The wash will naturally drop anyway, half the time i dont even add it and still goes fine.

Specific gravity - add water to drop it, add sugar to raise it. Only stir the wash to ensure sugar is dissolved then dont touch it, it will move itself with the bubbling when it gets started.

Thank you very much for your guidance ,i figures the .63 thing might be critical was just going to weigh it out store the leftover sugar for next time so just go with a neat 5kg so now im off the shops happy daze

congrats on ditching the turdo.
i would guess most people use plain old white sugar.
brown and raw are used more in rum washes.
for happy yeast i only use 4.5 or 5kg of sugar in a 25l wash.
most times, you will be adjusting PH down.
i just use Mckenzie's Acid Citric (woolies) 75gm tub $2.30
use it sparingly, ie 1/4 tsp or 1/2 tsp until you find out the amount needed to lower the PH.
don't follow recipes blindly with PH, test your wash before adding or adjusting the PH.
PH up, i use calcium carbonate(?), but i can't remember the last time i used it.
apart from giving the wash a good thrashing with the paint stirrer before pitching yeast, i don't open the fermenter for 10-14 days.
you don't want to introduce air at this stage and i try not to disturb the blanket of co2 the wash has produced.
after it stops bubbling, i leave it to clean up itself for a few days.

Thank you as well howard rum is the end goal for me so maybe look into raw or brown sugar in the same amount what are your thoughts ?, the Ph poses a problem ..how do i test the wash ?

NoHope wrote:Thank you as well howard rum is the end goal for me so maybe look into raw or brown sugar in the same amount what are your thoughts ?, the Ph poses a problem ..how do i test the wash ?

rum is another rabbit hole :smile:
there is a rum in the tried and proven section by McStill, a good place to start.
PH is fairly important in brewing and distilling.
there are cheapish PH meters on fleabay.( or basic PH strips from a pool shop)
i only use filtered tap water, but some people go to great lengths (esp in beer brewing) to get their water right.
things become interesting when you get to the stage of adding backset or dunder, which can be acidic.
yeast prefer certain PH levels and if the PH drops too much, the ferment can/will stall.

In my experience TPW is very forgiving so it is hard to go wrong.

Cheers
Carol

I used to use this, cheap and gave a free glass jar for collection.
Never used citric of anything other than yeast, sugar, tomato paste and water