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Ending Gravity for Molasses Wash


Old Glory Distilling Co.

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Question for everyone using molasses for rum:

What are you finding your ending gravity reading to be?

For some background, our SG is 1.065 and we're finding that ours has been stalling around 1.020. I know molasses has some unfermentables in it ... but that seems like an awful lot of unfermentables. Before we pitch the yeast, we're adding a little less than a gram of DAP per gallon of wash. Right now we're using 100% molasses, but we may start experimenting with backing down the molasses % and using granulated sugar to make up the difference. I'm open to any and all comments and suggestions. Thanks.

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That's sounds about right. It depends on the TSAI of the molasses. Our vendor provides a fairly wide range of 56 - 71% TSAI.   In addition to DAP we use a B vitamin complex and deactivated yeast hulls.  I've never been a fan of the flavor profile from granulated sugar and would encourage you to continue down the molasses path.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Has anyone tried using a glucoamylase enzyme in rum ferments?  Would that work to convert the unfermentable sugars in molasses?  I have no experience with it, but I would think it would help to lower the finishing gravity and boost the overall yield.

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My understanding is that the unfermentables aren't carbohydrate based. Rather, that they consist of ash, mud, various minerals from the refining process and other came solids that aren't convertible to fermentable sugars. However, I don't know for sure. Perhaps someone more in the know can weigh in. 

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  • 1 month later...

Pretty sure that adding enzymes to a rum ferment is a waste of time. The sugars in molasses (mainly sucrose with some glucose) are readily convertible by the yeast and don't need to be broken down. As Lassiter said, molasses has a high percentage if unfermentables that are not sugars. A example of typical blackstrap might be:

Sucrose 35%

Glucose plus fructose 15%

Water 20%

Plant material 20%

Inorganic salts (ash) 10%

 

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On 11/9/2016 at 5:38 PM, Adam said:

Has anyone tried using a glucoamylase enzyme in rum ferments?  Would that work to convert the unfermentable sugars in molasses?  I have no experience with it, but I would think it would help to lower the finishing gravity and boost the overall yield.

The journal literature says there may be some benefit in increased fermentatibility utilizing glucoamylase, dextrinases, cellulases, etc etc.  Your mileage will probably vary.  Whether or not there is a realistic ROI needs to be looked at, as the benefits are not astronomical.

https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/file.php?val=August_2016_1470034210__86.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253643971_Enzymatic_hydrolysis_of_sugarcane_molasses_as_pre-treatment_for_bioethanol_production

Enymatic_Hydrolysis_Molasses.pdf

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