The Compleat Distiller

THE COMPLEAT DISTILLER 18
Techniques for employing either the Cone Protocol or turbo yeast
The turbo yeast packets are generally sized for a fermentation volume of 25 liters (6.6 US gallons), too
large to fit in a standard carboy. The Cone methods may be employed on any volume from one gallon
to 10,000 gallons or more, provided the equipment is capable of handling the tasks of oxygen, pH and
temperature management.
For the home producer, 25 – 50 liters (6 – 13 US gallons) is a very reasonable volume to work with.
The easiest technique is to utilize one of the large plastic fermenters normally used for primary
fermentation of wine (a plastic trash can with a lid). As noted earlier, the biggest single drawback to
these fermenters is that if they become scratched (from over-vigorous agitation or stirring, for
example), they can become very difficult or impossible to sanitize adequately. Fortunately, they are
cheap.
A simple way to manage the temperature of a fermentation in one of these containers is to place the
fermenter in a laundry tub connected to hot and cold water and a drain. Add the sugar to the fermenter,
dissolve it in a small amount of hot water, and bring it to the desired volume and temperature with cool
water. Then fill the tub around the fermenter with water at the desired temperature. The extra thermal
mass of the water around the fermenter will greatly slow down any temperature swings or spikes
created by active fermentation. A liquid crystal thermometer placed on the fermenter (above the level
of the water around the fermenter, but below the level of the fluid inside the fermenter) will allow you
to monitor the temperature. If it starts to climb, drain out some of the water in the tub and replace it
with cold water. One or two adjustments should be all that is required during a fermentation.
Another method of controlling temperature is to freeze water inside of sanitized plastic bottles or jugs,
and then place one or more of these jugs directly in the fermenting wash. Experience will teach what
size of bottle works best and how many it takes to drop the temperature a specific amount. You could
also construct a cooling coil out of copper or stainless steel tubing and run cold water through it.
Copper will be etched by the acidity of the fermenting fluid, so a copper coil should NOT be left in the
fermenter for a long time. Just put it in when the temperature needs to be reduced, and remove it and
rinse thoroughly as soon as the temperature is reduced to the desired level.
Fig. 1-4
For more active control, a system with aeration, circulation and temperature control can be devised.
One old idea in this direction is to use a laundry tub as a fermenter, and place an aquarium pump and
heater in it. This idea will work, but a plastic laundry tub has all the same problems of sanitation as the
trash can, and costs considerably more to replace.