"Aged" backset whiskey?

[Barney Fife]

Apparently, rum dunder isn't the only thing we can save up and "age" with bacteria/fungus and what-not.

Earlier this year, like, in June, I ran two generations from a 50/50 malt barley/corn wash, the second re-using all the backset from the first run, but with sugar added back, along with water to make up what was taken from stillin', over the grains in the second wash. I saved the backset, after the second run, in a clean bucket as I wanted to do my usual 5-6 generations, but one thing lead to another, and it became obvious I wouldn't have time to get back to it, so I screened out the grains, tossed them(and fattened up the birds), but kept the backset, thinking I'd see if it was usable when I did find time for it.

Well, I found time last week, and carefully, gingerly(I was fully prepared for an ugly sight and uglier smell!) pried the air-locked lid off the bucket. Whoa! There was a solid, white layer of "something" covering the backset, but no foul odor at all. Carefully, I gave it a light stir, and under this funky layer was very clear backset, slightly sour in aroma, but not "garbage-like" nor "puke-like", either of which would have had me tossing both backset and bucket. This had promise! So I poured it into my boiler, and took it to a hard boil, and held it there for a while(using my reflux column to knock-back the vapor and odor so to not lose anything), and added one pound of wheat germ after shutting her down. Next morning, it all went back into a clean pail, along with 5lbs sugar and roughly a cup of trubs(yeast cake) from an ale I made a while back.

SG at 1.050

Damn! Within a few hours, I had a thick cap, and now a few days later, she's done, and smells good enough to pass for beer. HA! It'll be 5-6 days before I can run it, but I'm so impressed that a "dead" backset could be revived so nicely and easily I had to post this. For everyone who tosses their backsets/dunder/grains or are overly concerned with infections, or think "I have to run the wash as soon as it's done", I say re-think it all. Don't waste the flavors you've worked hard to acquire. Save them, re-use. This isn't beer-making; we can boil the old/infected/backset and use it to start a new wash, successfully, not matter how deeply infected it became. As long as it doesn't smell like puke or garbage(I* think whatever it is that creates those odors can't be good!, but something that creates a pleasant odor can't be bad), I think it's good to go.

I'll definitely report what she's like when I run 'er, but I fully expect a rather nice, full flavored "sugarhead whiskey", if not an exceptional one.

[Kentucky shinner]

I will look forward to reading your findings Barney. I have never tried to keep backset.
KS

[LWTCS]

Been wonderin bout the sweet feed too

[Smokehouse Shiner]

Uh oh, here come the backset pits.

[Kentucky shinner]

We could call them rumskey dunder pits

[Liquid_Luv]

BF, I am really glad to have come across this post... this is exactly what I was looking for... experiences from members making different types of spirits than I, who have had the same discoveries stillin spirits that originated from "Aged Backset" or "Infected Dunder", any washes that were run dry and forgotten on lees for any extended period of time. Since you are only talking wiskey, and I used to talk just rum... I had started a thread just covering "washes forgotten on lees ", so we don't limit ourselves to any one type of spirit. I will intently follow your thread and may occasionally contribute, but it is my hope to get as much attention to my thread only as it has no limits by type of spirit... please feel free to visit and perhaps contribute your results there as well... it would be great if somehow we could merge our two threads as well as posts from other threads in the history of this forum into one place

Cheers!

[Barney Fife]

I often let my washes sit for weeks, and at times many months, before running them(yes, rum, too, which is mostly what I make). I just leave them airlocked and forget they exist until I have time to run them. Like beer or wine, as long as they're airlocked, they will "keep" a long time after being done. I can't say for sure if this leads to better product, as I am not a strict note taker and mostly will blend my new spirits together with older, aged stock, or hearts from other runs, etc.... and I nearly always recycle tails from previous runs with my hearts run, so I never have truly "virgin" runs, unless I'm specifically trying a new recipe. But I can for sure say it doesn't lead to bad product!

As long as it doesn't have a "garbage" or "puke" smell to it, it'll be good stuff.

And for those following this thread, I haven't yet had a chance to run this wash, so I suppose it's now aging on lees, too.

[Barney Fife]

I finally got to run this wash last night.

Nice! The white dog has a very nice, distinct "spicy" note to it. Biggest surprise is how little heads and tails I collected VS how much I kept as hearts. Not sure if the infected backset made for fewer higher alcohols or whatever, but the head were not strong to the nose and after roughly 700 ml, I was definitely into the hearts. Could have been into the hearts sooner, but I wasn't expecting then yet. Ran it with the pot still, at 1500 watts(nice and slow). Then collected 2 full quarts(quit at 50%ABV) before cranking up the power and collecting the tails.

Gonna dump the backset back over the trubs today, add 10lbs sugar and see if I can't get another one from it. Glad I tried this!

[LWTCS]

How much oaking?
How much white?

[Liquid_Luv]

BF, Thanks for sharing... could you please add the following info...

volume of wash... starting %... how much time... how much you collected as tails... and just to confirm, you do just a slow and steady single run, right?

[still crazy]

I had a sugar/total cereal (stale cereal dump day) wash (10L) that I forgot about till the fruit flies reminded me of it.
When I opened it. There was a thin white layer on top. Looked kinda like a milk scum.
Skimmed it off and added some corn (500 G) and a (1000 G) of sugar let it finish and it made a nice white dog from the potstill.
Problem is I really mish-mashed this concoction so I can't duplicate it.

[Barney Fife]

Not sure I want to oak this! Right now it's still airing out in the white...

Total wash is roughly 5 gallons. I left roughly 3/4 gallon behind(trubs, etc..) when charging the still. This being a first run, I was gonna run it at 3000 watts to strip(after collecting the foreshots at 1500), but it appeared to be so nice I let it go at 1500 watts just to see.

No idea of the wash ABV.

I collected about 700ml fores and heads, 2 liters hearts(haven't checked the ABV, but it should be around 65%), and one liter tails.

I took the backset back to a boil today, then dumped it over the old trubs(after saving a quart of the trubs for the yeast), added 5lbs sugar and topped the bucket back up with cold water. If it looks to be going nicely, I'll add another 5lbs of sugar tomorrow.

I'm very mish-mash, bit 'o this, bit 'o that, when I make this stuff, so I realize it's a tough one to follow. But the whole point here was the old, moldy/infected backset has made some good drink!

[blind drunk]

Whatever the surface area exposed to the air is, that's the amount of white fluffy stuff I have on my backset. Case in point, I had a carboy fulled right up to the neck and the white fluffy stuff was the same diameter as the carboy opening. The rest of the backset below the white fluff was "clear" throughout. Recently I used about three quarters of it for some mashes and left the one quarter in the carboy. 2 weeks later, the entire surface area has the white fluffy stuff all over it. Smells the same in either case, sweet and sour

bd

[Barney Fife]

This one was beginning to have the white layer, too, so now IO know it's not gnats or fruit flies(none around here now).

I took a sniff and sip of the distillate a bit ago, and it's unique, for sure. I've got the two quarts mixed together in the same 1 gal. jug right now. Trying to decide to add oak or not, or maybe maple charcoal. Or leave it white. It hasn't tamed down much, so leaving it white might be a crap shoot. It might -need- the wood to tame the spiciness. But then again, this is so unique and new, I think I may want to keep it for those "moments" when nothing but the best(or most different) will do to impress the hoydy toydy crowd <lol>

[HookLine]

it would be great if somehow we could merge our two threads as well as posts from other threads in the history of this forum into one place

You could post links to the other threads on each thread, so it is cross referenced.

Something simple like: Also see this thread.... LINK

Crude but effective.

[LWTCS]

Really good stuff Barney. Thanks for doing this experiment.

Also, I don't see how your gonna be able to talk yourself out of oaking. Ya gotta do it IMO.