uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

[Husker]

That type of filter will remove almost none of the yeast solids (but will strip out the corn). UJSM (especially the first run or 2), can handle a little extra time IF kept under air lock.

When I run mine, it is on about a 1 week cycle (with 2 batches going). I do 3 days or so in primary, then siphon off into a carboy, add cooled backset and fire up the primary again. The carboy will sit for 3 days or so (to clear some), then into the still. When I drop that into the still I wash the yeast dregs, and put the new 3 day old primary into the carboy (and restart the primary). Then strip distill, and cycle again.

Thus, I have 2 runs going in tandom, and both get about a week of time to do their magic. The final wash is done fairly well, and somewhat clear (not perfectly clear, but 80% clear).

That is just my method, others can certainly do things differently, and still have great results. With this sour mash method, it really is hard to screw it up.

H.

[punkin]

If you're only going for a few days i'd leave it and do it when you get back.

I run my UJSM similar to my beer, wait till it's finnished and give it a day or two. i don't rack or anything like that, just drain it through the grain cake.

[Centimeter]

I have a 9.5 gallon pot still and I usually strip ~7 gallons of wash with it. Each stripping run is taking me ~4.5 hours. Considering that I'm doing this four times and then a 4 hour spirit run, I am spending a hell of a lot of time distilling. I'm looking for ways to increase the speed of the stripping runs. I'm currently using two 3000W 240V elements at 120V (2 x 750W) for the strip because I heard that this reduces the possibility of charring. I was wondering if anybody has used 1500W 120V elements to strip UJSM. If so, have you noticed any issues with charring? Have any of you guys had issues with charring at all with this mash? I was thinking that it seems rather thin to char to an appreciable extent. Once again, thanks UJ for this recipe!

[sconly]

got one of these going earlyer as soon as i added the yeast it started bubbling cant wait to try it all i need is to build my pot still

[Centimeter]

I've been doing a ton of UJSM mashes and I've been having some troubles. I first strip four 25 liter ferments down to 20% using my pot still with 3000W. This leaves me about 6 gallons of low wines. I then charge my pot still with the 6 gallons and bring it to a boil with 3000W...now the tricky part. At first, I ran it really slow (~3-6 drops per second). For the first two gallons or so of distillate, it was very harsh and acrid finally mellowing out at ~70% leaving a nice smooth grain flavor. However I only got about 1/2 gallon on the tasty fraction before tails started in. Seeing as this was a six gallon charge, I thought that this was a little ridiculous so I took all of my distillate and distilled it a third time at about the same rate and finally got a mostly smooth product. In total, I got about a gallon of smooth distillate out of four 25 liter ferments with a total distillation time of about 25 hours.

I made a goal to improve the process so I fermented up four more 25 liter batches (3rd generation) and did the stripping runs the same as before. I then ran air through the 6 gallons of distillate for about half a day. I charged my still up with the aired out low wines and ran it really slow (< 2 drops per second) for about one liter then cranked the heat up so that I was putting out about 1.8-2 liters per hour. Once again, the distillate was harsh and acrid for the first two gallons or so and then mellowed out at ~70%. This time I got about 2/3 of a gallon of smooth distillate.

What's the deal here? How come the majority of the distillate is so harsh no matter how fast or slow I run it? Is it supposed to taste acrid and then get mellowed out during aging? This isn't even all of my runs...I reran both of these runs too before finally sticking with what I got and putting it on oak. I've been collecting all of the spirit runs in 400ml fractions and allowing them to air out for >24 hours before mixing. Am I being too picky? Does your guy’s white dog taste dandy right out of the still? If so, what kind of flavor does it have? Any help or insight would b very much appreciated.

[trthskr4]

Well, the amount you're getting sounds about right to me. I triple distill all my UJSM's now and with 3 gallons of low wines, tails and all I add in 2 gallons of filtered water and yesturday I decided to add in a little bit of baking soda to the still just to see what I'd get...beautiful, smooth and aroma of corn all through the run without that harshness in the first bit as usual. Airing and aging on oak will smooth or mellow it out a bit, but doing it the way I have been doing it lately makes it smoother than say Jack Daniels or Jim Beam straight out of the still and they've been aged on oak for years. I can't stand a harsh whiskey, it's gotta be smooth and I can't find anything I can afford that gives me what I'm looking for, so I'm determined to make it.

[Centimeter]

Very good information. Good to hear that I'm not alone. What abv of low wines do you charge your still with for the spirit run on both the second and third distillation? What ratio of baking soda do you add to your runs and do you only add it to the spirit run?

[Husker]

I never add soda to a spirit run on any type of flavored drink (rum, whiskey, etc). Add it when making a neutral.

When I ran UJSM, I was making 11-12% washes. My low wines ended up about 38% or so, and the spirit run after cuts was pretty close to 65%

H.

[Dnderhead]

Seams that a lot of people want to make 80-90% alcohol then wonder why there's no flavor and it "bites" your distilling out all the flavor to git the
high alcohol. if you run it off at 60%more or less you will have much more flavor and not have to add so much water some of that "bite" is alcohol it burns the soft tissue of the mouth (try on a scrap/cut and you will see) (60% is a good place for flavor and generally good for ageing at also)

[trthskr4]

Husker and Dndr, I have an 18" column on my pot and 1 SS scrubber. My normal UJSM stripping runs start usually at 74% after fores, and my tails usually start to come over at around 50%. Would cutting my column down to nothing get my abv down or do I want it down. For a spirit run I dilute down to just below 40% and it comes over at around 80-85% with a little flavor but the really good stuff comes in at around 60% to 50% or somewhere in between but it's short lived before tails come through. I'm really still learning and experimenting to find my personal sweet spot. I can blend and dilute then age (I have only had a short time to age) and get a product as good as some off the shelf. I'm after the sho nuff back room private stash stuff better than top shelf. I don't drink alot so I'm not after quantity as much as quality, I drink about a fifth of whiskey a year, I've got time to make that much top notch stuff.

Oh and according to the parent site (there's a good explanation of why there) never add baking soda to your wash, only add it to distillate before a spirit run with no new wash in it.


I added almost a quarter cup to 3 gallons of 55% watered down to below 40%,so roughly 5 gallons total, not as much as for a neutral, the parent has some recommendations for 3 TBsps (I think it's tablespoons) per litre of spirit. It said it would help with the heads and it did. I can still use the later hearts to flavor it up as everything below 70% was still very flavorful. Husker I don't know if it's right, I trust your judgement, I was just trying to find a solution to my particular problem with the soda. I may have just gotten lucky this time and it actually worked for me, even a broke clock's right twice a day.

[Dnderhead]

yes cutting column will help considerably if you want flavor and if your "water" it down between runs your leaving flavor in the water when you run again

[Centimeter]

Alright Dnder, you've sold me. I spent all today trying to convince myself to crank it up higher but I just kept telling myself that the harshness will give out with just a little bit more. What can I say…I started out in this hobby a few years back doing strictly neutral on a reflux still. Old habits I guess. I saved the low wine backset, so I'm going to throw everything back together, insulate my column and crank it right up to 1500W. I think you're right about the proof being too high. I get a real nice flavor profile right around 70% to 55% but by then I've already stripped out most of the alcohol trying to get rid of the acrid heads. I hope that the fast distillation rate wont cause that acrid flavor to carry through the whole run. Would it be a good idea to start it off slow for a pint or two and then crank it up just to try and clear out the heads a bit? Anyhow, I'll give it a go in the next couple days and report back with the results.