Rye bread whiskey

[Beam]

hey do you have any updates with pictures?

[Mashy]

Okay, this recipe should be in tried and true because it is perfect.

I did two 12 gallon washes.

Each 12 1/2 - 13 gallon wash included the following and was mashed using Odins instructions...

6lbs (1 brick of bread is a pound) of the dark European rye bread bricks I bought from Amazon (link posted in previous pages)
20lbs of sugar
2 tablespoons of my yeast mix (Nottingham Ale, 1118 and a little DADDY)
1.5 tablespoons of yeast nutrient

This started as a 12 gallon wash but when the SG was around 1087 I added more water to get it to 1080.

FG was 1.000 at 54 degrees so I'm figuring it was close to .999-.998. Didn't bother checking as the wash didn't taste sweet (yes, you should taste your wash)


Collection:

Threw out first quart as I hate any amount of heads and don't bother recycling them.

I then collected 5.5 quarts of hearts at 85-86.5 with my 8 plate stillr made by MR. The last jar was harts about half hearts and then turned to good tasting tails for the last half.

I then collected 3/4 of a gallon of tails down to 35%.

The taste of this wash blew my expectations out of the water. I didn't even think I had the right bread at first, but man, after using a measuring spoon with some filtered water to dilute and taste the distillate off the still I was more that pleasantly surprised. This stuff kicks some serious ass and should be a tried and true in no time. If you are a rye grain fan you HAVE to try this. Great rye flavor but mellow and not sharp at all. Perfect for my taste. Can't wait to age it on some oak. This will by a special reserve for me. No handouts on this one.

I have scorched about 120 lbs of rye grain mashes (do 21 gallon batches so 40+ pounds of grain per batch) so this is a perfect solution. My last batch of rye I even used Super Kleer and let it sit three days (this is after straining through a paint strainer bag and slowing heating for 4 hours) and it still scorched), luckily I sent it through some activated stone carbon and it didn't strip all the flavor. Not sure how I got away with that as a whiskey I over oaked turned to neutral doing this but it worked and is on three 1" x 6" charred white oak strips and tasting fine. But I digress...My main point here was to talk up Odin's recipe because it is the best I've tried,including my favorite, UJSM.

If you like rye you need to try this....

[vanilla gorilla]

I can't wait to try this one! Im wondering if I can vacuum pack some rye in water and sous vide over night at tempature to get the same reaction?

[Odin]

Good to hear Mashy!Yes, the amount of taste and the taste in itsself are amazing. If you feel this should be in the try & true recipe department, I think Rad is the guy to talk to, BTW. Ageing on wood: I am doing that right now. On Medium Plus toasted American white oak. A heavy toast or char might have been a better idea. This drink needs a strong companion from the woods department to live up to the rye taste. Vanilla: just soak rye and in PH 7.5 or higher and make sure it does not boil. Heat it for 6 hours, maybe adding some water every now and then. Temps of 85 degrees C would be perfect. Some agent to up the PH would help as well.

Nice to see others get similar results!

Odin.

[Beam]

hey all where too start? well I must say this is a low cost, fun and absolutely interesting recipe and its very simple, i love the smell this recipe gives off i am currently running it now so i cant comment on the taste myself yet but if its as good as everyone who has made it says it is then my tastebuds are in for quite the treat haha, i cant wait but anyway it took 5 days for mine to stop that's about all i can say at the moment but when i get my spirit i will let you know about the taste


p.s Would carbon filtering remove some flavour? if so should i not do it?

[Beam]

ok update i have collected 500 mls off the stills, and im happy to say from tasting i get the taste of sweet caramel i don't think that's what it is suppose to taste like haha but its very nice regardless and that's just dipping my finger in to taste i cant wait to try a shot worth to get the full flavour and then put it on chips and see what i get

thanks odin lovely recipe

[Mashy]

Beam, DO NOT run through carbon! The only thing you want to run through carbon is a neutral if your not satisfied with your final run. I knew I had a burnt wash so I ran far into the tails because I knew I was going to run through carbon and I got really lucky. I ran an over oaked, dark whiskey through carbon before and it came out neutral so I don't recommend carbon filtration except for neutral if you want. Sorry if I was misleading in my post. I know all this stilling info is overwhelming in the beginning.

[Beam]

no mate that's fine haha its ok I didn't filter it as I was thinking it would probs strip some flavour from it so now I have it on some whiskey chips to colour it and flavour it further so its already a light golden colour in 1 day of chipping so im hoping it colours up nicely intructions are 10 gram per litre, for 20 days but I will taste it every 3 days or something I don't think its need 20 days to be honest but I will see

[mrgt]

I am very intrigued by this receipe and decided to give it a try. Rye is my favorite drink but I have been making vodka, gin and rum up till now because I could not find the ingredients to make rye whiskey. I found a Dutch bakery that carried Mestemacher along with other brands but decided to stick with the Mestemacher. Very excited to taste the final product. for aging it with oak cubes , is the process to follow similar to what you would do with rum?

[Odin]

On ageing on wood blocks ... not sure if it is the same as rum. This rye bread whiskey I would age with JD wood smoking chips or blocks. If you don't have a barrel that is. Rum ... I would use more "depleted" wood on, since rum can be overpowered by wood. If I learn one thing ... this rye bread whiskey does not get over whelmed by any wood, since it is so strong tasting in itsself.

Odin.

[rad14701]

We need feedback on this recipe from any and all members who have tried it and had success, or issues... If we get good feedback and the recipe is solid then it may be a candidate for the Tried and True Recipe forum... So, to anyone considering trying this recipe, or anyone who has, your feedback is essential...

[mrgt]

We need feedback on this recipe from any and all members who have tried it and had success, or issues... If we get good feedback and the recipe is solid then it may be a candidate for the Tried and True Recipe forum... So, to anyone considering trying this recipe, or anyone who has, your feedback is essential...

I agree 100%. It sounds very promising and I will for sure provide feeback once I am done.

[kaziel]

I've done 3 - 25L batches, strip then and run them slow on a pot still 1.25l/h. Spirit run was done with 5L backset from last bath. I was only keeping stuff in a range from 75% - 50% abv, I've diluted 4L to 40% rest I've diluted to 55% and add light toasted white French oak. Taste is very nice after a 3 weeks of aging (if I can call it that) this stuff is awesome. My calcs show that I will get 7l of drinkable stuff around 40%ABV . I was very crude doing cuts. Tails and heads will be run on ma Boka when I will have time. Ferments from this recipe are very fast (less then week @ 23 deg) preparation is simple results are great.

[GimmieCrackedCorn]

I just started a 5 gallon batch of this with just some slight differences. I couldn't find any European style bread, so I used 3 loafs pumpernickel bread, 2 pounds of 6 row barley, 3.5 pounds of brown sugar, 4.5 pounds cane sugar, 5 gallons of water, yeast and nutrients. SG was 1.090, can't wait to see how it turns out.

[baron4406]

Bought a case of this bread from a couple pages back from Amazon. Will be running it when I decide what still I'm gonna use. My goal this year was to put some good rye and good bourbon on charred oak until next summer. I may have found half of that if this works out.

[Odin]

You bet, Baron. An for the other half ... look for Cornflakes Whiskey.

Odin.

[baron4406]

Ok finally got around to making a batch. Boiled 3 gallons of good water and inverted 10lbs of sugar with a little lemon juice. Added 3 loaves of the bread and let it simmers for about 1/2 hour. Added 3+ more gallons of water and it was down to around 110 degrees. A little hot but took a gravity reading and got close to 1.080 so i added a bit more water. Had alot of yeast laying around and it was getting late so I picked one with a high temp tolerance, used Red Star champagne yeast. Hydrated two packs and pitched it when the mash got under 100 degrees. Its bubbling like a banshee this morning already even tho I forgot the DAP. Will strip this run , then run it with my next batch. Have enough bread for 4 batches this should give me enough to put on oak. Plan for this year is to make this, then Odin's Cornflake bourbon, then make all grain rye and bourbon and compare them all. Gonna be a fun summer.

[mrgt]

I am making a batch of thing the Mestemacher bread.When I was making it I added 1.5 kilos of bread to 6 liters of cold water and brought it up to a boil for 5 minutes. Was I supposed to add bread to boiling water then cook for 5 minutes or is what I did ok?

[Odin]

You will be fine!

Odin.

[GimmieCrackedCorn]

Ok, I need a little assistance from someone on this thread. I have somewhat of a similar recipe that has been going for 7 days now. I am getting about 1-3 bubbles per minute out of my airlock. My SG was 1.090 and I just opened the lid to take another reading and It's at .990.

However, when I opened the lid, it still had a crust on the top of it and it was still crackling and popping. Should I let this keep going or should I go ahead and run it?

[baron4406]

Taste it, if you taste any sweetness its not ready. If its tastes sour/not sweet its done. With a gravity reading of .990 I'd say its done definitely. Bubbling is usually not a good way to tell if its done. You could have CO2 trapped in there slowly releasing itself

[GimmieCrackedCorn]

Taste it, if you taste any sweetness its not ready. If its tastes sour/not sweet its done. With a gravity reading of .990 I'd say its done definitely. Bubbling is usually not a good way to tell if its done. You could have CO2 trapped in there slowly releasing itself

Yea, that's what I figured. I did taste it and it didn't taste sweet nor sour but just tasted dry, which I attribute to being done also. I think I'll rack it off and let it clear for a day.

[Odin]

A day of extra wont hurt it. In fact most of the interesting esters are formend in the last 48 hours of fermentation. Even when only 0.1 is gained in abv.

Odin.

[mrgt]

The reason I asked was every mash , beer or wine I ever made usually forms this nasty sludge on the bottom. This one my bread still looks like bread after 8 or 9 days. Its all on the bottom but really hasn't changed visually that much. I have a bad feeling that all i am really making is a sugar mash in the end. That being said the liquid has taken a creamy white and opaquelike color compared to my regualar sugar mash. I guess I was expexting to find a lot of nasty, sludgy bread in the bottom of my bucket when I transfered it to my carboy. I wont really know until I run it through the still and age it a few months with oak cubes. Uggg I can't wait that long. In the few months that I been making mashes and playing around with my still I am learning a few things about myself.... I need to be more patient.

[Jimbo]

A day of extra wont hurt it. In fact most of the interesting esters are formend in the last 48 hours of fermentation. Even when only 0.1 is gained in abv.

Odin.

Thats an excellent point Odin. Ive seen interviews with master distillers in Scotlands distilleries say exactly the same. Longer ferments bring more esters and fruit. And also that brewery yeast do the same over distillers yeast. However, unfortunately for matters of economics they dont have the luxury to utilize either to full extent. No time for long slow ferments, and no reliable daily delivery from breweries for beer yeast.

Us homedistillers of course have these privileges. One reason our spirits can be made very top shelf quality if we pay attention to these details!

Cheers!

[Odin]

Jim, we agree completely. But for many it works the other way around: since Scottish distillers ferment only 3 days, THAT's the way to do it.

No.

It isn't.

Mrgt, what kinda bread you used? Please show a picture.

Odin.

[mrgt]

This was wat the label said , only difference was the label was blue not green. i live in Canada so perhaps they use different color label. The product in shape and size looks identical to other images I have seen of the product. Just odd that the label was blue.

[Odin]

Looks a fair bit lighter than mine ... but a fair bit darker/denser than normal bread. It will give you taste, but I dunno if it was baked for like 14 hours in around 90 degrees C. Just run it and let's find out. It looks tasty.

Odin.

[mrgt]

I would like to hear if anyone is using the Mestemacher bread and how they find is it turning out?

[baron4406]

I am, I'm currently fermenting a 6 gallon batch. This will be stripped then run with my next batch. I'll report to ya then when its done.