uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by acfixer69 »

Budapest8485 wrote:Curious... How much corn is enough to do 7 gallons of sugar wash at 9%? Trying to make a neutral spirit to run through a reflux still. The yeast is soooo happy about the nutrient in the corn! I've been making wine for 15 years and only once have I seen air passing through an airlock faster than this. There's a party going on it my fermenter!
Some is the easy answer None is the better answer if you looking for a neutral. UJ makes a good vodka in the first 2,3 4, gen's. Better to start with a recipe aimed for a neutral look at the t & T .
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Budapest8485 »

acfixer69 wrote:
Budapest8485 wrote:Curious... How much corn is enough to do 7 gallons of sugar wash at 9%? Trying to make a neutral spirit to run through a reflux still. The yeast is soooo happy about the nutrient in the corn! I've been making wine for 15 years and only once have I seen air passing through an airlock faster than this. There's a party going on it my fermenter!
Some is the easy answer None is the better answer if you looking for a neutral. UJ makes a good vodka in the first 2,3 4, gen's. Better to start with a recipe aimed for a neutral look at the t & T .
I get it. I just like the way this ferment is going. The BW was a pain to ferment which I think might be part of why I have an off flavor neutral on my hands. Obviously you don't do generations when your intent is a neutral...so starting new each time I wonder how much corn is enough to provide the nutrient. I like corn better than tomatoes!
3 x 60 inch Bokabob, 8 gallon boiler, 4500w

3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Using this recipe but replacing the corn with wheat gives a good neutral from my experience. No generations.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Budapest8485 »

Saltbush Bill wrote:Using this recipe but replacing the corn with wheat gives a good neutral from my experience. No generations.
This is a good point. Then I'd have something like Grey Goose I think... Tito's is corn I believe.

My pot still head is assembled. I have it full of 50/50 vinegar and water...I'll do a cleaning run tomorrow probably.
3 x 60 inch Bokabob, 8 gallon boiler, 4500w

3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

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To make a wheat vodka, I split off some UJSSM trub and backset and add wheat instead of corn to make a three or four wash ferment, strip that, then put it through a Bokakob.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Budapest8485 »

NZChris wrote:To make a wheat vodka, I split off some UJSSM trub and backset and add wheat instead of corn to make a three or four wash ferment, strip that, then put it through a Bokakob.
That surprises me. Seems like this would be something other than a neutral with the backsets and trub. When you say 3-4 wash ferment, do you mean you're doing 3-4 generations of it?
3 x 60 inch Bokabob, 8 gallon boiler, 4500w

3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by still_stirrin »

Budapest8485 wrote:
NZChris wrote:To make a wheat vodka, I split off some UJSSM trub and backset and add wheat instead of corn to make a three or four wash ferment, strip that, then put it through a Bokakob.
That surprises me. Seems like this would be something other than a neutral with the backsets and trub. When you say 3-4 wash ferment, do you mean you're doing 3-4 generations of it?
Reading Chris’s reply, I would believe he ferments enough to charge the boiler 3 or 4 times, stripping each charge and then running the low wines through the Boka....’cuz that’s the “way it’s done”.

Wouldn’t you?
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

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Budapest8485 wrote:
NZChris wrote:To make a wheat vodka, I split off some UJSSM trub and backset and add wheat instead of corn to make a three or four wash ferment, strip that, then put it through a Bokakob.
That surprises me. Seems like this would be something other than a neutral with the backsets and trub. When you say 3-4 wash ferment, do you mean you're doing 3-4 generations of it?
Once I'm happy with the number of generations, I upscale the next generation to do at least three strips worth, each subsequent generation making enough low wines for a spirit run. For a wheat vodka, I pinch some of the trub and backset from that to make up a 3-4 wash ferment. I don't have any reasons to ferment and strip three successive generations of vodka wash, or any desire to single run washes in a Boka, so I just get the job over and done with quickly.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Budapest8485 »

Gen two is started, Sour Mash is born! Sugar added to those backsets it tastes like sour patch kid.

Gen one smells like a barn...I didn't know I was smelling corn every time I went into a barn. Stripped it starting at 70% and took it down to 15%.
3 x 60 inch Bokabob, 8 gallon boiler, 4500w

3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Budapest8485 »

I've been making wine for 15 years and generation two has more air passing through the airlock than I've ever seen before. It's like an air compressor blowing bubbles...no burps, just a steady fast stream of air. 83 degrees without any heat suppliment. I pulled the blanket off the fermenter to keep it from getting hotter.

I will likely be stripping this stuff over the weekend at this rate...48 hours to dry is my estimate. Those are some happy yeast!
3 x 60 inch Bokabob, 8 gallon boiler, 4500w

3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Canadashine »

Hello everyone. I'm on my 5th or 6th gen now and no problems so far. Great recipe thxs for all the good information. Just one thing tho on my 1st gen it fermented down to .990 and now everyone since stops at 1.000 so there not stalling. But I did try something on the last one. I made up the sour mash as the norm but with my leftover backseat I did a wash without the corn just 30% backset and sugar. The one with the corn in it stopped at 1.000 but the one with no corn went to .992. Does anyone know why this would happen. Same recipe just no corn. The only thing I can think of is the fresh yeast. Any ideas would be muchly appreciated thanks
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by BoisBlancBoy »

Canadashine wrote:Hello everyone. I'm on my 5th or 6th gen now and no problems so far. Great recipe thxs for all the good information. Just one thing tho on my 1st gen it fermented down to .990 and now everyone since stops at 1.000 so there not stalling. But I did try something on the last one. I made up the sour mash as the norm but with my leftover backseat I did a wash without the corn just 30% backset and sugar. The one with the corn in it stopped at 1.000 but the one with no corn went to .992. Does anyone know why this would happen. Same recipe just no corn. The only thing I can think of is the fresh yeast. Any ideas would be muchly appreciated thanks

I’d say the higher reading is from the unfermentables, which is no problem. As long as its getting close to 1.000 your good to go!
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by 6 Row Joe »

I tried something new. I added a small bag of sweet corn to the mix. It sure smells good.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

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Just started gen 1 today. Oxygenated with my Stone and she took off three hours later![img]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201812 ... 17008a.jpg[/img]
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

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6 Row Joe wrote:I tried something new. I added a small bag of sweet corn to the mix. It sure smells good.

Just transferred it to secondary. It finished at .990. 11.610 sounds good.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by tjans »

2.5 day ferment, finished at .996. Wowza.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Canadashine »

My first 5 generations were all done in less than 3 days. Now my 6th is on day 5 and still going but that's probably my fault since I went from 30% backset to 60 65% to try and get more flavor
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Budapest8485 »

It moves fast! I'm sure my gen three is done in 3 days...I can't still it tonight, so I'll just wait to check when I have time to run it.

I doubled the batch for gen three. I'm going to double it again for gen four and hold it at that level. Then I'll have enough to do four striping runs and a spirit run every generation.
3 x 60 inch Bokabob, 8 gallon boiler, 4500w

3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by tjans »

I can't still mine until Saturday which is a bummer.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

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Doing the spirit run today...wow this stuff is smooth! I'm happy. This is gen 1, 2, and 3 stripped going through it now. Much of the corn forwardness is gone.

Feints... I'm collecting them now. I dumped the foreshots. Should I add these feints into the low wines from generation 4? Or are feints used for vodka in my reflux bokabob?
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3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by tjans »

Budapest8485 wrote:Doing the spirit run today...wow this stuff is smooth! I'm happy. This is gen 1, 2, and 3 stripped going through it now. Much of the corn forwardness is gone.

Feints... I'm collecting them now. I dumped the foreshots. Should I add these feints into the low wines from generation 4? Or are feints used for vodka in my reflux bokabob?
So you lost a lot of the corn flavor?
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

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Budapest8485 wrote:Doing the spirit run today...wow this stuff is smooth! I'm happy. This is gen 1, 2, and 3 stripped going through it now. Much of the corn forwardness is gone.

Feints... I'm collecting them now. I dumped the foreshots. Should I add these feints into the low wines from generation 4? Or are feints used for vodka in my reflux bokabob?
You can do it either way, I usually run feints in my next generation. But at times I have saved up feints for an all feints run. It has produced some of my best neutrals.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Budapest8485 »

tjans wrote:
Budapest8485 wrote:Doing the spirit run today...wow this stuff is smooth! I'm happy. This is gen 1, 2, and 3 stripped going through it now. Much of the corn forwardness is gone.

Feints... I'm collecting them now. I dumped the foreshots. Should I add these feints into the low wines from generation 4? Or are feints used for vodka in my reflux bokabob?
So you lost a lot of the corn flavor?
The corn is still there, just not the only thing I notice now. I'm searching for butterscotch...not sure it's there yet, but I detect something.
3 x 60 inch Bokabob, 8 gallon boiler, 4500w

3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by tjans »

Budapest8485 wrote:
tjans wrote:
Budapest8485 wrote:Doing the spirit run today...wow this stuff is smooth! I'm happy. This is gen 1, 2, and 3 stripped going through it now. Much of the corn forwardness is gone.

Feints... I'm collecting them now. I dumped the foreshots. Should I add these feints into the low wines from generation 4? Or are feints used for vodka in my reflux bokabob?
So you lost a lot of the corn flavor?
The corn is still there, just not the only thing I notice now. I'm searching for butterscotch...not sure it's there yet, but I detect something.
Nice. How much did you yield out of your strips?

I'm gonna strip my first gen this weekend. Looking forward to it. Wonder how many gens I'll need to get to my full boiler capacity.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Budapest8485 »

tjans wrote:
Budapest8485 wrote:
tjans wrote:
Budapest8485 wrote:Doing the spirit run today...wow this stuff is smooth! I'm happy. This is gen 1, 2, and 3 stripped going through it now. Much of the corn forwardness is gone.

Feints... I'm collecting them now. I dumped the foreshots. Should I add these feints into the low wines from generation 4? Or are feints used for vodka in my reflux bokabob?
So you lost a lot of the corn flavor?
The corn is still there, just not the only thing I notice now. I'm searching for butterscotch...not sure it's there yet, but I detect something.
Nice. How much did you yield out of your strips?

I'm gonna strip my first gen this weekend. Looking forward to it. Wonder how many gens I'll need to get to my full boiler capacity.
I get about 1.5 gallons of low wines per 6 gallons of UJSSM. The ABV of gens 1-3 in the boiler was about 40 percent...maybe a little higher. So I had four 6 gallon stripping runs to fill up my boiler.

Dropping in ABV now. Down to about 140 proof. I'm not sure where I should expect to get into the tails, but I don't smell anything yet.

To finish I'm going to crank it up and strip the rest off for recycling.
3 x 60 inch Bokabob, 8 gallon boiler, 4500w

3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by tjans »

I think they recommend 80 down to 70 for Spirit run.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Budapest8485 »

tjans wrote:I think they recommend 80 down to 70 for Spirit run.
I just cranked up the heat when it was down to 110 proof and stripped the rest out. There wasn't much left...maybe half a gallon.

I took the deep hearts to a party last night... Told them I know a guy who makes moonshine :lol: A wide range of feedback...hardcore, smooth, different... I drank it mixed with soda all night and I feel like a champ this morning. I get hangovers easy and I'd probably have one on anything else after 5-6 drinks last night.
3 x 60 inch Bokabob, 8 gallon boiler, 4500w

3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by tjans »

Budapest8485 wrote:
tjans wrote:I think they recommend 80 down to 70 for Spirit run.
I just cranked up the heat when it was down to 110 proof and stripped the rest out. There wasn't much left...maybe half a gallon.

I took the deep hearts to a party last night... Told them I know a guy who makes moonshine :lol: A wide range of feedback...hardcore, smooth, different... I drank it mixed with soda all night and I feel like a champ this morning. I get hangovers easy and I'd probably have one on anything else after 5-6 drinks last night.
That's awesome. Looking forward to distilling mine tomorrow.
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by Budapest8485 »

My places smells like day old beer... Not sure if it's from the distilling or the UJSSM gen four.
3 x 60 inch Bokabob, 8 gallon boiler, 4500w

3 inch pot still head, reduce 2, then to 48 inch 1/2 condenser. 8 gallon boiler, 4500w
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Re: uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Post by kiwi Bruce »

Budapest8485 wrote:My places smells like day old beer...
That's AWESOME! :clap:
Mine just smells like wet puppy dogs and feet...and sometime cooking :oops:
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