Brandy Backset in a Whiskey mash?

[Stonecutter]

I’m mashing a whiskey this weekend and was thinking about mixing some apple brandy backset into the fermenter with the whiskey mash? I’ve never used backset in any of my mashes and I couldn’t really find anything about “mix and match”. I’ll probably just do it anyway to see the results for myself. I’m sure someone must have tried this before. I appreciate any insight.
Whiskey Grain bill looks like this:
2.5 lbs quick oats
3.5 lbs malted rye
3.5 lbs malted Barley
3.5 lbs flaked corn
4 gallons of water
2.5 gallons of brandy backset??

[8Ball]

Sounds like it should work. Your backset amount seems high to me. Might want to cut back some on it. I’d add backset to the mash until it was at 5.3. If you need to add more to get to your 6-1/2 gallon mark, then buffer (dilute) the backset with water to 5.3, then top off the mash tun with it.

Good luck. Let us know how it works out for you.

[Stonecutter]

Aww shit.... you’re right 8Ball. I was shooting for 25-30% backset when I did the math and came up with 1.6-2 gallons and for some reason I wrote it down wrong in my post Thank you for pointing that out.

[jonnys_spirit]

I’ve mashed barley with apple juice before and thought it was pretty good. Not something you can buy in the liquor store.

Cheers-
J

[Stonecutter]

Thanks JS. I wonder if much of the flavor profile from the brandy run will transfer over into the whiskey? I don’t expect anything substantial. Lifting the pinky....subtle flavor nuisances.

[Stonecutter]

Like anything else. Yeast and fermentation environment will be most of my flavor. I’m running the brandy tomorrow and mashing Saturday. I’ll keep y’all posted

[jonnys_spirit]

Maybe cook some up to mash temp in a small pot on the stove and see how it tastes/smells? Like a quart or two. Pasteurize or boil the backset so it’s sanitary then add the malts in as it drops to mash temp.

Ferment and distill will be different for sure but cooking up a little mash might lead you into a certain direction?
Cheers!
-j

[Stonecutter]

Great idea to “nano” batch it. I really appreciate the input.

[Stonecutter]

Update:
The apple brandy came out pretty bitter/acrid on the back end. Last time I ran my still it did bubble up into the column It didn’t “puke” out of the Liebig but it got 3/4 of the way up (I use a sight glass). I washed everything out real good with hot water and star San and then rinsed like mad. I’m wondering if some scorching carried over or if the some of the Star San wasn’t rinsed off. I was pretty damn thorough with the rinsing though. I usually just rinse with hot water after a run but went the extra mile with it nearly puking and all. I’ve run this same recipe multiple times and never had it run with this flavor profile. It’s not pleasant. My question is....should I dump the backset and the brandy and call it a sac run or should I give it a day or two with the brandy and add the backset to my fermenter tomorrow?

-Edit- just checked the backset and doesn’t smell like scorch; just smells like regular sour backset.

[jonnys_spirit]

How’s the backset taste?

[Stonecutter]

It’s still too hot. I’ll grab a sample and let it cool though.
-Edit-
It tastes like watered down apple cider vinegar. I’m definitely going to use this in my mash tomorrow. I should of thought to taste it. I feel pretty stupid right about now . Thanks for holding my hand J_spirit. When shit goes south there is a tendency to start to panic and then it’s easy to miss the simple stuff. I hope the brandy airs out enough to be worth while.

[Stonecutter]

So the whiskey/brandy fermentation finished just shy of zero (1.002-4). I had pitched some 1118 hoping to finish her off but it didn’t happen. I’m sure my ph is way too low from using 30% backset and not taking a proper ph reading. Is having a small amount of unconverted sugar going to royally eff’ the run? Either way I’ve got 5.5 gallons of some nice smelling beer (there is a fair amount of apple notes) racked and clearing for this weekend.