uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

[tag1260]

I do open ferment. 5 gallon batches.
I used about 1.5 gallons backset with 7lb. sugar dissolved in the hot backset. Then cooled to 90f and added to bucket then topped off with water.

[tag1260]

Hey, hey, hey it's bubbling away!!!!!

Got home from work and it's going strong!!!!!

[Sporacle]

Hey, hey, hey it's bubbling away!!!!!

Got home from work and it's going strong!!!!!

Sometimes things take the time they take, just be aware of the backset amounts, the further into generations I go the less backset I use.
Well done

[Wildcats]

I do a wash similar to this. 7 #cracked corn 7 # sugar and 7 gal of water. About 14 gm of distillers yeast. Do a stripping run. Throw out the first 150 ml of fores. No cuts. Save up 4.5 gal of low wines to fill my still . Discard 150 mls fores. Run slow and make cuts by taste . Haven't tried to reuse backset and old corn to make it a sour mash. Really like the taste of what I get. Running a 5 gal pot still with a worm. Gotta try the sour mash next.

[CageMaster]

i'm going to be running this recipe in the near future, my question being this, I am running an 8 gallon pot still setup, is the 5 gallon recipe going to be ideal for what i want to run or based on whats left in the fermenter will my still be undercharged? should i scale the mash bill up a bit to get closer to 6.5 or 7 gallons in the still?

[Steve Broady]

I run about 5 gallon fermentations all the time, always through an 8 gallon stove top pot still. Worked just fine. In fact, I prefer to have some head space, in case the charge foams up. As far as I know, the only issue with leaving a boiler too empty is if you don’t have enough to keep an internal element covered.

[CageMaster]

I run about 5 gallon fermentations all the time, always through an 8 gallon stove top pot still. Worked just fine. In fact, I prefer to have some head space, in case the charge foams up. As far as I know, the only issue with leaving a boiler too empty is if you don’t have enough to keep an internal element covered.

thanks, thats what i was thinking too, just nice to have a second opinion

[greggn]

I am running an 8 gallon pot still setup, is the 5 gallon recipe going to be ideal for what i want to run or based on whats left in the fermenter will my still be undercharged? should i scale the mash bill up a bit to get closer to 6.5 or 7 gallons in the still?

I also run an 8 gallon boiler. In general, I aim for a 6 gallon charge so I target a fermentation volume of approximately 7.5 gallons (off-grain). Allowing for the loss due to trub in my primary, that typically puts me right at 6 gallons into my secondary ... which is about a perfect charge for my boiler.

Sure, I can push 7 gallons if it's a low-foamer like rice but 6 gallons is my max when I'm running wheat or oats.

[sadie33]

I started my first UJSSM on 1/21. It seems to be done fermenting. I am taking my final notes before I do my stripping run. I have 2 questions.

First- do I need to degas the beer after siphoning it off the lees before running it?
Second- This will be the first time I airate the yeast with something in it besides yeast, sugar and water. I'm trying to figure the best way to do that.

I'm planning to use 50% backset for my next 2 ferments then decrease the amount of backset after that because of PH. I will put 2.5 gal of fresh H2O after syphoning and replacing spent corn to keep yeast happy. I am using 2.5 gal of hot backset to dissolve my sugar(in another bucket). I will let that cool over night. The next morning I will add the cooled sugar water to the corn/yeast/fresh water. If I stir quickly while my husband pours the cooled sugar water into the yeast/corn mixture, would that be enough to airate it?

[subbrew]

No need to degas. It will degas enough as you transfer it around.

I use an aquarium pump and a stainless aeration stone to aerate my wort. But before buying that I just stirred and splashed vigorously. It will be fine as UJSSM has a lot of yeast in the remaining corn, so there is less yeast propagation than something where you are just pitching a packet of yeast.

I would cut the backset to no more than 20% of your liquid. There will be plenty of "sour" left in the corn you leave. That 50% is going to really lower ph. And UJSSM being a sugar wash will crash it further.

[Sporacle]

Personally I would stick to the ratios of backset in the recipe with a reduction over time, it's in the tried and true for a reason.
No need to degas and the stirring plan is fine.
Good luck

[sadie33]

Personally I would stick to the ratios of backset in the recipe with a reduction over time,That's exactly what I'm doing. It says 25-50%. I'm starting on the high side (suggested a couple times in the UJSSM thread) and reducing over time (as stated).


No need to degas and the stirring plan is fine. Thanks!!
Good luck thanks

[Sporacle]

By the ratio I meant the 25% that Jesse uses in his example, personally I feel 50 is pushing things a bit to hard.

[sadie33]

By the ratio I meant the 25% that Jesse uses in his example, personally I feel 50 is pushing things a bit to hard.

Oh, I see. I read that some people didn't like it as high as 50%, but it seemed they were doing it that high for 6-7 generations. I am only doing it that high on my first and maybe my second. Then I plan to cut it down to about 35% for a few, then 25%.

thanks again!

[NZChris]

If I want to use a lot of backset, I put in a couple of large clam shells to offset the higher acidity.

[Saltbush Bill]

50% is looking for trouble, 25% is more than enough IMO.
Long term 4 L in a 28-30L ferment will keep your UJ working for many many many generations.

[sadie33]

hmmm...okay, I have never made a sour mash so I guess I will stick with the 25% as suggested.

thanks everyone

[6 Row Joe]

15-20% is good for me.

[sadie33]

Did I read to use filtered water, but NOT distilled? I read it somewhere, but not sure if it was THIS recipe or not.

thanks

[NZChris]

Distilled water is devoid of minerals, so isn't great for yeast.

Maybe filter your water if you have a problem with it. I never have.

[sadie33]

Distilled water is devoid of minerals, so isn't great for yeast.

Maybe filter your water if you have a problem with it. I never have.

thanks. we have really good well water. Maybe just out of curiosity I will test the PH.

[subbrew]

If your water is good to drink, i.e. no sulfur smells and not a lot of iron, it will work fine for distilling.

[sadie33]

I made the UJSSM for a 5 gal ferment, but my pot only holds 4 gal. I know I could do it in 2 batches, but would rather not. How do I down size it? I can figure out the water and sugar, it's the corn I'm having a problem with. I weighed it dry so I can't pull out wet corn and weigh it...I could use fresh corn, but then I loose my yeast.

Any ideas or suggestions?

[6 Row Joe]

Run it in 2 batches. next batch just adjust your sugar and water accordingly to get the size batch you need. Scoop the spent corn off the top and replace with the same amount. I use a cool whip container and replace a heaping container full. UJ is quite forgiving. If you get close it will be fine. Don't measure the corn by weight but by volume.

[subbrew]

I made the UJSSM for a 5 gal ferment, but my pot only holds 4 gal. I know I could do it in 2 batches, but would rather not. How do I down size it? I can figure out the water and sugar, it's the corn I'm having a problem with. I weighed it dry so I can't pull out wet corn and weigh it...I could use fresh corn, but then I loose my yeast.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Don't worry too much, the corn is for flavor so if it is a little more or a little less it will not make that much difference. If you are going from 5 to say just 3 gallons for a batch take out half to 2/3 of the wet corn and put back about half as much as you took out, all by volume. Except for specialty grains such as smoked or chocolate malts, most of these recipes are very forgiving and give you some latitude to just wing it.

[sadie33]

okay, thanks. I wasn't sure and this is my first time doing a real recipe so I didn't want to mess it up.

I read that some people will take the low wines form the first stripping run (sweet run) and put that in with the next stripping run. I have another 5 gal ferment. I will have to run this batch in 2 runs. Should I split the low wines from my sweet run so each batch gets some of the low wines or does it not matter?

After this I am going to just do 4 gal ferments so it will all fit in my pot. I can do the stripping run one night, the spirit run the next night and be done.

thanks

[subbrew]

I would not put the low wines from one stripping run into the next. You just spent an evening getting the low wines separated from the wash, why put them back in a wash? I think you might be confusing putting feints from one spirit run into the next spirit run of the same product.

To allow you to have more hearts and much easier to make cuts I would recommend doing 2 or 3 stripping runs and combining the low wines from each of them to fill the pot for the spirit run. Much easier to make cuts from a gallon and a half, across 20 jars, than only half a gallon across half that many jars.

[ecir54]

when reading this thread came across the condensed version

worthy of posting every while in this thread

viewtopic.php?f=96&t=50167

[sadie33]

I would not put the low wines from one stripping run into the next. You just spent an evening getting the low wines separated from the wash, why put them back in a wash? I think you might be confusing putting feints from one spirit run into the next spirit run of the same product.

To allow you to have more hearts and much easier to make cuts I would recommend doing 2 or 3 stripping runs and combining the low wines from each of them to fill the pot for the spirit run. Much easier to make cuts from a gallon and a half, across 20 jars, than only half a gallon across half that many jars.

The only reason I would is that it is suggested in the theory part of this thread on pg 1. He says-

"Your first distillation run will be a "sweet" run since you will not have any backset to use for sour mashing. I recommend using the spirits you collect in your first run as feints for the next run. Yes, all of them. Your second run will produce your first batch of sour mash, which will be good, but in truth the flavor and consistency will not start to reach their peak until the third or fourth run in my experience."

Did I miss understand this? It sounds to me you take what you collect in your stripping run and put it in your spirit run. But it is a little confusing because he never talks about a stripping run or spirit run, just first run or second run.

[subbrew]

Did I miss understand this? It sounds to me you take what you collect in your stripping run and put it in your spirit run. But it is a little confusing because he never talks about a stripping run or spirit run, just first run or second run.

You understood correctly. I had forgotten that part of the original instructions. By putting all the first generation low wines in the second generation he is trying to get move of the sour mash flavor into the low wines. Other than taking a bit longer to run the second generation stripping run there is certainly no downside.