uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

possum · Post by **possum** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:54 pm

I use a fermenter and bubble lock. When the bubbles slow, I taste and if it is not sweet, it is time to run.

Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:09 am

I have some empty buckets finally and some cracked corn. I'm going for it today and plan on following this recipe to a "T". One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is PH adjustment on the initial mash. Should I bring it down to 4 like I do for rum washes or will it take care of it's self?

stil_chillin · Post by **stil_chillin** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 6:50 am

Cant wait to try, in the middle of an all grain right now, what do you think of adding a couple gallons of backset to the first batch ? hate to waste it

TRANSPLANTED HILLBILLY · Sat Mar 25, 2006 8:12 am

You could put backset in there. You will be affecting the flavor of what it really is though. Which is true to life SEUS moonshine. In this hobby you can try anything you like.
You can freeze your backset for a future batch. I just hope you got a chest freezer. The wife told me if I wanted to eat again to get mine outta there,(the kitchen freezer that is).

I imagine LHCB ot to be cookin' of soon if not already.

Bujapat · Post by **Bujapat** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:56 am

Hi guys!
Finally, I started today!
I made the mash just like in the recipe...
Have a SG 1060 at 20°C.
Wait for the first bubbles!
My new pot still is almost finished...
I'll tell you...

TheGinz · Post by **TheGinz** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 3:01 pm

Uncle Jesse, I have so far only tried sugar washes with turbo yeast and I want to try a corn sour maxh. Your method seems as good as any. A couple of quick questions, though. I plan to run the finished distillate through sugar maple charcoal to smooth it out and get that Tennessee taste to it. Should I soak the distillate in the charcoal or let the distillate drip through like Jack Daniels does it? Will there be a significant difference in the teaste, or look? If I am letting it sit in the wood, how long do I let it set for? Also, does it make any difference to use wine yeast or turbo yeast? Do you get more flavor out of the mash letting it ferment slowly as opposed to using a 24 or 48 hour alcotec?

possum · Post by **possum** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 8:30 am

I've done the tennesse thing, and I usually let the alcohol and sugar charcoal sit together for a coupple of hours, and then run everything through a funnel and coffee filters. Be carefull with the tenn, whiskey process, as you can end up "smoothing" all of the flavor out of your hootch.

As for sitting on wood, go by taste and color. Everything depends on the condition of the wood, the temp, and the proportions of the spirit to wood.

UJ's sour mash method should not need a tenneseee treatment,as there is no rye in the mash bill (just my opinion...it is a matter of peresonal taste).

TheGinz · Post by **TheGinz** » Thu May 04, 2006 3:15 pm

Uncle Jessy, I used your sour mash recipe and the distillate came out clody. Should I fo ahead and do the second run with this stuff or start over?

Swag · Post by **Swag** » Thu May 04, 2006 3:38 pm

Uncle Jessy, I used your sour mash recipe and the distillate came out clody. Should I fo ahead and do the second run with this stuff or start over?

Sounds like you got some slobber (mash) in your distillate. That can happen if you run too hot or have the boiler too full.
You could run it again, or if this is your first distillation, you should throw it back into your next batch or keep it as strip. Sourmash doesn't start to get tasty until you do a few mashes.
Best thing to do is to strip 4 or 5 mashes and then throw them together for a spirit run. You will get much better tasting whiskey that way.

TheGinz · Post by **TheGinz** » Wed May 10, 2006 1:54 pm

I am about ready to run the second fermentation of my sour mash. The first distillation yeilded something that I wouldn't drink. Should I save all the ditillate together and then re-run it all when I have 5 gallons worth or should I run this second fermenation with the first distillate poured in. i am leaning toward doing the second for some reason. Thanks.

Bujapat · Post by **Bujapat** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:01 pm

Had the same problem a few weeks ago.
I distilled together first distilate and 2nd mash, everything gone well!

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Tue May 23, 2006 2:38 am

I'm going to start a scaled down version of the recipe -- reducing it to a 4 liter wash with a 1 liter backset. If all goes well, and when I finally learn all the ins and outs of my new copper alembic, I'll up the amounts.

The question is this: does one need to start from scratch, or can one simply add MORE to the reduced recipe to get it back up to the original (about 20 liters).

I think that it shouldn't be a problem, as you would only need to use more of the backset, dissolve the sugar in it and up the water and corn.

Am I right?

Aidas

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Thu May 25, 2006 1:03 am

By the way, as Lithuania is a bit too far north for extensive corn growing (and nobody uses corn for feed), I'm using grocery-store corn meal. It costs around 1.20 Euro per kilo (1 USD per 2.2 lbs.) A bit more than those of you in the states are paying for bulk feed corn

I started two days ago, and pitched the yeast EC-118 without hydrating it. Obviously, it was a little slow to start, but it's coming along. The corn meal settles out to the bottom (which should be good for siphoning off the wash), but I'm concerned that maybe this will prevent full flavor from coming through into the wash. The wash itself smells nice -- sweetish.

Aidas

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Sun May 28, 2006 9:28 pm

My mash no longer has a dominant sweet smell -- it seems to be going the way of sour (No need for jokes about sour mash, please - I know what sour mash is).

From experience, who can tell me what the mash should smell like several days into fermentation?

Aidas

possum · Post by **possum** » Mon May 29, 2006 7:08 am

Should smell like beer, with a little sharpness.

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Mon May 29, 2006 8:48 am

Sharpness I've got. However, it's verging on vinegary. I think I've got contamination...

Aidas

possum · Post by **possum** » Mon May 29, 2006 10:12 am

well, I wonder if you have a bubble lock, or an open container. Try to let it run through its ferment, and distill it. You should be able to tell for sure if you check the distillate...mine(sourmash) smelled different than I thought beer should smell.If it is supercrap...start over with better sanitary precautions.

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Mon May 29, 2006 10:56 am

I did it much like I do my wines. First day or three as an open primary, and then I put an airlock on it. Because it's such a small quantity the lock isn't bubbling like I'm used to, so (naturally, curiosity got the better of me) I opened it up the check the smell.

Unfortunately, this is the one time that I didn't sanitize with campden tablets, as the bucket I'm using was new food grade plastic. I simply gave it a good washing.

I'll run it in the next couple of days and see what happens.

Aidas

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:02 pm

Well, I still haven't run it. It looks like it isn't contaminated after all. I think I simply wasn't expecting such a different smell from the wines I've made. In any case, the fermentation is taking FOREVER! However, my SG is now down to 1.015, so I think I'll run it this weekend regardless of whether it ferments dry or not. I want to move on with this thing...

Aidas

Rocky_Creek · Post by **Rocky_Creek** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 4:57 am

A heavy dose of yeast will overcome many possible contaminates, another good reason to use distillers yeast.. Also make sure you have an acid wash going in.

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 1:39 am

Well, I ran it. Came off nice -- sweetish, not sharp at all. I'd say drinkable from the first run. However, remaining true to UJ's recipe, I put everything aside for future runs. Now I've already doubled my scaled down recipe by using 2 liters of backset and new water, sugar and corn for a total of 8 liters of wash. After running this, I'm going to double it again to 16 liters of wash so that it's perfect for the 20 liter copper alembic.

One concern that I'm thinking about having

is, because I'm using cornmeal, rather than cracked corn, about nothing floating to the top. Thus, I'll never know when the corn is spent. However, I figure I'll use it for 7-10 runs and throw out most of it, leaving just a bit for the yeast colony.

Hopefully this method will keep me pickled on a non-stop basis, as I'm already running very low of all the stuff I made in the spring. Even though my brandies were on wood for only a month or so, they've been a big hit with all the guests coming in this summer.

Man, you gotta love this hobby.

Aidas

PacNW79193 · Post by **PacNW79193** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 7:01 pm

Virginia Gentleman wrote:Good point, hadn't thought about contamination. The book I read said that the reason to do it was because after about 12 hours floating, the spent corn would no longer float and would go back to the bottom. So when you got around to replenishing the spent corn and adding set-back, you wouldn't be able to tell which corn was spent (except for the most recently floating corn). But I'm all for trying it and not scooping corn until the end, as you and Jesse advise.

Can't know but to try.

Just to be sure, since this is the recipe I use, the spent corn is brown and the unspent corn is still yellow, if you look at the side of the fermenter. I use those translucent 8 gallon buckets from the brew store, you can kind of see through them. And if you look at the corn on the bottom you can see that some of it is brown, the top layer, and the rest underneath is yellow. So I am going to assume that the unspent corn is the yellow stuff on the bottom, am I right?

TRANSPLANTED HILLBILLY · Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:12 pm

From my experience with this mash, the best time to clean your spent corn is at the start of a new cycle. As the corn loses density it floats, then it becomes liquid logged and sinks. So when you start your next cycle with new sugar the density of your liquid will float anything in the mash that has a lower density than your new specific gravity.

At the start of a brand new mash, (when everything is fresh), at the end of that fermentation I get about a pound off, next cycle about 1.5 pounds, etc. The most i have gotten is about 3 pounds and that was after 5 cycles.

Obviously you dont have to do it this way but it sure works for me and I dont have to mess around with it.

Hope this helps someone.

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 11:11 pm

Well, now I've run three batches. Two in small quantity (Easystill) and one in bigger (20 ltr. copper alembic). Even though the alembic put out a better taste, all the batches are fantastic. This is a great recipe, not only for its ease, but for the product it puts out. I'm hardpressed to believe that it can bet better (I've noticed a number of comments that it "starts getting good after 5-6 batches").

I've been putting the distillate on toasted oak (quercus robur) (baked in foil at 200 deg. c. for 4 hours). Even after a week, I've got color that is a deep mahogony, and a fantastic taste. I've had so many guests coming through the house this summer, that I haven't been able to keep it longer than a week.

Fortunately, I managed to save a liter to put away, and am keeping myself in check not to touch it.

Thank you Jesse!

Aidas

Virginia Gentleman · Post by **Virginia Gentleman** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 1:08 am

It's tasty stuff alright. I filled a 2 gal. barrel with double-run UJSM back in Jan. and somehow managed to wait until May to crack it. Brought it to a friend's wedding and all the bachelor and pre-wedding shindigs and it is all gone. Just so tasty. now the barrel if filled with THM rum (only had enough to barrel single run @ 63%) and that's getting tasty after just a week.

Meanwhile 10 gal. of new UJSM are ready to be stripped, run again with other runs and put in barrel or made into peach. Mmmmmmmmmm

Post by **Uncle Jesse** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 5:03 pm

Great work, Duke boys!

You make a 'shiner proud.

as for cracked corn, old timers tell me that 6-8 pieces per kernel is the 'right' crack.

finding the proper grain mill is not as easy as i'd like.

Virginia Gentleman · Post by **Virginia Gentleman** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:01 pm

Thanks Jesse, you learned us good. Got no mill nearby so I get the 50 lb. bags at Tractor Supply. It's about 5-10.

Virginia Gentleman · Post by **Virginia Gentleman** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 10:20 pm

no problem, that's how I learnt!

50 lbs. feed corn is about $7. Tough to beat. Good luck with it.

Rx,

VG

Aidas · Post by **Aidas** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:28 pm

No need to hijack and post advertisements about your thread elsewhere...

In any case, now that I've got my UJ SM going, and am quite comfortable with it, and ecstatic about the results, I can't help but want to tinker with the recipe.

I'm thinking of adding some rye (bought some organic rye at the farmer's market yesterday) . If I pass it through a hand crancked meat grinder, I should probably get the right crack, correct?

What sort of ratio rye/corn should I use (actually, after typing that, I already know what the answer is -- experiment!).

By the way, has anybody done UJ SM with JUST rye? What were the results -- nice?

Aidas

Post by **Uncle Jesse** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:40 am

i don't believe you have to crack rye. unlike corn it doesnt have a tough outer exterior hull to penetrate.

Home Distiller

uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

Came out Cloudy Uncle!

Re: Came out Cloudy Uncle!

well done

rye