uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

[BIGBIRD123]

LOL, BigBird, I'd like to thank you for being so welcoming. If you'll read my post, it's UJSSM with barley and wheat subbed for half the corn, seems I've read quite a few substitutions (page 134 with oats and many others further back) that didn't receive your welcoming comments. I've been doing cooked mashes and would like to know what differences in flavor to expect. Seems like a valid question or am I out of line?

Sorry RR, I was maybe a little too forthcoming thinking that maybe you were a newbie with the low post count and thought maybe you needed a little directing and possibly needing to put on the brakes for going a little too quick into a hobby that requires your head to be in the game the whole time you are doing something. You know where the newbie talks about his mash and all along what he's doing is a wash...no offense was intended and I hope none taken. I was a little fast in my beginning, made many mistakes and just didn't want to see someone do the same as I did...best of luck to you and I hope you get out of this what you desire...have you met Rad?

[Ghost]

Post count has nothing to do with experience in stilling guys - Im not sure that popcorn or any of the legends in this art if alive today might have a post count of well .... 0

[BoisBlancBoy]

What would happen if you didn't remove the spent corn? Just added some each generation. Besides the obvious that after awhile the fermenter would fill up.

[jbird1992]

What would happen if you didn't remove the spent corn? Just added some each generation. Besides the obvious that after awhile the fermenter would fill up.

I think you would have a meet in the middle problem, lots of floaties on top with the bottom getting full fast

[BIGBIRD123]

Running my 3rd gen right now..wahoooooo First little pencil stream came out in 20min...

[BoisBlancBoy]

What would happen if you didn't remove the spent corn? Just added some each generation. Besides the obvious that after awhile the fermenter would fill up.

I think you would have a meet in the middle problem, lots of floaties on top with the bottom getting full fast

Well I ask cause I am going to give a new fermenter a try. A plastic barrel with only bung holes in it. So far my experience with this recipe you end up pulling off maybe 15% of spent corn from the total corn in the wash, so not alot. Since I won't be able to really get the spend corn out I will just add some fresh corn back each generation. With that said I don't plan on doing that many generations that I would even come close to filling my fermenter with corn, but if someone has a reason that leaving the spent corn in there is a bad idea, then I won't try it.

[Condensifier]

You don't even need to add any corn if you're not planning on going beyond 7 or 8 generations. I've gone 5 gens without adding corn and only removing floaters and when I dumped out the old corn after 5 gens a lot of it still looked good so now I'm going to go 8 gens without adding corn and see how it goes and probably start a whole new batch.

[T-Pee]

I found that the sweet run produced over 8 cups of spent corn. Successive generations produced much less. My Gen 4 is in the fermenter as we speak and there are very few floaties in there with the ferment down to 1.010 at this point.

tp

[BIGBIRD123]

I have a 4th gen fermenting right now and started a 30g barrel with a fresh batch. Once the 4th and the new one get through, what would happen if I added the backset from each and the corn from the the 7gal to the 30g to combine them both?

[RickRay]

BigBird, no problem. We're cool.

On your last question, your wash will end up different, not saying good or bad, just different. Different amount of backset, percentage wise, and a different amount of grain. If you've been adding new grain each generation, then no harm, just more grain. It may cause your end amount of alcohol to be higher than you wish. Not a real good way to measure how efficient the grain starch is converted to sugar, you can only read the OG from the sugar added. I've read the sour mash process is about 30-35% efficient, Smiley's book. Might want to take that into account on how much sugar you add. If you add Beano and/or gluco amylase, then the efficientcy goes up to almost 50%, again from Smiley's book. Anyone have an idea how to measure starch conversion efficiency? Hard to measure wash alcohol content, usually figured form OG to FG.

[sltm1]

I'm working my 6th gen of UJ and it started at 1.063 and stopped at 1.010, should i try to push it by adding Beano (ph is 5)or is this typical for 6th gen?

[RickRay]

1.010 is good, especially after 6 gens, run it. Some beer finishes quite a bit higher than that.

[sltm1]

Thanks RickRay

[jpatts]

I started my mash last night. i followed the recipe to a T, but my air lock is not bubbling away like some others have reported. This morning I replaced airlocks but still no increase in bubbling. Does anyone have an idea as to what I have done to mess this recipe up, or could still do to possibly fix the mash?

Thank you
Jim

[Dyonisus]

Make sure that fermenting container is sealed properly, maybe you have leak... ussualy shoul start bubbling in few hours.

[T-Pee]

Does anyone have an idea as to what I have done to mess this recipe up, or could still do to possibly fix the mash?

Need some more info. SG? Type of yeast? Temperature of the mash?

UJSSM is pretty hard to actually screw up with.

tp

[BoisBlancBoy]

I started my mash last night. i followed the recipe to a T, but my air lock is not bubbling away like some others have reported. This morning I replaced airlocks but still no increase in bubbling. Does anyone have an idea as to what I have done to mess this recipe up, or could still do to possibly fix the mash?

Thank you
Jim

Take the lid off your bucket, look and listen at the top of the wash. If its working you should see lots of little bubbles along with hearing it like a can of pop. If its working don't worry to much about the airlock.

[sltm1]

If I add backset from an exhausted batch (6 gen) to a new batch, does that make it second gen?

[BrooklynTech]

I'm 18 pages into the 136. Hope to have it finished by summer when I plan to start my first run. Right now I have enough from Corn Flakes runs and from running 3 gallons of
Sangria to get the glass 1 gallon bottles. I now have 5...1 gallon bottles. 2 empty, 2 w/Corn Flakes and one w/the distilled Sangria.

[jholmz]

If I add backset from an exhausted batch (6 gen) to a new batch, does that make it second gen?

i believe it would resort back to a first gen but it would be a sour mash by using the backset and you would get the added flavor profile from that

[sunshine1101]

Im about to start gen 4 of ujssm and am thinking about the start up process of a fresh batch when this one is spent. Is it adviseable to start the new batch completely from scratch or can you start the new batch with new yeast, grain and sugar and add in the backset from the preceding run?

[120proof]

Im about to start gen 4 of ujssm and am thinking about the start up process of a fresh batch when this one is spent. Is it adviseable to start the new batch completely from scratch or can you start the new batch with new yeast, grain and sugar and add in the backset from the preceding run?

I do this all the time. When I run something I really like on the third or fourth gen, I'll freeze a gallon or two of the backset to use when I start a new batch.

120

[bellybuster]

I like to do a new start from scratch, that intense corn smell and flavour from gen 1 is real nice. Different strokes I guess.

[One Sock]

Too me the first gen is just harsh, it's the weeks and months the corn steeps and the yeast evolves that make each gen better and better! Eventually it may be time to restart and having a backset to add can only improve the flavor!

[aquavita]

Hard Water

I live outside of the city water system. Lake Michigan Water is fantastic for cooking, nice and soft - but I have well water. I know my water has some hardness - have a softener for the hot water side of the world.

I see that the recipe calls for soft water... I'd really prefer to not put "softened" water in the batch as the sodium content is much higher.

Will well water with some hardness really kill the recipe? I have the gypsum to add and help out.

Yes - I did search, but the words "hard" and "water" were too common for the engine. Thanks.

[ezlle71]

aquavita,
I too have hard water where i ferment, From what i have read the calcium is good for the ferment as long as it low in iron. I have never had a problem and my ferments go off without a hitch. Do not use hard water to dilute your finished product, i learned the hard way last summer. lol I had some all bran product and when i diluted it with our tap water it got cloudy. I guess the alcohol draws the calcium out. I let it set for few weeks and the cloudiness settled out. Good luck
ez

[aquavita]

Thanks Ezelle.

Made something last night - do not know what I'd call it. Kinda was tired and did not take the time to re read the UJSSMM again. I kinda cross recipes with one of Jimbos as I was going from "memory" and not the book.

We'll see what happens.

[T-Pee]

aquavita,
I too have hard water where i ferment, From what i have read the calcium is good for the ferment as long as it low in iron. I have never had a problem and my ferments go off without a hitch. Do not use hard water to dilute your finished product, i learned the hard way last summer. lol I had some all bran product and when i diluted it with our tap water it got cloudy. I guess the alcohol draws the calcium out. I let it set for few weeks and the cloudiness settled out.

I did the same thing with the same results. Upsetting at first. Now I use distilled water for cutting and no more cloudy.

tp

[ezlle71]

yep me too, distilled water for diluting since then, Just as crystal clear as i could ever want!!
ez

[opihiman911]

Lacto Infection

I racked off my Gen 4 wash, combined with the 3 gens of strip and did a spirit run with it. I added a couple gallons of water to my fermenter with intentions to restart the next Gen, but as is always real life got in the way of fun life and I never got to my wash for 4 days. When I opened it had spider web mold on the top. From what I read this is a lacto infection.
My question is can I pour off the liquid, rinse off the grain, then dump my boiling backset onto the grain and let it sterilize and kill off all the bad bacteria and good yeast (good nutes I've read). Swish it around the bucket to get the sides. Then just restart my yeast and go for Gen 5? Or since I want this second half sour, leave everything in don't rinse to save flavor and add boiling backset to kill everything off.

My plan was to strip 1-3 and do a gen4 spirit for a sweet corn likker. Then do the same with 5-7 strip and gen 8 spirit as a sour likker. Then dump the grain and start all over. I'm doing everything by the recipe, 25% backset, change top couple inches of grain, couple tablespoons CC. I just want to keep this going out to gen 8 so I can see if I like the later generation flavors you all are talking about.

Thanks,
Opihi

BTW for my past sweetfeed and neutral runs I did, I used to cut it with distilled water also, but I found it gave me a dry mouth feel. My later batches I started cutting with natural mountain spring water and I found it to have a smoother mouth feel to it. The spring water does have minerals in it, but never had it precipitate on me and my likker is crystal clear. Tasting them separate its hard to distinguish that feel, but side by side its pretty obvious to me that I like the spring water cut, especially when I drink it straight out of the freezer they way I like. Cut a pint both ways and taste side by side both room temp and freezer cold and see what you like. I bet you will notice a difference too. Peace and good sipping.