uncle jesse's simple sour mash method

[Durhommer]

totally agree SBB... everytime i rock off a batch people who know what i do will have a sample and i tend to hear smooth taste like store bought and no hangover. thats just forced aged! my peat whiskey and bourbons that made it past my thirst are coloring up real nice...now i can understand the white whiskey craze lol them fellas aint got time to age nothing it just goes to market. I like the fact that I can make something thats comparable to a reputable brand and i can replicate it time and time again.jumping around from mash to mash i guess was a help in a way

[rolling]

Exactly why I'm going to run up 4 or 5 batches this fall. Batch two is fermenting now. It's so easy to set your beginning SG right where you want it, and it ferments great. I run one shot, so all of batch one will go into batch two's run. I'm going to keep all of it white and make my cuts conservative. I'll be sipping it all through the holidays.

[Durhommer]

just be glad you chose to follow a recipe to start with i went out on my own at first with dismal results....the more you read here and the more washes mashes you put down you will be making yer own concoctions in no time...

[freshwaterjellyfish]

Clawhammers recipe is way too similar. I didnt see any hats off to uncle Jesse.
Copying is the highest for a flattery
...you can't be flattered if you don't know.

[Durhommer]

welli have one more strip to do tonight then its off to the spirit run i dont really think it matters where a recipe comes from as long as its reliable...im ready to get running this all bran wash tho i think i like making likker more than i like drinking it... just something about knowing YOU created the drink people are enjoying when sharing

[Saltbush Bill]

The UJSM recipe and its variants are on almost every distilling forum that Ive ever looked at.
Good things that work well travel like wild fire on the net.

[Eire Whiskey]

If I save my heads and tails and run them, can I add this whiskey to the other whiskey collected from hearts for aging? I hope this makes sense.

I am still trying to get a grip on all the terms. I have also gotten a bit anxious the closer I get to doing my first run, so I am second guessing everything and re-reading, and getting more questions. LOL
I will be glad when my first real run is done.
I am running BW today to clean and practice running the still as if it was a real run, to learn how to regulate the temperature, and hopefully use everything everyone has suggested to me in the operation of the still.

[still_stirrin]

If I save my heads and tails and run them, can I add this whiskey to the other whiskey collected from hearts for aging?

Why on earth would you want to take your cutouts and add them back to your keep? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

If you collect feints and want to “squeeze” them, then OK. But when you do, run them through a reflux still. And then, keep it separate, as a neutral. Remember, the whole reason for making cuts is to separate the feints from the hearts. And greed is your spoiler. So, don’t go there.
ss

[Eire Whiskey]

If I save my heads and tails and run them, can I add this whiskey to the other whiskey collected from hearts for aging?

Why on earth would you want to take your cutouts and add them back to your keep? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

If you collect feints and want to “squeeze” them, then OK. But when you do, run them through a reflux still. And then, keep it separate, as a neutral. Remember, the whole reason for making cuts is to separate the feints from the hearts. And greed is your spoiler. So, don’t go there.
ss

It may be dumb to a seasoned distiller, it does not seem like a dumb question to me to ask what to do with the feints after doing a run with feints. If I just need to trash them, it"s okay with me.

[Swedish Pride]

Don't trash em, faints are good, not sure if SS woke up on the wrong side of the bed or miss read your post.

3 good ways to use head+tails (faints)
1, add to the next batch of the same(ish) brew.
2, save up for an all faints flavoured run, basically faints from all sorts of runs that come together to create a unique spirit that you'll never be able to recreate again.
3, as SS points out , turn it in to Neutral.

I'd be inclined to age seperatly by you can of course add to already aging stock if you so prefer.

I've done 1&3 above, both works fine.

Best of luck with it

[still_stirrin]

I would never want to adulterate my good whiskey hearts aging in a barrel with rerun feints from who knows what source. Hence, my reply.

But YOU can do what ever you want. My final caution was to be careful of greediness, which can ruin your top shelf cabinet. To some, that may be acceptable. But, I am capable of better....quality trumps quantity!
ss

[Eire Whiskey]

Don't trash em, faints are good, not sure if SS woke up on the wrong side of the bed or miss read your post.

3 good ways to use head+tails (faints)
1, add to the next batch of the same(ish) brew.
2, save up for an all faints flavoured run, basically faints from all sorts of runs that come together to create a unique spirit that you'll never be able to recreate again.
3, as SS points out , turn it in to Neutral.

I'd be inclined to age seperatly by you can of course add to already aging stock if you so prefer.

I've done 1&3 above, both works fine.

Best of luck with it

Thanks! This answered my question. I'll save them till I get enough to do a feints run. I will not mix with my hearts.
I am not trying to be greedy, I want good whiskey.

[Durhommer]

E.W. consider stillerboys method of converting yer corn before adding to the ujssm method you will gain abv plus flavor in my opinion flavor is what counts fuggin 3-2 beer will get u drunk im more concerned with what im getting drunk on taste like plus it will baby step you into doing all grain mashing if u ever feel ready for ag might i suggest jimbos ag method and booners casual all corn both are terrific and will arm you with the knowledge to concoct your own recipies and flavor profiles

[Eire Whiskey]

E.W. consider stillerboys method of converting yer corn before adding to the ujssm method you will gain abv plus flavor in my opinion flavor is what counts fuggin 3-2 beer will get u drunk im more concerned with what im getting drunk on taste like plus it will baby step you into doing all grain mashing if u ever feel ready for ag might i suggest jimbos ag method and booners casual all corn both are terrific and will arm you with the knowledge to concoct your own recipies and flavor profiles

Are you talking about cooking the corn first, and putting amalaae in it? I tried finding Stiller Boy's method, but could not find any mention after doing a search and going thru many, many posts.
AG is what I am aiming to do.

I am going to charge the still with the SM this morning. UJ says for the beginner to keep the alcohol collected between 80-70% ABV, and as I mature I can delve into the 60% range and this will be my hearts, and keep the heads and tails for a feints run.
Did I understand that portion of UJ's post correctly?

[Durhommer]

u understand but u should just take a fores cut and strip down 2 35% save all those 35% strips till u have a spirit run boiler charge thats where u will be using the head heart tail method...yes a few pages to the end he mentions how he does his corn

[Eire Whiskey]

u understand but u should just take a fores cut and strip down 2 35% save all those 35% strips till u have a spirit run boiler charge thats where u will be using the head heart tail method...yes a few pages to the end he mentions how he does his corn

So run the still till I get down to 35%, and save those.
You said several pages down is where StillerBoy talks about his corn method, is this on the UJSSM thread?
Thanks for getting back, I have been waiting for a response before turning the heat on.

[Durhommer]

yes E.W. run your whisky mashes/washes to 35% taking a 100 ml fores cut off the front end(when the pipe starts cumming) ill try and find where stillerboy says he puts his corn in a bucket with hot water and amylase and converts good luck with your strip today

[Swedish Pride]

I'd strip down a bit further even.
from memory 28-30% charge on the spirit run got my keeps to be at about ideal cask strenght . 55-62%

[Eire Whiskey]

yes E.W. run your whisky mashes/washes to 35% taking a 100 ml fores cut off the front end(when the pipe starts cumming) ill try and find where stillerboy says he puts his corn in a bucket with hot water and amylase and converts good luck with your strip today

Thanks, the fire is on.

[Eire Whiskey]

I'd strip down a bit further even.
from memory 28-30% charge on the spirit run got my keeps to be at about ideal cask strenght . 55-62%

Thanks!

[Yonder]

So, on a lark, I added a couple a lbs of rye to gen 4 and when it was time to run filled the the thumper with 50 pct feints and 50 pct pure, unpasteurized apple juice. Gotta tell ya I’ll probably do that more often. Best damned white dog ever tasted. Apple corn. Its a party thing.

[NZChris]

I'm sampling a four year old white dog I found at the back of a shelf today and it is very nice. There is quite a bit left in the demijohn

[Saltbush Bill]

White dog UJ can be very nice given time to mellow.

[NZChris]

The way I choose my white dog heart cut, it is rather nice fresh off the still and after a few months in 2/3rds full demijohns.

I find it difficult to decide on an age preference because I can seldom get my maize from the same source. My last lot smelled like poo in in the hopper and still had a hint of poo if I didn't get the cuts right, but it has aged well. I won't be getting their maize again, even though my last tasting was ok.

[Moist]

My first post other than the welcome board. I fermented out my first ujssm about 2 weeks ago it finished at 1.000. Before I could get to run it, it developed a lacto infection. I plan on running the batch but my question is should I start from scratch (sanitize everything) or just go on to gen 2. This mash tastes wonderfully sour. Just not sure if the lacto will take over the next ferment before my yeast does.

[jedneck]

Run with it. Lacto is a plus in my book.

[Boozewaves]

has anybody ever "cheated" to get to a second or later generation fermentation by adding backset to new corn yeast and sugar? .

[Saltbush Bill]

Do you mean so that you can get a second fermenter going without starting from scratch again?
If so just steal half the grain from the first fermenter and use backset from the from the last run......add a bit of new grain to each fermenter.

[NZChris]

has anybody ever "cheated" to get to a second or later generation fermentation by adding backset to new corn yeast and sugar? .

At the end of every series of runs, I put enough backset in the freezer to start the next ferment.

[Twisted Brick]

Yes. If you have backset, dump it in. For my first (ever) generation of UJSSM I didn't have any backset so I made up a couple-three quart jars of sour corn starter. It was easy-peasy and went exactly like the instructions said it would.