Jimbo's Single Malt AG Recipe

[GreenEnvy22]

I gave some samples around to my whisky buddies for our weekly Zoom tasting night. We were doing 12yr highland single malts, then my white dog.
The highlands were all 40%, so this was quite a bit hotter at 61%.
The feedback I got was the peat was noticeable, but stronger was an ashy smoke, like a cigarette or a pipe, maybe campfire.

Will see what a few months on oak does.

[StuNY]

I got a little of that ashy smoke sensation with an experimental batch a few months back using Crystal and Dark chocolate malt too... kind of an upfront taste vs. the peat smoked which is more of a lingering finish. The ferment smelled pretty smoky too. Looks like you used less than I did though, I kept both at 5% in mine. The good news is after about 4 months on oak mine is settling down quite a bit. Still not sure I like it yet but it is interesting. When I make a small experimental batch I like to add just one or two specialty grains- that way I can get a pretty good sense of what is contributing each flavor.

[Windswept]

So, I just made my second round of this, and I’m not sure if I’m doing it properly. 37lb of malt barley, 15 gallon of water, came out at 1.041og. I’m thinking this could be higher and debating if I should heat up the beer and re add it to the grain to try and get a bit more out of it?

Did an iodine test and it looks fully converted.

Thanks!

[StuNY]

Something is not right for sure. If you put in 30lb of barley and 15 gallons of water you would be anywhere between 1.058 and 1.062. So you should be even higher at 37lb (but wouldn't recommend exceeding 2lb/gallon in any event).
What temp was your mash after you added the water? Around 148f? You add all the water at once or save some for later cooling? Did the iodine drips disappear entirely when you dropped them in your sample or still a bit brown? You sure you have the right iodine- used it before successfully?

Those are my guesses- hope you can figure it out- this is a pretty straight forward recipe and I hit 1.062 every time with my batches.

[Windswept]

Thanks for replying! I figured I didn't have anything to lose, so I pulled off all the beer and reheated it to 150f and repeated the process, when I checked this morning it was up to 1.055 after temp correction, so I pitched and it's fermenting happily. I think the water temp is my issue, I followed the directions, but didn't account for my grain being at a lower temperature than the recipe, plus there was more of it which likely made it worse. I upped the grain bill because I wasn't impressed with the yield from my last round, but I think the water temp is really the issue.

Iodine never went perfectly clear, but the liquid was brownish to start with. Next time I'll do a side by side so I can compare.

[StuNY]

Good that you were able to make something work. Yes, there are calculators online for hitting mash temp. It is pretty critical. I usually go for 167-170F with the water depending on the temperatures of my grain. But also I am not adding all the water for the mash in, I keep a few gallons out for cooling it down more quickly when pitching so if adding all the water you would go lower temp.

As for the iodine, yeah doesn't sound right either. At first when you drop it in it will be black/blue then eventually amber, and eventually will disappear in your sample. You can pick up Tincture of Iodine at any drug store with the little dropper and that will work. Be sure to wrap everything in blankets while it converts for an hour or 90 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes.

[Not sure]

So I've been a reader here for awhile and have over 4 gallons of this successfully aging in oak it's a foolproof recipe...if you can read the recipe and have decent knowledge of your still you can make a great product

[Washingmachine]

@notsure I've read the recipe does this really work as easy as you say I'm thinking about this as my first mash

[Deplorable]

@notsure I've read the recipe does this really work as easy as you say I'm thinking about this as my first mash

I used this for my first foray into AG mashing. I have 5 gallons of single malt aging in a barrel. It's as easy as it gets. Just mill your grains, add them to the fermenter. Add the appropriate amount of strike water at the correct temp to hit 148 to 150°f. Cover and hold the temp for 90 minutes or until you have complete conversion. Drop the temp to pitching temp for the yeast of choice, pitch your yeast and ferment.
When done rack the clear, squeeze the grains, and clear that, and run it.

[Washingmachine]

@notsure I've read the recipe does this really work as easy as you say I'm thinking about this as my first mash

I used this for my first foray into AG mashing. I have 5 gallons of single malt aging in a barrel. It's as easy as it gets. Just mill your grains, add them to the fermenter. Add the appropriate amount of strike water at the correct temp to hit 148 to 150°f. Cover and hold the temp for 90 minutes or until you have complete conversion. Drop the temp to pitching temp for the yeast of choice, pitch your yeast and ferment.
When done rack the clear, squeeze the grains, and clear that, and run it.

Thanks mr. Deplorable

[Jimbo]

You got it Deplorable. Easy peasy. Just like making beer. Sorta.

[Deplorable]

You got it Deplorable. Easy peasy. Just like making beer. Sorta.

The hardest part is staying out of the barrel. Its only 6 months old and most of that has been the colder months. So it's still very young, but has good flavor, just young.

[Mac0311]

I just started this as my very first real ferment. See how it goes! Thanks Jimbo!

Started two days ago. Followed directions as written. Used 2 row from the local brew store that they ground up for me. Had to split it up into two 8 gallon buckets. 4 gallons of heated water over 12lbs of grain, then after 2 hrs and iodine disappearing added 2 more gallons (per bucket). It was about 2am so i let it cool over night. In the morning the 1st bucket was 1.050, 2nd bucket was 1.051. I threw in 1 packet of us-05 per bucket. I have to do it in my garage, and its hot as hell in there so I have a fan on it 24/7. Wife doesn't mind the smell but my kids say they can't go in the garage. haha. I'm guessing the cap is supposed to look like a cake. no weird stuff growing yet. Seems to be going well. If I have problems from the temp in the garage, i'll move to the basement and tell the kids to deal with it.

Decided i need to make a wort chiller thing and a blue barrel or brute garbage can in the future

[PeatyKeats]

The FG (attenuation) has more to do with mash temp than yeast. If you start at 146-148 and finish above 140 after 90 minutes many yeasts will take it to or very close to 1.000. I use US-05 with great results all around. 40lbs malt + 30 lbs smoked will make a fine drop.

Tomorrow I plan on mashing my first AG recipe after conducting 2 sugar wash fermentations/runs to clean out my still/liebig.
I want to focus solely on a recipe like Jimbo's AG single malt, with an emphasis on peat.
I have many questions, but will ask only one to Jimbo and the rest of the community with regard to Mash temp in this recipe.

I've read/seen some distillers start a common Single malt recipe with a strike temp in the low 160s to hit the mid/low 150s after grains have been stirred in with the aim of hitting both the Alpha Amylase efficiency (in the mid 150s), then let the mash cool to 148 & hold again to hit the Beta amylase efficiency.

Does this sound legitimate or would there be a reason(s) not to hit the mid 150s and hold before letting the mash temp drop to 148 to hold?

[Deplorable]

If you're doing a single malt, your grains are malted and you need only hit the temp for the beta. Use a strike water calculator and heat your water to the proper temp to hit 148 when you add the grains. Hold the temp until you've got conversion, cool and pitch yeast.

[PeatyKeats]

If you're doing a single malt, your grains are malted and you need only hit the temp for the beta. Use a strike water calculator and heat your water to the proper temp to hit 148 when you add the grains. Hold the temp until you've got conversion, cool and pitch yeast.

That makes complete sense and many in this thread have repeatedly emphasized that point. I am in no way doubting the veracity of simply getting to 148, stirring in grains, and holding temp for a proper conversion. I'm merely curious about the potential downside/drawbacks to starting at 155 and letting it cool. I find the different approaches interesting.

[Ben]

You may need to preheat your mash vessel to hit the temps, or account for the temp loss and that just takes experience. There is no harm in starting at 155 and dropping into the 140's. Beta amalyse should survive up to 160, just doesn't work that well above ~150

[PeatyKeats]

You may need to preheat your mash vessel to hit the temps, or account for the temp loss and that just takes experience. There is no harm in starting at 155 and dropping into the 140's. Beta amalyse should survive up to 160, just doesn't work that well above ~150

Thanks! That was what I was looking for. If I'm understanding you correctly, adding your barley to water too hot a strike temp will kill off enzymes and keep your mash from properly converting starch to fermentable sugars.

[Ben]

It may, it isn't instant though. Say you need 170° strike water to hit your mash temp. Adding the grain at that temp isn't going to do much harm as long as you get it mixed and the temp comes down quickly. But if your temp requirements are uncomfortably high just throw some boiling water in your mash tun, seal it for ten minutes or so then dump and put in your strike water and grain.

If your strike temp is too low you can do a decoction. There are calculators for this as well, but basically you pull a couple quarts out of your mash, reseal, heat to boiling and put back in the mash.

Too high is more problematic than too low. Eventually you will know what it takes to hit the numbers on your system. Ive been doing the beer thing for a long time and I still mess it up periodically so it's good to know how to recover.

[PeatyKeats]

Thanks.

[Deplorable]

Thanks.

What type of vessel are you mashing in? When I did this I mashed 2#/gallon in a 32 gallon Brute trash can. 23 gallons at a time with plenty of head room.
I milled my malt, and added it all to the Brute. I took the temperature of the grains, and used a strike water calculator to determine what my water temp needed to be and heated the water to that temp in my boiler and opened the drain into the Brute while I stirred. Put the lid on, and walked away. Checked it an hour and a half later for conversion, and dropped in a wort chiller to crash it to 70°f. Pitched yeast, fermented on grain.

[PeatyKeats]

I'm mashing in a 15 gallon All-in-one cooker. I'm planning on 20 lbs of barley (50% peated 50% unpeated) and following the 2 lbs per gallon recipe. I've already used a calculator for strike temps according to all the variables. I'm going to ferment off-grain at first and will do so in a garbage can fermenter. I've got a wort chiller to rapidly bring down the temp in hopes of avoiding any issues during fermentation.

I want to have an efficient conversion and better understand the reasoning behind hitting specific temperature areas to ensure that. This recipe is the first I've come across for single malt where there's one desired temperature goal.

Wish me luck.

[Full_moon]

I let my red wheat mash sit overnight to cool. This morning it had a krousen. Some wild yeast appaently started it going. I went ahead and pitched my us05 anyways. Anyone tell me what to expect? It smells OK.

[Ben]

Expect it to ferment and make ethanol If possible run it as soon as your hydrometer stops moving. Check the sanitation of your fermenting vessel.

[Stonecutter]

Peaty, if you’re want to do a sort of step mash to get some more efficiency I would suggest starting low and working up to higher temps. If you start high and work low you’ll likely denature your betas and then you’ll be losing efficiency instead of gaining it.

[Stonecutter]

Just read Bens post above. Obviously I’m a little late to the party.

[PeatyKeats]

Peaty, if you’re want to do a sort of step mash to get some more efficiency I would suggest starting low and working up to higher temps. If you start high and work low you’ll likely denature your betas and then you’ll be losing efficiency instead of gaining it.

Thanks.
I used a calculator, heated 10 g of water to 165, stirred in 20 lbs of malted barley (10 lbs peated, & 10 lbs unpeated), wrapped blankets around the mash tun, and let it sit for 90 minutes. After doing an iodine test, I vorlaufed 2 gallons back on top, allowed it to drain through the grain bed, and sparged a gallon of hot water before draining the tun in to two 7-gallon fermenters.
In the end, I hit a SG of 1.059 and recovered about 9.5 gallons of wort from the 10 gallons of water. It's been fermenting for 3 days now and is still bubbling away. I plan on taking a gravity reading tomorrow morning.

[Ben]

It would be good to check your temp about 10 minutes after you do your mash in, give it a good stir and see what you got, take notes that way you can adjust your strike temp. Check again when you mash out, and make sure you note ambient/grain temp, that way you know what your range over the mash period is. It sounds like you had good success, congrats on that! If you want to optimize you need to learn what your system is doing. 1.059 should make a nice whiskey

[PeatyKeats]

I’ve recently completed 3 stripping runs of Jimbo’s SM and a spirit run of those 3 strips. I’m in the process of blending the cuts. I’ve researched on this forum and others what “White Dog” single malt all barley tastes like, but am still not sure if mine is in the ball park.
Obv, putting it on oak adds a great deal if the flavor to the finished product.

For anyone who has done a single malt Scotch style spirit run, what does yours taste like unaged after you’ve made the cuts?

[StuNY]

I've made about 15 batches of this now. Did you collect the spirit run in small jars sequentially? Each part of the run will taste differently. The first jars more acetone and harsh, the last jars more wet paper dull. The hearts of the run should taste very good white. Full of flavor but still a little "hot". Then it is just a matter of blending the heads you like, with the tails and hearts. Aging will mellow everything. I now include a lot more heads and tails in what I keep. Aging it 3 months on oak is drinkable, 6 months is very nice, 1 year is excellent, 2 years incredible, 3 years... I have no idea because I haven't made it this far with anything left to drink haha! I have been making this recipe a few years now.