Mixing yeasts?

[Capspath83]

Hey guys! I’m beyond thankful for all of your help thus far. I’m well on my way. I currently have a mash fermenting with wlp009 and a mash fermenting with wlp004/s04. Each are 5 gallons. My question is what are your thoughts on mixing the 2 after doing a stripping run? I got the recipe for 2 more charges with wlp004/s04, so then I should have a total of 20 gallons to put through a stripping run ending up with about 4 gallons for a spirit run. (3- wlp004/s04 & 1 Wlp099). Will this mess up my end profuct of a bourbon? Should I leave out the wlp099 and ferment a few other charges with the same strain?

[Salt Must Flow]

I'm a bit confused because you said you have "wash fermenting". A wash is typically referred to as fermenting granulated sugar. You later said you intend to make a "bourbon". Bourbon is made from a corn mash (not a wash) and aged on oak.

I can't imagine mixing the separate batches of low wines after doing a stripping runs could cause any issues at all. The only potential issue I could imagine is IF you didn't like the flavor one batch created over another. You could distill each batch separately and blend them by taste if you don't like the taste of one over another. Other than that, mixing fermentations during a stripping run or mixing low wines from separate fermentations for a spirit run cannot cause any issues.

[Deplorable]

The fermentation process itself is just as nuanced and complex as the alcoholic beverages it yields. Multiple factors influence the concentration and complexity of flavor compounds produced, including the source of sugar, temperature the reaction takes place at, and duration of fermentation. Then there’s the strain of yeast selected for the process. Individual strains perform in different ways depending on fermentation conditions, which ultimately impacts the “building blocks” produced by the strain.
If you're a beginner in this hobby it would be wise to experiment in a more controlled way to decide what strain of yeast you like to use.
You have a few of options available to you from here. You can make more ferments identical to the first two until you have enough to do a double distillation and keep them separate all the way through keeping notes about each.
You can do a one-and-done on each of them and learn a little about each yeast and the flavor it contributes.
Or you can mix them both together and not learn anything about the two yeasts different contributions to the spirit.

[Capspath83]

I'm a bit confused because you said you have "wash fermenting". A wash is typically referred to as fermenting granulated sugar. You later said you intend to make a "bourbon". Bourbon is made from a corn mash (not a wash) and aged on oak.

I can't imagine mixing the separate batches of low wines after doing a stripping runs could cause any issues at all. The only potential issue I could imagine is IF you didn't like the flavor one batch created over another. You could distill each batch separately and blend them by taste if you don't like the taste of one over another. Other than that, mixing fermentations during a stripping run or mixing low wines from separate fermentations for a spirit run cannot cause any issues.

Thanks for this! Yea I should have caught myself on that. I meant to say mash not wash. Yes, a bourbon is what it should be. All that makes sense. I’ll have to try it out. It could give it some additional character!

[Salt Must Flow]

Deplorable may have said it better. I was just more brief.

[Capspath83]

The fermentation process itself is just as nuanced and complex as the alcoholic beverages it yields. Multiple factors influence the concentration and complexity of flavor compounds produced, including the source of sugar, temperature the reaction takes place at, and duration of fermentation. Then there’s the strain of yeast selected for the process. Individual strains perform in different ways depending on fermentation conditions, which ultimately impacts the “building blocks” produced by the strain.
If you're a beginner in this hobby it would be wise to experiment in a more controlled way to decide what strain of yeast you like to use.
You have a few of options available to you from here. You can make more ferments identical to the first two until you have enough to do a double distillation and keep them separate all the way through keeping notes about each.
You can do a one-and-done on each of them and learn a little about each yeast and the flavor it contributes.
Or you can mix them both together and not learn anything about the two yeasts different contributions to the spirit.

Thanks! My original plan was to do a 5 gallon fermented mash for both yeasts and keep like a fifth or something just so I could try them both out after aging. But I was told I needed to go bigger so I got enough supply to make 15 gallons of mash and do 3 stripping runs on one yeast strain yielding 3 gallons for a stripping run while I wait for more of the other yeast to arrive so I can do the same process to the other one.

I’m not looking to make a ton of this stuff which is why I was confused at first why I couldn’t just do a 5 gallon mash, distill and age regardless of the size of the final product. I only drink bourbon, scotch and whiskey and even then not as much as I drink my Homebrew beer which should allow for these to have plenty of time to age.

I’m using the robobrew/brewzilla 35l with extended column to do the runs on a alcoengine pot still.

[still_stirrin]

Capspath,

The yeast selection won’t make a significant difference in the end product you’re aiming for. Sure, different yeasts do produce different congeners and even amounts of those. But, recipe and mash process probably makes significantly more difference to the flavors, at least to the distiller’s beer. And that will affect the product “at the spout”.

Since you’re just trying to get the first distillation product behind you, don’t worry too much if you use different strains for the different ferments. They’ll end up nearly identical anyway if you pay attention to how you mash them.

When you’re experienced enough with brewing the recipe and you know how to distill and make good cuts with consistency, and you have an aging process defined and you know how to properly age your product, then consider experimenting with the variance that different yeasts might make in the product. In other words, there are many other processes and techniques that are of higher priority when starting distilling as a hobby. “Don’t sweat the small stuff” and “It’s all small stuff”.

But I do want to reiterate that when your desired product is a whiskey, as I believe you’ve said here, then I strongly recommend the (3 strip —> spirit run) protocol. It’ll give you the best opportunity to make a quality product and have enough spirit to make decent cuts and age properly.
ss

[Capspath83]

Thanks for the thoroughness, still stirrin! I’ll make the 15 gallons of each and go on from there treating each yeast separately.