First AG come on Rye Whiskey

[WhiskeyRebellion]

Trying to mash in my 1st all grain tonight, a rye whiskey recipe.

1st bucket down, I did the iodine test after mashing in all my non malt and the drop was solid black, threw in the malted barley and rye and a couple of hours later the iodine was a light brown. SG measured at 1.05

2nd bucket iodine test passed after mashing in the non malt, just threw in the malt, will see in a while if it converted.

[tombombadil]

I hope you've done your reading, rye is a labor of love for sure.

[still_stirrin]

I hope you've done your reading, rye is a labor of love for sure.

[WhiskeyRebellion]

Fermenting now buckets are bubbling away.

[Ben]

It is a pain, but dang its worth it! Good job on your first AG, if you have done 51%+ rye you can do anything!

[OtisT]

Following with interest.

Otis

[WhiskeyRebellion]

just checked my mash. 1 bucket the cap has sank and tastes like beer, measured at 1.000.

other bucket had a thick cap and tastes like vinegar

not sure what happened to turn it but looks like my stripping run tomorrow will be a single bucket.

[Ben]

Slightly sour is normal. If you are running fermenters with an airlock vinegar is a non-issue; Acetobacter require oxygen, alcohol and time. I run semi open ferments (buckets with loose fitting lids) and they sometimes sit for months without being run. As long as the CO2 blanket isn't disturbed it will be fine. It could be a plethora of other things.

Run the batches separately and see if the vinegar comes through, that will get you a good baseline and control over the outcome. If it comes out tasting like vinegar then at least you get the distillation experience. You need to figure out how your beer got oxidized if this is the case. If you are poking your head into the fermenters daily that is a mistake... let them yeasties breed in private.

Rye is different from other grains and can be a little funky, I ended up doing more distillations on my first batch because so much weirdness was coming through... that next distillation turned it into the most magical thing to come off my still.

[WhiskeyRebellion]

well with both buckets I opened them up and pushed down the cap. I didn't leave enough head room and the cap was pressing against the lid.

I tested the gravity of the real sour one and it was 1.03 with a PH of 4, I added some yeast nutrient and oyster shell and put it under the heat lamp to see if it was just a stuck ferment.

I ran the other bucket and got about 5/8 of a gallon in a stripping run

[Ben]

If you have that problem again just install a blow off tube in place of the airlock. Hopefully this will come around for you!

I still think acetobacter is unlikely, when you pushed the cap down it was very likely at high krausen, and should have been pushing plenty of CO2 out. The pH crash is interesting, what was the pH of the other bucket before the run? What are you cleaning your buckets with?

[WhiskeyRebellion]

If you have that problem again just install a blow off tube in place of the airlock. Hopefully this will come around for you!

I still think acetobacter is unlikely, when you pushed the cap down it was very likely at high krausen, and should have been pushing plenty of CO2 out. The pH crash is interesting, what was the pH of the other bucket before the run? What are you cleaning your buckets with?

ph of 6, I clean them with starsan

[kaziel]

What was the recepie if you don't mind sharing? Were you using rye malt or plain rye? Fermenting on grain? I was doing some AG mashes but from wheat. I have a fear that rye might be a bit more stickey and can burn on my 4kW electric heater. Any exp sharing will be highly appriciated.

[WhiskeyRebellion]

40% flaked rye
30% malted rye
15% flaked corn
10% malted 6 row barley
5% flaked oats

the bucket that fermented out smelled and tasted great on the stripping run. Mixed up another bucket yesterday.

[kaziel]

Fermenting on the grain, or were you filtering mash like for a beer?

[WhiskeyRebellion]

Fermenting on the grain, or were you filtering mash like for a beer?

ferment on the grain.

[WhiskeyRebellion]

What was the recepie if you don't mind sharing? Were you using rye malt or plain rye? Fermenting on grain? I was doing some AG mashes but from wheat. I have a fear that rye might be a bit more stickey and can burn on my 4kW electric heater. Any exp sharing will be highly appriciated.

I don't have a internal element, I use a cooktop. I use a brewbag to squeeze all the liquid from the grain before putting it in the still.

[kaziel]

Thak you for tips.

[Ben]

ph of 6

That's even more strange, usually an all grain will finish in low to mid 4's.That is even more extreme when your fermenting on grain, the grist is going to act like a buffer. Do you have any info on your source water?

[OtisT]

ph of 6

That's even more strange, usually an all grain will finish in low to mid 4's.That is even more extreme when your fermenting on grain, the grist is going to act like a buffer. Do you have any info on your source water?

Just as an FYI, I’m sitting on an all rye ferment where I made no attempts at PH adjustment. I.e. lazy. It started around PH 7 and finished (10 10) at a PH of 6. These were wide range strips, so it could be +/- .5 in PH. I’ve not checked my juice in the week it has been settling since being squished from the grains. Otis

[WhiskeyRebellion]

ph of 6

That's even more strange, usually an all grain will finish in low to mid 4's.That is even more extreme when your fermenting on grain, the grist is going to act like a buffer. Do you have any info on your source water?

tap water, same I have used for other washes with no issue.