Saving backsets

[Moonshine31]

So in the recipe that I'm going to try first says I can save all my baskets abd grains for later. After I use my 55lbs of malted barley can I freeze it and make a mash again? I've read that someone says they use it 5x then throw it away. If this is true that means that the whiskey will cost almost nothing per bottle if u can use it 5x.
I'm guessing I would Hage to add sugar or something after a few times but I'm wondering how can I go about doing this.

[Deplorable]

What recipe are you following that suggests using the spent grains 5 times?
Many members here make a piggyback sugar head off the spent grains, but I doubt you'll find any that are using the same grains for more than the initial mash and a single subsequent sugar head ferment.
A ferment made from the once fermented grains will produce a lighter flavored end product that my keep you out of the all grain product while it ages properly. I highly doubt you'd get much flavor at all on a 3rd or 4th use.

[sadie33]

So in the recipe that I'm going to try first says I can save all my baskets abd grains for later. After I use my 55lbs of malted barley can I freeze it and make a mash again? I've read that someone says they use it 5x then throw it away. If this is true that means that the whiskey will cost almost nothing per bottle if u can use it 5x.
I'm guessing I would Hage to add sugar or something after a few times but I'm wondering how can I go about doing this.

If you're looking for an easy, cheap recipe; you could start with UJSSM. It's the same idea, kinda. It uses the same cracked corn again and again. You do have to scrape off some of the older stuff and add fresh, but for me it's only about a cup or 2. You use the hot backset to dissolve your sugar, cool and dump back on the grains and your next ferment is ready to go.

Each generation tastes better then the last. Check out the recipe in Tried and True.

[Moonshine31]

I'm doing a single malted barley recipe but I've just been reading about reusing the backsets and found somewhere that someone said theyvresued their grains up to 5x. Maybe I miss read something, I figured u could maybe do it twice but not 5x.

Ujssm is going to be next for me, I need to get through this 55lbs and start a mash right after. That propane burner will be working quite a bit pretty soon.

[Saltbush Bill]

I'm doing a single malted barley recipe but I've just been reading about reusing the backsets and found somewhere that someone said theyvresued their grains up to 5x

If you don't tell people what recipe and where you are reading this then people can't help you.
Posting links helps a lot.

[Moonshine31]

I really didn't believe it when they said it, I figured all the sugars would be gone after 1 or 2 uses. If I find the spot that I've read it I'll post it here.

[subbrew]

All the sugars will be gone after the first ferment if you did your job correctly. If you are going to do a second run (a sugar head or piggy back) you will need to add sugar for the fermentable. The grain is only adding flavor at that point.

[Moonshine31]

How much sugar should I add if I save 55lbs of barley for a second run? Is there a formula I need to follow for sugar and water.

Just a side note, I can't believe how much water whiskey and alch needs to be produced.

[subbrew]

Looks like you need to do some reading on specific gravity and gravity points. The # of grain have no bearing on how much sugar you need, it is based on water. But, for example if you plan on a ratio of 2.25 # grain per gallon that would be almost 24.5 gallons of water. Sugar provides 46 gravity points per lb. If you want a starting gravity of 1.060 you will need 60/46 = 1.30 lb sugar per gallon water so 32 lb sugar.

[NormandieStill]

How much sugar should I add if I save 55lbs of barley for a second run? Is there a formula I need to follow for sugar and water.

Just a side note, I can't believe how much water whiskey and alch needs to be produced.

For sugarheads I try not to go much past the original gravity or volume of the mash or wash. So if you started with 25l of mash at 1.066 and you squeezed out 20l, i woukd replace that 20l with 20l of sugar water at 1.066. In my limited experience this has produced good results and feels logical. The more volume and or sugar you put in, the more you're diluting the little flavour you're pulling from the spent grains.