Sugar head experiment

[Steve Broady]

Right off the bat, I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place for this post, so please feel free to move it if not.

I'm running an experiment because I have a question that popped into my head. This is inspired by a few things, most notably the StillIt safety net series. If you're not familiar with them, he's making whiskey but using a roughly 50/50 all grain mash/sugar, the theory being that even if you screw up the starch conversion and mashing completely, you'll still get something tasty. I've also seen several posts and videos where someone would make a sugar head using the spent grain, adding more sugar, and fermenting again. I've done the same, and had generally excellent results.

Based on that, I see four distinct products that I'd like to compare:
1. All grain, the "holy grail" as I see it of whiskey techniques.
2. Sugar head made using spent grain and backset from #1.
3. 50/50 grain mash and sugar.
4. 50/50 blend of #s 1&2.

My reasoning is that naturally the AG should be the most flavorful, have the best mouth feel, etc. After squeezing all the beer out of all that grain, it just seems wasteful to throw it away, so I'd logically make a sugar head next. How do those two compare? I don't know. How would they compare to running both concurrently in the form of a "safety net?" And how would that safety net compare to a blend of the AG and sugar head? Again, I don't know. The ingredients should be the same in each case, so any difference would be the result of the process. It would be a bit of an undertaking to set up that experiment in a controlled fashion, especially in a home distillation setting. As far as I can tell, nobody else seems to have done so, or at least they didn't document and publish it if they did.

To that end, I developed a recipe that I felt was within my limited skill set and self-imposed budget. I have 6 gallon fermenters and an 8 gallon still, so I decided to run a total of six fermentations. AG, sugar head, AG, sugar head, and two "safety net," in that order. To the best of my ability, the sugar should equal the sugars derived from the grain, so that each batch produces roughly the same ABV. Any sugar used would be inverted prior to going into the fermenter. Each fermentation would get stripped and saved until I have two matching, after which I'll do the spirit run, make whatever cuts that particular product calls for, and then save in glass until the whole thing is done. Finally, I should be able to compare my theoretical best of each version to see how much of a difference each one makes, and if there's a best way for me to economize, etc.

Right now, I'm fermenting the second AG. It's going to take me a little while to finish this experiment, because I don't get a lot of time to play with the still, between work and home life and work. If anyone is interested, I'll be sure to keep people updated. And I'd love to hear any comments, and especially to hear if anyone else has ever tried anything similar.