Home Distiller

I've pretty much transitioned from UJSM to all barley ferments. 70% unmalted malt barley, 30% at-home malted barley.

It's a lot more work for lower yield. Plus, I'm starting to drown in spent grain. Wish I knew someone with a pig

The last time I ran the still I looked at the 4 or 5" of trub at the bottom of the carboy before pouring it out. Got to thinking it might work, at least once, to provide the necessary nutrients for a sugar wash, and maybe a little grain flavor besides.

Maybe alternate between an all grain wash then a sugar wash on the trub. Throw the trub out, do the next all grain.

Has anyone tried this? I'll be the guinea pig if no one has, but thought about asking before buying more sugar.

I have done this with corn and it ferments out very fast.
Some of the corn flavor comes through but it is definately milder than the first all grain run. I just do this to try to get the last of the goodies out of the corn before I compost it.

yes it works. just put your sugar wash right on it. no need to even add yeast, as there is plenty dormant in your turb. i do it alot. over and over. im a cheap bastard too.

I do it all the time, too. Those spent grains aren't so spent, yet; use 'em! Free nutrients, lotsa flavor. I most often do a blend of the distillate from the sugar'd grain washes with the original all grain. Gives a nice balance, and a lot of yield for little effort. These ""blended" whiskeys often turn out to be my favorites once aged, and are very hard to tell from my single malts.

Edit: forgot to add, don't get too greedy and go for a high ABV wash. Keep the sugar amount low so's to keep the grain's flavors up front. Shoot for 5%-8% Much higher than that and you'll changing/killing the flavor profile a lot.

I do it all the time, too. Those spent grains aren't so spent, yet; use 'em!

I'm not fermenting on the grain. All the grain gets 'colandered' out before the wash goes in the carboy.

The trub I end up with is really small particles suspended in a little wash, about as thick as a melted milkshake, if that makes sense.

That's why I asked, if that small stuff would provide sufficient nutrients, or if it's just unconverted starch that wouldn't really help the yeast.

throw a bit of enzymes in it, if it is starch it will go away, then it will be used.

Instead of tossing out those grains, put them into another bucket, top it with warm water and/or dunder/backwash, and add sugar. That's what I'm talking about here. I do often ferment on the grain, too, and then I'd just add water/dunder/backwash and sugar to the grains and trub left in the fermenter(don't even own a carboy; completely unnecessary expense, and just ask anyone who's ever dropped a full one what they think of them).