Alcademics.com:Nerdy Stuff About Jack Daniel's Production

[Single Malt Yinzer]

https://www.alcademics.com/2019/04/deep ... ation.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I just attended an amazing talk by Kevin Brent Smith (Micro-Biologist & Distillery Manager - Jack Daniel's Distillery). I wasn't planning on doing a blog post about it but I learned so much I wanted to write it down!

Kevin B. Smith authored the chapter on "Yeast practices in the production of American whiskies" in The Alcohol Textbook.

[Single Malt Yinzer]

One thing I got from this: They use lactic acid for two things, flavor and reducing other infections. It's not a symbiotic relationship with yeast, more of tolerant neighbors. But it keeps out other riff raff by keeping the pH around 4.0.

[Twisted Brick]

Thanks for posting this, SMY. A while back I noticed that my corn-based mashes seemed to ferment out drier when I used gluco-amylase along with standard 2-row malt. I had read that enzymes can convert a percentage of dextrins that malt alone can't.

Seeing as how Jack Daniels simply omits the gluco in order to maximize flavorful maltose production, I think I'm gonna dispense with the gluco, as well as not be so concerned with the lowest FG I can muster. If this translates to a richer, less-astringent flavor at the expense of a wee bit less alcohol, I'm ok with that.

[SaltyStaves]

One thing I got from this: They use lactic acid for two things, flavor and reducing other infections. It's not a symbiotic relationship with yeast, more of tolerant neighbors. But it keeps out other riff raff by keeping the pH around 4.0.

This sounded familiar to something I read recently....

Yeasts show, on the other hand, a high tolerance towards lactic acid, which is one of the most commonly used antiseptics in distillery of starchy materials. Hayduck, for example, has observed that this body has a retarding action on yeasts only if it reaches a concentration of 1.35%. At 0.5%, it stimulates cellular development. This is so when the temperature remains relatively low. But if it exceeds 40° during fermentation, lactic acid can be very harmful and greatly reduce the yield of alcohol, this being partly due to the increase in the toxicity of the acid with the rise of temperature, but especially to the preponderance taken by lactic acid bacteria.

https://www.bostonapothecary.com/kervegant-p-101-150/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Chauncey]

https://www.alcademics.com/2019/04/deep ... ation.html

I just attended an amazing talk by Kevin Brent Smith (Micro-Biologist & Distillery Manager - Jack Daniel's Distillery). I wasn't planning on doing a blog post about it but I learned so much I wanted to write it down!

Kevin B. Smith authored the chapter on "Yeast practices in the production of American whiskies" in The Alcohol Textbook.

SMY you are never short on links to AMAZING reading material.

and thank you!

[OtisT]

Thanks SMY. Great info that gives me some tools for adjusting the profile of what I’m makin.

Otis

[Single Malt Yinzer]

Thanks SMY. Great info that gives me some tools for adjusting the profile of what I’m makin.

Otis

You're welcome. That's why I do this, to help everyone make better spirits.

I think I'm gonna dispense with the gluco, as well as not be so concerned with the lowest FG I can muster. If this translates to a richer, less-astringent flavor at the expense of a wee bit less alcohol, I'm ok with that.

Go for it and post your results. I do have a suspicion that enzymes do take a bit away from flavor and this furthers it.

This sounded familiar to something I read recently....

Yeah, I thought that too. Side note - my friend (native french speaker) helped him translate some of that. There were a few spots the translation didn't make sense and he asked for help. She said it was really hard since she wasn't a technical person and it was really old french. There's still one word, La Guildive, that we can't figure out. It seems to be a style or method of making rum, but we can't figure out exactly what it means. It's kinda like the junk rum that the rich didn't want so the poor people drank.

[SaltyStaves]

There's still one word, La Guildive, that we can't figure out. It seems to be a style or method of making rum, but we can't figure out exactly what it means. It's kinda like the junk rum that the rich didn't want so the poor people drank.

Similar to this paper which was posted in French before he got around to doing the english translation.
https://www.bostonapothecary.com/conduc ... -products/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Google told me that égouts was 'sewerage', rather than 'Beets'.
That confused the hell out of me until he posted the translated version.

[Single Malt Yinzer]

I give him a ton of respect for doing the translations. It's not not easy and is time consuming.

[TDick]

Giving this thread a bump even though I don't like Jack & never drink it.

Watching too much tv lately including "Songs From The Cellar" with songwriter Phil Vasser, mostly about music & Nashville.
It's on Circle network, low number channels.

This week's edition includes him touring Jack Daniels in Lynchburg with Chris Fletcher, Asst. Master Distiller.

FWIW Two takeaways
1. Some recent discussions here about commercial brands doing 72 hour fermentations. Fletcher said JD ferments "up to 6 days"

2. The charcoal mellowing: The charcoal is 10 feet deep, and the drip rate is about 2 gallons per minute so it takes 3 days to make it's way through the charcoal.