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Please forgive me if this has been answered somewhere, but I couldn’t find it with a quick search. I have a whiskey mash which is fermenting on the grain. In the past, on the advice of several folks here that it’s worth waiting, I’ve left it for about a month before racking, squeezing, setting, and stripping.

However, I would like to make a sugarhead from the grain, and I find myself wondering if it would make any difference if I separated the grain, then let the clear beer keep on doing its thing for a few more weeks as usual. Once it’s fermented out dry, does sitting on the grain for the remainder of the time do anything beneficial, or is it just any infection that light be there, yeast autolysis, etc.? All things that have nothing to do with the spent grain itself.

I sure hope that makes sense. I’ve been up all night working, so please forgive me if I ramble a bit this morning.

I think it would be a situation by situation call. Depending on the particular yeast and bacteria you have on that ferment will make the call. If you have some bacteria that are breaking down the grain then the longer you leave the beer on the grain you will be getting by products of that bacterial action. Now most bacterial action is inhibited by alcohol, except those that feed on alcohol like Lacto, so I think that grain breakdown would be very slow. Most bacteria is also inhibited by an acid environment (the reason we pickle things to preserve them) so you might pull the oyster shell after fermentation is complete. My gut says that the difference between two weeks and a month on the grain will be very small. Now, extend that to a year and it could be very different.

Just due to schedule my usual routine is to leave the beer on the grain for two weeks. I then rack to carboys or other smaller fermenters (initial on grain is in a 55 gal pickle barrel). It may sit in the carboys as much as a month before I get to do the stripping run.

Just saw this post which is relevant viewtopic.php?t=88780

I’m not worried about going too long. Rather, I’m wondering if I’ll make an inferior product by pulling the grain out early. My gut tells me that it won’t matter, but I hadn’t thought about various microorganisms munching away on the grain itself.

subbrew wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 6:08 am Just due to schedule my usual routine is to leave the beer on the grain for two weeks. I then rack to carboys or other smaller fermenters (initial on grain is in a 55 gal pickle barrel). It may sit in the carboys as much as a month before I get to do the stripping run.

That’s more or less exactly what I was considering, except in much smaller volume. Which at least encourages me, knowing that you’re making a product you like using that technique. Thank you.

Steve Broady wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 6:38 am I’m not worried about going too long. Rather, I’m wondering if I’ll make an inferior product by pulling the grain out early. My gut tells me that it won’t matter, but I hadn’t thought about various microorganisms munching away on the grain itself.

Commercial distillers only go 3 to 5 days from pitching yeast to distilling so I don't think you will be creating an inferior product.