Sweet mash whiskey is not a new thing. Catherine Carpenter gives a recipe for making sweet mash whiskey back in the early 1800s. It was not as popular in the 19th century as sour mash whiskey because it is much more difficult to make. The advantage of sour mash over sweet mash fermentation is that with sour mash whiskey, you are using backset from the spent mash of the previous distillation to create an environment that is favorable for yeast to grow in. This keeps the possibility of a bacterial infection to a minimum. If bacteria get in the mash, it can ruin the entire mash. This is a costly problem for distillers. This does not mean that distillers did not make sweet mash whiskey in the 19th century, but it was uncommon. In order to make a sweet mash whiskey, the distiller had to have the highest form of protocols to clean the mash tubs after every distillation. It was much more difficult and costly to make than a sour mash whiskey.
This has changed in the 21st century. With improved technology, including such things as steam cleaning the mash tubs, stainless steel mash tubs, and improved knowledge of yeast, the sweet mash production of whiskey has increased. This can be mostly traced to one distillery in Kentucky – Wilderness Trail Distillery.
Wilderness Trail Distillery was formed when Pat Heist and Shane Baker created a company called FermSolutions, specializing in yeast production. They handled problems that distilleries had with their yeast at this company and decided that they would create their own distillery. They liked the sweet mash flavor of their product and being yeast specialists, they knew how to keep on top of any problems formed with bacteria in their mash. Once the distillery became active and producing whiskey, they shared their knowledge with other distillers entering the business. They allowed distillers to come to Wilderness Trail Distillery and learn their process. These “students” then went back to their own distilleries and started making sweet mash whiskey. Distilleries such as Kentucky Peerless Distillery in Louisville and Hard Truth Distillery in Brown County, Indiana, were such students of Pat Heist and Shane Baker.
FermSolutions is still the company most distillers go to with their fermentation problems. Yeast can be a problematic process for distillers. Even with a very clean mash tub, bacteria can still get in the mash and create a bad batch. If caught soon enough, it can be “cured.” However, the distiller has to be on top of the problem, meaning they have to watch their fermentations closely. If a problem is detected, a call to FermSolutions is made and the problem can be cleaned up. There are advantages to making sweet mash whisky. In the modern day of contract distilling, making a sweet mash whiskey allows the distiller to use multiple different yeast strains in different batches for different customers.
Some distillers believe sweet mash whiskey has a unique flavor profile that they describe as sweeter and more robust. It is still more costly to make than sour mash whiskey, but many distillers think the end product is worth the extra cost. Sour mash whiskey is still the dominant style of whiskey being made, but the sweet mash style is growing in popularity.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller