Supports sour mash as a process-control practice rather than a whiskey style.
Risen distinguishes sour mash from sourdough and sweet mash while explaining the role of backset in American whiskey fermentation.
“Backset typically has a slightly acidic pH level, which inhibits unwanted bacteria from taking over the fermentation from the yeast.”
PDF p. 59
PDF p. 59
How Whiskey Is Made — It All Begins with Grain
Fresh full supplied-ebook reading and image audit September29. PDF sheets 59. PDF59 supports acidic backset as a conditioning practice, not sterility or universal bacterial inhibition. Nearby eighteen-percent fermentation and simplified starch/sugar statements are unreliable; do not propagate them. Verification means quotation fidelity, not independent scientific validation.
Evidence
“Backset typically has a slightly acidic pH level, which inhibits unwanted bacteria from taking over the fermentation from the yeast.”
Locator
Locator type: Page
Start: PDF p. 59
End: PDF p. 59
Source section: How Whiskey Is Made — It All Begins with Grain
Context
Risen distinguishes sour mash from sourdough and sweet mash while explaining the role of backset in American whiskey fermentation.
Annotation
Supports sour mash as a process-control practice rather than a whiskey style.
Verification
Status: Verified
Visually checked against the canonical uploaded PDF on 2026-08-24; text and locator match PDF page 59.
September 29 fresh reading audit
“Backset typically has a slightly acidic pH level, which inhibits unwanted bacteria from taking over the fermentation from the yeast.”
Locator: PDF sheets 59. These are supplied ebook PDF sheet numbers, not hardcover pagination.
PDF59 supports acidic backset as a conditioning practice, not sterility or universal bacterial inhibition. Nearby eighteen-percent fermentation and simplified starch/sugar statements are unreliable; do not propagate them. Verification means quotation fidelity, not independent scientific validation.
