sour mash

noun

: grain mash for brewing or distilling whose initial acidity has been adjusted to optimum condition for yeast fermentation by mash from a previous run

Examples of sour mash in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The new Sour Mash Single Malt is the first single malt release, and the name refers to the fact that the whiskey is made using the sour mash process—a practice used by most distilleries where some of the mash from a previous fermentation is used to kickstart a new one. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 14 Jan. 2024 The concept of sour mash whiskey is well-known and most major American distilleries use this process in their whiskey making. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 23 Sep. 2022 First things first—this is a sour mash whiskey, and not a bourbon, because the mash bill has all the right components (corn, rye and barley) but in different proportions (namely less than 51 percent corn as required by law to be called bourbon). Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 31 Aug. 2022 Under him, the company became the largest producer of sour mash whiskey in the world. Howard Walker, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2022 Rye sour mash fermenting at the James E. Pepper Distillery. Yuka Hayashi, WSJ, 21 Mar. 2021 One of Crowe’s most notable accomplishments was introducing and refining the sour mash fermentation technique, a method now commonly used in bourbon production. al, 30 Dec. 2019 Instead, from the first batch, Kilburn and co. used a completely clean, stable source of yeast without having to add in any sour mash—a process called sweet mashing. Andrew Daniels, Popular Mechanics, 24 May 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sour mash.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sour mash was in 1877

Dictionary Entries Near sour mash

Cite this Entry

“Sour mash.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sour%20mash. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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