All Grain Single Malt Rye Whisky

[Keystone]

Ducking for cover, my last post reflected updates to the first post. I have noticed on other boards people using their Braumeisters to make unhopped beer for spirits.

And here is a picture of a malt pipe...



which makes nicely clear wort...



The mash process in the first post does work with three vessel or BIAB mash systems. My Braumeister is a splendidly glorified BIAB which makes beer making so much more enjoyable than using a couple of ten gallon round coolers to mash, lauter and sparge.

Any way, rye benefits from a multi-step mash because a rye mash can get gummed up if mashed like two-row malt such as Maris Otter. Here I go again, the beta-glucanase rest allows for beta-glucanase enzyme, present in the rye, to make the rye less gummy by breaking down the beta-glucans. Without this rest, you would otherwise be ready to bake rye bread.

The beta-amylase rest allows for the beta-amylase enzyme, present in the rye and activated by the brief protein rest, to convert the starch to sugar. There are actually two enzymes working at this temperature rest. The other one is alpha-amylase. They both work to convert starch to sugar. These enzymes complement each other on their respective roles in sugar conversion. Googling John Palmer will get deeper into the science of it. A temperature rest favoring the beta-amylase enzyme would result in a drier, more fermentable wort.

On the other hand, a few degrees higher to favor the alpha-amylase enzyme would result in a maltier, less fermentable wort. And this not our goal here.

Then, there is the business of the addition of the glucose-amylase enzyme. Its role is to convert dextrin to fermentable sugar. This enzyme represents the difference of having a fermentation resulting in a final gravity of 1.000 versus 1.014 which translates into additional alcohol.

As for the rice hulls, they are needed because rye does not have husks. Without the rice hulls, the grain bed may compact leading to a stuck sparge. The rice hulls should be first hydrated in hot water and then strained before being mixed onto the mash - no matter what system or approach.

Whirlfloc is an Irish Moss tablet which serves to assist in the filtration of undesirable solids precipitated by the boil from being racked into the primary fermenter. It should be added no sooner than five minutes before the end of the boil; otherwise, it gets denatured and loses its effectiveness. When making beer, home brewers would take a long handled spoon to stir the wort, after the wort has been chilled, to create a whirlpool which would cause all the solids to settle in the center of the pot.

As I was reviewing other resources to make sure the information above is correct, I learned that rye, once mashed, significantly increases the pH of the wort. This might explain the infection despite using k-meta. The problem was likely not using enough k-meta based on the pH reading. In other words, the pH should have been adjusted to a level where the k-meta would have been effective in killing off unwelcome bacteria.


If you made it this far, it's time for a drink or two ibuprofen.

[YHB]

Thanks - I can cancel the Klingon lessons now.

Despite my comments I enjoy all the posts on All Grain, and sometimes bits sink in.

I have convinced myself many times that I cannot go this route as I do not have the space to store the equipment let alone use it. But if I could somehow convince my wife that I could make the utility room better for her then maybe just maybe at some time in the distant future I could be in the market for a Whirlfloc tablet or two.

Toodlepip

Brian

[Easydrinker]

Nice one Keystone,I may have to read this post a few more times to fully understand,but,it makes much sense already.

@ Brian
Were you put on this planet to raise the occasional smile,or have you just fallen into the roll?

Robert.

[Almanac]

With all grain it is quite easy for some people to get all technical and nerdy using language mere mortals cannot understand but I got most of what Keystone posted....most....

I'm definitely not nerdy nor a techie so I need to have things kept simple using clear instructions preferably in stages 1, 2, 3, etc.

In my workshop I have a folder of laminated pages that I hang on the wall, where I'm working, to spell out the stages so I don't miss anything.

One of those pages has the temperature breaks and rest times for mashing my barley because without it I would be constantly searching here and other sites for those temps and times.

I may not know the detail of why the mash has to be held at a particular temp for a specified time but I know how to follow orders and it works for me

@YHB; I'm pretty sure that it was Vulcanese not Klingon

AM

[Keystone]

The other bit that is important that the enzymes that work at their respective temperature rests become denatured as the temperature increases beyond their respective effectiveness range.