StillSmart

Hi RumJohn

This corn is chopped into bits that are similar, if not a little smaller than you suggest, it wasn't too bad to mash, just messy like you said, I'm planning a bigger batch as this was just a test run, my next batch will be with 2.5kg in 20litres of water, I think I'll soak it for a day or so before turning the heat on.

Then I'll get a mixer of some description to go on the end of a drill and try to blend it once it gets to near boiling, I think I read somewhere that 90°c is enough to release the starch so I might not need to boil it, especially if it's been pre-soaked a little.

I'm also going to add some enzymes next time as well as my malted barly and Rye.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how best to ferment it, I'm not sure if I should leave it on the grain or strain it off, I'll also add some gluco amylase to the fermenter.

@ Anavrin: Sounds like you have it under control. I have never fermented on the grain. By the time I am ready to ferment I have reached a point where I don't want to see another grain of anything.

Soaking for a day prior to adding heat will serve no advantage.

I will look forward to reading your results.

I ferment it on the grain, because... uh, because I do? I was probably thinking that the gluco amylase might extract a bit more and that there might be more flavour carry over (sort of a UJSSM effect).

So, um, how are you thinking to strain this?


Chuck

I posted a question on HD about how to ferment a corn wash, on or off the grain, one guy said American whiskey's are fermented and distilled on the grain but if you can't distill on the grain, fare enough strain it off.

There's a few opinions on the water to corn ratio, a lot of recipes I've found use 1lb per us gallon (4litres) one guy says 1lb per gallon is a bit light and he uses 2lb per gallon, I think I'll go metric and use 1kg per 5 litres, some other useful advice was to ad anylase as your heating it up, at a certain temp you kill off the enzyme but it makes it easier to manage.

Also to use more malted barley for the conversion, maybe 25% barley, 10% rye and 65% corn.

With these numbers I can use 4kg corn in 20litres, boil it up for an hour then add 770gr rye and 1.9kg malted barly for the conversion, I think this will be my starting point.

I've just started this today, I filled the Grainfather with 25 litres of water and started hearing it up, I added 4kg of my knibbled corn when it was about 35°c and a table spoon of amylase when it got to around 60°c, stirring fairly often.

I then brought it up to almost boiling, I soon realised I wouldn't be able to boil it in the Grainfather with the malt tube installed because it started to boil up around the outside of the tube.

So I set it to 90°c which it as high as you can set the Grainfather in mash mode and left it for an hour, that's where I'm at now with it, the next step will be to cool it to 66°c and add the malt, I'm adding 770gr rye and 1.9kg of malted barley, not sure it's going to fit in!!!

Just learnt a valuable lesson, don't try to use a counterflow chiller to cool the gelatinised corn, it's solidified in the counterflow, God know how I'm going to clean that out!!!

Hope it all works out matey...can't see why not, the yanks have been doing it like this for years.

I wish I was running mine at the same time as you...I had to phone the guy about the rye malt on Thurs as it had not arrived. He's sending another lot...said the post office had lost a couple of orders over the last week.

We're away this coming weekend so that will push me back further...you'll be drinking yours by the time I leave the starting blocks.

Well I'll make all the mistakes first then lol

This grain bill just about fits on the GF

Ok so that could have gone better, before I started I was filling my HLT that's high up, I have a water pipe plumbed into it so I just turn the tap on.

Unfortunately I some how got distracted and returned to the guarage to find water spraying out the top through the hole my pipe goes in!! Half the guarage was soaked!!

Also about half way through my mash the thermostat tripped on the GF so it slowly dropped in temp towards the end, I started with 25litres of water in it and sparged with another 10 litres, all together I collected 26 litres at SG 1.040



The spent grain and corn


Pumping it into the FV



1.040

I also properly blocked my counterflow cooler with corn jelly!!, I managed to connect the output end to a tap and flushed it all out

Well done bud, i thought you might have got a better s/g
with your set-up, 35ltrs to 26ltrs. @ 1.040 that makes me
feel good with my primative gear. i know i used more grain
but at least i know i'm in the zone.
Don't know how your going to procede with your recipe, but
when and if...take a cut from the middle of your heart-cut
and dilute...you got corn/whiskey-whitedog, it's sweet nice
but it's not whisky to me, that's what my cousin gave me at
a funeral in Chicago, not my cuppa.

cheers B_D

This stuff has set off like a rocket! I pitched the Allinsons when it was still quite hot 40°c.

So I put it in my fermenting fridge with no power hoping it will cool down but it was still 30°c ambiant temp, the heat hit me in the face when I opened the door!

Checked my wash last night, it's at 1.000SG now, I was worried it wouldn't get to 1.000 or below because of all the grain I used, I think I'll take it out of the fermenting fridge tomorrow so it can cool and clear.

I'm half tempted to do a spirit run or two it in the Airstill after I've stripped it on the big still, just so I can get something to test on some oak.

I must admit the thought of all the work involved in getting through all that corn is a little daunting!

Some suggestions ive had from HD is to keep it at 90°c for two hours to release the starch, I'm also going to reduce the amount of corn to 3kg next time, it means more washes to get through all the corn but won't be as tightly packed during mashing so I might get a better conversion.

I was wondering how you were getting on with it....this has been an interesting post, now we have more first hand insight from you, to what it takes when doing a corn mash....instead off just reading about it somewhere on the net.

I'm still waiting for my Rye to turn up...I'll not order off this guy again.

I'm half tempted to get some more rye and make a 100% rye whiskey after I've used up my corn, apparently Rye ferments like hell, there's a lot of sediment in the fermenter from the corn, maybe 2" if it, not sure if I should just syphon off above it or try and stain some juice out of it.

Anavrin wrote:I'm half tempted to get some more rye and make a 100% rye whiskey

I've had the same idea for rye...I don't know if what I've ordered is ever to turn up. I think an order off malt miller is due..