Firecracker Bourbon

All styles of whiskey. This is for all-grain mashes.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Been a long time since I’ve made a whiskey, so I wanted to get back in the game with something special.

July 4th has come and gone, but I’m going to brew up something for next summer, a red, white, and blue bourbon.

Thanks to Bedford Bob for the heirloom corns, I’ve got some Bloody Butcher, white, and Hopi Blue corn.

So far I’ve started malting some of the corn and it’s going well. 48 hrs in and I’m seeing lots of chittung and a bit of early sprouts.

My overall plan will be to mash the malts with some raw corn, barley, and some malted wheat. I’ve got a new Gibbs barrel that’s been just laying around waiting to be filled so here we go. :)
D96F6956-FD7E-4EEB-9F4C-F53673EF1D6A.jpeg
12720208-05DD-4364-B251-376D4EC8DED3.jpeg
96C3432B-423F-409F-9C31-753C2F31E624.jpeg
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
fizzix
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3698
Joined: Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:08 pm

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by fizzix »

Now that just sounds good. You're a true patriot, Michigan. :wave:
User avatar
ShineonCrazyDiamond
Global moderator
Posts: 3433
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2014 6:14 pm
Location: Look Up

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by ShineonCrazyDiamond »

Awesome. Can't wait man! I'm already watering over it.
"Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond."
User avatar
Bushman
Admin
Posts: 17988
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:29 am
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by Bushman »

Sounds great Michigan, I need to try malting if for the only reason is to say I have done it and possibly add to some of the discussions.
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Bushman, I encourage you to experience the malting, it’s magical!

It’s day 3 here and the corn is starting to grow.
A little uneven, but a good percentage of kernels showing activity.

Here is a progress pic showing rootless at the bottoms of the corns and acrospires headed north.
Happy with progress so far.
1FA50AB2-C50A-4104-89C5-87D01C984E64.jpeg
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Day 5 and I’m a little surprised how different the malting process is going for each corn.

The red is the most consistent and highest yield. It’s hard to find a kernel that isn’t sprouting, and all of the sprouts are fairly uniform in length.

The blue is all over the map for sprout length. Some are already about 1-1/2” long, and many kernels are only just getting started. Pretty good yield, maybe 80% show signs of action.

The white is the lagger, even short sprouts and lowest yield, maybe half not showing acrospires yet.
The white has been the most aromatic through the whole process though, strong corn smell in the beginning, becoming more fruity now.

Everything seems healthy and mold free.

The different rates of growth will actually help me with the kilning, it’s going to take some time to run all this through my oven.
48F8C878-A058-4BEF-B712-1C505A1D8739.jpeg
245DB9FE-676E-4A15-AAA5-E5D92A1AB022.jpeg
200A8831-2485-4FDE-8959-1AAB536881E1.jpeg
D220A539-2837-49D1-84E1-477E171F278C.jpeg
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
jonnys_spirit
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3630
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 7:58 am
Location: The Milky Way

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by jonnys_spirit »

I've wanted to do a firecracker bourbon too so watching this especially the malting process... I reckon 50lbs of each would provide nice yield.

Best luck!
cheers,
-jonny
————
i prefer my mash shaken, not stirred
————
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

jonnys_spirit wrote:I reckon 50lbs of each would provide nice yield.
I recon you’re right, 150# of malted corn will make a fine drink.
I’ve done 100% corn malt before and I like it, but I think I prefer a blend now, 50/50 raw corn and malt.

For this one I’ll also be adding the wheat and barley to add more flavor, still keeping it a smooth drinker.

I have more corn so beyond this I’ll be doing straight batches of each variety to explore any differences that might be there.
I’ve read good things about white corn in the past and based on this malting I’m looking forward to tasting that one for sure.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Red, white, and blue, fresh from the kiln (oven) :D
47839E5E-0184-40F7-969D-9B2B40A36F70.jpeg
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
TDick
Distiller
Posts: 1365
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2017 9:25 pm
Location: Sweet Home

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by TDick »

MichiganCornhusker wrote: Tue Jul 30, 2019 8:34 am Day 5 and I’m a little surprised how different the malting process is going for each corn.

Everything seems healthy and mold free.
It's been a while since I malted corn and it was a HUGE pain in the butt and trial and ERROR :evil:

I know everyone has their own process.
Can you post just a simple thing on how you did it?
What's the current temp up there?
how many soaks and how long
intervals in between.

Thanks! :clap:
User avatar
Jimbo
retired
Posts: 8423
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:19 pm
Location: Down the road a piece.

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by Jimbo »

Great post MCH. What temp did you kiln the corn at? Are you counting on some enzymes from the corn malt, or leaving it to the malted wheat to do that bit fer ya?
In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice there is.
My Bourbon and Single Malt recipes. Apple Stuff and Electric Conversion
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

TDick wrote: Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:49 pmI know everyone has their own process.
Can you post just a simple thing on how you did it?
Yes, I have read about many processes for malting and corn does seem to be the trickiest.

My process is pretty simple but it works for me:

Put 5 to 10 pounds of corn in a 5 gallon bucket.
Fill it most of the way with water and tumble the corn around by hand to clean and rinse it.
Carefully pour off all the floating stuff and then pour most of the rest of the water out until the corn starts to reach the edge of the bucket.
Refill and repeat 2 more times. This gets me a good clean corn to start with.

Add cold water to cover 3" or 4" above the corn. Cover and let it set overnight. Or all day. Let's just say around 10-12 hrs.
Dump the water. The way I do this is just by dumping into a strainer which catches the corn in the bucket and lets the water out.
If you have a big enough strainer, or maybe a second bucket with holes in it, that would work well, too. The idea is just to get all the old water out.

Let it set for around 8 hrs uncovered for air. Then fill it up a second time about 3"-4" above the corn again.
Let it soak another 8ish hours. I'm not too sure about these times, I just do it over the course of a couple days.

After the second soaking, drain it with the strainer setup again and set it aside covered.

At this point I don't do any more soaking, but I do rinse it a couple times a day by just filling the bucket most of the way with fresh cold water, tumbling the corns by hand to rinse, and then draining again into the strainer, letting it set covered again.

After a day or two you should see some chitting, then rootlets, then acrospires.

I just repeat these rinsings until the acrospires get to the length I want.

I did this inside this time where it was fairly cool. Warmer weather can definitely make the process more challenging, inviting mold or rot.
I believe the rinsing helps by providing fresh water, fresh oxygen, and it cools the corn. The malting process generates heat in the bucket.

Once I get to where I want with the corn, I stop around 3/4" long acrospires, I air dry it with a fan box I made.
It's a simple plywood box that fits a box fan in the side and has a screen on the top to support the malt.
It is pretty amazing how quickly and how thoroughly this will dry to malt, even with no heat source. The moving air is the key.

At this point I think it could be used as-is, but I take an additional step of really drying out the corn in my oven set at 200F for about 12 hrs.
I just fill aluminum baking trays with the malt and put them in the oven at night, pulling them out the next morning.
This way I can dry the corn back to its original weight, and can store if for longer without fear of mold.
I also feel this gives me a flavor that I prefer to wet or just air dried corn malt.

One key to the whole thing is to get good viable corn to begin with. I have tried this with Tractor Supply stuff and had no success.

I hope you will give it another try, the corn malt can give you lots of opportunities for new flavors.
The malt itself has a unique character, and if you do some oven kilning you can add much more.

Make yourself a corn malt whiskey and you will have something truly unique, I'm aware of much else like it on the market.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Jimbo wrote: Thu Aug 08, 2019 8:48 amWhat temp did you kiln the corn at? Are you counting on some enzymes from the corn malt, or leaving it to the malted wheat to do that bit fer ya?
I "kiln" the malt at around 200F, that's after air drying it.
I've read that by air drying most of the moisture out of the corn first, the enzymes are protected from the oven temps and will still work to convert the corn when they're added to the mash. With oven temps not over 200F I have dried and used malts with great success.

In my experience, it doesn't take a whole lot of corn malt to convert a mash. I've done it with less than 10% malt and had good results.

In the past I've experimented with oven drying the malt, both wet or dry, at higher temps, inspired by ShadyLane's crystal corn malt ideas, and had very interesting results. Toasting between 250f and 300F, or even roasting the corn up to 350F, will absolutely add new character to a bourbon style whiskey.

All that said, I'll have liquid enzymes at the ready and will probably use them either way.

When I get around to brewing this up I'll be using a combo of your Wheated Bourbon recipe and SCD's large batch mashing techniques, so thank you for all the info in your recipe thread! :thumbup:
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
Fruit Squeezer
Bootlegger
Posts: 138
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2017 6:57 pm
Location: Left of the Atlantic

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by Fruit Squeezer »

Inspirational recipie !
I love it. Can't wait to hear how it tastes.
Keep us updated.
User avatar
TDick
Distiller
Posts: 1365
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2017 9:25 pm
Location: Sweet Home

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by TDick »

MichiganCornhusker wrote: Thu Aug 08, 2019 4:57 pm
TDick wrote: Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:49 pmI know everyone has their own process.
Can you post just a simple thing on how you did it?
Yes, I have read about many processes for malting and corn does seem to be the trickiest.

My process is pretty simple but it works for me:
Thank you sir!
For those who have not tried malting, wheat is fairly simple & corn is the MOTHER! :twisted:
Also I have bought feed corn at Tractor Supply as well as the local feed store and especially TSC was pretty rough.

I'll be following you closely on this project & best of luck!
Celis
Novice
Posts: 33
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2018 1:38 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by Celis »

Wow, this looks great. Maybe I'll give this a shot one time. Too bad that we don't have much good quality corn over here... Most of it is used for animal feed and hasn't much flavour, do you think this can be improved by malting the corn?
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Celis wrote: Thu Aug 08, 2019 10:14 pmdo you think this can be improved by malting the corn?
Corn malt adds a lot of new flavors to a whiskey, whether or not you think that is an improvement will depend on how much you like those flavors!
I find the malt character very interesting and it is kind of wild and spicy, balancing the sweetness of the raw corn.

My personal impressions are that other malts like barley, rye, wheat, etc. all taste smoother and less wild than the raw grains, but corn is kind of the opposite, the malt tastes funkier, wilder, and can taste much grassier and grainy if not thoroughly dried and kilned.

I've made 100% corn malt whiskey and it is really too much corn malt character for me, I prefer it mixed in with some other grains or malts.

I hope you can get your hands on some good viable corn and give it a try. You really don't need a huge percentage of your mash to make a difference.
I think something like 20% of the grain bill being corn malt would make quite an impact.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Let's see, where was I?
Good thing I dried the malt, it sat in sealed buckets for a year, but I finally got back around to it last fall and there was no sign of mold or any other problems, it even still smelled great!

I came up with a basic recipe for a 55 gallon barrel:

25# corn malt, mix of red, white, & blue!
60# unmalted corn, same mix of red, white, & blue.
15# malted barley
15# malted wheat
enough water to fill a 55 gallon barrel (about 45 gallons)

I got one of those barrel grinders (AMA? AGA?) and it did a great job of pulverizing the corn and malts. Ran at about 2# per minute.
Interesting, I say pulverized because they make no attempt at making the "blade" sharp. It seems to just be a piece of whirling bar steel that just keeps breaking up the grains until they are small enough to fall through the perforated steel plate. It even allows a little bit of space for rocks to get flung into, which came in very handy as most of my heirloom corn (Thank You, Dancing Star Farm) had rocks in it, as advertised. I did a pretty good job of precleaning and screening the corn before grinding, but some stones still got through. Small price to pay for being able to brew up some heirloom varieties of corn! Grinder handled them all with ease, no harm done.

I have a pot that will hold 28 gallons of water, so that's how I start. I put 28 gallons of boiling water into the barrel, then add the corn, raw and malt. I used the SebStar liquid enzymes, both high temp and mash temp, so I wasn't concerned about conversion. The corn malts are for flavor. After adding the corn the temp dropped in the barrel to about 180F and I added the HTL, mixing several times over an hour with a drywall mud mixer.

After about an hour, I added ice, I think it was about 22#, to drop the temp to 150F, then added then wheat and barley malts and the SebAmyl.
Mixed again for about an hour and got an SG of 1.080. Temp had dropped to around 140F. Added more ice, I think around 100#, to drop the temp to about 90F so I could pitch the yeast. OG before pitching yeast was 1.062.

A few comments here. I used about 2.5# per gallon, which is a bit more than the general suggestion of 2# per gallon. I'm happy with it as I hit a nice OG to begin the ferment without sweating max mash efficiency.

An efficiency I did gain was time, by using the ice. By using ice to hit mash temps I was able to do a 55 gallon batch in just over 4 hrs. If organized, a person can do two of these in a single day and make (almost? depends on cuts) enough product to fill a 5 gallon barrel!

The other thing I feel I gain with the ice is reducing the time for nasties to get in and start any kind of weird pre-ferment action.

I know there are other ways to chill the wort, but the ice was nearby and easy.

I left the ferments alone for a couple weeks and when I got back to them they had finished between SG 1.000 and SG 1.005.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

After the ferment was done, I hit the barrel with the mud mixer to degas the juice and let it set another couple days.
Then I pulled off the clear, and broke out the mop bucket to squeeze the rest. On a good day, I can get about half the barrel as clear, the rest is mop bucket material.

I noticed that there is a fine silty layer on top of the grains when I do it this way. That layer is the part that really wants to clog up the BIAB sack that I use to squeeze. Once I get past that, the grains seem much easier to squeeze without plugging up the sack.

I still use my well honed bag handling skills to work the press. I take out about 1/2 gallon of muck, give it a squeeze in the BIAB in the mop bucket, and then pick it up and kinda squeeze, rotate, and break up the grain clump inside the BIAB. I think this frees up the mess to give up more juice for the next squeeze. I do about 4 cycles of this and wind up with a pretty dry cake of spent grains for heap. Takes me almost 2 hrs to do a 55 gallon batch.

Out of a 55 gallon barrel, I wind up with around 25-30 gallons of clear ferment off the top, and another 15 or so gallons of cloudy juice from the mop bucket. I let everything settle in 5 gallon water carboys for a few days and rack off the clear, ending up with something in the ballpark of 35 gallons of clear, racked, ferment to run. Yes, you can run the cloudy stuff, I just choose not to.

I strip it in my 2-keg boiler/thumper setup, usually putting 10 gallons in the boiler and 10 in the thump keg. I crank up the heat and strip it as fast as my trusty liebig will handle, about 7 minutes a quart.

After a spirit run, I wound up with 2 to 2-1/2 gallons of hooch for the barrel, depending on what kind of mood I was in when I made the cuts.

I really went at it and made enough to fill a couple barrels. One a fresh new Gibbs, and the other a once used toasted (not charred) barrel from a home winemaker. Had some kind of red wine through it before me. I did add some toasted and charred sticks to the wine barrel for more bourbony flavors, I hope.

All should be ready for New Year's Eve, 2022!

Good Lord willin', I'll let you know how it turns out. :thumbup:
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
Twisted Brick
Master of Distillation
Posts: 3770
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:54 pm
Location: Craigh Na Dun

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by Twisted Brick »

Must be a great sense of satisfaction in completing the process of making such a fine bourbon, MCH. Bet it ages out nicely.

Twisted
“Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore, always carry a small snake.”

- W.C. Fields

My EZ Solder Shotgun
My Steam Rig and Manometer
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Twisted Brick wrote: Sat Jan 23, 2021 6:50 pm Must be a great sense of satisfaction in completing the process of making such a fine bourbon
It sure is fun, right? Guess that’s what’s in a hobby, finding satisfaction in the journey, the process, as much or more than the result. But I do hope the result is tasty.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
Twisted Brick
Master of Distillation
Posts: 3770
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:54 pm
Location: Craigh Na Dun

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by Twisted Brick »

Definitely. It's everything you said, applying your personal knowledge to every detail, just knowing its gonna be good. And after a year you get to put your signature on it. Quite the hobby.
“Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore, always carry a small snake.”

- W.C. Fields

My EZ Solder Shotgun
My Steam Rig and Manometer
User avatar
Twisted Brick
Master of Distillation
Posts: 3770
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:54 pm
Location: Craigh Na Dun

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by Twisted Brick »

MichiganCornhusker wrote: Sat Jan 23, 2021 7:00 pm
Twisted Brick wrote: Sat Jan 23, 2021 6:50 pm Must be a great sense of satisfaction in completing the process of making such a fine bourbon
It sure is fun, right?
Definitely. It's everything you said, plus applying your personal knowledge to every detail, just knowing its gonna be good. And after a year you get to put your signature on it. Quite the hobby.
“Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore, always carry a small snake.”

- W.C. Fields

My EZ Solder Shotgun
My Steam Rig and Manometer
User avatar
subbrew
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1275
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2021 1:40 pm
Location: West of the Mississippi

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by subbrew »

Totally off topic here Michigan but I have to ask you about the name. The cornhusker part would lead me to believe there is a Nebraska connection.

Slightly on topic note to those talking about TSC corn not malting. A lot of feed corn is picked while still damp then ran through a dryer to keep it from molding before going to the bin. The dryer heat kills the viability, which of course is fine for animal feed. So if you looking for corn to malt you need to look for some that was not grain dryer dried, but was allowed to fully dry in the field.
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

The name? I kinda just made it up on the fly because I wanted to be able to lurk and search the forum. Little did I know how much fun I’d have here! I began by making a bourbon style whiskey and I was hand shelling ears of dried corn from a local farmer. And, yeah, lived in Michigan. So there ya go, no Nebraska connection.

I only tried TSC corn once and quickly went back to stuff straight from a farm. Lately I’ve been using a lot of heirloom varieties from Dancing Star Farms. Cheap, unique, and Bob will ship it.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
bcook608
Rumrunner
Posts: 686
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 8:54 pm
Location: Midwest, USA

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by bcook608 »

So, it's the beginning of the new year. How did this turn out?!
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

bcook608 wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 8:53 am So, it's the beginning of the new year. How did this turn out?!
I’m pretty happy with it!
I pulled some bottles from the Gibbs barrel back around New Years, filtered it through coffee filters, and wasn’t too thrilled, tasted way over oaked.

But I just tasted it again last night and it is really nice. Even through filters there is a lot of stuff that gets through and stays in suspension. I think that is what I was tasting before.

The whiskey is dark and full of dark caramel and sweet oak. Tasted to me like a bourbon way older than one year.
I think there is a nice caramel corn note that comes from the combination of the oak and corn malt that I don’t notice in the stuff I make when I don’t use malted corn.

For now it’s going to continue to age in the barrels because I don’t have enough bottles to pull it off yet. I’ve been pulling samples off every 3 months, we’ll see where it goes from here.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
rubberduck71
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 735
Joined: Sat May 30, 2020 11:22 am
Location: Eastern PA

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by rubberduck71 »

I'm searching for a local vendor for Butcher corn, but it's not easy.

Can you guys recommend an online store?

Thanks!
There are two times of year: FOOTBALL SEASON and... Waiting For Football Season
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Firecracker Bourbon

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

This is where I got mine. I picked it up at his farm I PA, but he also ships.

https://www.dancingstarfarmseed.com/
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
Post Reply