Bourbon Recipe Help

[onemarleyfan]

I'm looking to make a basic Bourbon recipe. My favorites are Basil Hayden's and Eagle Rare 10yr(my pockets aren't deep enough for the 17yr).

I read on a different forum that someone got a similar taste profile with 63% Corn, 27% Rye, 10%(unlabeled). I have also read that BH has a higher Rye content('almost double').

I was hoping for some help with what grains to buy(and where generally to buy them). Also what the unmentioned grain would be. I am assuming it is wheat or barley.

So some help would be appreciated........

Corn:
At my local homebrew/Microbrew shop they have flaked corn/maize, but I live in a somewhat rural area that has a lot of farm/feed stores. I have heard that using feedstocks of corn is acceptable(is that true?). I know food for animals is generally of lower quality than human consumption and the FDA requires that it be labeled as such, but does it matter in this situation since I'm making alcohol? Am I just looking for protein/starch content?

Suggestions? Comments?
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Rye:
Should I use Malted? Unmalted? Is there a specific type of Rye that is usually used? I go to the homebrew shop and it seems like they have 5 types of grain but they've got 50 different buckets.

Suggestions? Comments?
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Unknown grain:
Should I use Wheat(type? Malted/Un?)? Or Barley(type? Malted/un?)? Ultimately I'll probably just try the 2 combo's(i.e. Corn/Rye/Wheat and Corn/Rye/Barley).

Comments/Suggestions?
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What kind of yeast should I use for a Bourbon recipe. Specifics would be nice. Again the local brew shop has about 50 different types of yeast.
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Should I mash all of these grains together? or each separately? Do you get better efficiency doing it one way or the other? What temperature do I mash these at? How much time?
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I recently made my first batch of 100% malted barley whiskey. I thought it tasted pretty good straight out of the still but I had a few issues with it.

There seemed to be a lot of particulate matter that transferred over from the pot any ideas why that is and how I stop that? A few things of note......I did not strain my fermented wash(this is my belief why there is particulate), before I put it into the still. Should I do this in the future? I don't recall the type of yeast we used(the notes are not at my house at the moment).

Any thoughts on temperature readings for when to cut Foreshots, Heads, Hearts, Tails and temp to stop?(for both the Barley and the Bourbon)? We collected what we thought smelled/tasted right and divided it up(haven't been able to measure ABV as my Hydrometer hasn't shown up). My thoughts on that are it tasted F-in good, which isn't very scientific.

My setup is the following:
5 gal Stainless Steel Boil kettle
8 gal Aluminum Kettle( i found for cheap at K-Mart, is Aluminum acceptable to boil/mash your water in?)
8 gal Stainless Steel Mashing Vessel with False bottom
3 Gallon Glass Carboy Fermentor(but could upgrade pretty easily to 5)
10L Copper Alembic Pot Still

My thought is to make 1 or 2 bottle runs of different recipe so maybe a little help with how many pounds of grain total(or individual) to use.


I know there are a lot of questions and don't feel obligated to answer all of them. If one of them is your specialty by all means.......I want to soak up your knowledge! All help is greatly appreciated. I am new to this, and am generally a slow starter but a quick learner. Once I get the basics down I have a lot of ideas of things I'd like to try/share!

[likkerfirst]

Go over to tried and trued. I havent done any all grains but NChooch's recipe has great feedback

[Prairiepiss]

+1 on NC's recipe. It would be a great recipe to get your feet wet with. When you get comfortable with it you can play with different grains and amounts. Plus starting with one of the tried and true recipes if you get stuck or run into problems. Help is a lot easier to get. And a lot of it is already available in the recipe thread.

[Dnderhead]

if the 10% "other" is malt is not going to make it if that is all the malt there is.base malts for beer is lower in enzymes than distillers malt.

[onemarleyfan]

Could you explain that as though I'm retarded(cuz uh.....I am in this arena).

[Dnderhead]

when mashing you need a average DP ( L ) of 30 or more,, its the DP of the malts divided by the amount of grain.
so a DP of 30 will convert its self,,a DP of 60 will convert its self and the same amount of unmalted grain and so on.

Ok take your exsampol..we will call it LB to make it simpol.
63+27+10=100lbx30=3000dp (this is the least you can use)
so say your base malt has a DP of 180 , 3000 <180 =16.7 LB of that malt will be neaded.(or more)

[blind drunk]

We collected what we thought smelled/tasted right and divided it up(haven't been able to measure ABV as my Hydrometer hasn't shown up). My thoughts on that are it tasted F-in good, which isn't very scientific.

In the end, that's all the science you need to know. You don't have to worry about the temp of cuts with a potstill. Some do, but it's not necessary. Like another member here said, running a potstill is a bit like cooking. Taste, smell and feel.

This should give you a good overview -

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=13294

[onemarleyfan]

Does corn have a DP? I don't believe I saw it on the flaked corn at the brewshop. I am not sure I saw anything above 120L at the shop.

Assuming it does not, does that essentially mean for 100lb I will have to "build" up to 3000 LSo I have 63% Corn, 27%(90L) Malted Rye, 10% Malted Barley(60 L)


Corn 0 L+Malted Rye 2430 L+ Malted Barley 600 L=3030 Total

Sooooo that being said, let me know if you think that is how it works(and I have a clue of what I am going to be shopping for).

My next question for a 3gallon fermentor how many pounds of grain should I buy(i.e. how many lbs. grain, plus how many liters of water will i need to make 10L of wash(or if i buy the large 5 gal carboy, make 16liters of wash).

Thank you for the the responses by the way!! I have read through about a quarter of the way through the 21+ pag link likker. I got sidetracked by a 12yr Aberlour and my Hershey bar!!

[Dnderhead]

DP (Diastatic Power)
is only in malted grain,this is grain that has sprouted.the longer it has sprouted the higher the DP.but this lowers the starch content.this can go on until no starch is left.malt like that is used for beer is a balance of enzymes and starch.distillers malt is sprouted longer so it has more enzymes (DP) this done because most distillers use more adjacent(unmalted grains) than brewers.

[Prairiepiss]

Here I am still learning AG. Dnderhead is a great resources for information. But he has to answer these same questions over and over. All the time. Odin and I started in on AG at the same time. And we both started threads that both of us learned a ton of info from. They were very informative. Between the two some good information on DP was discussed. Maybe if you read through them you will have a better understanding about AG mashing.


My thread.
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=25386

Odin's thread.
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=25320

[rubber duck]

onemarleyfan Stop and read this very carefully.

When you went to the brew shop and saw 120L malt that was not the malt that you want for distilling.

L can stand for two things, lovibond and litner. Lovibond is the color of the the malt, what you where looking at was crystal 120l malt and it's useless for most distilling applications. Litner is the diastic power of the malt, that's what your looking for.

Most of your colored malt has been roasted to the point of denaturing/ deactivating the enzymes. When your looking for malt you want a 6row or 2row pale malt or base malt.

When you go back to the brew shop just ask for a 6row pale malt, 6row will have a diastic power of 180L give or take.

On this forum most of the time when you see L it means litner, on a beer forum it will likely mean lovibond.

If he asks why you want all that 6row tell him you like lambic beer or just say do you want to sell it or not.

Hope I saved you some money and frustration.

[onemarleyfan]

Do I mash the corn separate from the other grains? From reading around my belief is that I should:

1.Boil(or simmer?) the corn for 90 minutes(stirring periodically), absolutely do not allow it to scorch
2.Once it cools to under 155 throw in the other grains(malted barley/malted rye)
3.let that sit for 60 minutes

Does that seem about right?

I am definitely reading through all those posts too, thank you for posting the links. Hard when you have 3 kids running around and a wife who doesn't care so much for your whisk(e)y obsession!