Home Distiller

I've made 2 baches now with fresh sweet corn on the cob. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
5 dozen large ears of sweet corn
10kg white sugar
5lbs ground malt (barley)
5 Beano tablets

Shucked and stripped the kernels of corn, a cabbage slicer with one blade removed makes short work of stripping the kernels.

The stripped corn (on the last batch) weighed 27 lbs. I ran all the corn through a blender with a bit of water.

Put it in the mash pot and added about 20 litres of water. Heated this mixture up to 74 deg C. Let cool to 66.5 deg C stirring frequently. Added the malt and Beano tabs stirred well and covered for about 2 hours stirring occasionally.

Transfer mixture into fermenting vessel and added sugar, while aerating with motar mixer. Added cold water to top up to 50-55 litre mark. Toss yeast at 30 deg C (the yeast I used was originally Gert Strand whiskey yeast, but is now a culture which I've been kept alive for about 10 generations now). Cover and let fermentaion run it's coarse. When fermentation is done, siphone into carboys and let clear for a few days. Double distill in a pot still.

I would assume you like the yield boost from the added sugar. When I return home from my current vacation I plan on making a similar product sans sugar. To me, the added sugar creates more of a bite that I prefer not to have. Maybe I'll try some of each. I have enough corn for a couple batches.

Its mostly all a big experiment for me still and I enjoy trying different things. I froze my corn, on the cob and in the husk, thought and that may throw me a curve.

Do you have a description of your cabbage grinder? Im not sure Ive seen one and am still looking for a clean, effective way to remove the nibblets without getting a load of cob in the mix.

Doh! Cabbage Slicer that is.

I've done corn mashes both ways with sugar and without (although not with fresh corn) and honestly if you put a glass of each side by side I don't think I could tell you the difference. Btw I measured sg on the mash before adding any malt or beano and it had a potential of 3-4% alcohol. (maybe if I get my hands on another sackfull I will go the purist route again and see what happens)

The cabbage slicer or shredder I have is very simular to this one except mine has only 2 blades. I remove one and set the other at a deeper angle and slide the cobs over it length ways. It's super fast, one guy on the slicer can keep up with one guy shucking. It helps if you impale the cob on a long handled screw driver, this keeps ones knuckles away from the blade.

its called a mandolin in the industry (also a finger slicer lol), but i bet i could beat you with my knife ( i spend about 6+ hours a day with it in my hand)

Mass murder?

absinthe wrote:its called a mandolin in the industry (also a finger slicer lol), but i bet i could beat you with my knife ( i spend about 6+ hours a day with it in my hand)

Are you challenging me to a corn-off?

thanks for the pic UR I had seen them before, just didnt know what they were called. After many thoughts and considerations of nibblet stripping methods, I think thats probably the best way. So thinks for the tip. Now all I have to do is score one at Walmart.

Would be very interested to hear the results of a corn off!

Will probably still be around 2 weeks before I can build the mash thou.

We ran the first wash yesterday. A 55 litre mash minus the used grain yielded 3 gallons on the strip run including heads and tails. I had a drink during the middle run, it was very flavourfull and smooth. One thing I did observe is the foreshot has very little acetoney or solventy kind of smell to it. My typical corn mash made with rolled feed corn always has very strong smelling foreshots/heads. So maybe fresh corn produces less nasties than dried corn?

instead of going through the process of malting my own, can i just use a malt extract? how much would be recommended in this recipe? which brands are better to use?

Amadeus82 wrote:instead of going through the process of malting my own, can i just use a malt extract? how much would be recommended in this recipe? which brands are better to use?

I ain't had no luck malting my own fresh corn on the cob.....

I have been reading http://homedistiller.org

I guess I never specified, I used malted barley not corn. I've never had any experience using malt extracts, but from what I understand they will not convert starches from your grains efficiently. You could use enzimes such as amylase as an alternative to malt, but I still think I would heat up the grain to get maximum starch release from the grain.

Rebel_Yell wrote:

Amadeus82 wrote:instead of going through the process of malting my own, can i just use a malt extract? how much would be recommended in this recipe? which brands are better to use?

I ain't had no luck malting my own fresh corn on the cob.....

I have been reading http://homedistiller.org

what are you on about malting corn on the cob?

Uncle Remus wrote:I guess I never specified, I used malted barley not corn. I've never had any experience using malt extracts, but from what I understand they will not convert starches from your grains efficiently. You could use enzimes such as amylase as an alternative to malt, but I still think I would heat up the grain to get maximum starch release from the grain.

i was reading somewhere that you don't like to make your own malt, still the same?? i know at the microbreweries that they have a few different types of malted barley which one do you get or it doesn't matter?

I don't make my own malt. I bought it from a local micro brewery. It's pale ale malt, this is the only one I've used as it comes in 25kg sacks. One sack lasts me a long time.

Uncle Remus wrote:

absinthe wrote:its called a mandolin in the industry (also a finger slicer lol), but i bet i could beat you with my knife ( i spend about 6+ hours a day with it in my hand)

Are you challenging me to a corn-off?

lol why not so have you gone the final spirit run yet?, would love to know how it went

No not yet, I got one batch stripped and another still fermenting. I'm gonna wait till I strip the second batch and then do a spirit run with both. I'll let you know how it goes.

You can't use malt extract to convert anything. Malt extract is made from grain that has been malted then converted from starch to sugar in the same process used in making a mash or beer then condensed to a thick syrup or dried to a powder. All it is is a condensed, just add liquid, ready to use mash/beer....kinda like Betty Crocker for brewing.

I'm curious to know how it turned out Uncle Remus.

Cheers,
J

I got both batches stripped. I haven't done the spirit run yet. The yield was really good and there is a ton of flavour there, too much really, even in mid run. But I think it's gonna be great after the second time around.

Okay, update: I did the spirit run today. Ended up with 12 litres of 75% av from the 2 batches. We had a few drinks from mid run, watered down to 40%...very nice lotsa flavour. Gonna put it down on oak chips and let it rest for a while... I think all and all it was worth while de-cobbing all that corn.
Time will tell after it ages for a bit, if it's much better than my regular corn mash with dried feed corn...So far so good!

I'm kinda suprized that your wash was only around 9-12% or so considering how much sugar you used. How much heads, and tails did you collect? and at what proofs?

Knowing that, I don't think I'd bother trying to convert any of the corn at all, If I try it, I'll just do a corn flavored sugar-wash.

We collected a generous litre of heads at about 81%. We also took about 750ml right out of the middle of middle run for sipping purposes and probably collected 3 litres of tails all below 50%av.

Your right though it is a bit on the low side, 20kg of sugar alone should yield 14.6 litres of 75% distillate. We got about 14litres +tails....I suppose you lose some with the grain you strain out and throw away.... probably never got a great conversion.

Not bad,though....was the liter worth takin out of the middle for sippin?
I'm considering giving this a try.

Also, I wonder if it would make a good sour mash?

Very nice experience and result UR...

Not far from my favourite recipe... But I didn' try a double distillation yet... We drink too fast!

No, seriously, I've no large enough fermenter and also no time enough. I'll soon buy 1 or 2 60 liters fermenters and go this way... Sure I wanna try strippin' and spirit runs!

Oh yes, It was very fine, good flavour, smooth. I had a couple drinks watered it down about 4:1 with water. I always like sampling right off the still.

I think if I can get a good price on a pick-up truck load next year, I might go for it. Maybe just strip all the cobs and freeze the kernels in 20 lb batches or so.

I don't see why it wouldn't make good sour mash. The wash sure had a sour smell and taste when it was finished fermenting.

I'm gonna start playing with amylase this winter and see how I make out converting grains.

The malt I've been using is a pale ale malt. I did make one purist mash with only corn... seems to me the wash was around 6%av or so. Maybe the malt I have isn't the best to convert other grains?

Have to see how it goes mashing with enzymes. If I can get some half decent yields I'll quit using sugar.

think ther'd be any salvagable sugars/starches in the cobs?
I know in some countries they save and dry this stuff, cook it like rice. tastes quite nice, but produces a lot of wind, must be high protein

I do not thank Id try that I thank cobs mostly cellulose and would make methanol



never cooked any and ant going to do it again

wonder what the time trials on this'd be like.
anyone got some aging?

Uncle Remus wrote: The malt I've been using is a pale ale malt. I did make one purist mash with only corn... seems to me the wash was around 6%av or so. Maybe the malt I have isn't the best to convert other grains?

That's just about right for a corn mash. (SG around 1.034) Some are experimenting with using strained mash/sparge water to cook a second batch to bring the SG up.

I havent tried this recipe yet.Please tell me what yall think about and if you would try it out


Fresh Corn Whiskey
This is a 15gal recipe

28 ears of fresh corn on the cob
5lbs of ground 2 row malted barley
alt to barley use 6tbl spoons of Amylase enzyme and 6tbl spoons of Glutamate enzyme
2 packs of Whiskey yeast
alt for whiskey yeast use 8tbl spoons of bakers yeast
10lbs of pure cane sugar

Prepare the corn
cut the corn off the cob
then grind up in a blander of meat grinder add water as necesarty to keep it moving
divide ground corn up into 6 equal parts
divide barley into 6 equal parts
put in 20qt pot w/ equal amount or water

ALT: if using enzyme instead of barley use 1tbl spoon of amylase for each part

heat for 45 min at a temp of 168 deg. not lower than 165 and not more than 172 deg.Stir continuasly to avoid scorching

NOTE: it will scorch and burn very easy

let cool to 85 deg.

ALT: if useing the enzymes add the Glutamate when cooling at 110 deg. mix in completely.

mix in 10lbs of sugar
add mixture to fermenter and add 85deg. water to reach 15 gal of wort.
pitch the 2 packs of whiskey yeast seal and hook up bubbler.

ALT: if useing bakers yeast. in large bowl add 90deg f. water to fill bowl with 2" of water. Mix in 1/3 cup of sugar. pour yeast on top of water and let sit until yeast rises about 1 to 2" (30 to 40 min). pour mixture in fermenter

Let ferment until it stops bubbling 3 to 5 days.
When fermenting keep at about 70 to 74 degrees F.
Distill to about 80 to 90% abv


I have not tried this yet just posting to see if it is worth trying out