Help with scorched corn

Production methods from starch to sugars.

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Opdog
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Help with scorched corn

Post by Opdog »

I just got a new 15 gallon pot and was giving it a test run in the garage with 20 lbs corn and 15 gallons total volume water. I have some Breiss Victory Malt that I though would make a nice bourbon with a little bit of rolled oats for volume.

The corn was cracked and I spent a good bit of the morning running it through the corona to get nice corn meal. Same thing with the malt. The original plan was to cook up the corn to get good gelatinizatikn, then add the oats and Malt for flavor and consistency. Enzymes for conversion as the temps are appropriate.

I had some family obligations in the early afternoon, so I didn't get to actually cooking the corn until this evening. Things were going great, temps were about 160F and rising, I got impatient and added the corn earlier than I normally do, but I was right Here with the drill to keep the liquid moving. A while in the neighbor girl saw that the garage door was open and came in looking for my kids to come play. I turned the drill off, took the girls around the front and called for my kids. After a bit further of dithering around, they finally came down and went out to play. Went back into the garage and realized that I had forgotten to turn the burner off.

You can guess what happened. All the corn settled to the bottom and some of it scorched to the bottom of the pot. Fortunately it wasn't super bad, but I am pretty concerned that I just ruined the whole batch. At least I hadn't added the malt or oats yet.

I have a 15 gallon brewers bag. Do you think I can save it if I strain out the corn now? I recognize that the amount of startch I pull out of the corn won't be as good as normal, but I'd like to save this batch if possible, but also not have a really nasty end product. Any suggestions are welcome at this point. I'm pretty pissed at myself at the moment and have admittedly not done any research on the best way to fix this yet.

I'm going inside to have dinner and a beer.
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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Quick easy answer for this one: dump it, there is no fixing it.
You will waste time, energy, and potentially good grains if you continue.

The Stench of Scorch will come through distillation and ruin batch.
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Re: Help with scorched corn

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Deep down I knew this to be the answer, but just didn't want to believe it. It was a lot of grinding today. . .sigh.
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by StillerBoy »

Opdog wrote: I spent a good bit of the morning running it through the corona to get nice corn meal.
Opdog wrote: but just didn't want to believe it. It was a lot of grinding today.
Attach an electric drill to the corona.. and you'll be done in half hour.. just start by release grind plate to where the drill will turn it easily.. then increase the grind by half or three quarter and run it again..

Mars
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by Opdog »

Thanks Mars! I have the bolt for the conversion. I thinks that will be tomorrow's project.
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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Sorry for the lack of empathy, opdog, I've done it before and I know it sucks to have to toss so much work.

You will love the drill conversion for the mill, just make sure you have a good heavy duty drill and don't overload it.

Also consider the dump and stir method for corn, no danger of scorch there!

Good luck, your next batch will be that much better.
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Opdog
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by Opdog »

It's all good.

I just really hate making stupid mistakes. I appreciate the voice of reason! Better to toss this than to make undrinkable garbage. I usually run Booner's protocol for corn because it is so easy.

I've burned my share of corn, but this one just really pissed me off.
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by Opdog »

This corn does not want to turn into bourbon. . .

I removed the handle and thumb screw from the corona and added a standard bold so I can drive it with my 1/2" drill. Then I opened the the gap on the mill so that I would put too much pressure on the auger and dumped in my cracked corn. You can see the results. . . I cracked the forging. . . crappy Chinese steel. . . :x
IMG_1235.JPG
IMG_1236.JPG
However, when live gives you lemons, make lemon-aid
IMG_1237.JPG
I would post the picture that I took of my wife when she walked in and caught me using her vitamix to grind 20# of corn, but I suspect that most of you have seen a raging bull. . . to say that she was not happy is an understatement.

Anyway, if all goes well I'll be boiling 20 gallons of water tonight and getting this ferment back on track. This time I'll be sticking with the boil, dump and stir method.

If anyone has any thought on how to fix that crack, I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks,

Opdog
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by still_stirrin »

Opdog wrote:If anyone has any thought on how to fix that crack, I'm open to suggestions.
Well, I don't think "flour paste" will work.... :lol:
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by vqstatesman »

Just chiming in my $0.02, in some of my early days I had a scorched run. My scorching episode wasn't during the mash but rather distilling. Too much suspended solids and submersible elements will do it. Needless to say, the distillate come out rather nasty tasting. I decided to put it on oak anyway, 18 months later it's still on oak and still nasty as! One day I will tip it out I guess.

I moved on to mashing and distilling in a BM setup and have never looked back.
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by still_stirrin »

vqstatesman wrote:...I moved on to mashing and distilling in a BM setup and have never looked back.
:crazy:

You know, without first describing what your acronym is, it can be misinterpreted. So, it looks like you use a "shity" setup (BM => bowel movement??). Ha!
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by vqstatesman »

still_stirrin wrote:
vqstatesman wrote:...I moved on to mashing and distilling in a BM setup and have never looked back.
:crazy:

You know, without first describing what your acronym is, it can be misinterpreted. So, it looks like you use a "shity" setup (BM => bowel movement??). Ha!
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MichiganCornhusker
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Ah... The DB!

That's a bad deal with what happened to your mill.

One thing I do is that I use a jamb nut.
Put a nut on the bolt first, run it up the threads, and then put the bolt in the mill plate.
Screw it in all the way, back it up a half turn, and then run the nut down to the plate shaft.
Tighten the nut and you are good to go. It will also help when extracting the bolt when it breaks off from all that corn!

And you do need to get a new corona. The vitamix isn't a good solution for several reasons.
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Ah... The DB!

That's a bad deal with what happened to your mill.

One thing I do is that I use a jamb nut.
Put a nut on the bolt first, run it up the threads, and then put the bolt in the mill plate.
Screw it in all the way, back it up a half turn, and then run the nut down to the plate shaft.
Tighten the nut and you are good to go. It will also help when extracting the bolt when it breaks off from all that corn!

And you do need to get a new corona. The vitamix isn't a good solution for several reasons.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
Opdog
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by Opdog »

I finally got it mashing!

Here is half of it resting before the adding the glucoamalyse.
IMG_1275.JPG
The bill ended up being 20 lbs corn, 10 lbs rolled oats and 10lbs 2 row split into two coolers. It smells very nutty, which is what I was going for. Hopefully this will taste as good as it smells. I'll pull an OG in the morning.

I'm still kind of pissed about this one. I really hope it turns out well. I started a BadMo barrel for this grain bill, but given the way this has gone so far, it might mason jars for this run.
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by Truckinbutch »

Everybody gets in too big of a hurry with a Corona mill . Use it the way it is intended . Set it for a rough crack and get someone to feed it while you run the drill .
5 minutes will crack 50# of whole corn . Tighten and regrind . Another 5 minutes for 50# . Tighten once more for nearly a flour texture and spend another 5 minutes grinding . The mill is undamaged as is the drill and you got a grind that will give you stupid crazy conversion rates .
Keep some spare drive bolts on hand because they can still fail at any time .
All this in less than a half hour . 5 gallon bucket = about 25# of corn .
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by ShineonCrazyDiamond »

Opdog wrote:
The bill ended up being 20 lbs corn, 10 lbs rolled oats and 10lbs 2 row split into two coolers. It smells very nutty, which is what I was going for.
Here's a tip. If you are looking for that nutty flavor, toast the oats a little bit in the oven. Or even just a third of them. I recently have been putting a recipe together, and I'm almost there. Part of it involves toasting oats, and the white dog is very promising...but one thing that stood out was a definite nutty flavor, that had to be from the toasted rolled oats. I will know for sure when I pop the jar open for Truckin's hoedown. Crow bourbon as it will be :shh: :lol:

Try it and see if you like the results :thumbup:
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by Opdog »

Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely give that a try. Let me know how yours comes out.
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by Opdog »

Just a quick follow-up. I ran this batch yesterday. Wow did it come out nice! The oats really mellowed everything right out. It was drinkable today at 45% ABV. Crisp, clean and nicely balanced. I will definitely run this again. I can't wait the see how this ages.

The new corona is in. I need to modify it to work with the drill. I picked up a new food grade 55 gallon drum for $10 and a brand new never been used keg for $30. I have some fabricating to do. I'll start a build thread as soon as I figure out exactly what I'm gong to do with these. I'm thinking some form of steam setup to avoid the Scortch Trials.

Despite all of the drama and PITA of this, the final result was awesome. Thanks to everyone who offered advice, suggestions and commiserations. All were greatly appreciated.
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Re: Help with scorched corn

Post by Truckinbutch »

:clap: Love it when a plan comes together .
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