Been given a 30 kg bag of whole corn, which kicked me into finally giving grains a go. Bought a 30 kg bag of whole barley. (30 kg = 66 pounds)
Will be using 80% corn, 20% barley malt. Currently making the malt with the slow drain bucket method. (Is that easy or what, he says, before actually successfully finishing his first attempt at it
). Gonna malt all the barley first up (in several small batches), to get some experience doing it, and will dry it so I can store it.(Started the malting 24 hours ago, and it is sprouting already. I like the earthy smell.
)Questions:
Green v. dried malt? Mostly just personal taste preference?
Is de-rooting the sprouted malt recommended for stilling? And for storing the dried malt?
Okay to use the kitchen blender to rough grind the malt (when I am ready to use it)?
Do I need to crack the whole corn, or can I just boil it apart? (I will get cracked next time.)
Yeast? Got a pretty limited choice of yeast. Local brew shop has some basic beer and wine yeasts, and some 'Whiskey Turbos with enzymes' (no thanks). And of course plenty of bakers yeast in the supermarket. Will order a specific whiskey yeast from online stores if you guys think it is worth it.