I really enjoy single malt whiskey as well as all grain beer brewing. I'm hoping to find the cross between these two things and make all 2-row barley whiskey. I have access to wonderful locally grown and malted Montanan barley. Most recipes and grain bills I see on this forum refer to high adjunct brewing, and I would like some pointers on malt whiskey.
I was planning to make a beer of about 8% alcohol and use a whiskey yeast I've purchased. Any help is much appreciated.
Advice for first malt whiskey
Moderator: Site Moderator
- MichiganCornhusker
- retired
- Posts: 4527
- Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am
Re: Advice for first malt whiskey
Well there ya go, it's just that simple.superblah wrote:I was planning to make a beer of about 8% alcohol and use a whiskey yeast I've purchased.
Lots of good info in this recipe thread as well.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 14&t=48654
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
Re: Advice for first malt whiskey
A few things that I had to learn when going from AG beer to AG whiskey were :superblah wrote:I really enjoy single malt whiskey as well as all grain beer brewing. I'm hoping to find the cross between these two things and make all 2-row barley whiskey. I have access to wonderful locally grown and malted Montanan barley. Most recipes and grain bills I see on this forum refer to high adjunct brewing, and I would like some pointers on malt whiskey.
I was planning to make a beer of about 8% alcohol and use a whiskey yeast I've purchased. Any help is much appreciated.
1) If doing a single infusion mash, mash in at a lower temp, i.e. target 145°F (we don't need/want unfermentable sugars )
2) Don't do a mash out, you want to keep the enzymes active during the ferment
3) If you aren't doing a step mash, you may want to use a glucanase enzyme, i.e SEBflo TL instead of a protein/glucan rest
Other than that, your AG beer experience will be of great help.
- shadylane
- Master of Distillation
- Posts: 10400
- Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 11:54 pm
- Location: Hiding In the Boiler room of the Insane asylum
Re: Advice for first malt whiskey
That's a good simple recipeMichiganCornhusker wrote:Well there ya go, it's just that simple.superblah wrote:I was planning to make a beer of about 8% alcohol and use a whiskey yeast I've purchased.
Lots of good info in this recipe thread as well.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 14&t=48654
I use it with malted wheat, One thing I've noticed, wheat doesn't have a husk like barley.
It's easier drain the liquid from a barley mash than from a wheat mash
Especially if you grind the wheat fine
-
- Novice
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2017 8:21 am
Re: Advice for first malt whiskey
Add some rice hulls to the mash if you're doing anything higher than a 50% wheat mash. Helps with the draining.
And if you're a brewer and have the ability to re-pitch yeast off your beer, just use some of that to ferment your mash for the whiskey - no need to go out and buy specific whiskey yeast.
And if you're a brewer and have the ability to re-pitch yeast off your beer, just use some of that to ferment your mash for the whiskey - no need to go out and buy specific whiskey yeast.
-
- Rumrunner
- Posts: 657
- Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 2:12 pm
Re: Advice for first malt whiskey
Leave a lot of head room in the still and maybe little bit of butter because barley malt is probed to puke. It sounds like you are on your way to a fine single malt whisky/whiskey ( the e or not is your option ). Enjoy, let us know what you learn...
- frunobulax
- Site Donor
- Posts: 634
- Joined: Mon Dec 17, 2012 3:23 pm
- Location: Sunny N.J.
Re: Advice for first malt whiskey
For an Irish whiskey ya can use 50/50 malted and unmalted barley. Definitely keep mash temp between 140-150 for 1.5-2 hours for maximum conversion.
To get to pitching temp. faster, try cold water sparging.
To get to pitching temp. faster, try cold water sparging.
- Swedish Pride
- Site Donor
- Posts: 2660
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 2:16 am
- Location: Emerald Isle
Re: Advice for first malt whiskey
if you like Scotch it's not a bad idea to add some high PPM peat malt to the mash, you still get a very nice drop with unpeated malt just not Scotchy.
Don't be a dick
-
- Swill Maker
- Posts: 451
- Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2015 1:11 pm
- Location: Mountains ocean and rain
Re: Advice for first malt whiskey
Rice hulls work pretty good for those sticky grains, I used them now all the time with corn, rice, and wheat . They go a long way and are available in huge bags at your local garden store!mashinations wrote:Add some rice hulls to the mash if you're doing anything higher than a 50% wheat mash. Helps with the draining.
And if you're a brewer and have the ability to re-pitch yeast off your beer, just use some of that to ferment your mash for the whiskey - no need to go out and buy specific whiskey yeast.
long live Oldsmobile Aleros