my first malt

Many like to post about a first successful ferment (or first all grain mash), or first still built/bought or first good run of the still. Tell us about all of these great times here.
Pics are VERY welcome, we drool over pretty copper 8)

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Vlugenhagen
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my first malt

Post by Vlugenhagen »

Hey guys,

I'm very new to distillation and currently don't have the finances to purchase equipment yet. However, that hasn't discouraged me from gaining first hand experience from techniques I can afford to do now. I still have someone popcorn kernels left over from a bag so I'm attempting to try and malt them. I have a small Tupperware, so I placed some paper towels in and lightly damped them. Then I arranged the kernels neatly and put another layer of paper towels on top and made the paper wet as well. I put some cling film on top and poked a bunch of holes in them so my kernels can breath and at the same time prevent flies and other organisms from contaminating my kernels. I change the paper towels every 8 hours and stir the kernels around and repeat. When the sprout reaches an inch or so in length, i'll dry them out on a flat surface by the windowsill. I still need to figure out a way to prevent critters and flies from contaminating my drying corn malt but i'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Afterwards I'll remove the sprouts and store them for future use. I heard somewhere I can store malted corn for months, so hopefully by then i'll have the finances to finally make my first batch of corn mash. I'll update you guys on my progress in due time. Regardless if I fail or succeed, I'm excited just to learn and grow!

Have a nice day everyone :D
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Still Life
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Re: my first malt

Post by Still Life »

Good going. Corn is tough to malt, I hear.

Be aware that whole corn is cheaper so than popcorn.
(I'm picking up 56-lb. sacks for $8.00 each.)

Good luck and stay diligent with it.

[Edited out "cracked" corn]
Last edited by Still Life on Sun Sep 10, 2017 7:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Cu29er
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Re: my first malt

Post by Cu29er »

.

Don't try cracked corn as it's broken and will mold before any sprouting. You want whole grain. Chicken scratch is made of cracked corn and whole wheat and that rots before the grain really sprouts well; it can probably be malted but more refined techniques. For now stick with whole grains.

Get a colander and a bowl that you can soak the colander inside (or a big steamer pot within a pot). Put the grain in that, flood in water for
12hrs corn, 8hrs barley, 6hrs wheat
lift the colander, dump the water and set the colander back in to drain and cover it all with a cloth or cover with air. Let drain
12hrs corn, 8hrs barley, 6hrs wheat
flood the bowl and grain with water and immediately drain
stir and check on the grain growth
12hrs corn, 8hrs barley, 6hrs wheat
Until the shoot (ignore the roots) is as long as the grain.
You can store in the freezer at that point as malt to grind later or grind it now. You'll need a corona-style grinder (which is used for wet grain like 'tortilla masa') and put the output in the freezer.
Or you can follow the threads on drying the malt on sheets and fans and heat to store and grind conventionally...

I have had the best results with wheat, corn can get into troubles because it goes slower.

.
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Still Life
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Re: my first malt

Post by Still Life »

Yeah, thanks. Didn't mean to say cracked. Habit.
Does popcorn have a lesser tendency to mold, Cu29er?
Vlugenhagen
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Re: my first malt

Post by Vlugenhagen »

Hey Still life, thanks for the reply. I'm in The Netherlands, I can't really find whole corn here. I'd probably have to go somewhere out in the country and ask farmers where they get it. Don't know if a distributor will be willing to sale their products to individuals since they only sell to farmers and other businesses.
Vlugenhagen
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Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2017 10:03 am

Re: my first malt

Post by Vlugenhagen »

Cu29er wrote:.

Don't try cracked corn as it's broken and will mold before any sprouting. You want whole grain. Chicken scratch is made of cracked corn and whole wheat and that rots before the grain really sprouts well; it can probably be malted but more refined techniques. For now stick with whole grains.
Get a colander and a bowl that you can soak the colander inside (or a big steamer pot within a pot). Put the grain in that, flood in water for
12hrs corn, 8hrs barley, 6hrs wheat
lift the colander, dump the water and set the colander back in to drain and cover it all with a cloth or cover with air. Let drain
12hrs corn, 8hrs barley, 6hrs wheat
flood the bowl and grain with water and immediately drain
stir and check on the grain growth
12hrs corn, 8hrs barley, 6hrs wheat
Until the shoot (ignore the roots) is as long as the grain.
You can store in the freezer at that point as malt to grind later or grind it now. You'll need a corona-style grinder (which is used for wet grain like 'tortilla masa') and put the output in the freezer.
Or you can follow the threads on drying the malt on sheets and fans and heat to store and grind conventionally...

I have had the best results with wheat, corn can get into troubles because it goes slower.
.
Hey Cu29er, thanks for the tip. I've read somewhere you need to do a process of soaking and letting it stand for a while and soak again. So the grain reaches a 40% water content which will help for germinating. I never knew you can immediately grind wet malted grains, I'll look into this corona-style grinder. Thanks!!
Last edited by Vlugenhagen on Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
Vlugenhagen
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Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2017 10:03 am

Re: my first malt

Post by Vlugenhagen »

**UPDATE**

My popcorn kernels are starting to grow very small shoots. I can just make them out. I'm quite surprised since I didn't do the whole process of the initial soak.

Today I purchased a 5kg bag of whole corn kernels from my local animal feed store. This is the first time I've seen corn kernels that isn't popcorn. There were some broken kernels inside and my hands were powdery after touching it which I'm guessing is normal. In addition I've also picked up a disposable aluminium bbq tray which i'll poke holes inside and soak and air dry (4 times repeat) and see how that goes.

I heard I could use a food dehydrating unit to dry my malted kernels. I saw one in the shop with a temperature dial that goes from 42C to 52C. Only problem is most of the units in the shop have holes in the trays and I dont want my grains to fall through. Need to find a way to modify it. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Have a nice day guys!!
Vlugenhagen
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Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2017 10:03 am

Re: my first malt

Post by Vlugenhagen »

*SECOND UPDATE*

The 5kg bag of whole corn kernels had too much broken up pieces of corn. I literally spent 2 hours trying to pick out the whole kernels for malting as I don't want any rotting or moldy kernels later on. I even went so far as to cut small vertical lines in a aluminium disposable bbq tray to make a makeshift sift but it was very ineffective. I'll most likely save this bag for when im making my starchy mash and probably stick to popcorn kernels for malting as I know they will be whole in the bag with no broken pieces.
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