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malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 6:33 am
by T-type
Had real good success malting corn this weekend

Started with about 10 lbs of deer corn and soaked for 8 hours, drained & let rest 8 hours spread out, soaked again for 8 hours / repeat for 36 hours until it started to chit.
once it chits i put the whole mess into a big plastic flower pot without holes, which is pretty big around, big enough so that the corn is only about 2" thick or so spread out. I use my hand to turn and mix up the grains twice or 3 times a day. when i feel it needs more moisture i use a squirt bottle w/ water and spray it then mix it up and spray the top again till it looks kinda moist

This gave me like almost 100% success rate...every single kernal that i can see has 1" or so root on it. this is only day 3

for my first time trying to malt grain it really worked well. i heard corn is hard to malt, but i really dont see how, this was actually really easy. I used deer corn from walmart i got in big 40lb bag for 6$

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:29 am
by Dnderhead
those that live in hot climate have more trouble,the thing about corn/maze it does not have much enzymes.about enough to convert itself.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:34 am
by T-type
I see, i've heard you can use about 5 lbs malted for 5 lbs of unmalted. but will this even work?

How long should i let the roots grow? i've read 2 inches. On corn does the acrospire come out of the kernal or do you have to cut the kernal open to see it? how long should i let the acrospire get?

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:59 am
by Dnderhead
with corn you want it to sprout about 1/2-1 inch ( 12-25mm)not the roots.
the longer the sprout ,the more enzymes/less starch.so it is a trade off.
also keep it in the dark. light will produce chlorophyll and have a grassy flavor.
it does work 1/2/1/2, but id rather malt all the corn.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:21 am
by T-type
You are the man!

lol thnx for the info.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:34 am
by rubber duck
A 50/50 mix will work but that's assuming you got most of the corn to malt, it's over malted, and your very good at mashing.

Dudner is correct on the length of the sprouts but for a guy that's just starting out a little longer will make your mashing easier, though you will get less yield.

Pure corn is hard enough as it is, don't make it harder when your just starting out.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:02 am
by T-type
Ok, so maybe use 75% malted 25% unmalted for starting out

Dnder said 1/2" to 1" on the acrospire not the roots.

I'll post pics later tnite to show how they are coming along. i think i know what im looking for. just dont know if the acrospire comes out of the kernal. since barley you have to open up to see it

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:15 am
by Dnderhead
one thing barley has a hall that covers the acrospiere so you do not see it until it has grown
the length of grain,barley has more enzymes to start with,so not as much sprouting is necessary
and at that linght it is used in beer where you want both the starch and enzymes, for
distillers malt they let it grow a bit more.as it is then used as mostly for the enzymes
not starch.(that is why you see some recipes with just 5-10% malt)
now with brewers as used with beer you will need more like 20% malt.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:44 am
by T-type
So when the corn is malted is it sweet?

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 10:15 am
by rubber duck
atjones44 wrote:So when the corn is malted is it sweet?
No. It becomes sweet after it is mashed and the starch in the grain is converted to sugar.

I would just use 100% malted grain, that's what I do.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 10:33 am
by T-type
yea i know the mashing part, but i've read like when the grain is fully malted either the acrospire or somthing when squeezed tastes sweet....at least i thought i read this somwhere a while back

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 10:54 am
by King Of Hearts
What about steel ground yellow cornmeal? Much of the cornmeal at the grocery store is just the starchy inside of the corn kernel. It has the husk and germ of the maize kernel almost completely removed. I can get it for $2.19 for 5 lbs. But then again I can get brewers flaked corn for just over $30 for 50lbs.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 11:17 am
by Dnderhead
cornmeal,cracked corn needs to be mashed, that is cooking and converting with enzymes/malt
or do a sugar head/mash like UJSSM.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 6:12 pm
by King Of Hearts
Ok so after your done malting do you need to crack it? It should be soft if it's growing right? Do I need to cook it?

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 6:23 pm
by Dnderhead
Cracking is easy when it is whet, and it is cracked open when it sprouts,
you do not cook malt.doing so will deactivate the enzymes, heat to 155f /68c
will hurry the proses along.any unmalted grain will need to be cooked.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:54 pm
by T-type
Well my cellphone doesnt take good pictures at all...but the acrospire on almost all the kernals is as long as the kernal itself now, with some being longer, the root is pretty long @ about 1" almost,

prolly see what it looks like tomorrow and if it looks done, i'll get out the dehydrator and set it to 120* or so for 24 hours? or what do you think?

Re: malted corn

Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:01 pm
by Dnderhead
that mite be all right if you do all malt,id leave it longer if you are going to add other grains.
it does not half to be dried if you use it right away.drying is more for storage.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 7:16 am
by T-type
Thanks Again Dnder, i was wanting to dry it because i read on here that the roots make it taste grassy?

Re: malted corn

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 8:09 am
by King Of Hearts
So what kind of yield will you get from 1 lb in 1 gal. of water, original gravity, like 1.035

Re: malted corn

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 8:46 am
by Dnderhead
that whould be about 5% wash.or 7.5 oz of alcohol per gal..

Re: malted corn

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 9:56 am
by King Of Hearts
I think you could boost that to 6.5% with some amylase enzymes.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 5:35 pm
by T-type
does anyone know how long i should have the corn malt in the dehydrator? Or does it matter? just put it at 120 and let it run for 24 hours? can it get too dry?

Re: malted corn

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 6:27 pm
by Dnderhead
If you want you can,,,,,
weigh the corn,,,,,malt the corn,,,,,,,,,,dry until the same weight as it was.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 10:15 pm
by rubber duck
Burbankbrewer wrote:I think you could boost that to 6.5% with some amylase enzymes.
I can't hit those kind of numbers. 5% out of 1lb of corn is pretty good. I can do a little better but if 6.5 on a pound of grain can be achieved it's an accomplishment.

I'm not saying it can't be done. Give it a go and keep me posted.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 4:08 am
by King Of Hearts
rubber duck wrote:
Burbankbrewer wrote:I think you could boost that to 6.5% with some amylase enzymes.
I can't hit those kind of numbers. 5% out of 1lb of corn is pretty good. I can do a little better but if 6.5 on a pound of grain can be achieved it's an accomplishment.

I'm not saying it can't be done. Give it a go and keep me posted.
I've gotten 100% conversion with 60% flaked corn and a little amylase in the mash. I also use amyloglucosidase in the ferment and finish below 1.000. If I can use deer corn for .15C a lb I'm all for it.

Re: malted corn

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 6:48 am
by Dnderhead
if you use malted corn you will not git the same conversion that you do with flaked or ground.
this is because some starch is used up during sprouting.but it is one of the authentic ways it was done.
if your using all malted corn/grain you do not need to malt as long as if your using it with other
unmalted grains.there is a small amount of enzymes in grain.as the grain sprouts they produce more
and more enzymes(at the expense of starch) at some point the starch is used up and no more enzymes are produced.
at this point "mother nature" hopes that the grain can survive on its own.

now, if you can obtain corn/grain cheep, malting can be cheaper than using sugar, or enzymes.
if grain is expensive or you can only git small amounts it is not worth it. in that case Id say use
enzymes or buy malt.

if you wont you can git into this as much as you want, testing conversion.this is not that hard.
you use several sterile jars of different stages of growth. convert each.keep tract of each for conversion
and time it takes.you will come up with two different malts,one the most enzymes and one the most sugars produced.
the one with the most enzymes will be your "distillers malt" the one with most sugars is "brewers malt"
(corn/maze is not usaly made into distillers malt as it is low in enzymes)

Re: malted corn

Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 6:52 am
by T-type
Here is some pics of my dehydrator and my malt hopefully the pictures arnt to big:

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Re: malted corn

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:14 pm
by gascadoux77
What do you do with the kernels that don't sprout? Do you just grind them with the others that did successfully sprout? I have some corn sprouting now but am really unsure what to do next, it's my first time distilling. As I understand it I combine the ground corn w/ boiling water and yeast after it has cooled. Is this what is called the "wash" or the "mash"? I have a commercial (plastic food grade) primary fermenter, distiller's yeast, and a siphon. After the mash is done fermenting, I siphon off liquid on the top into the still? I haven't even cooked w/ the still yet so I have a lot of questions about that process too! I basically need a good corn whiskey mentor :!: