Home Distiller

I just put on my second batch of this wash. Got a little distracted while the cornflakes/sugar/water were simmering....it's smelling and looking a little caramelised. Could be interesting.

raspberry_cordial wrote:I just put on my second batch of this wash. Got a little distracted while the cornflakes/sugar/water were simmering....it's smelling and looking a little caramelised. Could be interesting.

You didn't boil it dry or scorch it I hope.
If burnt, dump it. You won't get blood from that turnip (a Midwestern saying).

Stay focused. You wouldn't let Grandma's Special Thanksgiving Recipe go awry when company's coming over.
Don't do it with your wash!

CanadaRun wrote: Got this in our 1bedroom so my gf isn't too happy, says the smell reminds her of high school biology class haha but she's a good one and let's me get away with it as long as I make her some rum she says.

try and get a olive drum its "space saving" lol my mrs went for it an ive now got 110ltrs of cf fermenting away in a 220ltr barrell in doors and it only takes the same floor space as 2 x 25ltr fermenting bins.i was going to do a full 220ltr run but figured the backset generation is important so go for 110 then maybe try 220 next batch.just tell her your thinking of getting another 25l;tr barrell then suggest 1 big barrell later as a comprimise

No, Stilllife, no scorching. Thank you for watching out for my newbie mistakes though. The cooked mixture had simmered long enough to become an amber color rather than just cornflake yellow, and it smelled pleasantly caramelised.

raspberry_cordial wrote:No, Stilllife, no scorching. Thank you for watching out for my newbie mistakes though. The cooked mixture had simmered long enough to become an amber color rather than just cornflake yellow, and it smelled pleasantly caramelised.

This has been my experience as well. Without adding any molasses, and using only corn or bran flakes (and sugar and lemon juice) and simmering the lot for 30 mins, then blending completely with an immersion blender, it always ends up dark-amber and thicker than water / sugar mix. Once done there is no sign of flakes anywhere. Once in the pails, it ferments nicely and settles out thoroughly in a 2-week window. It usually completes in 4 -5 days and the rest of the time to clarify in my basement. There is never any sign of burn or scorching in the pot.

I was just going to mention the rapid ferment time! I started this batch Nov. 2nd, looks to be finished dry by Nov.7.

I put this on a few days back. It's my second batch of whiskey but I've been beer brewing for years. Followed the original recipe to a T but it's been sitting at 1.040 for about 3 days but it's still bubbling. Bit stumped tbh.

armedcor wrote:I put this on a few days back. It's my second batch of whiskey but I've been beer brewing for years. Followed the original recipe to a T but it's been sitting at 1.040 for about 3 days but it's still bubbling. Bit stumped tbh.

What kind of yeast? I'm thinking if you're using plain bakers yeast it needs warming up. (Up to and around 80°fahrenheit)
'Tis the season for cold weather slow downs and stalls for bakers.

armedcor we want your first post to be in The Welcome Center for proper introduction. Please post there next so we can follow protocol.

Also, check pH.

Odin.

I have stopped doing the boil prior to fermentation. Now I just add a slight amount of amylo 300 and let it go. Seems to have cut down the amount of trub by about half.

I put this Odin's in a barrel exactly 6 months ago tonight and frankly wasn't sure at the time if I had made it correctly.
I had just discovered Home Distiller and it looked like a manageable recipe.
It was white and didn't taste like whiskey. A very good moonshine, sure. Whiskey? eh...
But I was new to this distillers game and didn't know what to expect or if I had failed.

I turned the spigot tonight (almost forgot all about it) and HOLY SH!T this is aging quite well!
It definitely meets my description of a whiskey now. Caramelly brown. Smooth. A shadow of sweetness that fits my taste and then some.

Odin, that's 2 happy recipes of yours I'm pleased with. (The other is your gin.)
I honestly didn't think this was going to come out right from initial taste-testing. Glad I was wrong!
No more sampling. I want this to turn 1 year old, minimum.

fizzix wrote:I put this Odin's in a barrel exactly 6 months ago tonight and frankly wasn't sure at the time if I had made it correctly.
I had just discovered Home Distiller and it looked like a manageable recipe.
It was white and didn't taste like whiskey. A very good moonshine, sure. Whiskey? eh...
But I was new to this distillers game and didn't know what to expect or if I had failed.

I turned the spigot tonight (almost forgot all about it) and HOLY SH!T this is aging quite well!
It definitely meets my description of a whiskey now. Caramelly brown. Smooth. A shadow of sweetness that fits my taste and then some.

Odin, that's 2 happy recipes of yours I'm pleased with. (The other is your gin.)
I honestly didn't think this was going to come out right from initial taste-testing. Glad I was wrong!
No more sampling. I want this to turn 1 year old, minimum.

Glad you like it! Maybe try my rye bread recipe next?

Odin.

Odin wrote:Glad you like it! Maybe try my rye bread recipe next?
Odin.

I have to see if we've got the right bread here. May have to hit up an ethnic bakery (St. Louis is rich in ethnic neighborhoods).
Most commercial ryes are loaded with preservatives and Americanized (Read: BLAND).

Tried this Corn Flakes Whiskey, and am very pleased with the final product.
As Odin says, more corn more corn flavor.
I used my standard sugar wash recipe, which is 14lbs. sugar to make 7 1/2 gal wash. Added 1lb Kellogs corn flakes , + 1/4lb Aunt Jemima corn meal.
Boiled 4 1/2 gal water, added the sugar, made up the corn flakes and corn meal in cold water, added enough water to keep it liquid, added 2) centrum silver 1 a day vitimans. When the water/sugar solution returned to a boil , then added the cerial/ vit. mix and boiled for 10 min.
Cooled to 120 deg/f, drained to fermenters ( 2) 5gal buckets, added cold water to bring up to 4 gal in each bucket. Added 4 tbls DAP(2 in each bucket), 1 tsp. epsom salt in each, and 4 tbls SAF instant Gold yeast( can withstand High osmotic stress). This ferments and clears in a week.
Ran a single pass through my copper alembic pot still.This produced 3/4 gal , 100 proof , of the sweetest corn tasting and smelling Liquor I have ever tried. This was not harsh at all, smooth and sweet. The corn sweetness was present from head to tails. To me, this gives a whole new meaning to, lapping off the spout.
Thank you Odin.

Was planning to make batch from this and process it further. In a 65L vat I would put 9kg of inverted sugar and 1.5kg of corn flakes and 200g of yeast and balance of water totalling 50L, ferment it dry and strip it. I would collect strippings in different glasses like spirit run and I would then evaluate if I need to rerun it because I only have my boka which gives +80% of strip and if I like the profile I would keep the strips right away. I want this thing to keep the good flavors from the beginning.

I would then crush some charcoal in my purpose built active carbon filter tube and run it slowly through it like JD does at 60-65ABV and find if it has any favorable effects on it. Then I would age it in flask at same abv with added medium toast oak cubes at least for a week. When considered ready, it would go down to 40ABV.

If it ends all up shit, I would just dump it with my next spirit run and make it vodka then.

Use less yeast.

Odin.

Great consistent recipe. I've started using apple wood chips instead of oak for aging. In qt jars I use 1 cup of chips and use a vacuum with seal on it. 2 weeks later, I've got good color and a smooth flavor.

So I am running this for the first time and I am on day 15 of the ferment. I get a bubble out of the airlock every 12 seconds. It has been very consistent ferment but seems to be taking a little long.

RaymieDubbs wrote:So I am running this for the first time and I am on day 15 of the ferment. I get a bubble out of the airlock every 12 seconds. It has been very consistent ferment but seems to be taking a little long.

Mine consistently finished within 5 days. Airlock bubbles only tell you so much.
Is your fermenter warm enough? Is the wash sweet tasting?
The cornflake mush should be settled at the bottom enough to take a reliable gravity reading. Do that.

fizzix wrote:

RaymieDubbs wrote:So I am running this for the first time and I am on day 15 of the ferment. I get a bubble out of the airlock every 12 seconds. It has been very consistent ferment but seems to be taking a little long.

Mine consistently finished within 5 days. Airlock bubbles only tell you so much.
Is your fermenter warm enough? Is the wash sweet tasting?
The cornflake mush should be settled at the bottom enough to take a reliable gravity reading. Do that.

I'm at 1.01 with gravity and it has cleared up quite nice. I think I have been fermenting too cold at 73 degrees.

Definitely keep the ferments warm and insulated from the cold floor. Especially if using bakers yeast. 80+* for that.
I remember mine finishing in 1.00~1.01 territory. I'm betting you're done. (Bubbling now is just gassing and is negligible.)

fizzix wrote:Definitely keep the ferments warm and insulated from the cold floor. Especially if using bakers yeast. 80+* for that.
I remember mine finishing in 1.00~1.01 territory. I'm betting you're done. (Bubbling now is just gassing and is negligible.)

Thanks for the info. I'll rack it off the yeast bed for a day then run it. I'll turn up the ferment heater to 80 next time.

So I just racked to secondary and there is so much sludge at the bottom I lost about 2.5 gallons in a 6 gallon wash. I see some others had similar problems in the thread. I guess I will let it sit and see if the sludge settles down so I can get a little more form it.

RaymieDubbs wrote:So I just racked to secondary and there is so much sludge at the bottom I lost about 2.5 gallons in a 6 gallon wash. I see some others had similar problems in the thread. I guess I will let it sit and see if the sludge settles down so I can get a little more form it.

Get some paint strainer bags to squeeze that mush.
I use the strainer bags & a wringer mop bucket for grains.
Should work fine for Cornflake sludge, too.

Still Life wrote:

RaymieDubbs wrote:So I just racked to secondary and there is so much sludge at the bottom I lost about 2.5 gallons in a 6 gallon wash. I see some others had similar problems in the thread. I guess I will let it sit and see if the sludge settles down so I can get a little more form it.

Get some paint strainer bags to squeeze that mush.
I use the strainer bags & a wringer mop bucket for grains.
Should work fine for Cornflake sludge, too.

wringerBucket.jpg

Thanks for the tip. I thought you were joking me till I saw your thread about the mop bucket. Awesome stuff!

I just did my stripping runs (small still) and I took an ounce from the hearts of one of them, added a bit of water and was blown away by the taste. Honestly, it's better than most white whiskeys commercially available. I plan on doing my spirit run tomorrow. Anyone out there doing just one run and leaving it at that?

The less distillation cycles you do, the more taste you retain. Not just in cf whiskey, but with all distilled spirits. So if you are happy with the result ...

Odin.

I quess you would lose almost all of the aroma if you distill it up to azeotrope, to the point it would be useless to other than tainted vodka. I'll get to start my cornflakes whiskey tomorrow and at next week I should be able to strip some whiskey off from it and post results here by then.

Odin wrote:Use less yeast.

Odin.

Is too much yeast detrimental to end product? I was about to go off with all brans yeast concept, with which I always use four 50g packs of fresh yeast for the bucket size I have my ferment in.

Go 1 gram per liter. Use 0,25 grams to boil into a yeast nutrient, use 0,75 grams per liter remaining life yeast and sprinkle on top.

Odin.

I generally brew two 20l pails of cornflakes at a time. When they are done making the magic elixir, I siphon it all into the boiler. What is left (trub?) is then combined into one bucket and put outside (winter) or into one of the freezers (summer). After a day or two, I carefully bring it in and siphon the rest of the clear alcohol off the top of the very settled mush at the bottom. Some of this is then saved for the next brew cycle where it is boiled with the sugar and other nutrients, then brewed.