Malting corn, winter style

[Beerandsuds]

Living it Utah it's not overly warm. That said you can still malt corn!


Bag I used. I did ~25 lbs at a time, or 12.5lbs of corn in each bucket.


This takes four 5 gallon buckets, 2 with holes drilled in the bottom, the other just to hold water to soak.




Gotta skim that stuff off. I filled up each bucket once, drained it, then rinsed for a minute or so.


Skimmed.

I soaked the corn for half a day 3 times, so it'll soak during the day and then sit in the bucket drained over night. This is a similar technique to malting barley, a process I just read about in a beer brewing magazine.



Bin I let the corn sit in to sprout. Seed bed is about 4-5" deep. It's getting pretty warm and I had a couple kernels start molding, so I'm stopping the process that I'd like to see more sprouts.


Advice or comments on any of my steps would be great.

[greasydog26]

Thanks for the pictures. Been wanting to see the process in progress. Do you plan on adding yeast or will you use wild yeast? Thanks for the info!!!

[Beerandsuds]

Thanks for the pictures. Been wanting to see the process in progress. Do you plan on adding yeast or will you use wild yeast? Thanks for the info!!!

I'm going to dry it, remove the roots, then mash as sparge it. I'd never use wild yeast. Wild yeast is everywhere, all different species. What wild yeast are in Utah are gonna be different than what all the shiners have. It might work, but it also might rot. Also wild yeast won't have the alcohol tolerance of 1118 or whatever you use.

I've listen to enough beer making podcasts about wild yeast to know I don't I don't wanna mess with them. Also I don't like Belgin beers.

[chamlin2]

I'm going to dry it, remove the roots, then mash as sparge it.

are you going to mill the corn after you dry it before you mash and sparge

[Mr Shine]

I'm no expert but you might want to think twice about using 1118 with your malted corn (if you were thinking of it at all... not sure of it). I hear 1118 and grains don't get on too good, or so I'm told.

Hth (if necessary).

Edit: it obviously goes without saying that I should be corrected and chewed out if I'm wrong on this. Last thing I'd want to do is spread bad info for other members here.

Edit 2: BTW, huge thanks to thrstyunderwater for posting the pictures and process used to malt the corn. Lots of folks seem to have trouble with doing that. Thank you once again!

[Beerandsuds]

I'm going to dry it, remove the roots, then mash as sparge it.

are you going to mill the corn after you dry it before you mash and sparge

Yes, I have a Corona grain mill that I use when I make all-grain beer.

[Beerandsuds]

I'm no expert but you might want to think twice about using 1118 with your malted corn (if you were thinking of it at all... not sure of it). I hear 1118 and grains don't get on too good, or so I'm told.

Hth (if necessary).

Edit: it obviously goes without saying that I should be corrected and chewed out if I'm wrong on this. Last thing I'd want to do is spread bad info for other members here.

Edit 2: BTW, huge thanks to thrstyunderwater for posting the pictures and process used to malt the corn. Lots of folks seem to have trouble with doing that. Thank you once again!

It's a fast aggressive yeast that maxes out around 18%abv. It's what just about everyone uses for Uncle Jesse's Sour Thin Mash, or whatever you call it.

[Mr Shine]

It's a fast aggressive yeast that maxes out around 18%abv. It's what just about everyone uses for Uncle Jesse's Sour Thin Mash, or whatever you call it.

OK. I was under the impression that 1118 doesn't really like the maltose created by an AG mash.

With UJSSM, the corn in it isn't being converted and is just there for flavor, and it's the sugar that makes the alcohol. So for that recipe 1118 would be a more acceptable choice (than AG), as it's just chomping on sugar and not maltose from an AG mash.

Anyway, it's just what I've heard. I have no experience using it in AG so I can't speak about it with authority. I'd love for an AG guru to weigh in on this though and clear the air.

I'd really hate for anyone's efforts to go to waste by simply using the "wrong" yeast.

Good luck and hopefully someone can weigh in on this.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Check out this thread (specifically page 7 and on... talks about 1118 and maltose. http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 6&start=72). Hth

And BTW, I'm not sure we're on the same page here with your two references to higher ABV tolerance of 1118. I don't think anyone would want to go that high with AG, even if they were ever able to. And I wouldn't think anyone taking the trouble to malt corn would do anything other than an AG mash.

Perhaps I'm missing something. My apologies if that's the case. Cheers!

[Beerandsuds]

I haven't heard the maltose thing. I wish they had elaborated on it more.

I wonder if those not having much luck with 1118 added any yeast nutrients or energizer? Could make all the difference. Of course there are a lot of other wine yeasts out there that go above 12%, maybe I'll give one of them a go. If anyone reads this and has a yeast they like (besides bakers yeast) let me know.

[Barney Fife]

You'll do better with an ale yeast than a wine yeast. Nottingham ale or California ale yeasts won't add their own flavor to the mix, and ferment at normal room temps.

Rule of thumb: beer yeasts best for grains(d'uh!), and wine yeasts best for fruits. Bread yeast is pretty good for all.... <lol>

[Beerandsuds]

Have you tried both? Wine yeasts will ferment beer worts down super low, they just dont taste super great. Are you saying you should use beer yeasts with all grain cause of the flavor or attenuation?

[MitchyBourbon]

A wine yeast prefers to ferment simple sugars not maltose. So in an all grain they will tend to finish with a higher fg unless you take measures during mashing to increase your ratio of simple sugars. You can achieve this by doing rests at certain temps that produce more simple sugars. They also tend to produce different esters than an ale yeast so they can produce a different taste.

I say... Gopher it, experiment and see if you like it. Try mashing at temps to produce simple sugars, see if it ferments dry, see if it produces the taste your looking for, and then tell us about your findings.

Nice write up on malting corn! I might just have to try it.

[Barney Fife]

You don't need the high alcohol tolerance of 1118 with an all grain wash, because you're not going to get a high alcohol content, period.

[Beerandsuds]

You don't need the high alcohol tolerance of 1118 with an all grain wash, because you're not going to get a high alcohol content, period.

I can make a 12-15% abv barley wine from all grain if I really want too.....

[Barney Fife]

I can make a 12-15% abv barley wine from all grain if I really want too.....

Not with feed corn.....

[Beerandsuds]

Ah shoots, I gotta see how high I can get it now.

[shortbed454]

when you put the corn in the bin to sprout, do you leave it in the bin with no lid or do you cover it with anything? number two. do you cover it with anything or do you leave the top open? question 3, do you spray/mist it with water to keep it moist or is the 3 day soak enough moisture for it to sprout? last question, do you keep it in a warm dark place to sprout? thanks in advance. i cant wait to try to malt my own corn.

[Beerandsuds]

when you put the corn in the bin to sprout, do you leave it in the bin with no lid or do you cover it with anything?

I've left it uncovered, but the top dries out, I recommend covering with moist burlap

number two. do you cover it with anything or do you leave the top open?

Burlap, you don't want to use a lid. You want some airflow to prevent mold.

question 3, do you spray/mist it with water to keep it moist or is the 3 day soak enough moisture for it to sprout?

Nope. It has enough moisture from soaking to get where you need it. Adding water can/will encourage mold.

last question, do you keep it in a warm dark place to sprout? thanks in advance. i cant wait to try to malt my own corn.
I've kept it between 60-70 degrees.

A couple more tips, let it drain in the bucket with holes for an hour or so, it removes some moisture and will help prevent mold. Also don't get the corn stack up over 6". Be careful, watch out for mold.

Disclaimer, I haven't mashed this yet but from what I've read it should work well.

[CuWhistle]

So I would like to give this a try.

I was given a bucket of grain yellow a while back and done nothing with it since it isn't cracked or milled in any way. Last week I put a couple of kernels in some muslin cloth on a dish and wet it, forgot about it for a few days then got to it just as it was drying out completely. I thought 1 kernel showed early sprout so I wet it again 2 days ago then went back to it this morning and the grains have plumped up nice and definite signs of shooting are present. I now know the grain is viable to sprout.

My question goes to the next stage. After sprouting, do I need to halt the germination by kilning it? If so at what temp and for how long?

The Op is going to remove the sprouts and grind / mill it. So I imagine I'll need to do the same.

What is the recommended mashing technique?

I'll only be doing 5 gallons to test it out.

[Halfbaked]

Great post. Id really like to hear results.

[woodshed]

Nice write up. I have been malting corn for several years now in a different fashion but achieve about the same results. No spoilers though.

Not to diminish the qualities of some spoilers. They have there place in certain spirits.

[CuWhistle]

Nice write up. I have been malting corn for several years now in a different fashion but achieve about the same results. No spoilers though.

Not to diminish the qualities of some spoilers. They have there place in certain spirits.

Forgive my ignorance but, spoiler?

[woodshed]

Moldy kernels.

[toast860]

a nice kiln link in this topic would be nice. I haven't found one yet but have a plan for one.

[Halfbaked]

I think id like to put my smoker to it and make me a smokey malted corn

[toast860]

I was thinking the same thing cause I got one on the grill. maybe apple wood or JD smoking chips until I can make a kiln. I know there one in the iam smiley book. but I gave it to the guy who bought my old still

[CuWhistle]

Did some googlin yesterday and found a bit about a guy who does his drying in the clothes dryer. Puts his sprouted corn in pillow cases then ties them up and drops them in along with a couple of towels on the lowest heat setting. Sounds like a plan. He reckons it pisses the wife off though cause it makes a bit of dust in the filter.

[woodshed]

I think id like to put my smoker to it and make me a smokey malted corn

Been doing this for years and love the end result. Apple and pecan are my go to woods.

I have an old dryer at the shop I have recently taken to using for drying non smoked corn. Works great just noisy. I don't do this very often as the smoke is where it's at. I use the dryer corn to stretch my smoked in recipes. Too much smoke kills the subtleties of an all corn likker.

[shadylane]

Did some googlin yesterday and found a bit about a guy who does his drying in the clothes dryer. Puts his sprouted corn in pillow cases then ties them up and drops them in along with a couple of towels on the lowest heat setting. Sounds like a plan. He reckons it pisses the wife off though cause it makes a bit of dust in the filter.

I've used an old cloths dryer on malted corn. The wife got a new one so the old dryer was in my shed. I removed the filter and dumped in the wet malted corn. I wouldn't recommend drying corn in your wifes dryer.

[Mr Shine]

Yeah. I tried to dry malted oats in a pillow case in the dryer last year. Didn't see the whole in the pillow case. Was forced to buy a new dryer.