Malting Grain

Production methods from starch to sugars.

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Bohunk
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Malting Grain

Post by Bohunk »

I have finished malting 50 lbs of corn, and I’m now working on 50 lbs of rye. I noticed that when the rye sprouts are just about the right length, mold starts growing, so I sprayed all my eq. with sulfite, and after seeing no ill effects I started spraying the grain with sulfite. I now use a spray bottle or mister, and spray the buckets, and the grain. Seems my mold problems have gone away. Any one ever use sulfite when malting?

The Bohunk
TheMidnightRider

Post by TheMidnightRider »

I seem to remember reading either in the forums or on the parent site that rye has a tendancy to develope a dangerous mold during malting. I looked through the malting section on the parent site and didn't see it there, but you might want to read into it a little before consuming anything that came from that malt. But then again, maybe I am crazy. I will look into it and let ya know what I find. Not meaning to alarm you too much, but figured I oughta post that just in case so. Im looking into it right now, I'll follow up this post soon. In the mean time anyone else here have experience with malting rye, maybe knows what im talking about?(or if this is the begginning of me slowly going insane.)
TheMidnightRider

Post by TheMidnightRider »

This is what I found. Ironically right in the top of the malting section.
Jack advises ..
Malting for home use is not a difficult procedure, but it should NOT be attempted with oats or with rye.

These grains, when malting, tend to attract butryfying bacteria - these organisms, by themselves are poisonous, and so is the butanol isomers that these bacteria produce (see page 127 (for oats) and page 130 (for rye) in the book "The Homebrewer's Garden" by Joe Fisher and Dennis Fisher, Published in 1998 by Storey Books (http://www.storey.com onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow)).

If you have a need for a malt of either of these grains - purchase it ready made rather than poisoning yourself with the homemade type.

If you want a good rye flavor that can add a bit of flavor to a vodka, you would be better off using flaked rye or ground rye from a feed store that you boil for 30 minutes, to gelatinize the starch, then cool down to 155F before adding 10% by weight of six-row malt. I've tried it both ways, the malted rye tastes alot like malted barley when run up to 90%abv- the spicey/creamy flavors from the rye totally vanish- you might as well be working with barley malt syrup for all the rye flavor you get. When made with flaked (or boiled) rye and a little 6-row is added, the rye "heaviness" tends to come through a lot better, and makes for a more interesting spirit, vodka or whiskey.
Uncle Remus
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Post by Uncle Remus »

There is a sticky thread on this. The rye grain has to be infected with ergot before malting before any ill effects occur. I've malted, fermented and distilled and drank from several batches now....I haven't gone mad with ergotism. I'm perfectly sane...I even got papers to prove it :wink:
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day and drink beer.
defcon4
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Post by defcon4 »

Ergot fungus, I remember that from history 2102. It's a hallucinogen and a neurotoxin. Historians think that it caused the salem witchcraft trials. Those girls ate infected rye and began seeing stuff and blamed it on people they thought were witches. Well, I guess they didn't die right away but there's no telling how much or how little fungus they ate. Supposedly, ergot fungus is responsible for many different historical phenomenon.

This is kinda off topic and I haven't read the sticky, but what about a copper sulphate solution. It is an effective anti-fungal agent (better than sulphites) so it would keep the ergot at bay. My GUESS is that it would remain in the pot when distilled since it is copper? The only problem would be that yeast is also a fungus and it would inhibit that too. I've always just bought my own malted rye.
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Bohunk
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Post by Bohunk »

I sure never intended this to be an argument over the safety of malting rye, but those of us who are wine makers understand the importance of keeping our equipment sterile, with sulfite. I am now convinced that keeping all my buckets, screens, etc sterile, I have no mold problems. I had to throw out a few batches, because of mold, but no more. If you are going to malt any grain, you might think about sterilizing everything first, and between each batch.

The Bohunk
Uncle Remus
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Post by Uncle Remus »

Keeping things sterile is good. I never ever had any signs of mold when I malted. But have you ever seen a commercial malt house...there's nothing sterile there. They throw the grain right on a cement floor.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day and drink beer.
TheMidnightRider

Post by TheMidnightRider »

Yep, I was looking into it and LSD (According to moderately-reliable internet sources) was derived from infected rye. Appearently It caused entire villages to go crazy when they ate bread from infected crops. A mass-trip.
Best of luck bohunk. Wasnt tryin to rag on ya, just didnt want ya dead either.

~The Midnight Rider
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