Any idea what this is?

[Wordz]

Hey all,

So made a single malt with a combination of Golden Praise and peated malt (unsure the brand). Did my usual mash which came out to 1.060 SG and this is my 1st time fermenting on the grain. About 1 week later took it off the grain, squeezed the grain and put back in to settle. Came back several days later and noticed this black liquid on top. It smells the same as it did before and there is no signs of mold. It almost looks like 2 layers of a fat layer on top of the mash. I can agitate it and it will mix into the mash only to separate out in a day or 2. I wasn't sure if this was possibly from the smoked grain I was using or just excess lipids from after squeezing my grain. Either way I plan on running it and seeing what happens, just curious if anyone had any other ideas.

[still_stirrin]

Yep, that’s the “clear beer”, the product with the yeast and suspended proteins cleared. With time, the layer will widen as the rest settles. But I’d doubt if the mash will completely clear without a lot of assistance.

So, clear/strain as best you can when racking to your boiler, hopefully to reduce the possibility of scorching. Electric heat or direct fire? The extent of clearing may be dependent on your process.
ss

[DuckofDeath]

Did you taste the black liquid? Does It taste smokey? Like grain oil? I get a nice red oil on all grain ferments Tastes like corn.

[zapata]

I dont think its oil. I think its what stillstirrin says, just the cleared wash. See if it grows deeper the longer you wait.

[Wordz]

Electric heat or direct fire?
ss

Direct fire. I'll make sure to run her slow on start up.

Did you taste the black liquid? Does It taste smokey? Like grain oil? I get a nice red oil on all grain ferments Tastes like corn.

Good call, I'll try it when I get time and let you know. I've also got a big 32 gallon brute full of an AG corn mash that's fermenting on the grain. It just hit 0.998 FG so plan to rack and squeeze this weekend. I'm excited to see if I get that similar result.