Experiment with Atwood's Cracked Corn

Production methods from starch to sugars.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
Biff Henderson
Novice
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:19 am

Experiment with Atwood's Cracked Corn

Post by Biff Henderson »

My goal has been to make a good, crisp clean corn whiskey but like many, I have struggled to convert to AG distilling from neutrals/sugars. I’ve read many threads and have collected learnings from Kimbodious, Prairie Piss, Butterpants, Michigan Cornhusker, BayouShine, ShineRunner, Still-Stirrin, rager, Seabass, arentwejusthere - many others too numerous to list.

Basic problem I am trying to solve is to put together a good process/recipe of producing a decent set of low wines at 1.060-1.070 SG with over 5 gallons (5-6 ideally) at the right consistency to be able to run through my therminator for cooling/pitching purposes. For reference - standard keg boiler, electric heat (PDM/PWM) with a SS CCVM still.

I have read several threads stating loosely “throw more corn at the problem, corn is cheap”. They are correct - it is cheap. Rather than trying out different methods of straining cooked corn, I decided to try it.

I got a $7 bag of cracked corn from Atwoods. I put 4 pots on the stove and used a half gallon of water on each. Clearly - this wasn’t a thoroughly scientific experiment, as in the pot I was unable to hold heat long enough to qualify for a thorough cooking, but it still yielded some interesting data and an interesting byproduct.

Water at 195+, turned off heat, lid off. Stirred every 5 minutes for the first 45 minutes, every 15 minutes for the next 90 minutes. At the end of the experiment, water temp (in all 4 pots) was 85-87 degrees. In retrospect, I should have kept a low heat or put the lids on to ensure a process more close to reality. Note for later if I decided to repeat this.

.75 lbs corn/.5. gal water - SG: 1.010 - complete water
1.0 lbs corn/.5 gal water - SG: 1.012 - some soup, but a workable consistency
1.25 lbs corn/.5 gal water - SG: 1.032 - really soupy, the hydrometer took a full minute to sink to its depth
1.5 lbs corn/.5 gal water - SG: 1.060 - incredibly soupy, had to pull the hydrometer out of the soup to allow it to measure SG

I’m pretty confident I could use some enzymes/proper heating to thin this out. And I could probably introduce a sparging process to help, but I was really amazed at the viscosity of that last pot. Gave me a really good understanding for what I am going to be dealing with as I move forward. At this point, I’m looking at a mop straining bucket to squeeze bags of corn.

Thanks for reading all the way through. Insights/witty commentary are helpful and appreciated.
"Moonshine? Hell naw officer, we makin hand sanitizer"
Setsumi
Distiller
Posts: 1371
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2010 10:23 pm
Location: Central South Africa

Re: Experiment with Atwood's Cracked Corn

Post by Setsumi »

you need this.

https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 14&t=51458

that will get you what you want but you need milled maize/corn, the finer the better. you will need boiling water. and you will need high tempreture enzymes. your journey should start here. okay, that was wrong. this may be your solution.
My first flute
My press
My twins
My controller
My wife tells me I fell from heaven covered in white. Why did they let me fall?
Post Reply