Assessing Corn

[Twisted Brick]

Having experienced success malting numerous batches of feedstore red wheat, and now rye, I was mildly disappointed when a latest batch of corn from the feedstore failed to even mildly chit. I am currently torn between buying an organic corn ($30/50lbs), Bob's Red Mill whole grain corn meal ($38/50lbs), or go back to the feedstore ($15/50). The feedstore corn grinds nicely to fine meal, but I am just finishing up my first ferment with it so can't comment on its flavor. I will say that it didn't smell clean like store-bought popcorn does, rather it was stale-smelling.

The questions I have are:

How many of you go through the trouble to malt your corn?

Are there any of you who have detected a quality difference in 'premium' corn, but stay with the feedstore corn because of cost? I understand that distilleries primarily use #1 or #2 dent (field) corn, which I would guess is better quality than feedstore.

Any noticeable difference in degermed corn meal vs whole or cracked corn?

I know a lot of you try to keep your costs down (don't we all?) but given the work and time required to create an aged spirit, I am looking to make the highest quality drop possible, and not worried if it costs a little more getting there.

Twisted

[Bushman]

Did you see this recent post?
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=75358

[Twisted Brick]

I did not! I don't know how I missed it.

Its good to see detailed analysis being done to identify characteristics attributable to variety and terrior as it relates to spirits we make.

On a street level, I am trying to process what other 'stillers are getting from their corn however subjective their evals are.

A coupla nights ago I sampled a wheat bourbon I put on oak 16 mo's ago and despite regular tastings, was literally floored at how fine it had become. Incredible balance, complexity, finish, etc. I compared it to a few drams of Makers Mark and there was no comparison. The MM tasted thick and sweet, kinda syrupy, and one-dimensional. After repeating the comparison, I am totally convinced we can make top shelf products at home.

As far as the corn I used in it, alas, I used 66% feedstore corn and 33% whole grain corn meal, so I can't say which corn I like. Guess I'll have to do both.

[Sunshineer]

I buy my corn meal for 18.50 a fifty pound sack from bakery supply store. And a good freind planted ten acres of bloody butcher red dent corn for me which I will grind as I use it no way I'm going to pay the 250.00 a fifty pound sack for it. We started last year with a plot of it that we used for seed this year and will keep enough to plant another ten next year.

[DSmith78]

My only experience with malting corn was my first malting experiment - I malted some mixed bird seed and I have to say that even corn that had been split in half germinated. I was astonished!