MikeyT's Bourbon Recipe

[MikeyT]

Ok, I said I was retiring at this but I'm thinking for coming out of retirement this next fall!

Anyway, here's my TRIED and TRUE recipe that makes some really, really good stuff. Slightly altered from last post.


MikeyT's Bourbon Recipe

Ingredients:
16 lbs cracked corn $3.00
3 lbs flaked rye $0.75
8 lbs cracked malted 6-row barley $8.00
1 cup real lemon juice - $0.25
1 Tbs Amylase (heaping) $0.25
8 Beano tablets $1.00
12 gallons water $0.00 (filtered spring water)
1 or 2 Gert brand Prestige WD whiskey yeast packets $4.00-$8.00

Note - during all the following processes you want all your
equipment to be clean and sanitary. Keep your stirring paddles
clean and keep the pots covered as much as possible. The
introduction of wild strains of yeast may make the mash smell pukey
which may (or may not) hurt the quality of the final result.

1)

Mix corn and 8 gallons water in a 20 gallon stainless steel pot.
Bring to boil and boil for 30 to 45 minutes until the mash has
gelatinized and is of pretty thick consistency. While waiting
for it to boil, any grain or junk floating on the top of the
water can be removed with a strainer.

Note - during this process the mash has to be stirred continually
to prevent scorching on the bottom of the pot. A slow speed electric
motor with a stirring paddle is recommended. If not that, then a
steel paint stirrer on an electric drill will work. But, you must
STIR, STIR, STIR constantly!

2)

Next, turn off the heat and add enough ice water (about 3 gallons)
to get the temp to 170°F. Add the lemon juice and stir. Then add
the flaked rye and stir again. Cover the pot, and let set for about
30 minutes.

Add more ice water to get the temperature down to 150°F then add
the malted barley, and the amylase, and mix well. Cover the
pot and keep the mash at 150°F +/- 2° for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Do an Iodine test. Take 1 tablespoon of the mash and add 1 drop
of Iodine to it. If the Iodine turns blue or purple, then not
all of the starch has yet converted to sugar. Stir, cover the pot
and let it set for another hour. If the Iodine stays red, then all
of the starch has been converted. Throw away the sample used for
testing.

3)

Once satisfied that all, or most, of the starch has converted then
rapidly lower the temperature of the mash to 75° - 80°F. 2 or 3
frozen gallon jugs of ice will do this. Keep the lid on the jugs
and just let them float around while occasionally stirring the mash.
Make sure the jugs are clean on the outside.

Once cooled, add the Beano tablets and 1 or 2 packet of Gert brand
Prestige WD whiskey yeast. Follow the instruction on the packet.
Let it set on top for about 30 minutes then stir it in well. The
pot should always be covered when not stirring. I use a sheet of
1/4" clear lucite plastic.

Note - Fermentation will take about 3 - 4 days. During this time the
temperature of the mash should be kept below 85°F. Either do the
fermentation in an air conditioned room or use an immersion cooler.
Once the mast on top of the mash has fallen it's time to proceed to
step 4. More time will not gain much additional alcohol content in
the mash. My mash reaches 88° with no problems. Mash temps below
70°F will result in slower fermentation.


4)

After fermentation is finished pour the mash through a 1/8" mesh SS
strainer into your distillation pot. I dip it out with a 1 gallon
bucket. Put the strained grain into another container. When finished
with the first straining, pour 2 gallons of clean water over the grain
and strain again into the distillation pot. Lastly, Save a gallon of
the grain in your freezer for adding to your next fermentation. Also,
save back about 2 quarts of grain in a cheese cloth bag for hanging
inside of your still.

(5)

Now, it's time to distill! I distill it only once and run it slow; as
fast as it will drip without forming a stream. My still averages 60% ABV
of the good stuff on a complete run. I barrel it in a charred white oak
5 gallon barrel for a year then cut it to 50% before bottling. It takes
about 4 or 5 runs to fill up the barrel. That's what? About $150
(counting the barrel) to get 6 gallons of Fine Bourbon. Heck of a deal!

[pinetar]

Hi Micky T Just wondering, looks like you use about 17 gal. of water total. What is the final amount of liquid that goes in the still. The grain sack that goes is the still, is it hung or can it go in with the wash. I have a hard time extracting liquid from a thick wash.
Thanks------ sounds finger likkin good

[MikeyT]

Hi Micky T Just wondering, looks like you use about 17 gal. of water total. What is the final amount of liquid that goes in the still. The grain sack that goes is the still, is it hung or can it go in with the wash. I have a hard time extracting liquid from a thick wash.
Thanks------ sounds finger likkin good

Counting the 2 gallons used to rince the grain, probably about 14 gallon total. Probably about 12 gallons goes in the distill pot. You can hang the sack so that it is suspended in the liquid or just place it to the side of the pot somewhere not on top of the heat source. Some water is left with the grain and some evaporates. 12 gallons fills my distill pot about half full.

Yeah, straining is a mess. I use a 1/8th" mesh screen to speed it up. The particles left behind are small enough to not collect on the bottom of the still and scortch.

On step 3), paragraph 2, above, when you stir the yeast in use one of those big paint stirrers with an electric drill set on high speed. Really foam it up good! The more air you can get into the mash the better. The yeast will keep multiplying until all the oxygen is used up, then it will start making alcohol.

[CoopsOz]

Thanks for taking the time to write that up Mikey T, I think I'm getting closer to having another crack. If I can't get amylase will more malted grain suffice? Also, Beano appears to be a US thing....any Aussies found an alternative?

[MikeyT]

Thanks for taking the time to write that up Mikey T, I think I'm getting closer to having another crack. If I can't get amylase will more malted grain suffice? Also, Beano appears to be a US thing....any Aussies found an alternative?

Well, I've heard that you can lay a couple of banana's out to ripen. When the skin starts to darken, peel them and scrape the inside of the peels. Take the scrapings and mix well in a cup of warm distilled water or spring water. Throw that into the mash. That will be a source of both alpha-amylase and beta-amylase.

Beano's are alpha galactosidase that is supposed to break the sugar molecular chains down to shorter lengths than does alpha-amylase or beta-amylase, supposelly producing a smoother tasting drink after distillation. My experience leads me to believe there might be something to that.

However, amylase can be ordered from most brew shops and is pretty cheap.

Some old timers would spit in the mash. Spit is another source of amylase. Sounds nasty, but between the distilling and the alcohol, would it matter? But don't ask me how much spit is necessary!

On adding more malted barley - If anything I would cut the malted barley down to 6 lbs and add another pound of so of rye. Just depends on your taste preference. Or, you can change the barley to 4 lbs crushed barley and 4 lbs crushed malted barley and add 2 tablespoons of amylase.

By the way, Beano's are to stop one from producing smelly farts. I can testify that they definitely work for that!

[Celticway]

Hi Mike,

Could you share what your OG and FG is for this mash typically?

[higgins]

MikeyT hasn't posted in 13 years, so I would not expect an answer.

[Celticway]

MikeyT hasn't posted in 13 years, so I would not expect an answer.

Ah thanks