corn malting experiment

[eternalfrost]

found a cheap source for bulk corn that would come out to about half the final price of sugar washes (assuming 50% conversion) ive been using so i decided to try it out for fermenting.

I poured about a gallon of corn into a plain fermenter bucket and covered with water leaving about 2 inches standing water on top. this was left in a closet at around 70-75 degrees. it was filled up in the morning, left to sit 12-18 hours then drained off and left 'dry' through the night untill next morning. this was repeated for 2 days.

after the soak i tried 2 different methods. about half was spread out onto a cookie sheet about 1/2 deep and covered with damp paper towels. the towels were re-wetted about once a day when the started getting dry.

the rest was left right in the fermenting bucket with the lid laid on but not snapped down. about once or twice a day the lid was taken off and fanned out, i then rolled the bucket around (with the lid on) to mix things up. a dash or water was sprinkled on once or twice during if things seemed a little dry, but never any standing water.

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it has been about 3 days since the soak was completed. the bucket is doing much better then the tray. the bucket has about 60% germination with roots about 3/4 in long now.

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the tray only has about 10% germination and seems to be getting some wierd white spots. no smell, but lots of little gnats seem to be swarming over it the past day or so. it will probably get tossed out.

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In the next few days i will start the fermentation and keep you guys posted