Failed Corn Whiskey

[statekling]

Hello, I'm new to distillation and this is my first post. I recently tried to make corn whiskey but somewhere along the line I did something wrong. Hopefully someone could point it out to me so I don't make the mistake again.

First I malted 10 pounds of corn in a burlap bag for about a week until the sprouts were about an inch long. After that I air dried the corn and then knocked off the roots. Another week later I mashed the malted corn in 5 gallons of water for about an hour at about 144 degrees. Then I strained and poured the mash into my container and set the container in an ice bath to cool it quickly. When it was cool enough I added the champagne yeast as per the instructions on the packet and sealed the mash up. I kept the mash at about 73 degrees for about 5 days. After 5 days nearly all the bubbling in the air lock stopped and I measured the alcohol content and it came out to less than 2%. I distilled it anyway and it came out with very little product.
Thanks for any input.

[rubber duck]

welcome to the forum statekling.

I can see one big problem at 144f for a hour you didn't get full conversion. At 144-147f for 3-4 hours or more is where I mash. Fermenting on grain will also make a difference in yield.

Did you grind the corn well prior to mashing? poorly crushed/ ground grain is a culprit in many failed mashes.

Mash ph could be a small part of your problem, with corn where not working with a lot of enzymes

Pure 100% corn whiskey is kinda the holy grail of grain distilling, so if this is your first attempt at all grain don't be discouraged try something easier. If it's not try again corn is a bit tricky but it's done all the time.

RD

[blanikdog]

What was the OG and FG, Skate? Did you do an iodine test to check the conversion?

As rubber duck said, You have gone in at the deep end, so don't be disappointed by the result. Maybe try UJSSM of Rad's Gerber until you gain a bit more experience.

I personally stick to fruit sugarheads because I found the mashing process a PITA.

[LWTCS]

Rad's Gerber

Beg pardon Blanik. The All Bran will have a better flavor adjunct IMO.

[rad14701]

The All Bran will have a better flavor adjunct IMO.

Yep... I'm hooked on All Bran... I eat it AND drink it...

[blanikdog]

ooops, I was thinking allbran and typed berger.

blanikstandingincornerwithdunceshaton.

hahahah and shat on.

[LWTCS]

I recon to some degree they are interchangable as they both kinda evolved round about the same time.

[statekling]

welcome to the forum statekling.

I can see one big problem at 144f for a hour you didn't get full conversion. At 144-147f for 3-4 hours or more is where I mash. Fermenting on grain will also make a difference in yield.

Did you grind the corn well prior to mashing? poorly crushed/ ground grain is a culprit in many failed mashes.

Mash ph could be a small part of your problem, with corn where not working with a lot of enzymes

Pure 100% corn whiskey is kinda the holy grail of grain distilling, so if this is your first attempt at all grain don't be discouraged try something easier. If it's not try again corn is a bit tricky but it's done all the time.

RD

Thanks for the input. I did grind it but probably not as well as I should have, the kernel's were not done uniformly. Some became flour while others were left whole. Think I am going to purchase a mill and cook it longer on my next attempt.

[statekling]

What was the OG and FG, Skate? Did you do an iodine test to check the conversion?

As rubber duck said, You have gone in at the deep end, so don't be disappointed by the result. Maybe try UJSSM of Rad's Gerber until you gain a bit more experience.

I personally stick to fruit sugarheads because I found the mashing process a PITA.

Could you post the URL to "UJSSM of Rad's Gerber"? I couldn't find it with the search feature. Thanks.

[rubber duck]

Corona mills work really well for corn, not so good for beer barely. You could use the malt green,( not dried ), with pure corn whiskey you can get away with that and leave most of the sprouts on. I also just got off the phone with a guy that has forgotten more about corn whiskey than I will ever know. He seems to think you over malted the corn a little.

[rubber duck]

What was the OG and FG, Skate? Did you do an iodine test to check the conversion?

As rubber duck said, You have gone in at the deep end, so don't be disappointed by the result. Maybe try UJSSM of Rad's Gerber until you gain a bit more experience.

I personally stick to fruit sugarheads because I found the mashing process a PITA.

Could you post the URL to "UJSSM of Rad's Gerber"? I couldn't find it with the search feature. Thanks.

Tried and true recipes section.

[statekling]

Never mind, I found the allbran recipe.

[Dnderhead]

it depends what you are going to do with the malt,,
malt for brewing , is sprouted for a shorter time as you want more of the starches left.
distillers malt ,that is meant to convert other grains, longer so it builds up more enzymes to convert other grain.
that is why you see whiskey recipes that call for 10% malt as they are using distillers malt.
when you try using that amount it wont work if you are using malt from a brew shop that is made for beer.
(brewers malt).. the longer the sprout grows (to point) the more enzymes it has but less starch.

[Barney Fife]

I use a corona for my barley; works a treat!

[Bull Rider]

A tip of the hat Statekling, you went right after the belly of the beast! I'm going to be moving to a corn mash with no sugar. I'd like to see a sticky or a sub forum that's specific to a "no sugar" corn or corn+(?) mash. I've been making USJM and straight malted barley mashes so far. They're pretty darn tasty.

I've been cutting and pasting these types of threads into a Corn Mash document.

[rubber duck]

I use a corona for my barley; works a treat!

Some folks have great success with them. Mine is a pos on barley, well that or it's the operator, wouldn't be the first time.

[Barney Fife]

As simple and cheap as they are, I'm sure they vary a good bit. That said, what is it that yours doesn't do well with barley?

I drive mine with a 1/2hp motor, with double reduction pulleys(16:1 total ratio) to slow it down. Only had to run it manually once to decide the workout wasn't for me

[rubber duck]

Can't get the plates dialed in correctly, it ether under crushes or over does it. I switched to a roller mill for beer.

And ya you only use the handle once.