mashing question
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mashing question
I hesitate to ask this but have read several posts and yet to get an answer. I use cracked corn and barley to do my wash, kinda like making beer but end up with a 7% wash. But lots more time involved .My question is how the big boys do a wash using fine meal like grits or corn meal. Does it settle to the bottom after fermenting or how do they seperate it? They do seperate it before distilling. I doubt I'll ever get to the point where I have to worry about this, but I'd like to know how its done.
Re: mashing question
as far as i know corn/maze is fermented on the grain then drained off the bottom threw a screen much like a false bottom on a mash turn.
but the grain/trub will settle to bottom.then you can rack it off.
but the grain/trub will settle to bottom.then you can rack it off.
Re: mashing question
I too would like to know if anyone has used grits since it is really just a courser grind than corn meal. I would think it would be a handy alternative for a small rig. Easy to get and probably ferments fast or am I missing something?
2" x 5' Boka, 3/8" coil on 3/4" cold finger, SS 15gal 240v 5.5kw sand element, Tincup's NE555 controller.
Re: mashing question
I always use cracked cord because it's cheap and readily available (either at the feed store, or anyplace that sells bird food (ducks & chickens)
I've never tried using corn meal or grits because it's a lot more expensive than cracked, but it seems like , even though cooking might be easier, it'd be mighty hard to seperate from the wash without a false bottom , or you'd lose a lot of wash if you just racked the wash off.
'sides, can you imagine cookin 7 pounds of grits in a BOP ....I'd be tempted to toss a stick o butter in there and tear into it with a BOS (Big Ol' Spoon).
Bottom line , ferment on the grain like Dunderhead said, and then seperate the grain from the wash before distilin (I use a nylon paint strainer bag). Some commercial distillers distill ON the grain tho.
hope that helps,
I've never tried using corn meal or grits because it's a lot more expensive than cracked, but it seems like , even though cooking might be easier, it'd be mighty hard to seperate from the wash without a false bottom , or you'd lose a lot of wash if you just racked the wash off.
'sides, can you imagine cookin 7 pounds of grits in a BOP ....I'd be tempted to toss a stick o butter in there and tear into it with a BOS (Big Ol' Spoon).
Bottom line , ferment on the grain like Dunderhead said, and then seperate the grain from the wash before distilin (I use a nylon paint strainer bag). Some commercial distillers distill ON the grain tho.
hope that helps,
NChooch
Practice safe distillin and keep your hobby under your hat.
Practice safe distillin and keep your hobby under your hat.
Re: mashing question
I've always ground my cracked corn (or whole corn) to a "meal". More like a coarse meal. That works ok and makes it easier to cook. But, you have to be careful not to get it too fine/powdery.
I've also tried commercial (very fine) corn meal..ie., Indian Head. The main problem with it being too fine is..it's more likely to turn to goo, stick to sides, etc., and burn, it makes it hard(er) to separate/strain from mashtun and, harder to clear, and harder to siphon off the lees after — as NCHooch mentioned. You have to be careful putting it in (if the water is too hot..its just gonna make dumplings, — you have to keep stirring it. Grits and commercial meal don't have the hard bits of outer shell pieces...which help with all this and helps it drain after. Some people use rice hulls (can get at local brew supply shop) to help with mashing it so it will drain better. You have to be careful with your recipe amounts (water/meal ratio) ...I ended up with a pot full of snot that mashing with malt only made .."looser snot".
Many older resources always mention recipes using fine ground corn meal (sometimes made from malted corn), that is cooked in the still pot over a fire! This has to be continually stirred until it comes to a boil (or until your arms fall off...which ever comes first) — as Dunder has explained it before. So, getting the ratio of water to meal, and stirring constantly are the 2 keys here as far as I can see.
The batch commercial operation I visited (toured) ground local grown whole kernel corn into coarse meal...and put into a very large stainless cooker that maintained a certain temp (they wouldnt say what it was...I assume it was around 180F). It also had a mechanical stir arm that continuously kneaded through the meal. It got fairly thick (like oatmeal), and then the enyzmes were applied (I asked whether they were using malt or enzymes or malted corn and they wouldn't answer it). Anyway, from there, the whole shebang is pumped via flexi hose with sanitary fittings...to very tall, narrow, food grade plastic, opentop fermenters . There's so much outgassing from them...they dont' even have lids. When the cap falls to the bottom, which they can readily see because the fermenters are translucent, they pump the whole shebang minus the lees...up stairs to the still of their choice (they had 3). They distilled it grains and all..but were using steam heated boilers. They were in the process of recalibrating a few things to be able to use their fores as fuel to fire the boilers...ie., recycling. After distillation, the spent slops are dried and sent to a local farmer to use as cattle feed. The whole process is completely self renewing.
Crack/whole corn advantage is mainly that its cheap as feed. It costs more to get cleaner, food grade corn, grits, flour or meal. Lately, Iv'e been using what I consider a compromise between the 2...flaked corn. It cost bout the same as grits/meal, and it only need to be brought to a boil to disperse it cleanly. It cooks easier than cracked corn, drains better than flour/meal/grits, tastes good, and it doesn't soak up "near' as much water in the process of mashing as the others — I put in 6 gals (22.7L) and I get back around 21-22L after straining it off (and squeezing it out). When I do cracked corn/meal I put in 6 gals, get back about 4-5gal depending on how much corn I use.
I've also tried commercial (very fine) corn meal..ie., Indian Head. The main problem with it being too fine is..it's more likely to turn to goo, stick to sides, etc., and burn, it makes it hard(er) to separate/strain from mashtun and, harder to clear, and harder to siphon off the lees after — as NCHooch mentioned. You have to be careful putting it in (if the water is too hot..its just gonna make dumplings, — you have to keep stirring it. Grits and commercial meal don't have the hard bits of outer shell pieces...which help with all this and helps it drain after. Some people use rice hulls (can get at local brew supply shop) to help with mashing it so it will drain better. You have to be careful with your recipe amounts (water/meal ratio) ...I ended up with a pot full of snot that mashing with malt only made .."looser snot".
Many older resources always mention recipes using fine ground corn meal (sometimes made from malted corn), that is cooked in the still pot over a fire! This has to be continually stirred until it comes to a boil (or until your arms fall off...which ever comes first) — as Dunder has explained it before. So, getting the ratio of water to meal, and stirring constantly are the 2 keys here as far as I can see.
The batch commercial operation I visited (toured) ground local grown whole kernel corn into coarse meal...and put into a very large stainless cooker that maintained a certain temp (they wouldnt say what it was...I assume it was around 180F). It also had a mechanical stir arm that continuously kneaded through the meal. It got fairly thick (like oatmeal), and then the enyzmes were applied (I asked whether they were using malt or enzymes or malted corn and they wouldn't answer it). Anyway, from there, the whole shebang is pumped via flexi hose with sanitary fittings...to very tall, narrow, food grade plastic, opentop fermenters . There's so much outgassing from them...they dont' even have lids. When the cap falls to the bottom, which they can readily see because the fermenters are translucent, they pump the whole shebang minus the lees...up stairs to the still of their choice (they had 3). They distilled it grains and all..but were using steam heated boilers. They were in the process of recalibrating a few things to be able to use their fores as fuel to fire the boilers...ie., recycling. After distillation, the spent slops are dried and sent to a local farmer to use as cattle feed. The whole process is completely self renewing.
Crack/whole corn advantage is mainly that its cheap as feed. It costs more to get cleaner, food grade corn, grits, flour or meal. Lately, Iv'e been using what I consider a compromise between the 2...flaked corn. It cost bout the same as grits/meal, and it only need to be brought to a boil to disperse it cleanly. It cooks easier than cracked corn, drains better than flour/meal/grits, tastes good, and it doesn't soak up "near' as much water in the process of mashing as the others — I put in 6 gals (22.7L) and I get back around 21-22L after straining it off (and squeezing it out). When I do cracked corn/meal I put in 6 gals, get back about 4-5gal depending on how much corn I use.