Experienced corn Malters WANTED!

[kylebryan]

I've been trying to malt some corn and am having little luck getting it to sprout. I purchased #50 of plain ol whole kernel deer corn and have only been able to get about a 5% germination. My question is where do y'all get your corn and what brand / type are you using for your malt. Any help is appreciated!!

[bellybuster]

Been researching this as a possible

Found this great thread, good read
http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3 ... =31&t=4079

[Black Eye]

It took me a couple tries to get good results. I used a 5 gallon bucket with about 12-15 1/4" holes in the bottom. Put a piece of burlap in the bottom. Dump in 10 pounds of corn and fill that bucket with water twice a day. I put a clean towel on top of the corn. 2-3 days and it had a real nice sprout going on. Then I transfer it into shallow Rubbermaid bins lined with burlap and stir it once or twice a day. Worked pretty good for me.

I had better luck with corn from the local feed store, than the stuff from tractor supply. I can't say that the tractor supply corn is bad cause it was most likely a shitty process I was using

Hopefull that helps a little

[kylebryan]

I've got 20lbs or so in a big bucket right now on its third day and second soaking. We'll see how this batch turns out.

[NC_redcock]

I just use deer corn from the local farm supply store, Tractor Supply, I put in a five gallon bucket, soak for 24 hours, drain the water, and put back in the same bucket next to an electric heater covered, don't let light in, germination happens the best in the warmth and dark. I usually let it sit in the bucket for a day or two and then repeat the process, should start to see sprouts by round 2. I just keep repeating until its a big hairy mess, then I pull the sprouted corn out and dry once the sprouts are about a half inch long.

[NC_redcock]

Here's my latest batch, just finished drying but I haven't ground it yet. Hope this helps.

[kylebryan]

It doesn't really look like it has very long sprouts. I was under the impression they needed to be 2-3x longer than the corn kernel.

[badsmerf]

Just soaking in water is not going to get you good sprouts in my experience. I soak for 2 days then spread it out on a towel. You have to turn it twice a day and keep it moist. Corn needs air to sprout. I haven't done a ton of batches, but once I started using this method I had much more success.

[woodshed]

So much info already available on this site pertaining to this subject. Do some research and the world of malting corn will open up before you.

[Tater]

may be the corn . feed corn is dried sometimes at to high a temp

[NC_redcock]

It doesn't really look like it has very long sprouts. I was under the impression they needed to be 2-3x longer than the corn kernel.

The sprouts on these were probably around a half an inch long, but these have been dried and most of the sprouts have been broken off or shriveled up. The method I use is one of many as the gemination process is one where there are many ways to "skin a cat" if you will. The method I use is simple and I get conversion...I'm no scientist by any means, nor have i been at this long but it seems to work fine for me.

[kylebryan]

I've got a batch sprouting in a small burlap sack right now. Seems to be sprouting at a lot higher rate than the bucket method. I'll report back in a few days.

[scout]

I use seed corn from a farm seed supplier, I also use burlap bags to germinate in. Once the corn starts sprouting I like to lay it out in a thin layer on an old barn table and use wet burlap bags under and on top to keep the seeds moist. I don't start drying until the root sprouts are about 2" long, then I air dry.

[oldgrouch62]

Just my 2 cents, my family used to farm and while we don't do it anymore we still own some ground and I try to keep up with things...

Corn that has been dried at high temps won't sprout at a high percentage; high heat will often "kill" the germ. If you can find a farmer who will sell you a little corn, ask if it has been dried or not. I know now a lot of times it dries down in the fields (thanks to improved genetics) to where it can go right into the bin with only the need to aerate it some with fans. This kind of corn is going to be a lot more likely to sprout, though you'll never get 100% germination...even seed corn won't do that. But even if it has been dried, if it was dried with a bin dryer at 80-100F, rather than a batch dryer at 160+F, it will be more likely to sprout. Never hurts to ask. I never had anyone want to buy a bag or 2 of corn out of our bins back when I was still in the game, usually if somebody did, they wanted 50-100 bushel for stock feed, but if somebody had and the price was right, I'd have sold it to them and no questions asked about what they were doing...cash is cash!

And I'd think that deer corn etc would almost certainly have been dried down to 12% or less, probably at high temps, to enhance shelf life. Just guessing at that, but it's hard to get it below 14% or so with low temp (I do know that from experience), but 14-16% is usually plenty to keep it good until used for feed or sold out of a farm bin. We used to quit at about 17% for what was going to get ground for hog & cattle feed before warm weather returned (no point in wasting electricity & LPG)...bagged deer corn might have to stay in inventory a couple of years and would need to be very dry.

The other thing is that the seed companies bred hybrid corn to be sterile in the 2nd generation years back. This was to keep farmers from saving seed out of their harvest this year for planting next year, so the companies could keep selling that high $$$ hybrid seed. The kernels would germinate and a plant would grow, it would even shoot an ear...just no kernels, or just a very few. I wouldn't put it past them to be trying to breed even the ability to sprout out of it. Don't know that this is in the works or not, but something to think about if you get air-dried corn that refuses to sprout at all.

[Halfbaked]

Hay old grouch sounds like you know your way round the corn cob. I have never malted anything but do have interest in it and will someday. The cows cannot get anything out of the corn unless it is cracked. The only way to buy corn from the farmer is when it is combined out of the field because the farmer will take it to the mill to dryed and cracked.

[Prairiepiss]

Not all corn growers take it straight to the mill. Most I know have their own bins. And store it up. Or at least part of it. So they can either use it for feed. Or sell it for a better price later.

[oldgrouch62]

Not all corn growers take it straight to the mill. Most I know have their own bins. And store it up. Or at least part of it. So they can either use it for feed. Or sell it for a better price later.

That is true, if a farmer keeps livestock, he'll probably store corn, but even if no livestock, most who have the room will store some at least in the hopes that the price will go up later. Don't need to be right out of the field, just so long as it is air or low-temp dried. I do remember that much and I know that such corn when spilled in warm weather will sprout well, while if it is dried high-temp there will be less of it sprout, and a lot will just lay there on the ground and rot. I do know corn tolerably well even if I am a long way from being a distiller so I hope nobody will take offense at my noob status, I'm just trying to help out with stuff I do know about.

If I get that far, I'll probably just use barley malt or brewshop enzymes...will leave malt corn for you master distillers to deal with!

[ihatemurphy]

i get whole corn (the stuff on the cob for squirrel feeding has about a 90% germination rate). i soak it for 24 hours then drain and rinse. i leave it in a container with a cheese cloth cover. i then fill and drain the container twice a day until it sprouts. its always worked for me and with a rather high germination rate.

[Steep-n-Rocky]

I found deer corn, though cheap, to be the problem. If you get seed corn, etc. you will be much happier.