Basic Whisky Recipe Question

[JayTeeDee]

Hi,

I'm still new and made a couple batches which were good but I'm still sticking with the basics in order to learn more and devolop my skill. I enjoy Whiskey it's my favorite spirit. I had a question about a basic recipe.

5 lbs of corn meal
1 lb of malted barley.
5 lbs of white sugar.
2 packages of baker's yeast.
4-5 gallons of water

This recipe has served me good the first time I misread the recipe and used crushed barley instead of malted but it worked out pretty good but I do have some malted barley now and was planning on doing my next mash tonight.

My question is I was reading about using amalyse enzyme to help breakdown the corn starches into sugars. I do have some enzyme but I was wondering if I really needed to use it anymore for the basic recipe since I'm adding my own sugar and the malted barley. Any pros/cons with this basic recipe and using or not using amalyse?

Thanks in advance.

[dieselduo]

why don't you go over to the tried and true and use one of those recipes like UJSSM until you learn how to drive your still etc. You can still put the barley in it for flavor. It will make things a lot easier for you

[rad14701]

+1 on the Tried and True, whether going for a sugarhead or all grain...

[ericrichards420]

My vote is go with your recipe, assuming you know how to mash it correctly. Go ahead and add the amalyse after the mash and stir well and ferment.
That's the whole part of learning. Sound like you already had success with this one. Improve it all you can and make it your own. Good Luck!

[bitter]

If your talking enzymes. Booners is suppose to be about as easy as you can get.

Big difference between all grain and sugar heads.

B

[MichiganCornhusker]

You have kind of a hybrid recipe there, not really sugarhead, not really all-grain.
If you are performing a mash process with your corn & malted barley, you probably have enough enzymes in the barley to complete the conversion.
Are you doing this?: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?ti ... Conversion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
If your are not mashing the grains, then you are basically doing a UJSSM type flavored sugarhead. In that case the extra expense for the malted barley might not be justified.

There are two pretty fundamental ways to go, use sugar to make a wash, possibly adding raw grains for flavoring, or do an all-grain mash, where you convert starches in the grains to sugars, and usually don't add additional sugar.

They both have there own protocols, and they both make good spirits. I think understanding the difference will help you understand what you want to make, and how.

[skow69]

The thing is, Jay, that it's not just a matter of amylase or no amylase. There are several other steps that you need to take to convert the starches to sugar. Too many to detail properly here. The enzyme question is really pretty far down the line. Any of the beer brewing sites or John Palmer's book, How to Brew are good resources. Once you get a handle on the basic process, then follow one of the many fine all grain recipes in the Tried and True. It will save you a lot of frustration.

Simulpost.

[BentJar]

Your recipe is perfect for mashing with enzymes. You can add some sugar to get the SG to 1.65 and have a wonderful clean product. One pack of yeast mixed with warm water for a starter.
I used that recipe for years and folks swear its the best they ever had.

[skow69]

Or you can do that and make a perfectly acceptable sugarhead. Use any enzymes you've got on hand.

It ain't all grain 'till it's all grain.