Mash straining

[headshaker]

I'm used to beer mashing,so why can't boil a whisky mash and sparge and separate in in my mash tun?

[Mikey-moo]

I don't know... why can't you?

It's your mash, do what you want. It's probably not necessary, but go for it and see what happens.

[MtRainier]

Lots of folks use corn and rye in their mash for whiskey. Far more than in a beer mash. Both are complicated to sparge in a mash tun.

Different strategies are used to separate liquid from solids before or after fermentation. Some put in paint strainer bags and squish with a mop wringer. Some use vibrating strainer trays. Some use brew in a bag fabric and simply hang it from a pulley for a long time. Some just never separate it and instead put it all in a thumper and basically use steam to distill the alcohol out from the fermented liquid and solids.

Once the water hits the grain it’s only superficially similar to making beer.

[DuckofDeath]

We skip the after boil, because we want the enzymes to continue working as much as possible. Also the infections are sometime wanted. Beer needs a much more sterile environment. We sterilize the wort when we distill it

[still_stirrin]

I'm used to beer mashing,so why can't boil a whisky mash and sparge and separate in in my mash tun?

As noted by others, often whiskey ferments are "on the grain" because higher brewing efficiency maximizes the product, especially commercial distillers. Because the fermented "distiller's beer" will be distilled when fermentation is complete, the alcohol will be separated from the rest of the ferment "sludge". Sterilization of the wort is not near as critical when the product will be distilled.

But the brewing processes are similar, that is...you use the temperature of the sweet liquor and the active enzymes to convert starches to fermentable sugars. As a result, the target temperatures are different than your beer brewing rest temperatures. When the goal is fully fermentable conversion, you mash at the range optimum for fermentable sugars, that is, in the 145-148*F range. In addition, often times enzyme activity is supplemented with liquid gluco-amylase enzymes to "supercharge" the starch conversion.

But your question regarding the mash and sparging prior to fermentation...I lauter my all grain ferments as well.

Working with ground corn, especially when it is 50%+ of the grain bill, is difficult because the corn tends to plug the runoff drain grid in the lauter tun. But it can be done. I recirculate the wort in the tun to help establish a filter bed and I use barley malt with its husks to help the process. Rice hulls could also be added to help facilitate lautering.

Still, it is a challenge to get a good runoff flow. But it does make things easier once fermentation is done...I don't have to "squeeze" the spent grains to help extract the prized liquor out of the fermenter. A rack siphon is all it takes.

Many here prefer to ferment "on the grain" because it improves brewhouse efficiency, especially when using liquid enzymes. And fermenting "on the grain" also gives much more grain flavor to the distiller's beer when moved into the boiler. The disadvantage is the work involved with the transfer process. Messy.

So, your mileage may vary (YMMV) depending on what you're trying to accomplish. As I said, I lauter. It makes the process easier from the fermenter and on.

And there is no need to boil the wort in the kettle between sparging and fermenting either...enzyme activity, remember? But you should use the processes you're familiar with (and have the equipment with) to make the distiller's beer as you will. It is easy to formulate a recipe to account for a brewhouse efficiency according to your processes.

But keep in mind that corn can be a struggle to work with, especially when using a higher percentage of the grainbill. And also, I hope you know what rye does in a lauter tun....it's a sticky, gooey mess.
ss

[fizzix]

Time for my obligatory mop wringer post:

As MtRainier said, some of us do it this way. Efficient & relatively quick.
Recovers lots of liquid that would otherwise by tossed out with lautering.
I don't know who came up with this. Einstein?

[dukethebeagle120]

Time for my obligatory mop wringer post:

wringer2.jpg

As MtRainier said, some of us do it this way. Efficient & relatively quick.
Recovers lots of liquid that would otherwise by tossed out with lautering.
I don't know who came up with this. Einstein?

+1
and the first post i saw mentioning the bucket was socd post on large batch mashing

Re: Easy Large Batch Mashing
Postby ShineonCrazyDiamond » Tue Mar 14, 2017 5:26 pm

SR, I'm not really sure. When I bought it, it was really shiny, but it's very dull now. I bought it because it was stated as stainless steel. Can't remember if shit flaked off it not. It's all good now, either way.

Also, I wanted to share this because this was a dummy coming to enlightenment moment for me.

I used to do this and empty when full...

img20170314_211926.jpg


When I should have been doing this. I squeeze the whole barrel in 1 hour.

img20170314_211940.jpg


Again, not an explosive new protocol here or anything, but it's these little things that make me go duh... I'm just trying to do things the hard way, aren't I?

[raketemensch]

It definitely predates SOCD's large batch mashing post, by several years, but that thread is one of the best on here anyway, IMHO.

It would be worth it for the OP here to read for sure.

Personally, I hate the mop bucket so much that I spent a year looking for a cheap steam kettle, which I finally found and am rigging up now.

[MtRainier]

I'd love a double-walled kettle.

May ask for one for Christmas.

I think Paul at Affordable Distillery Equipment sells them in home distiller sizes, but even from him they're not so cheap. I haven't seen that they're banned from here, so hope I'm ok mentioning them.