What type of corn for Whiskey?

[alex-76]

I have read about Whiskey and all kind of whiskey. All of them say CORN, but my question is what kind of corn?

There are so many types of corns, and I don’t know which is the best. Is it a specific type of corn to make Bourbon for example.

What type of corn do you use for your Whiskey?
Is it accessible to buy?

Thank you.

[Dnderhead]

most go with whatever is the cheapest and that is usually feed corn. this will have more oils as it is grown for hi protein. white corn tends to have less flavor than colored corn.flour corn is a good choice if mashing as it has more starch.i tried some red corn that was for tortillas thats was good also i thank it had better flavor or just different. corn is not used in all whisky.its used in corn whiskey (all corn) or bourbon (50%+ corn , barley malt and usually rye )

[alex-76]

Yes, you are right.

Not all whiskey use corn. My curiosity was the type of corn they use.
I wonder if there is any information what the different type of corn will contribute to the whiskey.
Just like what they d with the different grains, they know that rye gives the spice, and wheat the sweetness, and so on.

Is any type of corn ok to use, or just a few that has a high amount of starches?

[Odin]

Maybe the kinds of corn are different in America as compared to Europe. I, and a few colleagues of the Dutch homedistiller forum did extensive tests with different kinds of corn. Most corn in Europe is for feeding animals and it gives of hardly any taste. I tried it myself all grain and UJ style, with corn from Holland and corn from Hungary. What does seem to work is what is called (over here at least) sugar corn. It is a sweeter variety, usually found cans for human consumption. People put it in salads, that kinda stuff.

Odin.

[rtalbigr]

Maybe the kinds of corn are different in America as compared to Europe. I, and a few colleagues of the Dutch homedistiller forum did extensive tests with different kinds of corn. Most corn in Europe is for feeding animals and it gives of hardly any taste. I tried it myself all grain and UJ style, with corn from Holland and corn from Hungary. What does seem to work is what is called (over here at least) sugar corn. It is a sweeter variety, usually found cans for human consumption. People put it in salads, that kinda stuff.

Odin.

Here we have some varieties of sweet corn that are wonderful to eat. For mashing, to get all that goodness, you'd need to harvest it fresh to get the most out of it, so that would make it a seasonal thing. Some day I'd certainly like to be able to try that.

Big R

[Dnderhead]

sweet corn is dent corn same as some field corn but it has a long season so when its picked it is still in the "milk" or not ripe.if you pick it when its ripe it wont be sweet either..the corn/maze plant produces sugars. then this sugars goes to the grain and as the corn/maze ripens the sugars are turn to starch with enzymes for storage as food for the embryo.this proses is reversed in the spring when the grain sprouts, under the right condition enzymes are activated converting the starch back to sugars ,then as the grain sprouts it keeps producing more enzymes to keep the supplied with food until it has roots /leaves and can be on its own. (thus you have malting)

(there is a method to my madness ,just no one has figured it out so they just thank i'm mad)

[alex-76]

sweet corn is dent corn same as some field corn but it has a long season so when its picked it is still in the "milk" or not ripe.if you pick it when its ripe it wont be sweet either..the corn/maze plant produces sugars. then this sugars goes to the grain and as the corn/maze ripens the sugars are turn to starch with enzymes for storage as food for the embryo.this proses is reversed in the spring when the grain sprouts, under the right condition enzymes are activated converting the starch back to sugars ,then as the grain sprouts it keeps producing more enzymes to keep the supplied with food until it has roots /leaves and can be on its own. (thus you have malting)

(there is a method to my madness ,just no one has figured it out so they just thank i'm mad)

Great description.

So, if i want to buy corn, i should look for SWEET CORN. Right?
Where can i buy a 25lb bag of Sweet Corn?
In Vegas we import everything, so i have to look online.

Have you guys tried any other corn that gives the whiskey another taste? I mean beside Sweet corn.

[Dnderhead]

you will need to go shopping .its not one is better than another but their different.
different areas have different products.

[Durace11]

most go with whatever is the cheapest and that is usually feed corn.

Call around or go onine for local feed stores, every city should have a few within driving distance. Even Lost Wages, NV should have one feed store! Or just goto any local homebrew supply and get flaked maize. It's more expensive but easier to work with.

[Prairiepiss]

This may be out in left field but here is my suggestion.

If you are wanting to try your hand at AG. And have never done it. I would shop your local feed stores and get some cheap feed corn. Use this and get the process down. This way you aren't wasting money on your learning experiments. After you get the process down then try the more expensive stuff. And compare. Keep in mind. Yes you mite get a little more from one run of expensive corn then one run of cheap corn. But you mite be able to do 3 or 4 runs of the cheap corn for the same price as one run of the expensive corn.

If you are going for a sugarhead. Then maybe a better high flavor corn is more suitable. I don't think you ever really said what your intentions were?

Just my two nickles.

[Dnderhead]

i had a chance to try different corn/maze..the white had little flavor,blue was earthy, red was my pick with a fruity taste..
but for genreal use yellow does fine.

[King Of Hearts]

#1 yellow corn. But I use Flaked corn or brewers corn, it may be the same as #1 just cooked and rolled. If you use flaked just mash in, no need to cook, saves time.

There are three classes of corn: Yellow, White or mixed
Each class is divided into five numerical grades and U.S. Sample Grade.

The differences are as follow:

No.1 : 56 lbs of corn/bushel with 0.1% or less heat damaged kernels, 3.0% or less damaged kernels and 2.0% or less broken corn or foreign materials.

No. 2: 54 lbs of corn/bushel with 0.2% or less heat damaged kernels, up to 5.0% damaged kernels and up to 3.0% corn or foreign materials

http://archive.gipsa.usda.gov/reference ... 2/corn.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[alex-76]

i had a chance to try different corn/maze..the white had little flavor,blue was earthy, red was my pick with a fruity taste..
but for genreal use yellow does fine.

I like your description of your experience with the corn. Red seems very interesting.

[alex-76]

#1 yellow corn. But I use Flaked corn or brewers corn, it may be the same as #1 just cooked and rolled. If you use flaked just mash in, no need to cook, saves time.

There are three classes of corn: Yellow, White or mixed
Each class is divided into five numerical grades and U.S. Sample Grade.

The differences are as follow:

No.1 : 56 lbs of corn/bushel with 0.1% or less heat damaged kernels, 3.0% or less damaged kernels and 2.0% or less broken corn or foreign materials.

No. 2: 54 lbs of corn/bushel with 0.2% or less heat damaged kernels, up to 5.0% damaged kernels and up to 3.0% corn or foreign materials

http://archive.gipsa.usda.gov/reference ... 2/corn.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Interesting information. I think you are right, it is better to use flaked corn. It can take a very long time to cook corn.

[King Of Hearts]

#1 yellow corn. But I use Flaked corn or brewers corn, it may be the same as #1 just cooked and rolled. If you use flaked just mash in, no need to cook, saves time.

There are three classes of corn: Yellow, White or mixed
Each class is divided into five numerical grades and U.S. Sample Grade.

The differences are as follow:

No.1 : 56 lbs of corn/bushel with 0.1% or less heat damaged kernels, 3.0% or less damaged kernels and 2.0% or less broken corn or foreign materials.

No. 2: 54 lbs of corn/bushel with 0.2% or less heat damaged kernels, up to 5.0% damaged kernels and up to 3.0% corn or foreign materials

http://archive.gipsa.usda.gov/reference ... 2/corn.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Interesting information. I think you are right, it is better to use flaked corn. It can take a very long time to cook corn.

I also cheat and use ice to cool it down to pitching temp. 21lbs per 10 gal batch8)

[AnOniiMouse]

i had a chance to try different corn/maze..the white had little flavor,blue was earthy, red was my pick with a fruity taste..
but for genreal use yellow does fine.

I was gonna ask if anyone had tried blue corn, thanks for the info.

[alex-76]

i had a chance to try different corn/maze..the white had little flavor,blue was earthy, red was my pick with a fruity taste..
but for genreal use yellow does fine.

I was gonna ask if anyone had tried blue corn, thanks for the info.

Yeah, blue corn seem to be interesting.
Are you going to use it?
Lets us know how it goes and the method you used, if you want to share of course.

[RyeNot]

When I compared Blue Corn to White or Yellow, it had more carbs per 100 grams... does that equate to more starch... more surgar?

[Dnderhead]

"... does that equate to more starch... more surgar?"
blue corn has more starch and converted makes more sugar.
the corn used for feed has high protein that means more oils.

[KSAguy]

I have good results with Yellow bagged popcorn... ground in my blender!!

[aircarbonarc]

Cheap cracked feed corn works great, however I found it sometimes can be a bit dirty. Sure if you used whole kernel corn and rinsed it first then it would cleanup nicely. The problem now is grinding it, but a little dirt on my corn hasn't ruined a batch.

[DuckofDeath]

I pour mine between two 5 gallon buckets with a fan on high it blows out the cob, dust and grass. Makes for a much cleaner mashing run.

[aircarbonarc]

I pour mine between two 5 gallon buckets with a fan on high it blows out the cob, dust and grass. Makes for a much cleaner mashing run.

I use cracked corn and it's very full of lose starch so I'd be afraid of blowing that away. You are using whole corn I'm guessing. I was considering doing a cold water bath and siphoning off the dirty water

[The Baker]

I pour mine between two 5 gallon buckets with a fan on high it blows out the cob, dust and grass. Makes for a much cleaner mashing run.

A very old process called winnowing. Included in most mechanical systems using grain. Some used to throw the dirty grain up in the breeze for the chaff to blow away.

Geoff

[6 Row Joe]

I have a Farm Fleet store nearby that has 10# bags of cracked yellow corn for feeding birds that works well. It's like $3.50.

[DuckofDeath]

Yeah I use whole corn with a mill. So I basically turn it to flour before I mash. Washing it beforehand would not work with my mill. It is a dry mill.

[contrahead]

Six years ago in 2012 the OP asked:
“What type of corn do you use for your Whiskey”?

Answering to anybody who cares; any type of corn should do for whiskey. I've used flaked corn, masa and Aunt Jemima corn meal. Flaked corn is preferable to whole corn and cracked corn, because the process it endures ends up making sugars more easily available. Masa (flour from hominy) has undergone the nixtamalization process; for a distiller this should amount to an improvement over untreated corn.

In The Firefox Book (#1) however, someone had a definite preference for white sweet corn, stating that this created the best product.

* Currently bubbling in my ferment-bucket is sort of a sour-mash sugar wash. Aside from sugar, the other fresh ingredients added to the backset were a few bananas, a few pears, a large bottle of weird organic fruit juice (a mixture of fruits but no preservatives) and fresh sweet corn.

Corn on the cob is common and cheap around here in August and September. I just shuck the corn, shear the kernels from the cobs with a fish knife and grind the wet, juicy, infantile kernels up in a blender.

[-The Dude-]

So when you guys say feed corn, are you saying regular old yellow cracked feed corn? That's what I've always figured to use but wondered if I needed to use food quality grade corn. Thats mostly sweeet corn and from what I have read that's not the best corn to grind and make mash of. Is that right?

Also.....

I have been wondering about using this from a local supplier who puts together the bags for local farmers. They have what they call a super bag that's 4'x4'x4' that they sell for $80. They grow tier own corn and then air dry it. Then hammer it to what the lady on the phone described is half between cracked and corn meal size. They then sift the loos shells out before bagging it. Its on a pallet. Not that I need that much but if I was to go full steam one day I'm thinking I should practice my mash from the company I would possibly want to buy in bulk from so to not change the process too much when moving from small scale to large scale. I can buy smaller bags to start practicing my mash batching and see how good of a wort I can make.

What do you guys think?

[fizzix]

Plain ol' farmer-supplied cracked feed corn is fine.
I get 56-pounds (a bushel) from my local farm co-op for $8.
Then run it through a blender (or mill) to make meal --a few bugs, cob parts, and all.

[-The Dude-]

Then run it through a blender (or mill) to make meal --a few bugs, cob parts, and all.

That's awesome!