1st corn mash w/enzymes

[NeckStiller]

So going back thru the thread I should have done things differently should of added the ht enzymes mixed a bunch and rested 3or 4 hours. Then added my gl and visco seb and waited overnight. I was trying to rush I got a better conversion before using alpha amylase and glucoamylase powder.so my first time taught me to slow down

Yupper I did same thing. Using Jimbos methods I've seen 67 but that was using corn meal and waiting overnight before adding malts. I'm like you though for less than $10 I'm pretty happy with my first go. Next round gonna kill it!

[Durhommer]

Weather is getting chilly I'm trying to put up stock for aging and sip thru winter.. Soon as I have a big fermenter open ill be taking another slow stab at it

[NeckStiller]

Weather is getting chilly I'm trying to put up stock for aging and sip thru winter.. Soon as I have a big fermenter open ill be taking another slow stab at it

I'm in same boat! I'm finishing up some insulation on fermenter tonight and prepping for a larger mash this weekend. All goes well I'll keep turning runs over next few weekends since work slowed finally.

[Durhommer]

Yeah man so far I've got a gallon peated enough for a gallon of gin a gallon of vodka and I'm bout ready to put up enough mash for another 4 gallon spirit so no friends buddies brothers coming over kicking it this winter I'm taking my second year in the craft a bit more serious as in putting up aged stock! Take y'alls asses to the store! I'm trying to put up a solid recipe to pass the craft to the kids

[Durhommer]

This mash yielded .5 gallon @90p with a 100ml cut off the front end on the strip.a teaspoon off the tap tasted like sweet creamy buttery oatmeal with likker in it.I like!! Cant wait to see if I can replicate the flavor but with a bit higher conversion I'm doing it on grain this time too

[NeckStiller]

This mash yielded .5 gallon @90p with a 100ml cut off the front end on the strip.a teaspoon off the tap tasted like sweet creamy buttery oatmeal with likker in it.I like!! Cant wait to see if I can replicate the flavor but with a bit higher conversion I'm doing it on grain this time too

Cool beans. That flavor is great right! I just finished first step mashing in on another batch. I ground the cracked pretty fine and upgraded insulation on the fermenter. See how she holds heat tonight. Confession though I'm actually going to use up some grain that's been sitting to make a bourbon. Then I'll get back into all corn. Probably should have kept it simple but I been sitting on this grain a while.

[Durhommer]

Yeah I used the last of some older corn for thisnew mash but also mixed it with some fresh pitched an hour ago and the airlocks are rocking

[NeckStiller]

Yeah I used the last of some older corn for thisnew mash but also mixed it with some fresh pitched an hour ago and the airlocks are rocking

Alright man... ended up at 1.060.. Process and temp were on point. The grain was probably 7 months old. Might be a bit old to asking for a great conversion. I did grind it and corn pretty fine too. Ol well... I spiked the punch and brought gravity up to .070..bubbling away after a couple hours. I will say each step the mash looked different since using enzymes and my process this time lent to better results. I'm getting there... lol

[Durhommer]

1060 is respectable I contemplated spiking mine but tasting my last ag strip made me think differently I have some of my sugarhead and it has a bite to it I think the sugar causes Idk tho the volume boost is nice tho from sugar

[cayars]

I did something wrong I got super low numbers 1040. I gotta figure this shit out

With 8 Gallons water and 19 pounds of corn you should have been around 1.055 with 70% efficiency. With the same recipe and 50% efficiency you would end up around 1.040.

Low efficiency can be caused by a couple of factors. Obviously milled grain size can play into this but the quality of the corn might just be the biggest factor. If I use Tractor Supply cracked corn it doesn't convert nearly as well as other corn I can source in my area using the same protocol. But since it's half the price it's still the better value as I just use a bit more. pH is important to monitor and adjust (make sure to test at room temp) for enzyme use but that's already been said as well.

If you purchase from TS you could try their whole kernel corn (same price) or try a different brand or supplier. I also use locally grown corn in NJ for some mashes but it depends on what I'm making. The TS corn doesn't impart as much corn flavor (about 70% of the flavor) as my local corn with the same SG (adjusted weights) so it's perfect for making something more neutral while maybe not as ideal for some whiskeys when I want a more upfront corn flavor.

Don't know if this was any help or not but can't hurt.

Best of luck,
Carlo

[Durhommer]

The wife is taking me to holladay distillery in Weston Missouri for my birthday on their special tour deal. Kinda excited about seeing their process maybe I could use the knowledge

[NeckStiller]

I did something wrong I got super low numbers 1040. I gotta figure this shit out

With 8 Gallons water and 19 pounds of corn you should have been around 1.055 with 70% efficiency. With the same recipe and 50% efficiency you would end up around 1.040.

Low efficiency can be caused by a couple of factors. Obviously milled grain size can play into this but the quality of the corn might just be the biggest factor. If I use Tractor Supply cracked corn it doesn't convert nearly as well as other corn I can source in my area using the same protocol. But since it's half the price it's still the better value as I just use a bit more. pH is important to monitor and adjust (make sure to test at room temp) for enzyme use but that's already been said as well.

If you purchase from TS you could try their whole kernel corn (same price) or try a different brand or supplier. I also use locally grown corn in NJ for some mashes but it depends on what I'm making. The TS corn doesn't impart as much corn flavor (about 70% of the flavor) as my local corn with the same SG (adjusted weights) so it's perfect for making something more neutral while maybe not as ideal for some whiskeys when I want a more upfront corn flavor.

Don't know if this was any help or not but can't hurt.

Best of luck,
Carlo

Carlo I wondered exactly those things! Flavor and quality of the corn from TS. I have the last 16lbs ground into basically flour and I'll give it go this weekend. I'm not too far from you down here on the eastern shore and deer corn is everywhere. I might try that next. Thanks for the input!!

[NeckStiller]

The wife is taking me to holladay distillery in Weston Missouri for my birthday on their special tour deal. Kinda excited about seeing their process maybe I could use the knowledge

Sweet!! You gotta report back with your findings!! Happy Bday!

[Durhommer]

I sure will they let you sample their white dog some aging stock and the tour she bought sends me home with a bottle and an empty used barrel. More aging wood!

[Durhommer]

I dont use tsc corn I have a local co-op well not that local its a 2 hour drive! It was Orchelins corn I was using I'm guessing it was old stock as the new stock I have from new supplier has better smell/look to it I'm 300 ml from shutting down and cutting to 40% for the spirit run

[NeckStiller]

Hey y'all

All corn round 2 went a lot better. Started yesterday and I'm about to pitch yeast now. The 2 biggest changes made were grinding cracked to almost a powder and secondly insulating my fermenter. I got 1.058 SG on this batch but I'm not sure how good the TS corn is so I'm not sweating it.

I'm gonna find a different source for corn I think.

[tom sawyer]

I'm sticking with cracked corn and not grinding because I worry it won't drain properly from my mashtun. I added 16lb of cracked corn to 3gal of boiling water, adjusted pH to 6.0 then added my Sebstar HTL. Stirred until it got good nd thin, then put the lid on and left the electric burner on warm for 2 hours. THen I boiled 4gal of water, added to my mashtun and dumped the nearly solid corn mush into the water. I left this steep for another few hours, then dropped temp with a gallon of cold water, dropped pH with more backset and added 4lb barley malt and Sebstar GL. By next morning it was 18 Brix.