First Bourbon Make

[vafarmdog]

Just made my first attempt at bourbon following NC Hooch's recipe (viewtopic.php?t=17750). Would love some feedback as I've never attempted distillation before, but have made a bit of mead and beer. Here's what I've done so far:

• 7 pounds of cracked corn and 1/2 pound 6-row malted barley.

• Cooked in 4 gallons of water for 90 mins at slow simmer while stirring very frequently.

• Cooled corn mixture to exactly 150F.

• Poured into a large cooler (10-gallon Igloo).

• Added 3 pounds of 6-row malted barley. The temp dropped to exactly 145F.

• Stirred well frequently for several hours. Kept covered, but since it was a cooler it took until today (30 hours) before the temp cooled enough to add yeast.

• At 77 degrees F I transferred grain and all to a sanitized bag in a 10 gallon fermenter.

• Topped it up to 6-7 gallons total volume.

• Took SG...it was 1040. I was worried this may be a bit low so added 2.5 lbs sugar based on suggetions I received. That took SG to 1050.

• Aereated well and pitched a package of Prestige WD yeast

• It's Monday now. I plan on fermenting until this Saturday or Sunday. Then I'll strain out grain and transfer wash to boiler.

1. Does this seem okay? Not sure what the SG should be.
2. I'm fermenting in a 10-gallon container with a lid but no airlock. Is that okay? Should I open and stir frequently as I do with mead, or not touch until fermentation is complete?

[CuWhistle]

Hope the lid isn't airtight. You'll be in for a surprise if it is.

[vafarmdog]

Thanks! It's not...should I stir it at all or leave it be?

[CuWhistle]

Probably leave it be. Ferment requires oxygen at the start but then leave it alone. If the yeast has what it needs it will do its thing without you doing anything.

[pope]

I still remember my first big beer (back when I used buckets) - krausen clogged the airlock... I wasn't around for the 'boom' but it was a bathtub ferment and everything w/in a radius (and mostly the ceiling) were painted with drying chunks of yeast. At least it was over high-gloss paint so it wiped up okay.

Gravity seems a little low, I would think you'd get close to your final SG (post-sugar) without adding any sugar. You should get some iodine and do a starch test on the next one, that will tell you how you're doing on conversion (in addition to SG). You've got a baseline now. You can try to mill your corn finer if you have gear for that. You can also try high-temp enzymes like SebStar, they can be had in small quantities and they will give you better conversion and allow you to do recipes without barley or with lower % of malted barley since you're not relying on it for conversion.

[OtisT]

1. Does this seem okay? Not sure what the SG should be.

This is something you should learn, knowing what the SG should be. It’s always good to scientifically predict what your SG should be so that when you measure the actual SG you have a good idea as to whether things converted properly. If not, it’s an indication something in your process was off.

10 50 is lower than I would target, but not bad. It’s better to be too low that too high. For AGs, I like to shoot for an 8%-9% ferment and many of the T&T recipes are in that range.

One easy way to estimate what your SG should be is to follow a T&T recipe using the same proportions of starches/sugars to total ferment volume. Most of those threads include someone posting their SGs for you to compare to if it is not in the OP. If on this batch you followed the recipe mashing process and used equal proportions of grains to total volume, you likely had issues with your conversion. (Just speculation)

You can also calculate a ballpark SG number using the pounds of grains used/volume. This method is covered on HD and there are many references to personal “rule of thumb” that some people use on the number of points/gallon used. One experienced masher shared with me that his rule of thumb was 2 to 2.25 pounds of grains per gallon of finished ferment. I recommend you stick with T&at recipies and proportions until you get a few successful mashes under your belt.

Good luck with your first bourbon. I got lucky when I tried my first bourbon mash and it turned out quite wonderful after a year in a bourbon barrel. Not all of my bourbons since have turned out as well but each offered lessons, and I hope your’s turns out for the best.

Otis

[Twisted Brick]

Milling your corn finer will shorten conversion times and provide for a higher SG. If you can mill it to meal, 2lbs/gal will get you right around 1.06 with high-temp enzymes and then malt. If you don't have a mill, look through some of the corn 'pre-soak' threads here. Some guys have great luck presoaking their cracked corn overnight in backset from the previous batch.

I mash in a keggle and force cool in it with my copper wort chiller from my brewing days. After aerating and pitching, I just put a ss lid on the keg and it ferments (5-7 days) out nicely. It's not sealed and allows C02 to escape. There is no need to punch down the cap or mess with it. The cap will fall naturally and signals the end of fermentation is near. Once ebullition has stopped and the ferment has cleared on top, you can get a FG reading, which should be close to 1.00 or a little below, depending on your ferment temp, mash pH and yeast.

Great job on your first bourbon. You did a lot of things right and you should enjoy future test mashes with rye, wheat and oats. Would love to hear what kind of rig you're distilling with.

[vafarmdog]

Thank you everyone for the feedback and advice going forward. Since there was so much mention of milling, it sounds like I'd be better using cornmeal than cracked corn. Is that true?

@Pope - Thanks, I'll get iodine for the next run.

@Otis - Thanks for the tips. I've never run a still before, but I live in an area where people have been making moonshine their entire lives. A friend has been doing that for 50 years and he's running the still with me, though most people in these parts use a lot of sugar. He was skeptical about AG.

@Twisted Brick - This is the still I'm using: https://diymoonshine.com/product/heavy- ... aditional/

[Twisted Brick]

Dang, dog! Nice still! Great way to start out!

Cornmeal (milled from cracked or store-bought) definitely has its advantages and a mill is a worthwhile investment, IMHO.

Your friend obviously has his chops down using sugar. Maybe he can show you the nuances of running a pot and you can share with him the nuances of a fine sippin' whiskey made strictly from grain!