Poteen recipe

[Flatlands_Hillbilly]

Irish Poteen

5 gallons purified water
6 big potatoes
2 lbs malted 6 row barley
1 lbs rye
5 lbs cracked corn
1 1/2 lbs sugar
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
1/2 warm water (90 - 110 degrees)

Boil your scrubbed taters (skin and all) off in 1 gallon of water or until soft. In your mash pot heat remaining water to 165 degrees with the barley and rye. Stir in sugar, making sure it completely dissolves, then stir in the corn and potatoes w/ potato water and continue stirring for 5 continuous minutes. Cover and let stand an hour and a half, stirring every fifteen minutes. Take and stir the sugar and yeast thoroughly into the 1/2 cup warm water and let stand 30 minutes. It should at least double in size so make sure your container you mix your starter is big enough to contain this. Strain out solids and into your fermenter, stir in the yeast and let ferment for at least 7 days or until the mash is ready to run. Specific Gravity of at least .095 which leaves you with an abv of about 12.25%. If'n my math be correct. Run a fast stripping run. Personally, after the foreshots are out, I save the whole run back down to about 10 proof in the tails on my stripping run. I don't run a thermometer, I just eyeball it and run my second spirit run at about a rate of three drips per second. I use propane and feather the heat until i get it where I want. I set the first two pints (heads) back and keep the last head or two, but no nore than two to blend in the final product. I run my hearts into the tails until it hits about 60 proof, and then set everything back until I get down to 20 proof. I'll keep the 20 to 10 proof to blend in to the final proofing. I then take the one or two heads, the hearts down to 60 proof and add in the deep tails (20 to 10 proof for flavor). I generally end up with a nice sweet smooth liquor that if I did right, runs around 100 proof 50% ABV. This recipe is from the late 1800's Ireland. I think that's probably why it's heavy on the corn more so than potatoes. I think this was dated 1883, but I can't find the page I found this on now. If that's the correct date, that would have been around or shortly after the potato famine in Ireland. It's just getting it's introduction in the States, but has made a big comeback in Europe as some crazy Irishman decided to mainstream his moonshine commercially and legally. I couldn't resist in bringing it back to a bit of outlaw status. At least in the making of it. Must be the Irish in me! lol Enjoy!!!

[Pikey]

Have you made this ?

I don't think the Irish would have had "cracked corn" in the 1800's - Maize growing is fairly new in uk unless it's a re-introduction - we refer to any cereal, such as barley, wheat oats in the generic term "Corn" - to us what you call "corn" is maize ! So the "corn" could be any cereal crop if teh recipe is authentic. (IMO)

Also why heat the malt up to 165 and then add the maize when it gets cooler ? - if you don't use a thermometer, I doubt you do an "iodine test" either ?

The starch conversion and possibly even it's extraction look quite "Iffy" to me based on that recipe.

[Flatlands_Hillbilly]

Just following the recipe I found. By 1883, as with the potato, maize had come over from the New World. It was grown in Southern Ireland and still is to this day and due to the date, I imagine that corn was added to make up for lack of potatoes to make the liquor. To be honest, there are as many recipes as there are for our Moonshine. Either way, by the nineteenth century, though not the prevalent grain as it needs southern facing fields and grows better in the southern portion of the island where it warmer. Corn was present and grown in Ireland. It arrived in Europe with the return of Columbus on his first trip to the New World. Currently, there are about 22,500 hectares of corn, generally sweet corn, grown in Ireland. Primarily around Cork, Ireland. Yes, I have made it and it comes out around 90 to 100 proof on the spirit run and has a sweet, spicy and yet a bit earthy taste. As to it's authenticity? I found it on the internet, claiming to be from 1883, 40 some years after the Great Potato Famine. It's not my favorite, but I do like it. And as stated before, as it is an Irish moonshine, I'm sure there are as many recipes as do our moonshines. depending on what part of Ireland, what crop is growing good at the time, weather or 100 different other factors. It's one I think I'll keep on the shelf. If your're ever in MO for the State Fair or in that vicinity, holler and I'll gladly have you over for a sit on the porch and tasting for yourself.

[SaltyStaves]

Malted Barley with some malted Oats are the traditional ingredients. These would be kiln dried with peat.

There was a great old VHS documentary on youtube that covered the traditional methods, but it got taken down.

[Fiddleford]

Malted Barley with some malted Oats are the traditional ingredients. These would be kiln dried with peat.

There was a great old VHS documentary on youtube that covered the traditional methods, but it got taken down.

I think it's in my sigiture

[Flatlands_Hillbilly]

Have you made this ?

I don't think the Irish would have had "cracked corn" in the 1800's - Maize growing is fairly new in uk unless it's a re-introduction - we refer to any cereal, such as barley, wheat oats in the generic term "Corn" - to us what you call "corn" is maize ! So the "corn" could be any cereal crop if teh recipe is authentic. (IMO)

Also why heat the malt up to 165 and then add the maize when it gets cooler ? - if you don't use a thermometer, I doubt you do an "iodine test" either ?

The starch conversion and possibly even it's extraction look quite "Iffy" to me based on that recipe.

In addition to my statement below, I will say you are correct in that I didn't get the conversion I would have liked and ended up with only half of the finished spirits I was expecting. What steps can I take to help that? Any advice?

I use a thermometer in heating the wash and judging when it's cool enough to put in my yeast starter. But on my still? No, I was taught to make my cuts with using taste, feel, smell, visual (shaking my beaker and watching the bubbles), lighting it in a spoon and on a plate and I do use a spirit hydrometer. It's taken a bit, but I'm getting more accurate with my senses according to my hydrometer. I dont use Iodine test either, no. Wouldn't know how. Would have to look that up. What's that for? I'm still a rookie and will accept any wisdom that comes my way. Thank you.

[SaltyStaves]

Malted Barley with some malted Oats are the traditional ingredients. These would be kiln dried with peat.

There was a great old VHS documentary on youtube that covered the traditional methods, but it got taken down.

I think it's in my sigiture

That is just a snippet. The full length was more like 1.5hrs.

[Fiddleford]

That is just a snippet. The full length was more like 1.5hrs.

I do remember it being longer

[Flatlands_Hillbilly]

That is just a snippet. The full length was more like 1.5hrs.

I do remember it being longer

I'll check it out! Thanks

[Fiddleford]

That is just a snippet. The full length was more like 1.5hrs.

I do remember it being longer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM7BnDw ... Ow&index=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow, It's still not the full version but its getting closer

[jonnys_spirit]

Cool vids. Sounds like the recipe develops depending on whatcha have available hopefully with a nice emphasis on the peat drying and malting of the grains.

Cheers
-jonny

[Pikey]

Cool vids. Sounds like the recipe develops depending on whatcha have available hopefully with a nice emphasis on the peat drying and malting of the grains.

Cheers
-jonny

I agree - Interesting how they save the foreshots for use as anti-arthritic treatment rub and diluted as an antiseptic - They were quite prized it seems

[ezlle71]

[utube][/utube]

[LWTCS]

You'll get nothing out of the corn yield with that protocol. Need to get your corn cooking started first and get your temps way up.

Iodine test to check/confirm your conversion.

[pope]

Was just talking to a buddy in Sweden recently and updating him on all my 'adventures' in this hobby, he didn't know what barley was and looked up the translation - 'korn'. Barley = korn, corn = majs. I thought that was interesting. Anyway 'barley' in 'Irish' (maybe that's Gaelic? Google translate calls it Irish) is 'eorna'. So maybe there was a translational error?

Maybe the 'corn' in the recipe is supposed to be unmalted barley? If this was a farm-based spirit grown with extremely local ingredients, it would make sense to only use as much malt as necessary to convert the unmalted portion of the bill. I'm not doing the math regarding converting all the starches with the included malt though.

[LWTCS]

Makes much more sense Pope.

[pope]

The original post was making be think about your article on Kveik yeast and those Norwegian farmhouse ales; how those farmers worked with what was around - native yeast, barley off the field, a cold flowing creek for malting, juniper branches, etc.

[Fiddleford]

I forget where exactly but they used to call barley corn in old English

[thecroweater]

Corn simply meant grain until fairly recently, corn was any cereal and only came to refer to maize in modern times. My guess is this is a result of people being familiar with the term sweetcorn. You get a recipe 100 or more years old calling for corn and it may or may not mean maize

[Corsaire]

Same here. Koren is a generic name for cereal. Not sure but I think it was mostly used for wheat. Corn is called mais. Isn't corn also called maize in english?