5 gallon mash turned into 4 gallons after ferment

[shudson4099]

I have searched and searched and cannot find an answer but I must be missing this somewhere.

I’m seriously a newbie as this is my first cracked corn mash and approaching my first run. My fermenting is complete starting at 1.052 and ending at 1.000 which should be 6.825abv. I know that’s not great but it’s still my first try. I milled the crack corn to make it finer but not powder. I used 6lbs of corn to 5 gallons of water, so I don’t believe it used enough corn. Also, my heat was inconsistent but I have bought a new heat source to improve that and to hopefully make a more consistent spirit run.

So after fermentation I only have about 4 gallons of mash now. Weird to me, but maybe normal. I am thinking I should just run the four gallons as it is and see what happens, but my question is should I add any water to the mash? I think the answer is no, but, this is my absolute first run.

I have a copper pot still if that helps with the question at all.

I apologize for the novice question and am certainly ok with a redirect to some reading that would answer my question.

[still_stirrin]

...after fermentation I only have about 4 gallons of mash now. Weird to me, but maybe normal. Did you consider the water left in the trub at the bottom of the fermenter? It (the corn and stuff) has absorbed water, you know. Yes, it is quite normal to retrieve less liquid than you put into the mash tun or fermenter (if you ferment on-the-grain)

I am thinking I should just run the four gallons as it is and see what happens, but my question is should I add any water to the mash? I think the answer is no, but, this is my absolute first run. No, don’t dilute your wash. Rack it (siphon) off of the trub into the boiler and fire it up.

I have a copper pot still if that helps with the question at all.

I apologize for the novice question and am certainly ok with a redirect to some reading that would answer my question. You haven’t fermented anything before? I suggest to go to one of the homebrewing (beer) websites and join their forum and learn the brewing and fermentation processes. They will be very useful to help you along the “learning curve”.

[River Rat]

Did you strain the corn out and then was only left with 4 gallons of beer? Or racked it off? I can't imagine why you would've lost a gallon of volume during the ferment without removing something. Open ferment or sealed?

-If the ferment is complete there is no reason to add any water. Just run it.
-Some people shoot for 6.8 abv, that's not bad. You could add more corn next time without any ill effects though. 2 lbs of grain per gallon is a generally accepted rule of thumb.

[cob]

Have you done the cleaning protocol on your still?

[shudson4099]

Thanks for the responses and help.

I did strain and squeeze the corn out the best I could, so all that is in the bottom of the ferment bucket is leftovers from the corn. I didn’t think about losing water to the corn left over in the mash. What is left over is so fine that it will go through a brew bag, but I am going to pickup some cheese cloth to strain it through before I run it.

I’ve been reading a ton but I like the idea of joining a beer site to learn more.

I have done the cleaning protocol on my still, she should be ready to go. I have also built my own parrot so I can monitor with a alcometer during the run.

Just hoping for a decent 1st attempt and looking forward to learning so much more.

I have some oats I want to mill and maybe try to a cracked corn / oat run after a few more learning batches.

[River Rat]

What is left over is so fine that it will go through a brew bag, but I am going to pickup some cheese cloth to strain it through before I run it.

It's much easier to just let it sit a few days. You'll have clear liquid on top with a layer of sludge (trub) in the bottom of the bucket.
Carefully siphon the liquid off and into your boiler or another bucket, leaving the muck behind. This is "racking" that SS mentioned above.

[shudson4099]

Got it. I’m going to let it sit till Sunday and check it. If it’s clear I may run it, but if not Ill let is sit a couple of more day’s. I can post back what happens.

SS, RR and Cob, Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it. I’ve wanted to do this a long time and it’s hard to be patient, but I’m doing my best. It’s hard / fun when your pushing 60 and get excited about a new hobby.

[River Rat]

I understand. I've been doing it for many many years and the excitement has never gone away. It's really a unique thing.

[still_stirrin]

...It’s hard / fun when your pushing 60 and get excited about a new hobby.

Or even “looking over your shoulder” at 60.

The advantage is you can understand well that “haste makes waste”, or put another way, “take your time to do it right” and you’ll save time in the long run.
ss

[jonnys_spirit]

Just a suggestion but you'll want to run this as a strip run and collect the low wines from a few strips to do a second distillation aka "spirit run". With an initial ABV of 6% you might need to do a few strips to collect enough low wines for a full spirit run but using about 2# grain per gallon of water will generally take between 3-4 strip charges to yield enough low wines for a full spirit run charge... Larger fermenter recommended so you can mash/ferment once and plan to do 3-4 strips off that ferment. It is more liquid to deal with at once and squeezing 2# corn/gallon is'nt the end of the world you might still find a swear word or two falling from your lips as you roll up your sleeves and squeeze

Cheers,
jonny

[shudson4099]

One last question. I’m struggling to find where to buy my grains. I again have searched but there doesn’t seem to be a post that helps with where to buy. I have found it online, but it sure seems expensive to order and ship it.

Thanks for any help.

[Deplorable]

Malted grains can be found locally at any homebrew store. Cracked corn or whole kernel corn can be purchased as stock feed at any local farm supply store.

[shudson4099]

Thanks, those were the only options I found but thought I was missing something.

[shudson4099]

Well, I ran my first batch which was simply a cracked corn mash as in my first post. It honestly didn’t turn out that great. It was a good clear run, but the proof was only about 80, so I’m pretty sure my theory of not enough corn came true. I was going to try a corn / oat mash next, but I think I need to stick to a simple corn mash and try to get better.

I only had four gallons so it yielded about 3/4 of a quart but I also ran it a little too far and got some tails in it.

I was trying to watch the temp gauge but that was not working and when I read a post to forget about the thermostat on a pot still and just watch the run it seems to go better. Maybe I ran it too fast, but it took about 2 or 2.5 hours to run the four gallons but I was going really slow in the beginning.

It turned out a little harsh in my opinion so another try at the mash this weekend. I’m going to up my mash volume to 10 gallons to see if maybe that is easier and also might turn out a little better. Not sure, but I’m having fun trying.

This is definitely not as easy as I thought it might be.

[still_stirrin]

Well...This is definitely not as easy as I thought it might be.

But...but...but, it looked so easy on that TV show. Go figure...

[shudson4099]

Not really a TV show that got me into this, but a friend I lost to COVID and now I’m trying to figure out a way to learn what I should have asked him about long ago. I like a challenge and if it was easy it probably wouldn’t interest me. I need to do more research and reading as this forum say’s.

Thanks though.

[The Baker]

Sorry about your friend.

Geoff

[Saltbush Bill]

I’m trying to figure out a way to learn what I should have asked him about long ago.

Back then you didnt know which questions you wanted answers to.
The best bit is that by reading everything you can on the forum you will learn the answers to questions you didnt know you had yet.
Every thread and most posts can teach you something in some way.

[River Rat]

Sorry to hear about your friend. I think you'll find your spirit will lose most of its initial harshness after a few weeks. It really calms down after about a month in the bottle even with no wood added. Beyond that, fine tuning your cuts will improve your product. Cuts will be easier with a larger batch.

[SaltyStaves]

I have a copper pot still if that helps with the question at all.

A first pass through a pot still is like an undercoat of paint on a piece of wooden furniture. No matter how carefully you apply it, its never quite up to close scrutiny.
A second pass (spirit run) is what you need for a showroom finish.

You've only done the undercoat and you didn't bring enough paint (wash) to cover the job at hand.
Multiple or larger fermentation batches and multiple stripping runs will yield you enough low wines so that you can get that polished result.

[shudson4099]

I appreciate all the feedback. Absorbing that you guys are giving me and reading. Will start a new mash again in a few day’s.