Adding malt

[00Buck]

Why do some people add malt when they pitch yeast? I know it can act as a nutrient for the yeast (so Ive been told) but from the reading Ive done wouldnt it be a better benefit to add the malt when it was the malts optimum temperature? Say 145ish for corn? Or is adding malt when you add yeast just one of those things that carried over from the old days

[Pure Old Possum Piss]

Only thing I can think of is they added it because most malted grains still have some wild yeast on them and can kick off the ferment. Very useful back when store bought yeast wasn't easily available.

[Homebrewer11777]

I've not heard of that but I've done something similar brewing beer to create intentionally soured beer. There is a lot of lactobacillus on malt. When making a Berliner Weisse my typical process was to boil the wort, chill it, add a handful of raw grain and let it go a day or two until the wort soured. Then you had option to either boil the kettle and kill the lacto, chill it back down and pitch the yeast or leave the lacto alone and just pitch the yeast for a more complex/funky flavor profile.

[SW_Shiner]

I cant speak for everyone, but it could just be a "tradition" thats hanging on. Before the easy accessibility of commercial yeast, malt was added as it was believed that the malt was causing fermentation. Of course as knowledge increased, methods changed. Brewers were able to buy specific yeast strains rather than relying on the wild yeast to start fermentation.

[PalCabral]

I've never heard of it. If you wanted wild yeast, it would make more sense to add raw grains. Could this not be a way of giving some "grain" flavor to a sugar shine? I believe the process is to add it before you ferment?

[00Buck]

I cant speak for everyone, but it could just be a "tradition" thats hanging on. Before the easy accessibility of commercial yeast, malt was added as it was believed that the malt was causing fermentation. Of course as knowledge increased, methods changed. Brewers were able to buy specific yeast strains rather than relying on the wild yeast to start fermentation.

Thats kinda what I was thinking. Its a relic of the old days. Alot of old timers here my grandaddy included would add about a gallon of it right when they pitched the yeast. Based on the things Ive read and learned it seems like that gallon of malt would be way better off getting chunked in at the 145ish mark to get the benefits of it

[SW_Shiner]

Its usually an extra added amount, on top of the grain bill. Adding at conversion temp would not have any benefits, actually the opposite. Its already converted due to the malting process, plus the enzymes from the other grains will work on it at ferm temps. For such a small fraction of the grain bill, its not going to make much of a difference to any yields.

[shadylane]

Why do some people add malt when they pitch yeast? I know it can act as a nutrient for the yeast (so Ive been told) but from the reading Ive done wouldnt it be a better benefit to add the malt when it was the malts optimum temperature? Say 145ish for corn? Or is adding malt when you add yeast just one of those things that carried over from the old days

I figure it's carried over from back in the day when folks didn't understand how to do it better.

[Saltbush Bill]

I'm just wondering were you found recipes or information that said to do that?
In all of the time I've been in this hobby I've never heard of or read of such a thing.
Maybe one of the real old hands like Tater might have.

[00Buck]

I'm just wondering were you found recipes or information that said to do that?
In all of the time I've been in this hobby I've never heard of or read of such a thing.
Maybe one of the real old hands like Tater might have.

My grandaddy and great grandaddy and all them people in that generation around here did it. As far as I know. Thats the way I was taught. My great grandaddy was born in 1914 and grandaddy was 1940. Everything I know was handed down from all that time. I just found this forum not long ago so I figure I can at least ask questions here since theyre gone

[Saltbush Bill]

Thanks for the answer, that's interesting to know.
With family background like that I'm sure you have a lot of interesting distilling and fermenting knowledge handed down.

[shadylane]

I'm just wondering were you found recipes or information that said to do that?
In all of the time I've been in this hobby I've never heard of or read of such a thing.
Maybe one of the real old hands like Tater might have.

I've heard of malt being added at fermentation temp, but all the recipes used lots of sugar.

[00Buck]

Thanks for the answer, that's interesting to know.
With family background like that I'm sure you have a lot of interesting distilling and fermenting knowledge handed down.

I got newspaper articles where my family got picked up. ATF was on the family property so many times. Made for some good stories. Not sure that the knowledge is anything most people dont have now a days but it makes a good conversation. My favorite story is the agents coming up on pawpaw at the still one day and he out run them. The fella who was helping did get caught and when he got out he said the agents asked who that white haired man was cause he sure is fast

[00Buck]

I'm just wondering were you found recipes or information that said to do that?
In all of the time I've been in this hobby I've never heard of or read of such a thing.
Maybe one of the real old hands like Tater might have.

I've heard of malt being added at fermentation temp, but all the recipes used lots of sugar.

Got that right. 60lb sugar to a barrel and malt gets pitched and stirred in right before the yeast

[shadylane]

The recipe sounds familiar, it was common in my neck of the woods.
Basically it's a first run UJSSM with malt for nutrients and a prayer to get a little more.
Figure on around 7% alcohol depending on the weather and how well the yeast works off.

[00Buck]

The recipe sounds familiar, it was common in my neck of the woods.
Basically it's a first run UJSSM with malt for nutrients and a prayer to get a little more.
Figure on around 7% alcohol depending on the weather and how well the yeast works off.

I bet it was real real popular at some time. As far as I know where I am in the deep southern US Rye and Barley really were never found so it was all corn all the time. Amazing how being in different states or hell even different counties can determine what you could and couldnt get. Even now I have no clue where to get Rye or Barley there are zero brew shops anywhere

[Tater]

Some in the old days would take rye .Malt it .Dry and grind up in a bowel with water .set it out to get wild yeast . I if remember right setting it near bee hives were good for getting it. once yeast was caught would feed . if strain worked well from that would feed and use for fermenting . Using samee barrels / mash boxes after a while would carrie yeast over some as well.Fokes I knew would add grain to sugar washes malted or not after adding yeast to give wash a head also to add some flaver.When I make rye I use winter rye from seed store. Grand pa told me best time to get wild yeast strain was after dogwoods bloom. My take on it was like myself all shinners in my family were taught by example. We learned if you do this ya get that.I was first to get much of a education and then learned of some of the why it worked that way. While as I stated adding grain in any formed when adding yeast added some flavor I often wondered if adding for the head was
also to have a cap to show when done fermenting.. Ferminting on grain and fruit wouldnt need a head as they will form their own caps