Corn varieties

[djc]

I've always used yellow corn. I found a new supplier that sells
Yellow corn
White corn
Blue corn
Red corn
Bloody butcher
Jimmy red
Hickory king
Truckers favorite
Moseby’s Prolific

What taste difference would there be with the various types?

Thanks!

[scubatech]

Where can you get Mosebys Prolific? I've only found it on seed catalog sites that are fairly expensive, or completely out. There isn't any info I could find on it's flavors in spirits but probably similar to other dent corns like Truckers or Hickory. The rest I've put below that I've been able to gather.

Yellow dent corn produces a robust, classic corn whiskey flavor with pronounced sweetness, a buttery or oily mouthfeel, and earthy, grainy notes. It often has a slightly toasty or bready character with hints of caramel and vanilla, especially when aged in charred oak barrels (as in bourbon).

White corn imparts a cleaner, lighter, and slightly sweeter flavor compared to yellow corn, with delicate fruit notes (e.g., green apple, pear) and a smoother, less earthy profile. It has a subtle floral or grassy quality in some cases, making it ideal for lighter, more approachable whiskeys.

Blue corn contributes a complex, nutty flavor with a distinctive “foxiness” (grape or brandy-like character) and subtle butterscotch or toffee notes. It’s less sweet than yellow or red corn but richer in nutty and earthy tones, with a slightly smoky or roasted quality in some expressions.

Red corn varieties generally produce spirits with a richer, sweeter, and more complex flavor than yellow or white corn. They often exhibit nutty, smoky, and fruity notes (e.g., cherry, berry, or peach), with a robust corn sweetness.

Bloody Butcher imparts a bold, intense corn flavor with a nutty, slightly smoky profile and hints of dark fruit (e.g., blackberry, peach). It’s less sweet than Jimmy Red but richer than standard yellow dent corn, with a robust, earthy backbone.

Jimmy Red is renowned for its sweet, aromatic profile, with a higher sugar content (brix) than most dent corns, resulting in a spirit with rich, honey-like sweetness and complex notes of marzipan, cherry, lavender, hazelnut, or even rosewater. It has a creamy, luxurious mouthfeel with mineralic undertones.

Hickory King (especially the white variety) produces a spirit with a mild, slightly sweet corn flavor and a clean, smooth profile. It has a starchy, hearty character with subtle nutty or bready notes, less complex than red or blue corn but versatile.

Truckers Favorite contributes a hearty, mildly sweet corn flavor with earthy and slightly nutty undertones. It’s less sweet than Jimmy Red but similar to Hickory King, with a robust, grain-forward

[djc]

Thanks for the info!


Moseby’s Prolific is through https://mbsseed.com in Denton, TX, $32.50 for 50 pounds

[adamf]

Out of curiosity, where did this list of corn cultivars and tastes come from?
Thanks

[PalCabral]

Really interesting! Coming from a country with no corn history, I had no idea there were so many varieties. Here it’s just maize, Nothing more.

[Copperhead road]

I had no idea there were so many varieties. Here it’s just maize, Nothing more.

Me Neither, In Australia and residing in one of the big cities at the fruit shops and markets you only ever see the standard yellow corn.
Same as the farming/ produce barns i have only seen yellow corn as well.

[Bolverk]

Barring there are no legal/ethical reasons whats stopping yall from buying some fancu heirloom corn seed and growing your own?

[Copperhead road]

Barring there are no legal/ethical reasons whats stopping yall from buying some fancu heirloom corn seed and growing your own?

That would only be an option for those living rural in the country Bolverk, living in the city you are limited with a small vege garden, Certainly would not be able to plant a big corn patch to sustain making Alcohol from it.

[Bolverk]

Barring there are no legal/ethical reasons whats stopping yall from buying some fancu heirloom corn seed and growing your own?

That would only be an option for those living rural in the country Bolverk, living in the city you are limited with a small vege garden, Certainly would not be able to plant a big corn patch to sustain making Alcohol from it.

Thats fair, youd definitely need a bit of land, but not as much as you'd think. 1 acre (.4 hectares) can produce 179 bushels of corn thats 4500kg... just scale it down to fit a few hundred kg a year.

[adamf]

Thats fair, youd definitely need a bit of land, but not as much as you'd think. 1 acre (.4 hectares) can produce 179 bushels of corn thats 4500kg... just scale it down to fit a few hundred kg a year.

Then the question is, which variety of corn do you grow? There are so many good ones!

[Copperhead road]

In America is it common to see so many different varieties of corn at the supermarket or fruit shops?

Or do you have to be growing corn to have access to all these different varieties.

[Bolverk]

Thats fair, youd definitely need a bit of land, but not as much as you'd think. 1 acre (.4 hectares) can produce 179 bushels of corn thats 4500kg... just scale it down to fit a few hundred kg a year.

Then the question is, which variety of corn do you grow? There are so many good ones!

None but I can buy 5 different varieties in bulk all within an hour drive.

[Bolverk]

In America is it common to see so many different varieties of corn at the supermarket or fruit shops?

Or do you have to be growing corn to have access to all these different varieties.

Not that the supermarket carries... its mainly just sweet corn, but you can get them from some farmers markets. Back in AZ i could get blue hopi. Here in NC there bloody butcher, Jimmy red orange cateo, Cherokee white eagle and a painted mountain... not to mentioned deer corn by the truck load for dirt cheap.

[PalCabral]

Getting back to this thread again, mainly because scubatech's awesome description of the different corn varieties and their impacts on flavor, much obliged, Scuba!

But also because I have found online shops in my neck of the bushes where I can find more interesting corn, than the generic corn that is typically sold in my country. It's the Latin Americans again, bless them. Many came in 1974 from Chile after Pinochet's coup d'etat, others followed from Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia and Venezuela after the political situation got bad in these countries. Thus there's a market for latin american products in my country and one of those products is corn flour.

I found blue corn flour and red corn flour sold in kilo bags for 8.5USD. Since this is from South America most likely, I am assuming they are different species of blue and red corn from those grown and sold in the US. There's also a purple variety, which was not mentioned by scuba, and maybe not so strange as it seems endemic for South America, especially Peru. I found that there's a Whiskey producer in Peru, Don Michael, that makes a "Black Whiskey" made from purple corn and a Mexican producer making "Sierra Norte" corn whiskey from purple corn. However, it's expensive: 10 bucks for 0.5 kilo!

However, this is all flour, I will have to YLAY it. Or is flour too finely ground for being successful with YLAY? I read some people warning for using flour. I've used Polenta, which is more grainy, not as fine as flour. Am I getting myself into a mess using flour?

[SW_Shiner]

Sounds like there might be some more interesting mashes in your future, looking forward to seeing some comparisons.

Flour is fine for YLAY, i believe the instructions specify to use with 'grain flour'. I always grind mine as fine as i can. More surface area for enzymes to attack = faster fermentation. The issue with flour begins at the end of the ferment when wanting to draw the beer off. Flour doesn't really squeeze well, and especially not through a BIAB.

[scubatech]

That's great Pal! I recently came across this Latin American importer that deals in heirloom corns that are sold as masa flour. Haven't tried any of them but noted that they list flavors that each variety gives and whether or not they have high starch density. Wonder if some are the same varieties you are finding?

https://masienda.com/collections/all/heirloom-corn

Shiner is right, flour doesn't squeeze well but I can't resist due to the highest extraction rate. Even when used with YLAY, my ferments are done within a week or less if I keep the temp at 90F. I use a centrifugal spin dryer to separate and get a 90% recovery rate.

[PalCabral]

The brand is called Maza Real and just like Masenda they are from Mexico. They mention that both the blue and the red corn flour is nixtamilized but apart from that they don't say what variety of corn their flours are made from. I checked on corn varieties from Mexico and some are the same grown in the US, but theoretically these companies could buy their corn from anywhere in the world, I suppose.

Up to now, I've used a mix of flaked feed corn, feed cracked corn and course ground yellow corn polenta for my YLAY Bourbons. Never used nixtamilized corn flour, but from what I read, it should not be a problem, maybe a slightly different taste? I am testing it in my next batch though, Masa Harina.

My thought was to use the blue, red and purple corn flours in place of the polenta. It constitutes about 20% of the total weight of the grains, so enough to provide flavor impact.

That centrifugal spinner of yours sounds interesting, scuba. I only get 75% (max) with the squeeze method. I am going to test a new brew bag next time with higher microns' mesh to see if I get a better drain from it than my current. Share a picture of your centrifuge, please?

[scubatech]

That should give you some tasty spirit. Blue and purple corns have more anthocyanins and tend to create more fruity flavors. I don't really recognize the flavor as "fruity" but it is definitely better than yellow corn.

This is my spinner. There are several kinds on Amazon. You can see that it really compacts the flour to get every drop out that I can. I use the spent grains to make dog treats for the neighbors.

[Tammuz]

Those small clothes washers for small apartments in Japan would work well and have more volume. AliExpress. For a totally different type of product we bought a washing machine from Woolworths here in Mexico that lasted over 50 batches before we gave it to a neighbor. It extracted well and was able to pump the effluent to a height that was needed.

[Tammuz]

17613224065074981503013282812670.jpg

Here are some of our varieties we have to work with here in the birthplace of corn and tomatoes.

[PalCabral]

17613224065074981503013282812670.jpg
Here are some of our varieties we have to work with here in the birthplace of corn and tomatoes.

It's the most beautiful grain, I must say. When I grew up, corn was something you only saw in a can. Same thing with pineapple.

[Homebrewer11777]

@scubatech how does that Ninja compare to a mop bucket and wringer? (assuming you have tried both) I usually have about 15 gallons of grain/wash after siphoning off the clear beer...I'm assuming from the looks of your grain I would get more beer with the spinner but how about time and convenience? And it easy to clean?

[scubatech]

I haven't tried the wringer, but I can't imagine anything easier than a spinner at the home level. I usually have around 26lbs of grain before ferment and it takes 2 spins to get through the wet goop. The only real labor is getting it out of the fermenter and into the spinner (which I place a bag inside). I actually use 2 bags, one on top of the other. This keeps it from wobbling around. Could probably do it all in one batch but I didn't want to push it too much. I think there is a 20lb limit. Takes me about 15-20 minutes to get through the whole thing. Cleaning is as easy as giving a quick spray on the inside with the kitchen sink spray faucet on hot. To keep from getting mold in between batches, I place a rechargeable dehumidifier down in the bottom and close the top. It soaks up all the moisture. Here's a link to that.
https://a.co/d/2p921ai