Home Distiller

Yep if you expected that to convert any thing it wont, it has bin cooked out and just used for flavor. you need BASE MALT..
witch is dried not toasted.lighter the better. like domestic 2 row,I do not know what you have in aus. but if you git base malt you should
be fine. most time it is cheaper also by a few cents. when I went to bed and knew something you said bothered me so I had to git up and look
to see what it was .

the do have diastatic malt that they use in cooking but it is flour made from malted grain.

blanikdog wrote:Well, that didn't work. By the time the postman got here the mash had a lovely white mould all over the cap and it smelt like vomit. I kept on with it though and added the crystal malt and gave it a whacking big stiring. Today I dumped it for the

Sorry, blanik, but your mash got infected with mold. There's no savin' it once it happens. I also discourage distilling a moldy mash because molds can make some pretty nasty crap that might carry over. Could've come from outside, inside or the grains (though not likely).
Gotta sterilize everything and be a little more meticulous about keepin things clean. I'm talking from experience.

Thanks guys, next time I'll get some barley and malt it myself. That should ensure that everything is OK, fingers crossed.

blanik

Blanik,
You could talk to these guys, http://www.grainandgrape.com.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow in Yarraville. I used them before I found a grain supplier in Brisbane.

duds2u wrote:Blanik,
You could talk to these guys, http://www.grainandgrape.com.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow in Yarraville. I used them before I found a grain supplier in Brisbane.

Bugger me!!!!!!! I had no idea there were so many different choices.

blanik

Bugger me!!!!!!! I had no idea there were so many different choices.

blanik

The guys at http://www.craftbrewer.com.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow have even more

See if your feed store has 'scratch grain' for chickens. In the SE USA we have several that are about 40% Cracked Corn, 20% Cracked Barley, 20% Cracked Rye and 20% Cracked Oats. Clean, no additives and dust-free. Makes a damn fine whisky if you stay away from turbo yeast, use a wee bit of brown sugar and a few raisins in the wash. Doesn't need much in the way of nutrients but does need a lot of enzymes or six-row in the grain bill to get all the goodies out.

Performs nicely fermented on grains with EC-1118, strain, re-use grain solids with backset and some sugar as a wake up for the yeasty beasties. Not long on alcohol, but low on nasties and looooonnnnnnnggggg on grain flavor in the final spirit.

I double distill-stripping run, then spirit run at around 60% for the hearts...toss the foreshots (150 ml) on the spirit run, and keep the rest of the spirit run in separate 500 ml containers for blending or tossing into the next run.

Sips nicely white, but I also age with some hardwood charcoal (pecan) and lightly toasted chips (maple) in mason jars. Doesn't take much time to take on a nice amber color and pick up some flavor from the charcoal and chips. I think the hardwood charcoal takes out some nasties without polishing out the spirit's spirit, so to speak.

Try adding some honey along with malt during conversion phase. Honey has some diatase in it naturally, and the sugars in it will feed the yeast...as long as the honey hasn't been overcooked or is too old. Also has other tasty goodies in it and some anti-bacterial qualities as well....should help with mash infections:
http://www.airborne.co.nz/Enzymes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Tough little read, but interesting insight into honey and starch synergy and anti-bacterial results:
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10 ... .2007.0589" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Someone told me a drop or two of Hydrogen Peroxide in the mashing water helps. Haven't tried it, so can't offer an opinion. Anyone else heard of this or tried it? Sounds about right...it's H2O2 so shouldn't have a problem bonding with the water....

chefdaniel wrote: Someone told me a drop or two of Hydrogen Peroxide in the mashing water helps. Haven't tried it, so can't offer an opinion. Anyone else heard of this or tried it? Sounds about right...it's H2O2 so shouldn't have a problem bonding with the water....

I've only heard of what is effectively the opposite: adding metabisulphite for its anti-oxidant properties. I guess the peroxide could break down cell walls, at the cost of a bit of staling.

I have ran a couple of batches using horse feed and it was pretty good had a great corn and molasses flavor. I will get the name and grain bill and post back tomorrow.

You need to punch down the cap,just as you would in winemaking that way air born mold wont get a change to grow.