Malted corn an corn meal

[Sonofliberty75]

I hope I'm not putting this post in the wrong place. So correct me if I'm wrong.
So I've been reading up on how to malt corn and all that, and bought whole corn from tractor supply and malted 5 or 6 lbs of it and got good results using the 2 bucket method.
So I decided to do a test batch, I took a pound of finely ground yellow corn meal and put it in a bucket.
Next I heated a gallon of water to 200° and poured it over the cornmeal, which dropped the temp to 175°ish and stired it up and covered it till the temp dropped to 160°.
Then I stired in 1 lb of finely ground green malt corn, the temp dropped to 150°. It thinned out immediately, so I covered real good and let it set overnight.
This morning I took a sample and got and SG of 1.051. I couldn't be more thrilled with the results,so i thought I'd share my experience, and see what yall thought.
Also the acrospire (or whatever you call it) on the corn malt was from 1/2" to close to 1" long when I ground it up.
Thinking of trying another test using 1.5lbs of both malt corn and corn meal in a gallon of water.
Thanks!

[greggn]

Thinking of trying another test using 1.5lbs of both malt corn and corn meal in a gallon of water.

What are you hoping to get from a second test that wasn't discovered from the first one ? Sounds to me as though it worked perfectly.

If you still have the wort available from that initial test then perhaps do an iodine test ... otherwise why not proceed right through to a finished product ?

[Sonofliberty75]

My only reason would be to see if I can up the SG to around 1.060 but not much higher. I'm happy with the 1.051, just trying it for experiment purposes haha
And yes I still have the wort and need to get iodine to test my conversion from now on.

[Demy]

If you have finely ground you can concentrate on other aspects if you want to increase the efficiency but everything went well from what I see. The corn is the most difficult thing I maltated, generally has enough enzymes to convert himself, if you managed to convert corn flour I can say ... great job.

[Sonofliberty75]

Thank you! I've read that it can be difficult to malt it without it goin bad or molding but I think what worked for me was keeping it in a cool room so it wouldnt heat up as it sprouted.
Definitely turned out better than I expected!
And one of the reasons I left it green was that I read it has more enzymes when its green. Plus I've been trying to get more of a earthy green corn taste, which I like personally.

[still_stirrin]

So, I’ve got a batch of corn malting right now too (good corn harvest this year). Here’s a glimpse of the chits.

Corn sprouting

I started the soaking on Sunday (4 days ago). Three 8 hour soaks with a 12 hour drain after each. Then, placed in a shallow tray and covered with a moist towel. I leave the light on in the room to help keep it warm and minimize a mold. Seems to be going OK, but slow compared to the wheat I malted a month ago. The wheat was ready for drying after 5 days, but I think the corn will require another day or 2. When the sprouts are proper, I put it in a shallow screen bottom tray and place it on a box fan (low speed) to dry. Drying takes a couple of days too, with frequent stirring of the grains.

I still use liquid enzymes when I brew, but I believe the malting adds a new and better flavor to the beer. Yield is still about the same tho, just better (buttery) flavor.
ss

[Sonofliberty75]

So, I’ve got a batch of corn malting right now too (good corn harvest this year). Here’s a glimpse of the chits.

C3012FA0-269E-4E46-88C7-DF8DCCD57DAD.jpeg

I started the soaking on Sunday (4 days ago). Three 8 hour soaks with a 12 hour drain after each. Then, placed in a shallow tray and covered with a moist towel. I leave the light on in the room to help keep it warm and minimize a mold. Seems to be going OK, but slow compared to the wheat I malted a month ago. The wheat was ready for drying after 5 days, but I think the corn will require another day or 2. When the sprouts are proper, I put it in a shallow screen bottom tray and place it on a box fan (low speed) to dry. Drying takes a couple of days too, with frequent stirring of the grains.

I still use liquid enzymes when I brew, but I believe the malting adds a new and better flavor to the beer. Yield is still about the same tho, just better (buttery) flavor.
ss

Looks good! Cant wait to do another batch, so far I'm happy with the results of mine.
Have you tried white corn? I've heard it's better than yellow corn when malted but havent tried it yet.

[Sonofliberty75]

Thinking of trying another test using 1.5lbs of both malt corn and corn meal in a gallon of water.

What are you hoping to get from a second test that wasn't discovered from the first one ? Sounds to me as though it worked perfectly.

If you still have the wort available from that initial test then perhaps do an iodine test ... otherwise why not proceed right through to a finished product ?

My only reason would be to get an SG up around 1.060 but I was happy with 1.051. Just another experiment!
Yeah...I wanna get some iodine to check them with, I've never bothered with it but it would definitely help me out to know for sure if its fully converted.

[Sonofliberty75]

If you have finely ground you can concentrate on other aspects if you want to increase the efficiency but everything went well from what I see. The corn is the most difficult thing I maltated, generally has enough enzymes to convert himself, if you managed to convert corn flour I can say ... great job.

I've heard its difficult, but wasnt bad in my opinion, I think keeping it in a cooler climate helped it keep from molding on me.
Thank you!

[Demy]

If you have finely ground you can concentrate on other aspects if you want to increase the efficiency but everything went well from what I see. The corn is the most difficult thing I maltated, generally has enough enzymes to convert himself, if you managed to convert corn flour I can say ... great job.

I've heard its difficult, but wasnt bad in my opinion, I think keeping it in a cooler climate helped it keep from molding on me.
Thank you!

Mais generally needs the right temperature, moisture not too high etc ... My difficulty is the inhomogeneous germination, some grains don't germinate but this can also depend on the corn available.

[Sonofliberty75]

If you have finely ground you can concentrate on other aspects if you want to increase the efficiency but everything went well from what I see. The corn is the most difficult thing I maltated, generally has enough enzymes to convert himself, if you managed to convert corn flour I can say ... great job.

I've heard its difficult, but wasnt bad in my opinion, I think keeping it in a cooler climate helped it keep from molding on me.
Thank you!

Mais generally needs the right temperature, moisture not too high etc ... My difficulty is the inhomogeneous germination, some grains don't germinate but this can also depend on the corn available.

Yeah that part frustrates me....I just threw out the ones that didnt germinate. Think next time I'll clean the corn with warm water but then when I soak the grain I'll use cool water that way maybe all the grain swells slower...and hopefully germinate more evenly..?
I did another test batch last nigh, and used 1.5 lbs of green malt corn and 1.5 lbs of cornmeal in a gallon of water and after I mashed it, i got a SG of 1.070!
Was pretty pleased, especially with home malt corn!

[still_stirrin]

… I just threw out the ones that didn't germinate…

Why would you do that? Even “un-malted” corn has available starch that you can ferment. It’s just “how you process it” that matters. Granted, malting makes for a better flavor contribution. But even un-malted will feed your yeast.

… Think next time I'll clean the corn with warm water but then when I soak the grain I'll use cool water that way maybe all the grain swells slower...and hopefully germinate more evenly..?

I soak for 8 hrs, using warm water. Then drain for 8-12 hours (overnight). I do this cycle 3 times. During this process, the kernels will soften and swell slightly (from their “dry state” you get from the CO-OP or tractor supply).

But germination requires that the kernel is “allowed to breath”, not drown. So, I spread the soaked kernels on a shallow pan and cover with a moist towel. But, it is best to keep the malting grains at ambient air (springtime) temperatures. So, that’s best at/around 70* to 75*F.

Also, if you’re having trouble with mold, keep a light on in the room where you’re malting. Mold spores like moist, warm, dark environments.

… I did another test batch last nigh, and used 1.5 lbs of green malt corn and 1.5 lbs of cornmeal in a gallon of water and after I mashed it, i got a SG of 1.070!

Was pretty pleased, especially with home malt corn!

3 lb. grain in a gallon of water? I’d say that 1.070 is “average extraction”. Not bad, but not exceptional.

Question, do you dry the grain before milling? If so, how do you dry it?
ss

[Sonofliberty75]

… I just threw out the ones that didn't germinate…

Why would you do that? Even “un-malted” corn has available starch that you can ferment. It’s just “how you process it” that matters. Granted, malting makes for a better flavor contribution. But even un-malted will feed your yeast.
Oh ok, I was thinking I'd throw them out just so I had more malted grain to grind without the unmalted with it,which doesn't make sense now that I think about it haha.

… Think next time I'll clean the corn with warm water but then when I soak the grain I'll use cool water that way maybe all the grain swells slower...and hopefully germinate more evenly..?

I soak for 8 hrs, using warm water. Then drain for 8-12 hours (overnight). I do this cycle 3 times. During this process, the kernels will soften and swell slightly (from their “dry state” you get from the CO-OP or tractor supply).

But germination requires that the kernel is “allowed to breath”, not drown. So, I spread the soaked kernels on a shallow pan and cover with a moist towel. But, it is best to keep the malting grains at ambient air (springtime) temperatures. So, that’s best at/around 70* to 75*F.

Also, if you’re having trouble with mold, keep a light on in the room where you’re malting. Mold spores like moist, warm, dark environments.

I'll remember that! I soaked mine for two days changed water each day,then let it breath, occassionally rinsing, till I got the sprout length I thought was good ( about 1/2" to 3/4"). And I malted mine in a room about that temp too, and worked great. Didnt have any mold except for a few but it was only like 3 diff kernals I found.

… I did another test batch last nigh, and used 1.5 lbs of green malt corn and 1.5 lbs of cornmeal in a gallon of water and after I mashed it, i got a SG of 1.070!

Was pretty pleased, especially with home malt corn!

3 lb. grain in a gallon of water? I’d say that 1.070 is “average extraction”. Not bad, but not exceptional.

Question, do you dry the grain before milling? If so, how do you dry it?
ss

Oh ok, I havent ever gotten that high of an SG before, so I was excited to get that haha I'm new to converting and learning how to mash an such plus I'm trying to get away from sugar,which is mostly what I've done before if I needed a higher SG I'd just add sugar and I dont like the "bite" it has.
And no I didnt dry it, because I'm hoping for a more earthy grass flavor and i read that green malt has a higher DP than dry.
So I just ran it through my hand crank mill, it was a fine grind too.

[still_stirrin]

… And no I didnt dry it, because I'm hoping for a more earthy grass flavor and i read that green malt has a higher DP than dry.

So I just ran it through my hand crank mill, it was a fine grind too.

What kind of a mill do you have that will grind wet malted corn? I’d think it would just turn to a mush, at least if it was properly sprouted.
ss

[Sonofliberty75]

… And no I didnt dry it, because I'm hoping for a more earthy grass flavor and i read that green malt has a higher DP than dry.

So I just ran it through my hand crank mill, it was a fine grind too.

What kind of a mill do you have that will grind wet malted corn? I’d think it would just turn to a mush, at least if it was properly sprouted.
ss

Just a cheap cast iron hand crank one off ebay with a hopper on top. Dont remember the brand but it looks kinda like a sausage mill but for grain. And yeah it was kind of a mush, but it handle the grain well.

[shadylane]

I hear Ya.
I've probably got the same Flebay mill.

Let us know what the final gravity of the 1.050 mash gets to..
How much that's fermentable, is the measurement of mash efficacy.

[Demy]

I built this business for the dehydration and cooking part of the base malt (let's say up to the monk malt) for special malts I use the oven with a rotating basket.

[Sonofliberty75]

I hear Ya.
I've probably got the same Flebay mill.

Let us know what the final gravity of the 1.050 mash gets to..
How much that's fermentable, is the measurement of mash efficacy.

Well I was just doin the test to see how the malt corn would convert if at all and then after my two tests I mixed to two together an they're fermenting out now. But I'll let ya know once it's done! It's cold here so I'm trying to keep my room where its fermenting warm so might take longer to finish.
I am going to make a 6 gal batch later once I get some more corn malted tho!

[Sonofliberty75]

I built this business for the dehydration and cooking part of the base malt (let's say up to the monk malt) for special malts I use the oven with a rotating basket.IMG_20211105_113915-min.jpg

Nice!

[Sonofliberty75]

I hear Ya.
I've probably got the same Flebay mill.

Let us know what the final gravity of the 1.050 mash gets to..
How much that's fermentable, is the measurement of mash efficacy.

Well,my test batch fermented out and the gravity is at .992!