Can we use DME as base for Vodka ?

[Fxaddicted]

i don't want to use plain sugar at all so I'm thinking to go all grain but with Wheat Dry Malt Extract " 65% wheat malt and 35% barley"



do you think it's better if i do all grain mash my self or DME can do the job as good as that ? it seems DME will save a tons of time

[Salt Must Flow]

It will work, but it's a bit expensive isn't it?

[Stonecutter]

It’s definitely worth a shot. Have you ever attempted a “vodka” run or AG mash before? What are your expectations for this vodka? I ASSume you’re looking for mouthfeel and a slight flavor profile. Not a bad approach. I’ve never worked with DME interested to see how that turns out for you. I haven’t looked but I’m 99% sure there’s some threads buried here that address this idea. I enjoy making whiskey so my vote would be to do the “real” thing but the other side of that coin is that mashing is a labor of love and to put all that time and effort into making a mash just to strip the flavor out seems backwards. TFFV could be an alternative.

[acfixer69]

There are many better uses for the expense extract.

[jonnys_spirit]

DME foams a lot on the strip. So it’s a slow strip to keep it from puking.

Give it a go and see how you feel about it:)

Cheers!
-j

[Windy City]

You can make vodka out of almost any fermenable starch/sugar.
Some will be more efficient, some will have more flavor or mouthfeel and some will just be a pain in the ass.
A lot will depend on your equipment and procedures. I make an extremely neutral extremely clean neutral/vodka from Shady’s Sugar Shine. I have also made great vodka from 100% white wheat malt. Both were fairly easy washes/mashes. The real time came in from running them multiple times. When I first started brewing beer some many years ago I started with DME (I always preferred DME to LME). It didn’t take long until I switched to an all grain brewer. You can make a very good product from DME. The pro’s are you don’t need to deal with grinding grain, mashing (which includes milling, holding at temps, enzymes for conversion, sparging or squeezing fermented grains).
The Cons are it is expensive, it generally will not ferment completely out, you are limited on how creative you can be with your recipes. I would also recommend to do a boil like you would do with beer before fermentation to create a hot break, this will help prevent puking when you distill your finished fermentation.
As far as making a vodka from your DME wash I would first recommend to ferment at 10% ABV or lower.
I don’t know what you have for equipment but I can tell you I run mine through a four plate (bubble cap) to strip and then through a packed reflux still for spirit run. After stripping Dilute to a maximum of 40% ABV. I many times dilute much more than that and do two or three spirit runs as water is the best filter for your alcohol. And yes I make cuts on all runs.
A fore’s head cut on the stripper and shut down when tails start coming over, then for all spirit runs collecting in jars, wife and I tasting/ smelling diluted samples and always spitting out sample tasting so we don’t get drunk and skew our results.
Good luck and let us know how it works out
As a side note; if you are looking for a very clean, easy and inexpensive neutral/vodka you really can’t beat Shady’s Sugar Shine. It is in the tried and true recipe section and is truly fantastic.

[EricTheRed]

I wouldn't use DME
Foams like crazy.
If you really want then do the beer method where you slowlyboil in an open pot to get it past that point.
But it is an expensive way.

Personally, i use 2.5kgs ground up jungle oats with enzyme treatments and 7.5 kgs sugar per 50 litres of water. A tbsp nutrient and a tbsp distillers yeast.

[Stonecutter]

Hell of a write up Windy. Thank you so much for this info. I’ve read some of the bits and pieces about your process it’s cool of you to put out a nice little tutorial here. I’m just starting in with my plater and ccvm rigs and gladly take any help I can get.

[NZChris]

Do you want some flavor from the wheat in your vodka, or are you wanting a neutral?

[Twisted Brick]

i don't want to use plain sugar at all so I'm thinking to go all grain but with Wheat Dry Malt Extract " 65% wheat malt and 35% barley"

do you think it's better if i do all grain mash my self or DME can do the job as good as that ? it seems DME will save a tons of time

Great question, Exaddicted! Looks like you're weighing the cost of forfeiting the benefits of all-grain because of the associated work/cost involved in mashing and fermenting while also avoiding whatever perceived negatives of a sugarshine that you harbor. In a nutshell, DME, with its inherent drawbacks will accomplish both of your requirements. Since using an extract is more of a shortcut versus committing to 'going all grain', reading through the HD threads on 'DME/LME whiskey' will give you a more informed perspective. Expect responses that consider using an extract as a waste of money because of reduced yields and since neutrals strip out all of the flavor, but you probably already knew that.

[HDNB]

straight up wheat is the cheapest way to a quality vodka.

i'd avoid dme for all the reasons listed...but it makes a great whiskey if you can put up with the foam, which is by all measure completely unmanageable. all that work should earn you a nice whisky, seems a shame to turn it into tasteless hootch.

[Renhoekk]

You can use any agricultural product as a base for vodka.

Vodka is basically a science project in distillation. You want to strip out much of the distinctive taste, flavour and aroma from the final product.

That said, why would you use a fermentable that is more expensive than other options.

[Saltbush Bill]

DME is going to add flavour to something you are wanting to have little flavour..... Stick to the wheat.

[shadylane]

Make a wheat whiskey out of the DME and set it aside.
Make neutral spirits out of sugar and blend in a little bit of the DME whiskey to make vodka.

On a side note.
If you want to make vodka out of grain.
Get some high temp Alpha and Gluco enzymes.

[greggn]

straight up wheat is the cheapest way to a quality vodka.

That depends on where you live. I went to my local feed store yesterday and 50 lb sacks were ...

whole corn - 9.99 USD
whole wheat - 13.95 USD

[rubberduck71]

FWIW: rice (preferably short or medium grain; long only if you have no options for the previous 2) + YLAY is a cheap avenue to good/great vodka. The SWIMBO said it was "evil smooth" (likely because I made strict cuts).

[Salt Must Flow]

I intend to try Jimbo's Wheat Flour AG using enzymes. At this time 25 lbs of wheat flour is $12.13. His main gripe was that he scorched approx half the time so I intend to use two 5500W elements, each on a controller set to 50% perhaps (or lower) when stripping and see if that keeps it from scorching. I recall people saying this mash won't clear so I may try testing clearing it using Bentonite Clay.

[rubberduck71]

I intend to try Jimbo's Wheat Flour AG using enzymes. At this time 25 lbs of wheat flour is $12.13. His main gripe was that he scorched approx half the time so I intend to use two 5500W elements, each on a controller set to 50% perhaps (or lower) when stripping and see if that keeps it from scorching. I recall people saying this mash won't clear so I may try testing clearing it using Bentonite Clay.

Flour may be too fine for this trick: I use my hop spider & push it down into the all-grain "mush" then use my auto-siphon to grab the wash inside of it.

[Laredo7mm]

I wouldn’t use it for vodka for the stripping the flavor reason. I started brewing beer 5+ years ago and did all grain from the start. Now that I have gotten into distilling, I am using DME. My my all grain conversion efficiency of 75% to 80% and the cost of grain where I live, using DME is not much more expensive than going all grain, but it is so much faster. I am using DME and sugar to make my staple white dog liquor. I like it but I don’t have a refined palate, it might taste like crap to most people. Lol

I can get 15 gallons of mash put together and yeast pitched in 1.25 to 1.50 hours. My OG is a bit higher than what most people recommend. I aim for 1.088 OG and my FG is 0.995 or 0.996. I use DADY yeast and ferment at 86F. It takes about 3 to 3.5 days for it to finish.

I think it has tons of flavor, probably too much for most people, but like I said, I have no idea, I’m the only one who drinks it. It does like to foam up so watch your temps. When my boiler gets to about 180F I cut the power down to try to stop any foam from getting into the column. I think I read in here where someone does a 30 minute “boil” in the kettle on a low power setting while they wait for the column to equalize. They are basically doing a hot break boil as mentioned above. I am going to try that tomorrow or Thursday once I get my sieve plates built.

If making vodka, I would use less DME since you are going to be stripping out most of the flavor. The DME will give you flavor and some nutrients for the yeast. I also use fermax yeast nutrient in my mash. 1 tablespoon for 7.5 gallons.