Yus live!!! Awesome man! Good info thanks dude, hadnt thought of malting my self. and . . . . you know hobbits are not a real thing right ? Although if you saw may feet you may disagree! haha
@@BeardedBored i love following you and jesse. you guys have taught me alot, and keep me smiling all through my fun times with trials and errors, especially going into all grain.....beers. thank you for everything
I wish I could figure out how to add pictures to this! Have, unsuccessfully, been trying to malt corn since New Years. Watched your vids. Success, first time! Thank you!! Using field corn. I have a home brew store 5 minutes from our place here in Tennessee, and have been buying their malted, flaked corn. Real nice folks. Real proud of their stock. I’m the youngest grandson on both sides of my family. Both sides made their own. They were all too old or dead, and weren’t able to teach me the old ways. My cousins are all happy being respectable citizens and Baptists and don’t care anything about our heritage. I married a Catholic, and I’m trying to learn how the old boys did it, and you’ve gotten me one step further. Thanks, again!
Congrats on the successful malting!!! Glad I could help. I'll take honorable and reliable over somebody else's idea of respectability any day of the week. Good luck on your journey! :-)> p.s.-check out the Barley and Hops Brewing channel for all their great videos on corn whiskey.
Bearded & Bored your awesome man ! I used to put corn in pillow case and soak a day or two then wet it 1-2 times a day. It worked for awhile. Then it stopped working! !! I'm trying your way and it's working GREAT !!!!!! THANK YOU BUDDY !!!
Thanks for the info great videos I am a hobbiest distiller and my first ever alcohol making endeavor was apple jack almost 12 years ago your take was much better then mine I failed horribly but have been making sugar shine for years and have always failed at malting my own corn keep up the great work
Thanks man. It just takes a little practice on the corn. One you get a successful batch done, it's way easier to keep producing good malt, unless you forget to turn it;-)
How’s your corn extract go? Can you post an update or info on how you did it and what you think? We also low carb a lot, but I’d never thought of the need for the extract. How are you using it?
Yes - good videos- very interesting and yes you should carry on with the distillation process- as us from Canada have about the same archaic laws as yourself- I do have a still myself for distilling water ( for beer making), and hand sanitizer with the pandemic- keep up the good work!!
This information is useful for me, thanks. I followed similar process but i stopped it too early i think. I didn't wait to get long sprouts like yours. Mash will consists of 80% barley, 15% wheat and 5% corn. Will find out how it turns out.
Thanks. It's called Harmony by Robbero . If you like the music in any of my videos check the video description for info on the songs. I usually have the info down there:-)>
You're awesome! Thanks so much! Just watched your video. To anyone interested in distilling check out his very detailed video here: ruclips.net/video/4ogQw1YtT7Y/видео.html Great job getting all the details in there, and making the info so clear. Really glad you're doing this series!
What a great video - so full of information. Thank you so much. Everyone just uses commercially available malts and malted grains (not easy to get here). So this old time farmer's method is great for me. Now I can only get un-malted barley. Could I follow your corn process to make malted barley. Do not know if it is 2 or 6 row because it comes as individual barley seeds in a bag (500 g). Thank you for any comments you may give. Have a great day and a better week.
Thomas, you can absolutely use this method for barley. Barley doesn't need to sprout as much to create the amylase enzymes, so when you see a sprout on a barley seed that is about 3/4 as long as the grain, it's time to dry them out. Where as corn shoots need to be at least an inch long before drying. Let me know if you have any questions:-)>
Bruh.. I just read through all 10,000 comments. I’ve also watched 5 minutes of the video so far. I’m now going to ask you a dozen questions that I’m positive you will also answer in the video and have answered at least 400 times before in the comments. Then I’m going to argue with your responses and pull the most hypothetical questions out of my ass for you to answer. Sound like a plan? Seriously, thanks for what you do. Awesome information, and a great STARTING point for cool ideas. I enjoy reading and learning. I don’t know how you have the patience… bless you!
I will. That sounds like a cool thing to try! I've had a few beers with blue corn, but never brewed with it. Thanks for the suggestion. You might see that in an upcoming video;-)>
Good point. I'll get that into the video description, but here is the info. Soaking, air rest and germination temp range can vary from 50F to 75F plus or minus a few degrees.
Hi. Love your channel. I've made your apple cider, now I'm malting corn. Just a quick question. After the 1st soak, the four after that, are they 8 hours each like the 1st? Thank you.
I think my issue is my analyse or not enough water compared to grains, just cooked 10 lbs or corn, got it to gel no problem, added my enzymes from 3 different bottles and 1 bag, let it sit at 155 for 4 hrs burned the heck out of it as well but no conversion whatsoever checking with iodine, so ordering more amalyse from a different vendor
How would you compare the efficiency of using malted corn vs 2 row malted barley? (Cant easily find 6 row) does one break down starches better as to get a higher yield?
Malted barley is waaaaaay more efficient than corn. The diastatic power of malted corn is around 30 when dried(only enough enzyme to convert itself and no additional adjunct grains), or around 100 when used fresh and green. Malted 2-row barley is around 120 dry, and off the charts when fresh and green. Check out my grocery store beer video for more info on that.
Absolutely! The only difference with wheat is that it doesn't require as much time to germinate. The wheat sprouts only need to grow about the length of the grain itself, maybe 1/4 of an inch, then dried. The enzymes develop faster in wheat, similar to barley. Other than that the process is the same:-)>
i followed your instructions and everything seemed to work great. i made a split batch of light lager... one with flaked corn and one with the malted corn. The one with the malted corn didn't seem to contribute any to the original gravity. do you know if the malted corn actually produces sugar for the wort or is it for flavor?
The best I have been able to get is about 1.024 points of gravity doing 2 pounds per gallon of straight malted corn and water. George from the barley and hops channel did a video on a batch I sent him vs. regular cracked corn. His result was pretty similar. The popcorn seems to have less available starch than regular dent corn. With all that said, in my opinion the popcorn has a more complex flavor, but it's more of an adjunct grain. Check out my video here ruclips.net/video/YI9pd7n1G2k/видео.html to see a beer I did with green malted popcorn. I go into the conversion stuff in detail. And here is George's video ruclips.net/video/eLCoZZ5ayvM/видео.html
@@BeardedBored thanks. i was actually trying to make a light lager like one i had @ Zilicoah Brewing in Asheville. They use Riverbend Malting Pilsner and Malted Dent Corn. I picked up the pilsner while i was in town but not the dent corn. that's why i went with the malted popcorn. Regardless, thanks for putting out your video. i'll probably try it again and use it on a different fermented product
I was able to malt corn, i bought white corn (asia market) and popcorn. It worked but i was a bit surprised about the way the malted corn smelled. The smell reminded me of earth i hope its not mold but i couldn't see any and i also tried hard to avoid mold by removing bad seeds and i was also cleaning my corn 2 times a day with fresh water. Is that smell normal?
Oh good! Thanx alot for the info,Because the smell can be easily confused with mold and i was thinking about tossing the whole stuff away! .the smell disappeared when i grinded everything and the mash tasted normal !
Great question. Well, so far I've only malted popcorn, but I want to try field corn next. I think that field corn might have a higher starch content, at least I hope it does. My brewing efficiency is lower than expected, as if I were using less grain than my recipe called for or getting incomplete starch conversion. Might be something wrong with my brew process, which is entirely possible, but I have a suspicion that it's the popcorn. I can't find any research to back this up though, so I plan on doing some tests batches of both field and popcorn to see which works better. That'll be in an upcoming video as the weather cools off enough for me to malt some more corn in the shed. Sorry I don't have a solid answer yet, but I am working on it. Thanks:-)>
Am following your example :) i wonder why to remove the floating grains? Because when i added water in the container, many of the grains were floated. Maybe 1/3 of them ... best regards :)
What I read was the floating grains are spoiled and won't grow, so it is best to remove them. I am not certain why that is. If you try this again and many grains float, you can separate them and try to malt them in another container to see if they are bad, or not.
@@BeardedBored Thx again :) Am french so its not easy to understand all the details but you are a very great teacher :) am sorry to ask another thing but when the four steps are done, you just rinse the grains half a day and put wet towel on them until the roots are twice the kernel? right?
@@lechoppedemeria9323 Yes, that is correct:-) J'utilise Google translate pour cette partie pour plus de clarté. Après avoir terminé les quatre cycles de trempage des grains, vous laissez le grain pousser sous la serviette humide pendant 5 à 7 jours jusqu'à ce que la croissance soit là où vous le souhaitez. Vous devez remuer le grain plusieurs fois par jour pour vous assurer qu'il contient suffisamment d'oxygène. Si vous voyez de la moisissure ou une odeur de bactéries, rincez très bien le grain, puis laissez la serviette pour lui permettre de sécher légèrement. Assurez-vous qu'il n'y a pas d'eau accumulée sous le maïs pendant sa croissance. Vous le voulez légèrement humide, pas mouillé. Veuillez me faire savoir si vous avez d'autres questions sur le maïs de maltage.
@@BeardedBored thx a lot !!! Ive watched the two videos, i know what you said about mold... So i will pay attention to that . I will try to make chicha corn beer with this process. Take care really thx for all :) bearded frenchie brewer
In terms of process, Amylase is foolproof and accurate, whereas malting your own grain is less predictable like it was when our ancestors did it. As far as the flavor difference, honestly it's kind of subjective. Some folks think it makes no difference, but I think it does. Maybe that's my own bias though. I'll have to test that. That said, I really enjoy the process and the "magic" inherent in malting.
Great video man,I'm in south western va and brew shops are hard to come by. So,my question is,How much diastatic power does malted popcorn have? I assume that it's not much different from other malted corn but dk
Very low DP, around 30L. Just enough to convert itself and nothing else. If you have a feed store nearby you can order some seed barley and malt it yourself. I did a video on specialty grains where I malted some from my local feed store. Turned out great:-)
I live in southwest Virginia as well, you can go to a farm store and get 50 pound sacks of corn dirt cheap, like $12 a sack to malt. Also, like bearded and bored mentored, you can get unmalted barley and malt it yourself, or a Southern States supplier 45 minutes away can special order 50 pound sacks of 6 row malted barley late summer, early fall. Just tell them you are making beer or they might not sell it
Great video thanks for sharing! I am just a farmer looking for new avenues to sell my grain other than commercial ag. Have several breweries and distilleries around me. Would it be better to soak the corn to a certain moisture % then run it through my roller mill to create flakes or just malt it? Just looking for what would have more demand.. Thanks!
Great videos! Thanks for taking the time to make them. I was wondering if you know the diastatic power of malted corn? would it have enough power to convert Rice (for an example) if heated together at 155F? or would I need to add amylase as well? Thank you in advance
Hey Glenn. Great question. Malted corn has a really low diastatic power, around 40L. That just enough to convert any starches remaining in the mlated corn, without much, if any, left over. So, you'll want to add enzymes or use some 2-row or 6-row barley to aid in the conversion for the rice.
Very interesting, I really appreciate the response. I posed this question on a moonshine/distilling page & no one really knew. & I could not find the answer anywhere. Thank you again & keep up the great videos! btw, currently malting 2lbs of corn thanks to your videos & so far, they are turning out great! .. Hope I didn´t just jinx them haha
Glad I could help. Malted corn isn't used much anymore since there are more efficient options for getting your enzymes, like malted barley and commercial enzyme mixes. Consequently not too many folks have current info on it. Everything I found came from really old commercial research papers and agricultural reports from decades ago. Congrats on the successful malting! 🙂
Ya, & i am so glad you did get that info. Because I googled everything I could & couldn't find it. The reason I am using Corn instead of Barley, is because of my current location. Barley & Rye are hard to find & expensive to import. Rice & Corn are the easiest grains to find. Wheat is available too. But only in 100lb bags from a feed store. I wanted to mention I steeped the Corn for 16 hours the first cycle step. Then went to the 8 hour cycle like on your video. It actually started to chit on the 3rd steep cycle. So 16 soaking. 8 drying, 8 soaking, 8 drying, & 8 soaking & chit was visible. I went directly to the pan with the wet towel over it. & it is sprouting nicely. I read a 24 hour steep should be done first. So I went with a hybrid of yours & what I read somewhere. Worked out well. The humid climate here might also have helped the process.
It's the tinkering and tweaking of these projects that I really enjoy. You can learn new stuff each time. In your first malting you've already got some good results that speak to your environmental factors. I agree that humidity is big one. You may have a quicker sprouting time also, but a longer air drying time (depends on how warm it is in your area). Keep us updated on how it progresses. This might really help some other folks with similar conditions. Thanks for sharing:-)>
Do you think 12 hours of soaking and 12 hours of drying wood work with my work schedule I can't do the 8 hour soak and dry? When you stir your corn do you prefer to do it when it's soaking or drying and Do you know any tricks to knock the roots off of wet/green malt? Thanks
12 hour stretches is fine. You may be able to get done soaking after 3 rounds. Stir the corn when it's drained. That's when it needs the air flow. For knocking the roots and shoots off green malt just dump it in a colander and work it by hand, rolling it between your palms and generally abusing it until they all fall off. Should be pretty easy since the roots tend to snap off without much effort. If you make something with green malt please let us know how it turns out. I've read that it can leave a grassy taste in your wort, but haven't verified that myself. I'm very interested to hear about it. Thanks!
I malted, then used corn & sprouts, dried then ground all. all in a bucket Also used white-corn & Rye to make whiteligthen.distilled 3 times for XXX. it worked!I wonder if thats whatPpopcorn Sutton used. IE POPCORN
Absolutely. Actually there is 2 to 3 times as much enzyme and diastatic power to convert starches to sugars in the wet malt (also called green malt) as opposed to the dry malt. However, there are 2 reasons why it's usually dried first. 1. It's easier to get the roots and shoots off of the grains once they're dry. 2. If you use wet malt with the shoots still on the grain, I've read that it can add an unpleasant grassy flavor to the finished product that will transfer though to your mash. I haven't used wet malt yet so I don't know how strong the flavor is. I'll do a video about it in the fall since I've had several questions about it. Too hot in the shed to malt corn right now:-( If you try it, let us know.
Thanks man. I've jus started to sprout corn and I ruined my first batch. Second batch was much better but i think I over sprouted the corn😂😂I'm gonna try your way next here in ireland. Love your work🍺🍺
@@leebridges2540 Check out my green malt grocery store vid. I go over some new stuff on corn malt. Also, my malt tumbler vid may be helpful if you plan on malting more than a few times. Good luck:-)
I used TurboKleer on one brew and cold crashed several others. Turbokleer worked better for me since it made a pretty dense layer that stayed on the bottom without being disturbed. I'll probably do that again for really cloudy stuff.
What kind of gravity do you get just from the malted corn? Guess I'm going to have to try my hand at this and find out what a corn beer tastes like! Thanks for the info.
How did you stop the malting process? Smoke? Do you grind the corn up to meal afterwards? How long is the corn viable for use after having been malted?
You can, but I've never tried it. I've read several times that it can leave a grassy taste in your beer, or even make it through distillation into liquor. I may try it some day just to see what happens:-)
The level of enzyme present in corn is really low. There is usually just enough to convert itself and nothing else. But it is still a good idea if you add a little enzyme, just to make sure you get full conversion. If you don't have any, you can always try mashing overnight in an ice chest to maintain the temperature.
Think I'm going to just skip the malting step and just add amylase then. Going for a mash that's as close to full corn as possible. Is there a way I can DM you? I made a google dox step by step from notes from barley and hops vids 😂. Any input would be much appreciated! 😁
@@JoshWhitford91 You can email me, but I don't think I can add anything that George hasn't covered. But if you have questions, let me know. My email address is on my "about" link of my channel page.
If it gets moldy you need to dump it in the trash. Sorry to say that, but it's not safe to use moldy corn for anything. I've had to dump out batches myself. If you don't turn the corn enough, and if it's too warm then it is more likely to grow mold. Good luck on the next batch:-)
@@brucegustafson8382 Ohh, I thought you meant the whole thing. Try to just scoop out the bad stuff and the corn around and under it. Give it all a thorough rinse several times and drain completely for an hour. Sanitize the tray you're using before putting the drained corn back into it. If it finishes malting without growing more mold, then you're ok.
Ok thanks . I malt in very small batches. Two big trays like in your malting Video, just enough corn to cover the bottom of the trays. I’ve done it twice now. Do you still need to mill you’re corn after you malted it or is the grain open enough all ready after malting?
@@brucegustafson8382 You still need to mill it to allow the mash water to access as much of it as possible for mash efficiency. Corn is usually too big for a standard grain mill, so you may need to bust it up in a blender first.
Germinating corn has the same result as germinating barley. It produces the malt enzymes to help break down the starches into sugars inside the grain so they can be fermented.
got some q's and suggestions 1)this produces enzymes as well as yeast so you dont need to add yeast is this correct? 2)malting also produces sugar in the grain,i am wondering why not let it sprout longer and get as much sugar yield from a grain then simply kiln that to your liking or start fermenting and not bother worrying about having the enzyme to convert adjunct? 3)would it still have natural yeast if done like that in #2? 4) i suppose it takes more malted corn that way and you simply trying to use small batches of malted corn in order to convert adjunct corn is that right? 5) what is the lowest temp you can safely use to dry the corn without killing the enzymes or yeast? 6)can you use distilled water? 7)you said the shoots need to be about 80% length of the corn but they went way past that?
Thanks for the great questions. Keeping me on my toes;-) 1. The malting doesn't produce yeast, but since yeast is floating in the air everywhere some will naturally be on the corn. The problem with relying exclusively on this wild yeast instead of a commercially cultivated variety is that it can be pretty inconsistent in it's performance. Depending on what was drifting by you may get a really weak yeast that doesn't produce more than 1% or 2% alcohol before it craps out, or you may get a yeast that can produce some really bad flavors like sulfur. In the old days the moonshiners would generally rely on nature, which leave all your hard work to chance. I like using a good quality commercial distillers yeast, champagne yeast or ale yeast because I know how well it'll perform. There are a lot of variable in the whole process, so if I can remove one I'm happy to do it. 2. You can let the malt continue to grow and produce more sugar, but it'll always leave some starch behind, and if you use up all the enzyme for growth, then there is nothing left to convert the starch. It'll work, but you're losing out on a lot of potential alcohol in that unconverted starch. 3. If you kiln dry the grain it'll kill off any natural yeast. 4. Actually the conversion power (diastatic power) of malted corn is one of the lowest compared to malted barely. It only has enough enzyme to convert itself, the remaining starches within the malted grains. If you add unmalted grain you'll need to use some malted barley (20% of your grain bill) to convert the other adjuncts. 5. A safe drying temp is below 120F. The alpha amylase is pretty touchy. 6. Yes, you can definitely use distilled water. 7. 80% length of the grain for barley, but corn shoots need to be about an inch long. I was all over the place in that video;-)
i really appreciate you taking the time to answer each numbered question the way i had it down,,i been going nuts trying to figure out how to calculate how much malted barley 6 row to use for conversion,,seems like i cant find such info much on vids or in search,,i know its got a 160 lit but how to calculate how much of it i need for whatever amounts of adjuncts im using,,if i got it right it only needs 30 lit to convert itself leaving 130 for the unmalted grains but is 160/lb or whatever amount? so if im using 2lbs of adj then how much mb would i use? ,,also i need your help with this beer i been trying to brew ,lots of problems,ended up using almost half pound mb for 2lbs of adj and i still dont think it was converting very well and i think i must be doing something wrong cause it got very messy in the bag,i do not see ppl going through the same mess and problems i have
The rule of thumb is 20% of your mash bill needs to be 2-row or 6-row barley. So if you have 10 pound total or 10000 pounds total grain weight, 20% of that needs to be malted barley. For your beer recipe, since I'm not an expert I highly recommend checking out r/homebrewing on reddit. Post your recipe and problem and some of the smart dudes over there will sort you out. I love that forum:-)
ok great because 20% sounds about right,i think for the 2lbs i had i ended up using about almost half a pound of my mb i think i used exactly about .4lb so it sounds right,but am i adding 20% to the bill or am i replacing 20% with mb??
also i think the guy at my brewshop was either trying to scam me or he was clueless because he did mention 20% but he was saying it will only convert 20% of my bill and he was telling me i needed to buy many more pounds of the mb,,so either he had it wrong in what the 20% or he was trying to get me to buy more for my 2lb bill(and i already told him i was only doing a small 1 gal batch using 2lbs)
Can you do that with chicken feed cause its cheap as hell? Although sounds like a dumb question cause I can always try it myself. Some people say it has oils but if their was a processing method I’m sure it would be great as long the flavor was at least half way good.
Most chicken feed is cracked or crushed corn. You can't malt crushed grain. The grains must be whole for malting to be successful. I wouldn't use anything that has any additives like oils. Read the label or research the brand before you buy a big bag of it;-)
@@BeardedBored nice! Thanks for the info! I will try this and subscribe to your channel! It's hard to do home brewing in the Philippines since it's hard to get access malted barley and hops here. This helped me a lot. Thank so much! 😀
Unless the law changed recently, as far as I've read on the TABC website distilling for personal consumption is illegal in Texas, however you can brew 200 gallons of beer and wine. If you are sure, please share the link to the applicable Texas law. Thanks.
That's a great question! The short answer is "Nope. Yeast=fermentation." But I've heard that too. "Don't use yeast, just let the malt do it." That's a common misconception that came from the old timers who made moonshine in the woods and really didn't understand that fermentation does not happen without yeast. What they meant was that they didn't add store-bought yeast to their mashes. What they didn't know at the time, but we've since figured out, is that the malting process exposes the grain to the elements where it collects wild yeast from the air. Those wild yeast then propagate when they're exposed to the sugar in the grain wash. The problem with wild yeast fermentation is that there is no way to have a reliable rate of fermentation, or a consistent result from batch to batch since there are literally thousands of types of yeast floating around at any given time. Each strain has different levels of alcohol tolerance, flavor byproducts, etc. You may get a great whiskey one time, but then the wind changes and your next batch is different. The main reason we always add cultivated yeast to a mash is to overwhelm any wild yeast so we get consistency and reliability. I'm happy to answer any other questions. Thanks so much for watching:-)>
Bearded & Bored I think I would have added to this that the process of sprouting/malting creates natural amylase enzymes that break the long term storage of starch into useable sugar. But that’s just me and what I have read and watched on the subject. Not an expert by any means.
@@alexaxline6093 really ? You honestly believe your enlightening the group or the comment section? Your last line was something like " Im no expert" or whatever. That being understood, why you feel the need to or believe there is a need, for your "constructive criticism" is beyond me. The reason folks end up watching this mans channel ( thought it was common knowledge but obviously not) is because his colleagues happen to be the most knowledgeable guys on youtube on this particular subject. You arent scoring any points by stating the obvious or trying to 1 up people that obviously know what they are doing. You are just another keyboard warrior which everybody rolls there eyes @ when reading your enlightening constructive criticism. Stay in your lane pal
@@jayschumann92 not sure what triggered you with YOUR snowflake feelings about my comment. But I am truly sorry about that, but as Forrest Gump said "stupid is as stupid does". So what does your ripping me for my comment, do to help the person who originally asked a question about malted grain and fermentation. If the question i am asking is unclear here How is you be-rating me helping?
You can use natural yeast. From apple peelings and other fruit in a pinch. The issue is its wildly inconsistent and can add any number of unexpected flavors. You still need yeast as mentioned though.
Ok, so how much mould is too much when malting barley? Haha I have bought all the parts to make a "robot" but was too impatient and may have tried to malt too much at once without proper circulation, or I might have steeped for too long. The tips of the barley are starting to mould so I guess I have to bin it? It's for whiskey so will be distilled...
A tiny bit of mold on the tips of the kernels isn't too bad, but if you get a slimy coating, or if it stinks, it's time to throw it out. If the sprouting hasn't started you can try rinsing the grain in a little StarSan solution to kill anything, then drain it, and stir it every 6-8 hours. Don't spray it down with anymore water for at least 24 hours to give it time to air out a little.
@@BeardedBored Yeah, she's starting to smell pretty funky. Ok well that's a learning curve, oh well guess I better put this malter together and go again. Thanks again for the help
@@Josh-e2l Yeah, dump it. You'll remember that smell, LoL. It's quite distinctive. Definitely part of every maltsters education. Good luck on the next one. Scale back to 2 or 3 pounds for the first run, just so you have a greater chance of success and learn what to look for at each stage of the process;-)
@@belczyk If you're using commercial enzymes with any grain, you don't need malt. Malting produces the necessary enzymes, but if you're going to add commercial enzymes then there is no need to malt the grain.
100F or lower is the safest temp for drying. I haven't made an all malted corn beer yet, but I'm hopping to get that done this summer:-) There is a Mexican beer style called chicha that is sometimes made with 100% malted corn if you want to do some research in the meantime.
Hey, just subscribed and watching your videos. I used to home brew. My question to you is; do you use a hydrometer to measure your specific gravity/alchol content? Can you add additional sugars to increase alcohol content without effecting taste/flavor? Thanks, Happy Trails
Yes I use a hydrometer on every batch, even if I'm not adding sugar, so that I can calculate the alcohol content from the data points. As far as flavor, it depends. If you add sugar you won't change the flavor much until you push over 10%abv. After that the yeast will start to throw off some stronger flavors. What sort of abv range are you looking for, and what recipe?
@@BeardedBoredgreat video very helpful. I am using 50kg sugar in a 250 Ltr mix of lemon and ginger. Getting about 12% ABV. Thinking of reducing the sugar to 20kg and adding malted corn to provide additional sugars. What quantity of malted would be ideal to get to higher ABV say 16%
@@BeardedBored That's what I figured. Just have about 80lbs worth of frozen ruby queen and suntava purple. Guess I'll have to dry it next year instead of freezing.
@@BeardedBored Yeah I've done the cooking to gelatinization process before with barley malt, rye,, and fresh corn. Just wasn't 100% sure I couldn't malt corn without drying it to avoid the barley.
Yep. Works pretty much the same. The initial root may appear a little sooner since the kernels aren't as hard as popcorn, so keep an eye out for that and move to the next stage early if necessary.
Sorry for the delay Nick. I didn't get a notification of your replies. It's possible the popcorn you bought had been heat treated to sterilize it. Doesn't take much heat, but it's enough to prevent germination. Good idea testing it out with the paper towel method! Glad you got some regular corn to germinate:-)>
Bearded: Any specific reason why you wouldn't malt yellow corn that comes in a 50lb sack from a local hardware or feed store? Here in North Florida (near Tallahassee, FL) we've got 50lb sacks at places like ACE Hardware and other misc stores that sell feed, for around 6.99 a bag. Just wondering ASSUMING you've got similar access to this at these prices why you'd still choose to pay the same price for a lot less in popcorn kernels? This is a honest question..obvious assumption is lack of access to bulk quantities?
Good question. Actually I have easy access to feed corn in Walmart and the various feed stores around here. The main reason I went with popcorn was so anyone, anywhere could do it if they have access to a grocery store. Also, I only needed to malt a few pounds at a time due to space and didn't want to store the rest of a 50 bag. I've done feed corn too and it works just as well for malting:-)>
Yep, but you can play around with it. Try 3 soaks and see if it's chitting. If you see the tiny white chits then you can drain it and go to the wet towel covering. I'm working on a video right now that makes the process easier. Should have it out soon.
ive seen people in videos make moonshine but they never talk about the corn being malted. they don't add alpha or beta amylase though either. They do add lots of extra sugar. Some of them specify using cracked or flaked corn. This confuses me Im not challenging you. I'm just trying to learn the process and hoping you can maybe clear up my confusion there.
I had the exact same questions when I started researching this a few years ago. Here's the run down. The most common "corn whiskey" recipe for hobbyists is really just corn flavored sugar water fermented into what is referred to as a "sugarhead" wash. There is no conversion with enzymes, or even cooking for that matter. It gives a weak flavor, but it's easy. My buddy Jesse at the Still It channel tested the most popular of these recipes, called UJSSM. It makes a butterscotchy spirit with a little corn flavor hidden in there. But you get more flavor and a better overall spirit if you actually malt or use enzymes to convert the grain. Typical bourbon recipe is 80% corn, with 20% malted barley to handle the conversion of the entire grain bill. Cracked corn is just corn that has been slightly crushed, no malting, no cooking, no conversion. Flaked corn has been steamed and rolled and pressed into flakes, so at the very least the starch inside the kernels has been gelatinized. Malted corn does not need to be gelatinized and can simply be mashed at 150F for an hour. This hobby is a rabbit hole of research. Check out the Still It Channel, Barley and Hops Brewing with George, and homedistiller(dot)org. Have fun:-)
@@BeardedBored thank you, that cleared up my confusion. Its such an interesting subject, so much stuff to learn. Ive watched still it. Yours and his channel are the two ive watched the most. I will go look for that video!! Thank you again, I feel less confused now!!
Bearded and bored here i am in Mexico if you want to pártner up, i can get corn, perhaps several tons. Planning to open a distilery Also we can buy agave. Mexico is the place, créate a brand and sell on the internet like Many people do
The only thing I have available RIGHT NOW to try to convert is rice, or would you recommend that pearl barley? I will have time to get that. I'll also need to free up a fermenter... or could I just make a NEW one? Hmmm...
@@mrpieceofwork Rice will not malt like any other grain. It's pretty tricky. All the Asian countries that make rice wine don't even bother with malting rice. They use a special mold to convert starches to sugar. Pearl barley is stripped of its husk and seed germ so it won't malt either. Best bet is to get some feed corn or popcorn:-)
I meant malt the corn, then use that to also convert the starches from rice, like you did with the barley. I looked it up, and it's a process called cereal mashing, which apparently is seldom done now as it's a PITA (to me, at least) and as there are much easier ways to obtain the same results. I'll def. malt the corn, though, just... because. LOL
Absolutely. The timing can be a little different since the kernel is a tiny bit softer than the popcorn kernel, so examine it closely after the 3rd soak to see if there is any rootlet growth. You'll probably still need 4 soaks, but I've had feed corn root after 3.
@@BeardedBored and I'm making corn beer with hops that infested my yard from 10 or so years ago when my uncle's planted some and took over and making yeast from my Concord grapes I have hoping I can make a starter that way
I am a little fuzzy on the soaking times. You said to soak the corn for 8 hours. Then drain the corn, and let it sit under a moist towel for 8 hours. Then you repeat this 4 more times. So that is 40 hours of soaking, and 40 hours of letting it drain under a moist town. That's roughly 3 and a half days of soaking and draining before you spread it all out to sprout under moist paper towels for 10-15 days. Is that correct? I'm asking, because I've seen other videos that say to soak it for 24 hours. Then change the water, and soak it again for another 24 hours... then begin to sprout it in a thin layer on trays under wet paper towels. Your method has a lot more time out of the water. Your method seem to work. I just want to make sure I understood what all you said.
Mike, Sorry if the timing was a bit murky. First video-itis;-) It actually takes about 2.5 days since it's 4 cycles of 8 on/8 off. There are various methods that I tried out, including the long soak you mentioned. The method I use gives me a higher germination rate. I get between 70%-80% germination consistently. Using longer soak times tended to give me lower rates. Not sure why. Though I have not tried using corn from a feed store, only popcorn. The longer soak times may be more appropriate for regular feed corn. I'll have to test that. The actual sprouting after your last soak takes about 3-4 days, depending on the ambient temp around the corn. The colder it is, the longer it takes to germinate. My corn was in an 80F degree shed so it finished in 3 days. I wouldn't go much warmer than that though. Too much heat can kill the sprouts, and has a tendency to encourage mold and bacterial growth. The drying takes 2 days over the fan and a few more hours in the clothes dryer to finish it off. Total time from first soak to completed drying is 7.5 to 8.5 days. It's definitely not a quick project, but worth it:-) Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks!
Thanks man! It looks like I'm going to be doing a hybrid of the two methods. I bought some popcorn and soaked it in water overnight. I forgot to drain it this morning. So it will be soaking for 24 hours. Then I guess I will let it drain under a moist towel tonight, and then do another 8 hour soak. etc. etc. As far as the feed store corn vs. popcorn debate goes... I think that popcorn maaaay just be better for making ethynol than feed corn. I know that popcorn companies use those varieties of corn as "popcorn" because that species pops the largest and makes the fluffiest, largest, kernels of popcorn. This tells me that it must have the most startch, and the least fiber, fat, and other stuff. I could be wrong. Do you know of any resource where one might find out which variety/species of corn has the most fermentable starch/sugars and or the most corn flavor?
That should do just fine. I'd give it 2 soaks of 8 hours with 2 drains of 8 hours. That should be plenty. After the second draining is done look to see if there are any chits forming (little white tails). If so, you can go ahead with the rest of the germination. If not, then give it one more soak. Your idea about popcorn having more starch is interesting. I did some googling to see what I could find as far as starch content by corn variety. Lots of research papers out there, but I didn't find a chart or anything to give a quick answer. I read that dent corn (feed corn) has a larger ratio of starch to sugar and is the variety most used by the ethanol industry, and sweet corn (table corn) has a higher ratio of sugar to starch, but not sure how they measure up to popcorn in the starch department. I did learn that the other varieties don't pop well due to the make up of the kernel and the moisture content, but no info on starch levels by comparison. If you find anything let me know. Really fascinating stuff:-) As to getting a good flavor...since home distilling is illegal in the United States I'm not advocating you distill your own alcohol. Hypothetically though, a combination of malted corn and flaked corn, and smaller portion of malted barley (20 to 30% of the mash) could...in theory...make a really good mash that would yield a very tasty distillate....hypothetically speaking, of course.
It's still illegal at the Federal level. Even though your state government is awesome and wise, the feds are still behind the times. It's the same as weed being legal in Colorado. I can't move to Missouri, but it sure is tempting;-)
I assume once it's sprouted well enough I can crush it and make a mash without drying it out? Are there any bad flavors that would hitchhike on the sprout/root if I heat it to 155F? This would be for a distilled product.
It can be a bit grassy, but if you boil it for 20 minutes after you finish the mash conversion that smell will go away. The flavor can follow through to a distillate so don't skip that step;-)
My first attempt failed miserably, it went from the freshest corn smell I've ever smelled, to stinking badly. Not that I've rewatched this video,I think I know where I screwed up and am back to the drawing board!
Yep..."fuel" for my lawn mower. The fuel permit is a technical loophole, but you have to agree to let them search your property anytime without a warrant. I'll pass:-)
Yus live!!! Awesome man!
Good info thanks dude, hadnt thought of malting my self.
and . . . . you know hobbits are not a real thing right ? Although if you saw may feet you may disagree! haha
Don't say that about Hobbits. You're crushing my dreams!
Ahhhh Im sorry! Dont worry the legal distilling is still real though.
Well then, all is right with the world again:-)
@@BeardedBored You guts crack me up!!😂😂
@@BeardedBored i love following you and jesse. you guys have taught me alot, and keep me smiling all through my fun times with trials and errors, especially going into all grain.....beers. thank you for everything
I wish I could figure out how to add pictures to this!
Have, unsuccessfully, been trying to malt corn since New Years.
Watched your vids. Success, first time! Thank you!! Using field corn.
I have a home brew store 5 minutes from our place here in Tennessee, and have been buying their malted, flaked corn. Real nice folks. Real proud of their stock.
I’m the youngest grandson on both sides of my family. Both sides made their own. They were all too old or dead, and weren’t able to teach me the old ways. My cousins are all happy being respectable citizens and Baptists and don’t care anything about our heritage.
I married a Catholic, and I’m trying to learn how the old boys did it, and you’ve gotten me one step further. Thanks, again!
Congrats on the successful malting!!! Glad I could help. I'll take honorable and reliable over somebody else's idea of respectability any day of the week. Good luck on your journey! :-)> p.s.-check out the Barley and Hops Brewing channel for all their great videos on corn whiskey.
What’s store in Tennessee man I need to go there
Bearded & Bored your awesome man ! I used to put corn in pillow case and soak a day or two then wet it 1-2 times a day. It worked for awhile. Then it stopped working! !! I'm trying your way and it's working GREAT !!!!!! THANK YOU BUDDY !!!
Glad it's working for you!
Great informative video. So many malted videos are a waste of time because they don't go into any detail. Yours is the best.
Thanks Jack!
Thanks Bearded, Watching this video again for refresher, going to malt some corn and roast on my pellet smoker.
Sounds awesome. Let me know how it turns out:-)
Well done. I'm in New Zealand where hobby distilling is not illegal like US. Now I would like to try malting the corn.
Thanks for the info great videos I am a hobbiest distiller and my first ever alcohol making endeavor was apple jack almost 12 years ago your take was much better then mine I failed horribly but have been making sugar shine for years and have always failed at malting my own corn keep up the great work
Thanks man. It just takes a little practice on the corn. One you get a successful batch done, it's way easier to keep producing good malt, unless you forget to turn it;-)
Thanks man cant wait for the weekend to start part two!
I'm going to make corn extract for low carb baking. A tiny bottle is $20. Thanks for the video!
Interesting:-)
How’s your corn extract go? Can you post an update or info on how you did it and what you think? We also low carb a lot, but I’d never thought of the need for the extract. How are you using it?
Yes - good videos- very interesting and yes you should carry on with the distillation process- as us from Canada have about the same archaic laws as yourself- I do have a still myself for distilling water ( for beer making), and hand sanitizer with the pandemic- keep up the good work!!
Thanks!
This information is useful for me, thanks. I followed similar process but i stopped it too early i think. I didn't wait to get long sprouts like yours. Mash will consists of 80% barley, 15% wheat and 5% corn. Will find out how it turns out.
Definitely keep me posted:-)
I like that tune when you sprouted the popcorn
Thanks. It's called Harmony by Robbero . If you like the music in any of my videos check the video description for info on the songs. I usually have the info down there:-)>
Mash, ferment, rack & crash for corn wine....
Distill for single malt "Bourbon". Thumbs up!
Couldn't have said it better. Thanks Big Ed!
Hey man, I ended up recommending this video on my latest one! Keep up the great work!
You're awesome! Thanks so much! Just watched your video. To anyone interested in distilling check out his very detailed video here: ruclips.net/video/4ogQw1YtT7Y/видео.html Great job getting all the details in there, and making the info so clear. Really glad you're doing this series!
Thanks man!
I'm making whiskey thanks for the tips. Greetings from Germany.
I'm glad I could help:-)
@@BeardedBored I to are GERMAN. Thankful proud of you
Skol
I love making beer. My favourites are Whiskey Lager and German Münshiner.
You are making me re-think my moonshine recipe. In a good way. Cheers!
Experimentation is part of the fun:-)
Great video. What's the purpose of letting it drain for 8 hours in between the 8 hour soakings?
It allows necessary oxygen into the seeds.
Also, I'm doing a small batch in a mason jar with a sprouting lid.
Fun:-)
Great work man
What a great video - so full of information. Thank you so much. Everyone just uses commercially available malts and malted grains (not easy to get here). So this old time farmer's method is great for me. Now I can only get un-malted barley. Could I follow your corn process to make malted barley. Do not know if it is 2 or 6 row because it comes as individual barley seeds in a bag (500 g). Thank you for any comments you may give. Have a great day and a better week.
Thomas, you can absolutely use this method for barley. Barley doesn't need to sprout as much to create the amylase enzymes, so when you see a sprout on a barley seed that is about 3/4 as long as the grain, it's time to dry them out. Where as corn shoots need to be at least an inch long before drying. Let me know if you have any questions:-)>
Bruh.. I just read through all 10,000 comments. I’ve also watched 5 minutes of the video so far. I’m now going to ask you a dozen questions that I’m positive you will also answer in the video and have answered at least 400 times before in the comments. Then I’m going to argue with your responses and pull the most hypothetical questions out of my ass for you to answer. Sound like a plan?
Seriously, thanks for what you do. Awesome information, and a great STARTING point for cool ideas. I enjoy reading and learning. I don’t know how you have the patience… bless you!
You can also go to your local farm supply store and get a 50 pound sack for like $12
Err..., feed store corn isn’t malted.
So there’s that.
You're the man Bearded love the videos
Thanks!
@@BeardedBored It's cool to learn your Jedi ways
How deep should the corn be in the pan during germination?
1 to 2 inches deep.
Love organic corn in my beers! Try purple (blue) sometime.
I will. That sounds like a cool thing to try! I've had a few beers with blue corn, but never brewed with it. Thanks for the suggestion. You might see that in an upcoming video;-)>
Very clear and straightful, thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful:-)
man could you give hints about choosing the corn grains properly to get better rate of sprouts?
So what would the difference be if the roots are little nubs vs inch long in sugars starches and enzymes?
Technically there should be more enzyme production and consequently more starch converted to sugar the longer they get...up to a point of course.
What would you say is the optimum temperature for the sprouting?
55F is great to keep mold down, but it's never that cold in my garage. I usually have great results at 75F.
Maybe try adding some info on temperature for the soaking, air rest and germination. Keep up the good work! Brew on.
Good point. I'll get that into the video description, but here is the info. Soaking, air rest and germination temp range can vary from 50F to 75F plus or minus a few degrees.
Perfect technique.
Thank you!
Hi. Love your channel. I've made your apple cider, now I'm malting corn. Just a quick question. After the 1st soak, the four after that, are they 8 hours each like the 1st?
Thank you.
Yep, 8 hour soak, 8 hour air rest. Total of 4 soaks.
@@BeardedBored thank you very much.
I think my issue is my analyse or not enough water compared to grains, just cooked 10 lbs or corn, got it to gel no problem, added my enzymes from 3 different bottles and 1 bag, let it sit at 155 for 4 hrs burned the heck out of it as well but no conversion whatsoever checking with iodine, so ordering more amalyse from a different vendor
That sucks. Hope you get some good stuff.
do you have to dry the sprouted corn or can you go straight to grinding and then cooking
Check out my "Grocery store beer" video where I use green malt. Few things you need to know before using live malt.
How warm is too warm for germination?
60F(15C) to 75F(24C) is the best range. Above 80F and it becomes more favorable for bacteria and mold.
How would you compare the efficiency of using malted corn vs 2 row malted barley? (Cant easily find 6 row) does one break down starches better as to get a higher yield?
Malted barley is waaaaaay more efficient than corn. The diastatic power of malted corn is around 30 when dried(only enough enzyme to convert itself and no additional adjunct grains), or around 100 when used fresh and green. Malted 2-row barley is around 120 dry, and off the charts when fresh and green. Check out my grocery store beer video for more info on that.
I know this may be a stupid question but between soak and drain do you change the water?
Not a stupid question. Definitely use fresh water each time to help keep bacteria from taking hold:-)
@@BeardedBoredBored thank you and thanks for the fast reply. you are a great help
Wonder if you could do the same thing with wheat berries, to make sprouted wheat flour??
Absolutely! The only difference with wheat is that it doesn't require as much time to germinate. The wheat sprouts only need to grow about the length of the grain itself, maybe 1/4 of an inch, then dried. The enzymes develop faster in wheat, similar to barley. Other than that the process is the same:-)>
@@BeardedBored: hey, thanks bud!!
i followed your instructions and everything seemed to work great. i made a split batch of light lager... one with flaked corn and one with the malted corn. The one with the malted corn didn't seem to contribute any to the original gravity. do you know if the malted corn actually produces sugar for the wort or is it for flavor?
The best I have been able to get is about 1.024 points of gravity doing 2 pounds per gallon of straight malted corn and water. George from the barley and hops channel did a video on a batch I sent him vs. regular cracked corn. His result was pretty similar. The popcorn seems to have less available starch than regular dent corn. With all that said, in my opinion the popcorn has a more complex flavor, but it's more of an adjunct grain. Check out my video here ruclips.net/video/YI9pd7n1G2k/видео.html to see a beer I did with green malted popcorn. I go into the conversion stuff in detail. And here is George's video ruclips.net/video/eLCoZZ5ayvM/видео.html
@@BeardedBored thanks. i was actually trying to make a light lager like one i had @ Zilicoah Brewing in Asheville. They use Riverbend Malting Pilsner and Malted Dent Corn. I picked up the pilsner while i was in town but not the dent corn. that's why i went with the malted popcorn. Regardless, thanks for putting out your video. i'll probably try it again and use it on a different fermented product
I was able to malt corn, i bought white corn (asia market) and popcorn. It worked but i was a bit surprised about the way the malted corn smelled. The smell reminded me of earth i hope its not mold but i couldn't see any and i also tried hard to avoid mold by removing bad seeds and i was also cleaning my corn 2 times a day with fresh water. Is that smell normal?
Yes, completely normal:-)
Oh good! Thanx alot for the info,Because the smell can be easily confused with mold and i was thinking about tossing the whole stuff away! .the smell disappeared when i grinded everything and the mash tasted normal !
so many different corns, field corn, popcorn,etc, which is best?
Great question. Well, so far I've only malted popcorn, but I want to try field corn next. I think that field corn might have a higher starch content, at least I hope it does. My brewing efficiency is lower than expected, as if I were using less grain than my recipe called for or getting incomplete starch conversion. Might be something wrong with my brew process, which is entirely possible, but I have a suspicion that it's the popcorn. I can't find any research to back this up though, so I plan on doing some tests batches of both field and popcorn to see which works better. That'll be in an upcoming video as the weather cools off enough for me to malt some more corn in the shed. Sorry I don't have a solid answer yet, but I am working on it. Thanks:-)>
@@BeardedBoreddo you pluck the kernels off freesh
@@flatearth5033 No. The corn must be dried before you can malt it.
@@BeardedBoredthanku
I will tried this one for sure...
Thanks for sharing.... Sharing is caring... Cheers 😊😊
Am following your example :) i wonder why to remove the floating grains? Because when i added water in the container, many of the grains were floated. Maybe 1/3 of them ... best regards :)
What I read was the floating grains are spoiled and won't grow, so it is best to remove them. I am not certain why that is. If you try this again and many grains float, you can separate them and try to malt them in another container to see if they are bad, or not.
@@BeardedBored Thx again :) Am french so its not easy to understand all the details but you are a very great teacher :) am sorry to ask another thing but when the four steps are done, you just rinse the grains half a day and put wet towel on them until the roots are twice the kernel? right?
@@lechoppedemeria9323 Yes, that is correct:-) J'utilise Google translate pour cette partie pour plus de clarté. Après avoir terminé les quatre cycles de trempage des grains, vous laissez le grain pousser sous la serviette humide pendant 5 à 7 jours jusqu'à ce que la croissance soit là où vous le souhaitez. Vous devez remuer le grain plusieurs fois par jour pour vous assurer qu'il contient suffisamment d'oxygène. Si vous voyez de la moisissure ou une odeur de bactéries, rincez très bien le grain, puis laissez la serviette pour lui permettre de sécher légèrement. Assurez-vous qu'il n'y a pas d'eau accumulée sous le maïs pendant sa croissance. Vous le voulez légèrement humide, pas mouillé. Veuillez me faire savoir si vous avez d'autres questions sur le maïs de maltage.
@@BeardedBored thx a lot !!! Ive watched the two videos, i know what you said about mold... So i will pay attention to that . I will try to make chicha corn beer with this process. Take care really thx for all :) bearded frenchie brewer
@@lechoppedemeria9323 Bonne chance!
Very cool.is it more worth it as opposed to just adding amylase to your mash?
In terms of process, Amylase is foolproof and accurate, whereas malting your own grain is less predictable like it was when our ancestors did it. As far as the flavor difference, honestly it's kind of subjective. Some folks think it makes no difference, but I think it does. Maybe that's my own bias though. I'll have to test that. That said, I really enjoy the process and the "magic" inherent in malting.
Thanks for the great tutorial.
Thanks:-)
Great video man,I'm in south western va and brew shops are hard to come by. So,my question is,How much diastatic power does malted popcorn have? I assume that it's not much different from other malted corn but dk
Very low DP, around 30L. Just enough to convert itself and nothing else. If you have a feed store nearby you can order some seed barley and malt it yourself. I did a video on specialty grains where I malted some from my local feed store. Turned out great:-)
I live in southwest Virginia as well, you can go to a farm store and get 50 pound sacks of corn dirt cheap, like $12 a sack to malt. Also, like bearded and bored mentored, you can get unmalted barley and malt it yourself, or a Southern States supplier 45 minutes away can special order 50 pound sacks of 6 row malted barley late summer, early fall. Just tell them you are making beer or they might not sell it
Great video thanks for sharing! I am just a farmer looking for new avenues to sell my grain other than commercial ag. Have several breweries and distilleries around me. Would it be better to soak the corn to a certain moisture % then run it through my roller mill to create flakes or just malt it? Just looking for what would have more demand.. Thanks!
The best thing to do is ask the breweries what they need before you invest any time or money into either. Sorry I can't be more helpful.
Great videos! Thanks for taking the time to make them. I was wondering if you know the diastatic power of malted corn? would it have enough power to convert Rice (for an example) if heated together at 155F? or would I need to add amylase as well? Thank you in advance
Hey Glenn. Great question. Malted corn has a really low diastatic power, around 40L. That just enough to convert any starches remaining in the mlated corn, without much, if any, left over. So, you'll want to add enzymes or use some 2-row or 6-row barley to aid in the conversion for the rice.
Very interesting, I really appreciate the response. I posed this question on a moonshine/distilling page & no one really knew. & I could not find the answer anywhere. Thank you again & keep up the great videos! btw, currently malting 2lbs of corn thanks to your videos & so far, they are turning out great! .. Hope I didn´t just jinx them haha
Glad I could help. Malted corn isn't used much anymore since there are more efficient options for getting your enzymes, like malted barley and commercial enzyme mixes. Consequently not too many folks have current info on it. Everything I found came from really old commercial research papers and agricultural reports from decades ago. Congrats on the successful malting! 🙂
Ya, & i am so glad you did get that info. Because I googled everything I could & couldn't find it. The reason I am using Corn instead of Barley, is because of my current location. Barley & Rye are hard to find & expensive to import. Rice & Corn are the easiest grains to find. Wheat is available too. But only in 100lb bags from a feed store. I wanted to mention I steeped the Corn for 16 hours the first cycle step. Then went to the 8 hour cycle like on your video. It actually started to chit on the 3rd steep cycle. So 16 soaking. 8 drying, 8 soaking, 8 drying, & 8 soaking & chit was visible. I went directly to the pan with the wet towel over it. & it is sprouting nicely. I read a 24 hour steep should be done first. So I went with a hybrid of yours & what I read somewhere. Worked out well. The humid climate here might also have helped the process.
It's the tinkering and tweaking of these projects that I really enjoy. You can learn new stuff each time. In your first malting you've already got some good results that speak to your environmental factors. I agree that humidity is big one. You may have a quicker sprouting time also, but a longer air drying time (depends on how warm it is in your area). Keep us updated on how it progresses. This might really help some other folks with similar conditions. Thanks for sharing:-)>
Will feed store cattle corn work for this purpose. I'm new to this hobby and any info would be greatly appreciated.
Yes, but you'll need to wash it with clean water thoroughly several times before you do the soaking cycle to get any dust off the corn.
@@BeardedBored is there a way I can personally message you? I have a couple of questions
@@jtfalkner Click on my channel home page, then click on the "about" link to find my email address.
Do you think 12 hours of soaking and 12 hours of drying wood work with my work schedule I can't do the 8 hour soak and dry? When you stir your corn do you prefer to do it when it's soaking or drying and Do you know any tricks to knock the roots off of wet/green malt? Thanks
12 hour stretches is fine. You may be able to get done soaking after 3 rounds.
Stir the corn when it's drained. That's when it needs the air flow.
For knocking the roots and shoots off green malt just dump it in a colander and work it by hand, rolling it between your palms and generally abusing it until they all fall off. Should be pretty easy since the roots tend to snap off without much effort.
If you make something with green malt please let us know how it turns out. I've read that it can leave a grassy taste in your wort, but haven't verified that myself. I'm very interested to hear about it. Thanks!
Ok will do thanks
I malted, then used corn & sprouts, dried then ground all. all in a bucket Also used white-corn & Rye to make whiteligthen.distilled 3 times for XXX. it worked!I wonder if thats whatPpopcorn Sutton used. IE POPCORN
Bearded & Bored o
what if you don't let the malted corn dry and just use them right away? would it still release the emilize enzyme?
Absolutely. Actually there is 2 to 3 times as much enzyme and diastatic power to convert starches to sugars in the wet malt (also called green malt) as opposed to the dry malt. However, there are 2 reasons why it's usually dried first. 1. It's easier to get the roots and shoots off of the grains once they're dry. 2. If you use wet malt with the shoots still on the grain, I've read that it can add an unpleasant grassy flavor to the finished product that will transfer though to your mash.
I haven't used wet malt yet so I don't know how strong the flavor is. I'll do a video about it in the fall since I've had several questions about it. Too hot in the shed to malt corn right now:-( If you try it, let us know.
Bearded & Bored thank you for the reply
I'm trying to malt some jimmy red corn. Any suggestions?
Any problems?
Do I leave the damp towel over the corn after every draining process for 8 hours?
Yep, that way the top layer doesn't get too dry and keeps it it all germinating more evenly.
Thanks man. I've jus started to sprout corn and I ruined my first batch. Second batch was much better but i think I over sprouted the corn😂😂I'm gonna try your way next here in ireland. Love your work🍺🍺
@@leebridges2540 Check out my green malt grocery store vid. I go over some new stuff on corn malt. Also, my malt tumbler vid may be helpful if you plan on malting more than a few times. Good luck:-)
ps........do you cold crash ? or use finings like bentonite
I used TurboKleer on one brew and cold crashed several others. Turbokleer worked better for me since it made a pretty dense layer that stayed on the bottom without being disturbed. I'll probably do that again for really cloudy stuff.
this is my first attempt at malting corn and I've got the sprouting process and it's starting to smell of freshly cut grass is that ok
That's perfect:-)
What kind of gravity do you get just from the malted corn? Guess I'm going to have to try my hand at this and find out what a corn beer tastes like! Thanks for the info.
1.022 from 1 pound per gallon as a baseline. Gonna malt some deer corn this week and start a pure corn beer to see what happens.
How did you stop the malting process? Smoke?
Do you grind the corn up to meal afterwards?
How long is the corn viable for use after having been malted?
I cover all that in part 2:-)
@@BeardedBored Yup- just watched it, thanks!
Great stuff
awesome tuto :) what about the temperature of water when malting ?
70-75F or 20-23C, but I usually don't check the temperature. I just use cool or room temperature water for the soaking.
I have been asked can you use the corn in a mash right after the germination while it is still wet? Skip the drying process ?
You can, but I've never tried it. I've read several times that it can leave a grassy taste in your beer, or even make it through distillation into liquor. I may try it some day just to see what happens:-)
so if you malt corn, do you still need to add amylase if you're not using another grain?
The level of enzyme present in corn is really low. There is usually just enough to convert itself and nothing else. But it is still a good idea if you add a little enzyme, just to make sure you get full conversion. If you don't have any, you can always try mashing overnight in an ice chest to maintain the temperature.
Think I'm going to just skip the malting step and just add amylase then. Going for a mash that's as close to full corn as possible. Is there a way I can DM you? I made a google dox step by step from notes from barley and hops vids 😂. Any input would be much appreciated! 😁
@@JoshWhitford91 You can email me, but I don't think I can add anything that George hasn't covered. But if you have questions, let me know. My email address is on my "about" link of my channel page.
How do I cut off the sprouting of the corn
Start the drying process and that will stop the growth.
Do you think the sprouts are not very big?
Never thought about using popcorn
when you malted corn did it start to mould a little and what do you do?
If it gets moldy you need to dump it in the trash. Sorry to say that, but it's not safe to use moldy corn for anything. I've had to dump out batches myself. If you don't turn the corn enough, and if it's too warm then it is more likely to grow mold. Good luck on the next batch:-)
@@BeardedBored well poop. It was only a little fuzzy in one spot
@@brucegustafson8382 Ohh, I thought you meant the whole thing. Try to just scoop out the bad stuff and the corn around and under it. Give it all a thorough rinse several times and drain completely for an hour. Sanitize the tray you're using before putting the drained corn back into it. If it finishes malting without growing more mold, then you're ok.
Ok thanks . I malt in very small batches. Two big trays like in your malting Video, just enough corn to cover the bottom of the trays. I’ve done it twice now. Do you still need to mill you’re corn after you malted it or is the grain open enough all ready after malting?
@@brucegustafson8382 You still need to mill it to allow the mash water to access as much of it as possible for mash efficiency. Corn is usually too big for a standard grain mill, so you may need to bust it up in a blender first.
what does germinated corn produces? is it the same with barley?
Germinating corn has the same result as germinating barley. It produces the malt enzymes to help break down the starches into sugars inside the grain so they can be fermented.
Barley produces way morr sugar then corn then , corn is plentiful and will get the job done (produce alcohol), but barley is the master malt .
got some q's and suggestions
1)this produces enzymes as well as yeast so you dont need to add yeast is this correct? 2)malting also produces sugar in the grain,i am wondering why not let it sprout longer and get as much sugar yield from a grain then simply kiln that to your liking or start fermenting and not bother worrying about having the enzyme to convert adjunct?
3)would it still have natural yeast if done like that in #2?
4) i suppose it takes more malted corn that way and you simply trying to use small batches of malted corn in order to convert adjunct corn is that right?
5) what is the lowest temp you can safely use to dry the corn without killing the enzymes or yeast?
6)can you use distilled water?
7)you said the shoots need to be about 80% length of the corn but they went way past that?
Thanks for the great questions. Keeping me on my toes;-)
1. The malting doesn't produce yeast, but since yeast is floating in the air everywhere some will naturally be on the corn. The problem with relying exclusively on this wild yeast instead of a commercially cultivated variety is that it can be pretty inconsistent in it's performance. Depending on what was drifting by you may get a really weak yeast that doesn't produce more than 1% or 2% alcohol before it craps out, or you may get a yeast that can produce some really bad flavors like sulfur. In the old days the moonshiners would generally rely on nature, which leave all your hard work to chance. I like using a good quality commercial distillers yeast, champagne yeast or ale yeast because I know how well it'll perform. There are a lot of variable in the whole process, so if I can remove one I'm happy to do it.
2. You can let the malt continue to grow and produce more sugar, but it'll always leave some starch behind, and if you use up all the enzyme for growth, then there is nothing left to convert the starch. It'll work, but you're losing out on a lot of potential alcohol in that unconverted starch.
3. If you kiln dry the grain it'll kill off any natural yeast.
4. Actually the conversion power (diastatic power) of malted corn is one of the lowest compared to malted barely. It only has enough enzyme to convert itself, the remaining starches within the malted grains. If you add unmalted grain you'll need to use some malted barley (20% of your grain bill) to convert the other adjuncts.
5. A safe drying temp is below 120F. The alpha amylase is pretty touchy.
6. Yes, you can definitely use distilled water.
7. 80% length of the grain for barley, but corn shoots need to be about an inch long. I was all over the place in that video;-)
i really appreciate you taking the time to answer each numbered question the way i had it down,,i been going nuts trying to figure out how to calculate how much malted barley 6 row to use for conversion,,seems like i cant find such info much on vids or in search,,i know its got a 160 lit but how to calculate how much of it i need for whatever amounts of adjuncts im using,,if i got it right it only needs 30 lit to convert itself leaving 130 for the unmalted grains but is 160/lb or whatever amount? so if im using 2lbs of adj then how much mb would i use? ,,also i need your help with this beer i been trying to brew ,lots of problems,ended up using almost half pound mb for 2lbs of adj and i still dont think it was converting very well and i think i must be doing something wrong cause it got very messy in the bag,i do not see ppl going through the same mess and problems i have
The rule of thumb is 20% of your mash bill needs to be 2-row or 6-row barley. So if you have 10 pound total or 10000 pounds total grain weight, 20% of that needs to be malted barley. For your beer recipe, since I'm not an expert I highly recommend checking out r/homebrewing on reddit. Post your recipe and problem and some of the smart dudes over there will sort you out. I love that forum:-)
ok great because 20% sounds about right,i think for the 2lbs i had i ended up using about almost half a pound of my mb i think i used exactly about .4lb so it sounds right,but am i adding 20% to the bill or am i replacing 20% with mb??
also i think the guy at my brewshop was either trying to scam me or he was clueless because he did mention 20% but he was saying it will only convert 20% of my bill and he was telling me i needed to buy many more pounds of the mb,,so either he had it wrong in what the 20% or he was trying to get me to buy more for my 2lb bill(and i already told him i was only doing a small 1 gal batch using 2lbs)
Can you do that with chicken feed cause its cheap as hell? Although sounds like a dumb question cause I can always try it myself. Some people say it has oils but if their was a processing method I’m sure it would be great as long the flavor was at least half way good.
Most chicken feed is cracked or crushed corn. You can't malt crushed grain. The grains must be whole for malting to be successful. I wouldn't use anything that has any additives like oils. Read the label or research the brand before you buy a big bag of it;-)
Is it possible to make a 100% corn beer with these malted corns?
Yes. There is a South American beer called chicha made from 100% malted corn.
@@BeardedBored nice! Thanks for the info! I will try this and subscribe to your channel! It's hard to do home brewing in the Philippines since it's hard to get access malted barley and hops here. This helped me a lot. Thank so much! 😀
@@x2n2004 I'm glad I could help. Good luck with the chicha:-)
@@BeardedBored thank you. I hope you get more subscribers :)
@@x2n2004 Thanks brother!
Home distilling is legal in Texas up to like 200 gal a year.
Unless the law changed recently, as far as I've read on the TABC website distilling for personal consumption is illegal in Texas, however you can brew 200 gallons of beer and wine. If you are sure, please share the link to the applicable Texas law. Thanks.
Great video, now correct me if i am wrong but i think i saw somewhere that if you malt corn you dont need to use yeast to ferment is this true?
That's a great question! The short answer is "Nope. Yeast=fermentation." But I've heard that too. "Don't use yeast, just let the malt do it." That's a common misconception that came from the old timers who made moonshine in the woods and really didn't understand that fermentation does not happen without yeast.
What they meant was that they didn't add store-bought yeast to their mashes. What they didn't know at the time, but we've since figured out, is that the malting process exposes the grain to the elements where it collects wild yeast from the air. Those wild yeast then propagate when they're exposed to the sugar in the grain wash.
The problem with wild yeast fermentation is that there is no way to have a reliable rate of fermentation, or a consistent result from batch to batch since there are literally thousands of types of yeast floating around at any given time. Each strain has different levels of alcohol tolerance, flavor byproducts, etc. You may get a great whiskey one time, but then the wind changes and your next batch is different.
The main reason we always add cultivated yeast to a mash is to overwhelm any wild yeast so we get consistency and reliability. I'm happy to answer any other questions. Thanks so much for watching:-)>
Bearded & Bored I think I would have added to this that the process of sprouting/malting creates natural amylase enzymes that break the long term storage of starch into useable sugar. But that’s just me and what I have read and watched on the subject. Not an expert by any means.
@@alexaxline6093 really ? You honestly believe your enlightening the group or the comment section? Your last line was something like " Im no expert" or whatever. That being understood, why you feel the need to or believe there is a need, for your "constructive criticism" is beyond me. The reason folks end up watching this mans channel ( thought it was common knowledge but obviously not) is because his colleagues happen to be the most knowledgeable guys on youtube on this particular subject. You arent scoring any points by stating the obvious or trying to 1 up people that obviously know what they are doing. You are just another keyboard warrior which everybody rolls there eyes @ when reading your enlightening constructive criticism. Stay in your lane pal
@@jayschumann92 not sure what triggered you with YOUR snowflake feelings about my comment. But I am truly sorry about that, but as Forrest Gump said "stupid is as stupid does". So what does your ripping me for my comment, do to help the person who originally asked a question about malted grain and fermentation. If the question i am asking is unclear here
How is you be-rating me helping?
You can use natural yeast. From apple peelings and other fruit in a pinch. The issue is its wildly inconsistent and can add any number of unexpected flavors. You still need yeast as mentioned though.
Ok, so how much mould is too much when malting barley? Haha I have bought all the parts to make a "robot" but was too impatient and may have tried to malt too much at once without proper circulation, or I might have steeped for too long.
The tips of the barley are starting to mould so I guess I have to bin it? It's for whiskey so will be distilled...
A tiny bit of mold on the tips of the kernels isn't too bad, but if you get a slimy coating, or if it stinks, it's time to throw it out. If the sprouting hasn't started you can try rinsing the grain in a little StarSan solution to kill anything, then drain it, and stir it every 6-8 hours. Don't spray it down with anymore water for at least 24 hours to give it time to air out a little.
@@BeardedBored Yeah, she's starting to smell pretty funky. Ok well that's a learning curve, oh well guess I better put this malter together and go again. Thanks again for the help
@@Josh-e2l Yeah, dump it. You'll remember that smell, LoL. It's quite distinctive. Definitely part of every maltsters education. Good luck on the next one. Scale back to 2 or 3 pounds for the first run, just so you have a greater chance of success and learn what to look for at each stage of the process;-)
do you have to do this if you add the Glucoamylase Enzyme and Amylase enzyme to my cracked corn?
No. If you're going to use commercial enzymes there is no need to malt the corn.
Bearded & Bored even for whole deer corn which I’ll crack myself?
@@belczyk If you're using commercial enzymes with any grain, you don't need malt. Malting produces the necessary enzymes, but if you're going to add commercial enzymes then there is no need to malt the grain.
Bearded & Bored thanks for the help
Goos job. What is the ideal.tempeture for the enzyme when drying it? Have you ever made beer with 100% malted corn? Thanks
100F or lower is the safest temp for drying. I haven't made an all malted corn beer yet, but I'm hopping to get that done this summer:-) There is a Mexican beer style called chicha that is sometimes made with 100% malted corn if you want to do some research in the meantime.
@@BeardedBored Chicha is Peruvian
@@gusbetancourt1 Oops! My mistake. I was thinking of Tesguino from Mexico, but got my names mixed up since the drinks are so similar.
Hey, just subscribed and watching your videos. I used to home brew. My question to you is; do you use a hydrometer to measure your specific gravity/alchol content? Can you add additional sugars to increase alcohol content without effecting taste/flavor? Thanks, Happy Trails
Yes I use a hydrometer on every batch, even if I'm not adding sugar, so that I can calculate the alcohol content from the data points.
As far as flavor, it depends. If you add sugar you won't change the flavor much until you push over 10%abv. After that the yeast will start to throw off some stronger flavors.
What sort of abv range are you looking for, and what recipe?
@@BeardedBored hThanks for the quick response. Haven't done any 'hard' stuff yet. I'd like to sip some stronger brandies and the like above 40 proof.
@@kentallen4473 Check out the Still It channel and The Barley and Hops Brewing channel to get tons of great info on distilling:-)
@@BeardedBoredgreat video very helpful. I am using 50kg sugar in a 250 Ltr mix of lemon and ginger. Getting about 12% ABV. Thinking of reducing the sugar to 20kg and adding malted corn to provide additional sugars. What quantity of malted would be ideal to get to higher ABV say 16%
How would you malt fresh corn?
You can't. Has to be dried first unfortunately.
@@BeardedBored That's what I figured. Just have about 80lbs worth of frozen ruby queen and suntava purple. Guess I'll have to dry it next year instead of freezing.
@@deamonsoul1 You can still use it, but you'll need barley malt or commercial enzymes to convert the start.
@@BeardedBored Yeah I've done the cooking to gelatinization process before with barley malt, rye,, and fresh corn. Just wasn't 100% sure I couldn't malt corn without drying it to avoid the barley.
Have you tried this with deer corn?
Yep. Works pretty much the same. The initial root may appear a little sooner since the kernels aren't as hard as popcorn, so keep an eye out for that and move to the next stage early if necessary.
Damn ‼️‼️‼️‼️
Awesome time traveling 😅👊🏻 🌽🥃
Having issue malting what popcorn do you use organics?
No, I just used the cheap store brand popping corn. What sort of issues are you having?
@@BeardedBored The popcorn come from walmart?
Germinate from paper towel method would not germinate should i buy different brands to experiment?
Regular corn seed germinated
Sorry for the delay Nick. I didn't get a notification of your replies. It's possible the popcorn you bought had been heat treated to sterilize it. Doesn't take much heat, but it's enough to prevent germination. Good idea testing it out with the paper towel method! Glad you got some regular corn to germinate:-)>
Lol the intro!
This is a great video!
Thanks:-)>
I just drove to a field, picked up a pound of corn for malting, see if it works
Bearded: Any specific reason why you wouldn't malt yellow corn that comes in a 50lb sack from a local hardware or feed store? Here in North Florida (near Tallahassee, FL) we've got 50lb sacks at places like ACE Hardware and other misc stores that sell feed, for around 6.99 a bag. Just wondering ASSUMING you've got similar access to this at these prices why you'd still choose to pay the same price for a lot less in popcorn kernels? This is a honest question..obvious assumption is lack of access to bulk quantities?
Good question. Actually I have easy access to feed corn in Walmart and the various feed stores around here. The main reason I went with popcorn was so anyone, anywhere could do it if they have access to a grocery store. Also, I only needed to malt a few pounds at a time due to space and didn't want to store the rest of a 50 bag. I've done feed corn too and it works just as well for malting:-)>
So you soak the corn for 8 hours and then let it drain for 8 hours and stir every 6 to 8 hours and repeat 4 times?
Yep, but you can play around with it. Try 3 soaks and see if it's chitting. If you see the tiny white chits then you can drain it and go to the wet towel covering. I'm working on a video right now that makes the process easier. Should have it out soon.
Ok thanks
ive seen people in videos make moonshine but they never talk about the corn being malted. they don't add alpha or beta amylase though either. They do add lots of extra sugar.
Some of them specify using cracked or flaked corn. This confuses me
Im not challenging you. I'm just trying to learn the process and hoping you can maybe clear up my confusion there.
I had the exact same questions when I started researching this a few years ago. Here's the run down. The most common "corn whiskey" recipe for hobbyists is really just corn flavored sugar water fermented into what is referred to as a "sugarhead" wash. There is no conversion with enzymes, or even cooking for that matter. It gives a weak flavor, but it's easy. My buddy Jesse at the Still It channel tested the most popular of these recipes, called UJSSM. It makes a butterscotchy spirit with a little corn flavor hidden in there.
But you get more flavor and a better overall spirit if you actually malt or use enzymes to convert the grain. Typical bourbon recipe is 80% corn, with 20% malted barley to handle the conversion of the entire grain bill.
Cracked corn is just corn that has been slightly crushed, no malting, no cooking, no conversion. Flaked corn has been steamed and rolled and pressed into flakes, so at the very least the starch inside the kernels has been gelatinized. Malted corn does not need to be gelatinized and can simply be mashed at 150F for an hour.
This hobby is a rabbit hole of research. Check out the Still It Channel, Barley and Hops Brewing with George, and homedistiller(dot)org. Have fun:-)
@@BeardedBored thank you, that cleared up my confusion. Its such an interesting subject, so much stuff to learn. Ive watched still it. Yours and his channel are the two ive watched the most. I will go look for that video!!
Thank you again, I feel less confused now!!
@@cthulhu9136 Happy to help:-)
Bearded and bored here i am in Mexico if you want to pártner up, i can get corn, perhaps several tons. Planning to open a distilery Also we can buy agave. Mexico is the place, créate a brand and sell on the internet like Many people do
That sounds like a great place to be.
Great video 👍👍cheers
OMG, as a photographer that was really hard watching you clean the lens with a tshirt
If I ever get a better camera I'll treat it much better. I treat this old camcorder like it owes me money.
* wonders why he never realized the years old bag of popcorn in the pantry has been calling his name...
Answer the call:-)
The only thing I have available RIGHT NOW to try to convert is rice, or would you recommend that pearl barley? I will have time to get that. I'll also need to free up a fermenter... or could I just make a NEW one? Hmmm...
Also... making wine is WAY MORE EASY LOL
@@mrpieceofwork Rice will not malt like any other grain. It's pretty tricky. All the Asian countries that make rice wine don't even bother with malting rice. They use a special mold to convert starches to sugar. Pearl barley is stripped of its husk and seed germ so it won't malt either. Best bet is to get some feed corn or popcorn:-)
I meant malt the corn, then use that to also convert the starches from rice, like you did with the barley. I looked it up, and it's a process called cereal mashing, which apparently is seldom done now as it's a PITA (to me, at least) and as there are much easier ways to obtain the same results. I'll def. malt the corn, though, just... because. LOL
"distilling is illegal, so we won't do it" (wink, wink)
I always thought it was just illegal to sell whiskey... But not to make it.
Great video! Lots of useful info on your channel. - Trenny
Thanks so much! I just checked out your channel and saw all the cocktail recipe videos. Aaaaaaand Subscribed:-)> Gonna try that mint julep first!
can i use whole feed corn?
Absolutely. The timing can be a little different since the kernel is a tiny bit softer than the popcorn kernel, so examine it closely after the 3rd soak to see if there is any rootlet growth. You'll probably still need 4 soaks, but I've had feed corn root after 3.
@@BeardedBored thank you did not expect a reply after 2 years
@@mrmolasses5366 I have no life, so I can check my comments often:-)
@@BeardedBored started soaking 8 hours ago
@@BeardedBored and I'm making corn beer with hops that infested my yard from 10 or so years ago when my uncle's planted some and took over and making yeast from my Concord grapes I have hoping I can make a starter that way
I am a little fuzzy on the soaking times. You said to soak the corn for 8 hours. Then drain the corn, and let it sit under a moist towel for 8 hours. Then you repeat this 4 more times. So that is 40 hours of soaking, and 40 hours of letting it drain under a moist town. That's roughly 3 and a half days of soaking and draining before you spread it all out to sprout under moist paper towels for 10-15 days. Is that correct?
I'm asking, because I've seen other videos that say to soak it for 24 hours. Then change the water, and soak it again for another 24 hours... then begin to sprout it in a thin layer on trays under wet paper towels. Your method has a lot more time out of the water. Your method seem to work. I just want to make sure I understood what all you said.
Mike,
Sorry if the timing was a bit murky. First video-itis;-) It actually takes about 2.5 days since it's 4 cycles of 8 on/8 off. There are various methods that I tried out, including the long soak you mentioned. The method I use gives me a higher germination rate. I get between 70%-80% germination consistently. Using longer soak times tended to give me lower rates. Not sure why. Though I have not tried using corn from a feed store, only popcorn. The longer soak times may be more appropriate for regular feed corn. I'll have to test that.
The actual sprouting after your last soak takes about 3-4 days, depending on the ambient temp around the corn. The colder it is, the longer it takes to germinate. My corn was in an 80F degree shed so it finished in 3 days. I wouldn't go much warmer than that though. Too much heat can kill the sprouts, and has a tendency to encourage mold and bacterial growth.
The drying takes 2 days over the fan and a few more hours in the clothes dryer to finish it off. Total time from first soak to completed drying is 7.5 to 8.5 days.
It's definitely not a quick project, but worth it:-) Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks!
Thanks man! It looks like I'm going to be doing a hybrid of the two methods. I bought some popcorn and soaked it in water overnight. I forgot to drain it this morning. So it will be soaking for 24 hours. Then I guess I will let it drain under a moist towel tonight, and then do another 8 hour soak. etc. etc. As far as the feed store corn vs. popcorn debate goes... I think that popcorn maaaay just be better for making ethynol than feed corn. I know that popcorn companies use those varieties of corn as "popcorn" because that species pops the largest and makes the fluffiest, largest, kernels of popcorn. This tells me that it must have the most startch, and the least fiber, fat, and other stuff. I could be wrong. Do you know of any resource where one might find out which variety/species of corn has the most fermentable starch/sugars and or the most corn flavor?
That should do just fine. I'd give it 2 soaks of 8 hours with 2 drains of 8 hours. That should be plenty. After the second draining is done look to see if there are any chits forming (little white tails). If so, you can go ahead with the rest of the germination. If not, then give it one more soak.
Your idea about popcorn having more starch is interesting. I did some googling to see what I could find as far as starch content by corn variety. Lots of research papers out there, but I didn't find a chart or anything to give a quick answer. I read that dent corn (feed corn) has a larger ratio of starch to sugar and is the variety most used by the ethanol industry, and sweet corn (table corn) has a higher ratio of sugar to starch, but not sure how they measure up to popcorn in the starch department. I did learn that the other varieties don't pop well due to the make up of the kernel and the moisture content, but no info on starch levels by comparison.
If you find anything let me know. Really fascinating stuff:-)
As to getting a good flavor...since home distilling is illegal in the United States I'm not advocating you distill your own alcohol. Hypothetically though, a combination of malted corn and flaked corn, and smaller portion of malted barley (20 to 30% of the mash) could...in theory...make a really good mash that would yield a very tasty distillate....hypothetically speaking, of course.
four different soakings and 'resting but not soaking' of 8 hours each?
Yes, soak 8 hours, rest 8 hours, repeat 3 more times:-)
not illegal to make moonshine here in Missouri. You just can't sell it.
It's still illegal at the Federal level. Even though your state government is awesome and wise, the feds are still behind the times. It's the same as weed being legal in Colorado. I can't move to Missouri, but it sure is tempting;-)
I assume once it's sprouted well enough I can crush it and make a mash without drying it out? Are there any bad flavors that would hitchhike on the sprout/root if I heat it to 155F? This would be for a distilled product.
It can be a bit grassy, but if you boil it for 20 minutes after you finish the mash conversion that smell will go away. The flavor can follow through to a distillate so don't skip that step;-)
My first attempt failed miserably, it went from the freshest corn smell I've ever smelled, to stinking badly. Not that I've rewatched this video,I think I know where I screwed up and am back to the drawing board!
"Now" I meant to say
Good luck on your next try:-)
The growing bit was creepy with all the tendrils and stuff
Yeah, that time lapse kinda messed with my head:-)>
My beard told me to subscribe..
LoL
I can make up to 100 gallons a year for my own use in Missouri anything pass that and I need a permit
I'm jealous.
TheFuture AirMen permit is free. You can apply for an ethanol fuel permit. Just remember it's illegal to drink it 😉
Chris Mclain thanks my man
Yep..."fuel" for my lawn mower. The fuel permit is a technical loophole, but you have to agree to let them search your property anytime without a warrant. I'll pass:-)
In Georgia we're good for I think 2 gallons a year. Although really it's enforced as don't have more than 2 gallons at one time.