Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Got 2kg of wheat malt the other day from the livestock joint to try my hand at malting, because of work i ended up soaking for 4 hours , rest for 6 then soaked for another 4 hours before draining everything and putting it into one of those 40L black containers. Things are going very slowly (it is winter here atm) but i find that a high amount of grain has sprouted fairly evenly . I'm only turning it 3-4 times a day and at this stage i think ill be drying at around thursday/friday which would be a week.

How you going to dry it oven? Cant wait to try malting mashing..

Gents,
Do you need to heat up the malt above drying temps for it to be any good for scotch?
I'm trying to work out the difference in cost and effort to make my malt in bulk or just use bought liquid malt.
Last batch of scotch I did three 80L washes. I intend on aging this gear for years. So I used 15kg liquid malt and 10kg grain. Not to mention a shite load of sugar.
Trawling the internet to gather ideas for malting bulk grain.

For drying i got a Cardboard box , cut a hole in the side ,,, got one of those $10 floor heaters that i had laying around (has a thermostat & has 1kw rating) , stack some baking trays and stabbed my meat thermometer in the top... and away we go. only just started to dry the grain so ill see how it goes , but atm its sitting around 44*C. Can always get another cardboard box next winter but will use sams method during the summer

Drying was definitely my biggest problem. From the first go back in November, the wheat ended up fine (if most likely crystalised) while the barley went mouldy :handgestures-thumbdown:

To get better drying, I bought one of these:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/8-Tray-Food- ... 1c38e4f3c4

The dehydrator has completely fixed the problem. I have been able to malt during the coldest periods. Last season got Westminster Barley direct from a mate's farm and malted it, then used this home-made-malt for the first time in an AG recipe last weekend. Fermenting now and smells awesome.

With the ability to dry the grain properly, I am happy to malt my own (maybe not rye, but the barley and wheat at least). Ignoring cost, for me it was all about start-to-finish product. Difficulty will be waiting for the first batch to age :whistle: But this is all part of it.

yeah we use those dehydrators at work to make beef jerky they're awesome

WicketNut wrote:Drying was definitely my biggest problem.

To get better drying, I bought one of these:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/8-Tray-Food- ... 1c38e4f3c4

.

Wondering how much grain can one of those dehydrator hold approx? :-B

bluc wrote:

WicketNut wrote:Drying was definitely my biggest problem.

To get better drying, I bought one of these:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/8-Tray-Food- ... 1c38e4f3c4

.

Wondering how much grain can one of those dehydrator hold approx? :-B

I malt four kilos of dry grain at a time, and from memory i have a ten tray dehydrator (there are different options). I put the grain onto oven proof paper on the trays and it drys in under two days. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Rums having a go at malting...
The first lot was an absolute failure but i put down to learning and I should have read this post to remind me of the steps :angry-banghead:
It all ended up in the bush it was fucked. Monday arvo I did the rest of the bag and the chits spouted overnight. Today was the first drying day on the trampoline and looking like a winner, I will dry it again tomorrow and see if its fully dried out.
I must mention may ace helper while I was at work, he was my stirer, the spreader etc, one bonus of school holiday's. :laughing-rolling:
So thanks for the write up sam worked a treat second time around 8-} :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Yes, thought I had already said it, but it's helped me on my second round as well!

Good to hear it's a success second time round rummmy :handgestures-thumbupleft: