Scotch Whisky talk

[Sam.]

I can get barley for about 60 c a kg, I have read about malting barley but have never done it. Anyone inerested in having a go at it? :)

I might have to do a bit more reading on it.

Did you ever try this Spud? From what I have read if you were going to do any serious amount it would take a lot of time and effort and space.

Also the barley you get for feed is definitely not intended for brewing, ask any barley farmer all the proteins and other criteria must be perfect to go "malting barley" at the silos they then grade down from this with a few different types of feed grain.

[maheel]

From what I have read if you were going to do any serious amount it would take a lot of time and effort and space.

Also the barley you get for feed is definitely not intended for brewing, ask any barley farmer all the proteins and other criteria must be perfect to go "malting barley" at the silos they then grade down from this with a few different types of feed grain.

i have some feed barley i am trying 50 - 50 with malted.

would bring the "total" cost down to about $1.50 a kg on the grain

at that price i dont think it is worth trying to malt it unless you were thinking of doing 100's of KG of barley....

my mini mash trials seem to be fully converting the starch in the un-malted and i hope to this week try a 8-10kg all barley grain mash for a tiral.
i have to figure out my volumes of H20 etc then mash in
then i can see if the feed barley is giving good conversion / yields of sugarz

then get some peated grain to add to the mix to see what happens

will photo graph the fun when i do it :)

[wynnum1]

Peated Medium Distilling Malt (Bairds)CraftBrewer

[maheel]

Peated Medium Distilling Malt (Bairds)CraftBrewer

have you tried it Wynnum1 ?

[wynnum1]

No but would the peat smoked malt only be a small part of the brew and what would % of alcohol is needed.

[maheel]

No but would the peat smoked malt only be a small part of the brew and what would % of alcohol is needed.

i saw a post somewhere about the PPM of the peat smoke and how some scotch is 100% peat smoked malt.

i was thinking say 30% in a 10kg grain mash to start...

every time mcstill talks up the plate stills i think that might be the go with real mashes :D ?

i hope to do a mash tomorrow but no peat malt yet

[Sam.]

No but would the peat smoked malt only be a small part of the brew and what would % of alcohol is needed.

i saw a post somewhere about the PPM of the peat smoke and how some scotch is 100% peat smoked malt.

i was thinking say 30% in a 10kg grain mash to start...

It depends on where in Scotland the scotch is made. Traditionally most places used peat to dry the malt, especially in the parts of Islay (which is an island) where they had no other option but to use peat to dry the malt so I guess 100% of their malt is peat smoked.

The other areas would have varying ratios of peat used. I think there is one place where there was no peat? Can't remember where tho :doh:

[fields]

I'm still researching the scotch thing and somewhere I read that its easier to control the amount of peat by not smoking barley but cornflakes, when you get the desired amount of smoke just crush it up and put it in the fermenter and the smoke carries through well, anyone tried that?

[Frank]

I'm still researching the scotch thing and somewhere I read that its easier to control the amount of peat by not smoking barley but cornflakes, when you get the desired amount of smoke just crush it up and put it in the fermenter and the smoke carries through well, anyone tried that?

Mate, I smoked LOTS of things once but not cornflakes :laughing-rolling: (sorry, all BS aside, I would love to know how it works for you. please keep us 'interested folk' posted).

My peat-loving 'two cents worth' follows....
The thing about peat smoked whisky (as per the 'famous 7' ISLAY single malts) is principally the particularly ancient and saltsprayed peat that is (apparently) 'unique' to this inner hebredian island. The smoking/firing and drying malt thereof is much more a typical, more general Scottish thing for such whisky.

So....if its simply 'smokey' you are after, I think there are a fair few potential choices and good luck etc. Even a serious soak on very charred oak sticks (pintoshine?) gives a slightly 'faux smoke' spirit. If its the (IMHO) splendid and very special ISLAY-like, peat smoke type of 'smokey' you are after, then probably take a bucket next trip to Scotland :shhh: or Punkins post re "essence of peat reek" recipe (hope I've got that right :? ) might be worth a try (subject to all safety issues of course). ;)

[Al Qaemist]

Frank, I've previously told you I'm not a whisky man, but I have been on a few distillery tours - got a couple on my doorstep actually. What has been said above is correct - as a general rule peat smoked malt is a west coast thing - some of them I find undrinkable, tastes like someone has taken a stick from the fire and put it out in your glass :puke-huge:

The hot smoking is to stop the malting process to achieve the desired amount of sugars, steam is used to do the same thing when not using peat. Someone mentioned salt spray - the malts that tend to have a saltiness to them I have been told it due to being aged near the coast, the salty air is the reason for this.

Here is a link to a tour i was on a few months back. - I prefer the speyside lighter malts - I just don't have the pallet for the peaty stuff.

http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4758


Al

[Frank]

.....peat smoked malt is a west coast thing - some of them I find undrinkable, tastes like someone has taken a stick from the fire and put it out in your glass :puke-huge: ..... I prefer the speyside lighter malts - I just don't have the pallet for the peaty stuff....http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4758 Al

Well stone the flamin crows!!!! See Al Qaemist, you DO know whisky stuff, just got bloody 'strange tastes' ...for a Scot anyway :laughing-rolling: :teasing-neener:

Cheers buddy

[Al Qaemist]

Guys looking for a bit of advice - I'm used to only running neutral or an occasional rum.
My sugar wash for neutral goes into the boiler crystal clear after being left to clear for an extended time in the cold - my rum is lucky to get 4 days before I chuck it in and run it.

I have a large DWWG and 2 smaller cornflake variations on the go that have just finished fermenting - I guess these will never clear like my sugar wash does, but does the suspended yeast add a desirable profile to these flavoured washes and running after a few days is okay (like a rum wash), or do I really need to let them clear?

I know this is a real noob question but I have only run my pot for rum and vapour infusing gin - I really enjoy the process when doing those, so looking to expand my repertoire beyond vodka, gin and rum.


Al.

[Tracker]

It will clear by itself but it will take time.
I usually leave mine for 3 or 4 days and that takes care of most of the suspended matter.
Running early does not seem to make a lot of difference to the taste but if you intend using it for neutral then that may be a different matter, I use it for the flavour.


Cheers.

[Frank]

........I have a large DWWG and 2 smaller cornflake variations on the go that have just finished fermenting......
Al.

Hi Al, what recipes/methods are you using for above washes please (esp if they are diiferent to the forum recipes, of course)???
I, too, am keen to learn more here (this is a favourite thread of mine...under the heading of NFI, but will one day). ;)

[Al Qaemist]

@tracker - No neutral this time - I'm looking to improve my pot stilling skills and after a flavoured brew. 3 or 4 days is really short if I was clearing a neutral wash, I leave it a good 2-3 weeks to go crystal clear as I find the yeast carries flavor over in vodka - I was wondering if this was going to be an issue - you've answered my question.

@ Frank - DWWG is per the recipe - got 55lts just finished, took ages due to a cold snap here. 2 x Corn flakes has malt added to it in different quantities.


Al.

[Tracker]

Al,
There is only one way to find out.
If it fails, it just means more neutral for you, so nothing has been wasted and you have learned another valuable lesson.


Cheers. :text-lol:

[MacStill]

Al,
There is only one way to find out.
If it fails, it just means more neutral for you, so nothing has been wasted and you have learned another valuable lesson.


Cheers. :text-lol:

I like it, great philosphofofosofy :laughing-rolling:

[SBB]

Thought his might be of interest to the whisky lovers out there. It seems Tasmanian peat can be used....if that is the case why couldn't any other Aussie peat be used?
"However, our distillery is fortunate to own its own peat bog in the central highlands of Tasmania. The peating of our malt imparts a sweetness and smoky character influenced by the decaying forest matter of the Tasmanian native vegetation surrounding the peat bog. The Tasmanian peat character is subtly different from Scottish peat. At lark distillery we've also developed a process of post malt peat smoking in which the Scotch Whisky Industry have shown particular interest. No other distillery in Australia peat smokes their malt using Tasmanian peat in the manner we do".
For the rest of it go here~~~~> http://www.nicks.com.au/index.aspx?link_id=76.1612

[sheamas_88]

I'm a bit of a scotch man myself, I have done A LOT of research into making scotch using grains and after about 2 years I think my recipe is pretty good.

I use a mixture of peated malt and regular malt which I just get from CraftBrewer. I use a ratio of 1:4 of peated malt and Golden Promise malt (used by a few of whiskey makers). This ratio gives me the amount of smokiness I like but you can change the ratio to add/remove the smokiness for your taste.

You want to have a mash temp on the low side so that you get the largest conversion of starch to sugar. I usually mash at around 64.5-66.5C.
Now what is probably the most important part of making a good scotch, getting out as much protein as you can from the wort. I tried two ways, and settled on the one that works best for me. The first way is to crash chill the mash after you have removed all the grains, the second is to add Whirfloc. My preference is to add Whirfloc since its a lot easier for me to do and I always end up with a nice solid cake of trub at the bottom which is really easy to remove.

Once the trub is removed, chill the wort to fermentation temperature and add the yeast. I just use Safale US-05 but you could also try a good Scottish yeast instead. You could also throw in a couple of Beano tablets as well to try and get more starch conversion but generally I don't bother too much if I have done the mash really well.

Also if you are having problems using grains, you could try using liquid malt. I used it when I first started and didn't think I could handle doing grain as well as trying to learn to distill as well. Just make sure the LM you buy does not have any hops in it! Trust me it won't work out well.

Once you've distilled it, age it for as long as you can stand and I promise you'll be impressed with it. As you can see its really not any more involved than AG beer making so most people shouldn't have any problem with it

[Frank]

Mate, that's an interesting, informative post (IMHO). Thanx.
Re your 1:4 recipe..just what kind of peat flavoured whisky do you like/are you aiming for?
BTW personal disclosure: already every-bloody-where on this forum; I like a 'full on' ISLAY style ;)

Also re using your reflux still, do you try and run it like a potstill (eg remove packing, I think :? ) for a lower ABV%, more flavoured neutral or ????

(EDIT: my typing is sh#t sometimes :oops: )