scorched grain problems?

[snoozer]

Hey guys,
I've been making my bourbon from flaked corn and rye in the past but have decided that as cracked corn is so cheap that I should use it.
I'm concerned about burning and sticking the corn to the bottom of the pot during the long boil and I dont fancy standing there stirring the grain by hand for that length of time :handgestures-thumbdown:
I've been thinking of ways to deal with the problem and have come up with 1) a false bottom to suspend the grain off the bottom 2) building a motorized mash stirrer 3) stirring by hand until it comes to a boil, then turning flame off and insulating the pot to keep the temp near boiling for an hour (dunno how effective this would be, do u need a rolling boil?)
Of these option number 1 involves the least effort if number 3 doesnt work properly, (I'm a lazy bugger) :roll: .
So I'm just after some opinions/advice from those who've tackled this scorching problem before, how did you solve it?
If I go with the false bottom I'm just gonna get some perforated sheet and have it cut to slip snug in my kettle & suspend it off the bottom with SS bolts & nuts. I'm thinking round holes about 2-3mm diameter spaced about 2-3mm apart, just to keep the corn fragments off the bottom. I don't think the % open area or stagger is crucial is it? as I'm not filtering like brewers do. Anything else I need to consider?
Anyway, advice/opinions appreciated...
snoozer

[R-sole]

I've made one and it doesn't work. the flour and small fragments as well as what pint calls the 'corncrete' go through the holes and scortch on the bottom.

Out of your three options #2 has the only chance of working.

You're best option may be to build a simple steam injection cooker.


You're main problem is going to be seperating the grain from the wash either before or after fermentation. :angry-banghead:

I have had one or two people tell me they distill on the grain with gas fired kegs no prob, but i've never tried it.



Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there's not too many that have a simple system for corn.

[snoozer]

Hey 5Star, ahh crap! that is bad news... :angry-banghead:
I ferment on the grains and actually don't have TOO many dramas seperating the grain from the wash. I just line the fermenter with a voile bag and pull it out at the end, I wasn't really happy with how much liquid was absorbed by the grain so I built a cider/wine press to squeeze out all the juice and then let it sit until the cloudiness drops and I can see through my fermenter, then I run it.
I'm surprised that corn presents such problems as a fair few seem to use it, maybe they just resign themselves to stirring by hand the whole time?
I'm gonna build a mechanized stirrer anyway to stir my HLT water for brewing (from an electric icecream maker), I reckon it should work for this so long as the paddle scrapes along the bottom of the pot (may have to attach a teflon or silicon strip to the bottom of the paddle though).
I've got no idea about a steam injection cooker, would you place a copper pipe manifold in the mash? if so, would you not still get scorching on the hot pipes?
I'm moving to enzymes now rather than malt and have heard about adding alpha amylase as the water starts to thicken coming up to a boil, apparently by the time its up to a boil a lot of the glueyness has broken down making it a lot easier to stir. I hope it works!
Do you use a steam cooker 5Star?
thanks for the reply
snoozer

[Modernity]

Snoozer,

My understanding is that copper is less likely scorch as copper it is a wet metal. Stainless is a dry metal and therefore holds the liquid off the dry surface and maintains a higher surface temp. This lets the metal become hotter than the liquid and scorch. Copper on the other hand is a wet metal and the copper is cooled by the liquid on one side and heated by the steam on the other. Therefore the scorch issue should be reduced with a lower metal surface temp.

[R-sole]

Yes, a copper manifold is what most use. No material will scorch as it will only be a maximum of 100 degrees in a non pressurised steam injection system (a couple degress above it as there will be a little bit of head pressure the depth of your mash).
Steam injection can be simple..

This is Pints setup..

http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3 ... &hilit=pdf

This is mine...

http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3 ... f=4&t=1773


You're stirrer will work well too. Enzymes are OK, malt is good too as it adds a flavour you don't get with plain corn.
A combination of both is the best, sorta suspenders and belt.
Definately add some malt or alpha as it is coming up to temp as this will make it much easier to stir.

[snoozer]

After quite a bit of hunting I'v decided to go with steam injection mashing (thanks to pints excellent thread at AD and various pm's with AD members).
Its surprisingly easy I think, I already have a hughjarse pressure cooker and a roll of 1/4" copper line. I'll roll it into a corkscrew shape like my wort immersion chiller, drill a buch of 3mm holes and connect it with a compression fitting. Too easy!
I think i've found my answer... :dance: