First time with maize grits mash and I have some questions

Say Hi and introduce yourself

First time with maize grits mash and I have some questions

Postby Mt-coolum-moonshine » Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:02 pm

Hey guys iv got my hands on 25 kg of yellow maize grits and am looking to do a whiskey burbon mash.
The fella i brought it off said it would be best to boiled it for half a hour before chucking in the fermenter ??
Dose anyone know why ??
Also what kinda of yeast would you recommend getting for a whiskey/ burbon mash.
Any criticism would be muchly appreciate thanks heaps guys
Last edited by Mt-coolum-moonshine on Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mt-coolum-moonshine
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2022 12:38 pm
equipment: Boiling pot still

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby The Stig » Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:25 pm

Welcome to the forum, maybe drop into the welcome center and do an intro.
The starches need to be converted to sugar that the yeast can consume unless your using something like Angel Yeast .
And unless you add something else like Rye or other grains your not making bourbon , your just making corn whiskey
The Stig
Site Nerd
 
Posts: 18192
Images: 9
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:37 am
equipment: Only the Best will Do.
Mac4 SSG Bubbles of Joy

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby howard » Tue Jan 11, 2022 1:34 am

pretty new to corn myself, but i don't think half hour will do much if they are not pre-gelatinised.
grits are not usually malted as far as i know, and there are several ways to treat grits.
get them to a high temp in water and leave them wrapped up overnight ( i got an infection doing this)
grind them finer to get better extraction, this will of course make thick porridge, and use high temp enzymes.
treat them with other enzymes.
treat them with yellow angel yeast.
use enough of other malted grains to provide natural enzymes.
you might need to read up on starch/sugar/enzymes/conversion etc and pick your method.
sorry, i don't think there is an easy answer
howard
 
Posts: 366
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:53 am
Location: perth
equipment: 35l brewzilla
2" modular CM
gin caddy
changeover element switch and voltage controller on brewzillas 1900w element.
5L glass boiler/glass leibig

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby Mt-coolum-moonshine » Tue Jan 11, 2022 7:35 am

Cheers for the info I think I need to do some More research. iv been doing turbo yeast and sugar mashes for like 4 years and have always been keen on trying a corn wash and when the grits come along at $2 a kg I had to try haha
Chees for the info :)
Mt-coolum-moonshine
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2022 12:38 pm
equipment: Boiling pot still

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby bluc » Tue Jan 11, 2022 7:39 am

Do yourself a favour. Get some yellow label angel yeast for round one is super simple and will give you a good indication of flavour.

Then grab some barley(its very forgiving in comparison) and get your head around the mashing process. Its a fairly steep learnt ng curve.

+1 with stig you will need malted barley and rye/wheat for burbon.

Pilsner/ale/pale malt are good choices for malt. Distillers malt is ok too but has a lighter flavour it is malted for maximum enzyme power more so then strong flavour like ale malt.

If you are set on traditional mashing or with high temp enzyme then you need to boil corn till ot sets into a very thick porridge. You can pour over boiling water insulate and let sit, any form of heating element will scorch unless continuously stirred. Then add high temp enzymes then
Cool it to 60-63c then add malts.

Mashing corn can be a very frusting thing.
bluc
Site Donor
 
Posts: 8967
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2015 5:47 pm
Location: sunshine coast
equipment: 2" pot with 2" shotty 400mm long 5x 1/2" on a t500 boiler.
50l keg boiler 4" still mount 4" sight glass 1" drain..
4 plate 4" bubbler, 600mm packed section

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby bluc » Tue Jan 11, 2022 7:41 am

I also found water ph levels to be pretty important. Devil is in the detail.
bluc
Site Donor
 
Posts: 8967
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2015 5:47 pm
Location: sunshine coast
equipment: 2" pot with 2" shotty 400mm long 5x 1/2" on a t500 boiler.
50l keg boiler 4" still mount 4" sight glass 1" drain..
4 plate 4" bubbler, 600mm packed section

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby Mt-coolum-moonshine » Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:55 am

Cheers for the info bluc some good pointers in there for me.
You know a lot more then me it would be awsome to sit down and have a chat and a drink with you one day :)
Mt-coolum-moonshine
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2022 12:38 pm
equipment: Boiling pot still

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby Haza » Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:16 pm

Who hoo, finally something I know about! :D

I know about this from making when making stupid American cream ales!

As most all grain beer brewers already know malted barley has an excess of protein, that corn and rice don't and you can use this to your own advantage to make a mash that will be converted easily by the enzymes in the malt.
Corn and rice starches don't gelatinise at mash temperatures and aren't available to the malt enzymes for conversion into sugars. Boiling the cereal gelatinizes the starch, but then you have cooked rice or cornmeal mush, and those are hard to handle in a brewery – think sparging (rinsing) nightmare!

Plus, when they cool, they become really stiff (like a porridge) and hard to move or incorporate into the mash. The secret turns out to be malt. By adding a small amount of malt to the cereal and mashing a short time before cooking, the cereals become quite thin and stay that way there’s a whole stack of reading you can do on betta and alpha amylase but - let’s not go down that rabbit hole.

With modern malts you don’t need to add as much as they did 100 hundred years ago was to use 30% malt by weight. The current practice of using only 10% of something with a high enzyme character like a pilsner or American ale malt – steer clear from caramel or crystal malts as they have had most of the enzymes that you want already caramelised with heat in the malting roasting process.

Use about 1.5 litres of adjusted water for every 500g of corn and increase that to 2 litres if you are going to use rice and corn meal should be cooked covered about 30 minutes with a lid on the pot Stir as you bring them up to a boil and occasionally during the boil, adding more water if necessary. It's best not to overcook rice, but corn can be cooked longer for more flavour and colour reactions to take place in the cooker if you want these.

Meanwhile, you have started the main, or malt mash, and timed it so just as the cereal mash is done, it is time to boost the temperature of the main mash. It's best to plan this ahead on paper.

The recommended mash schedule for the Barley main mash - mash in at 62 – 63°C, rest for 30-45 minutes (wrap the pot or kettle in old towels / sleeping bags) while boiling the cereal mash, add the cereal mash, which brings the combined mash to about 73-74°C (you may need to add some boiling water or heat), and rest another 30-45 minutes. This produces a wort with high fermentability.

If you want to go even further once the mash has cooled and you have sparged you can also get a dry enzyme form brew shops that works at fermentation temperatures that will further break down the non-fermentable sugars in your wash and really drive down the final gravity.

Hope that helps

Cheers
Haza
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2022 11:54 am
Location: Townsville - Nth QLD
equipment: Plated 2” Reflux Modular Frankenstien Column - (Build in progress)
Still Sppirits Turbo 500 - From LHBS - Stock Standard

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby Garfield » Thu Jan 13, 2022 5:30 pm

Great post Haza. I came across a magical bag of malted corn over Christmas coz Santa is real. Does anyone know if I can just do a standard 45min sach rest at 64c? Like would I treat it as other brewing malts??
Garfield
 
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2016 4:19 pm
equipment: Reflux still

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby bluc » Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:03 am

Yes so long as you grind and gelatinize it first.
bluc
Site Donor
 
Posts: 8967
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2015 5:47 pm
Location: sunshine coast
equipment: 2" pot with 2" shotty 400mm long 5x 1/2" on a t500 boiler.
50l keg boiler 4" still mount 4" sight glass 1" drain..
4 plate 4" bubbler, 600mm packed section

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby Garfield » Sat Jan 15, 2022 9:13 pm

So no, then ;-)
Garfield
 
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2016 4:19 pm
equipment: Reflux still

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby Garfield » Sun Jan 16, 2022 5:31 pm

What's the idea behind malted corn if it still needs gelatinizing? A mere step mash protein/sach/alpha wouldn't get a conversion from the corn malts? It would be 25% barley and rye too.

I'm starting to highjack now ... Hope this helps OP lol
Garfield
 
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2016 4:19 pm
equipment: Reflux still

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby RC Al » Mon Jan 17, 2022 1:08 pm

Flavour, you could gelataize and then use the other malts to convert.
Last edited by RC Al on Mon Jan 17, 2022 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
RC Al
Mentor
 
Posts: 1568
Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2017 4:58 pm
Location: Sunshine Coast Area
equipment: 3 plate 4" glasser
2" Potty

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby Garfield » Mon Jan 17, 2022 8:33 pm

Roger.

I'll put all the above into practice and post a new thread on the experience next time I get a weekend off
Garfield
 
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2016 4:19 pm
equipment: Reflux still

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby Mt-coolum-moonshine » Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:19 pm

A“mate” of mine has suggested to go 15 kg of corn gritx (with a bomb from a turbo yeast) and 9 kg of sugar and 40 grams of turbo yeast. This is just his thoughts after watching a few YouTube video.
I’m not sure if I want to waist my grits
Any thoughts ??????
Mt-coolum-moonshine
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2022 12:38 pm
equipment: Boiling pot still

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby The Stig » Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:26 pm

Turbo yeast and corn :naughty: :puke-huge:
The Stig
Site Nerd
 
Posts: 18192
Images: 9
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:37 am
equipment: Only the Best will Do.
Mac4 SSG Bubbles of Joy

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby RC Al » Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:10 pm

If your just going to go sugar wash, follow the directions & quantities for bwko in the recipe section, substituting any or all the listed grain for your corn (or follow the recipe ingredients fully).

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=6
At the bottom is a link to the discussion thread, top of page 49 are some Litres to Grams conversions to help you interpret the quantities listed

Your stepping up your game, time to take the turbo training wheels off and and take the time to make some real hooch :handgestures-thumbupleft:
RC Al
Mentor
 
Posts: 1568
Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2017 4:58 pm
Location: Sunshine Coast Area
equipment: 3 plate 4" glasser
2" Potty

Re: First time with maize grits mash and I have some questio

Postby Garfield » Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:39 pm

"Turbo yeast"

The signature of the apprentice whose master is the owner of the local brew shop. Those who can't, teach ;-)
Garfield
 
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2016 4:19 pm
equipment: Reflux still


Return to Welcome Centre



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests

x