This is a very good recipe for small batches. Doing it just as shown in the video produced a 7.5% ABV corn beer that distills into a tasty white whiskey. Fermentation time was two weeks using active dry bread yeast. I blended the rehydrated fruit as suggested which allowed it to mix into the mash nicely. I did have to re-energize the fermentation with an additional yeast pitch after four days. Finally, I used a mesh brew-in-a-bag that fits into a 6.5 gallon bucket to filter out the solids before distilling. Next time I'll probably just use raisins instead of exotic fruit and see how that works. Thank you for this video instruction, wcemichael!
I made the mash and I did two batches. The first batch I followed your recipe to the tee using corn meal, 2-3 pounds of dried fruit, but I also added a jar of Welch's grape jelly when I heated up the fruit to hydrate it. I did use a blender to chop it all up. I added 7 lbs of sugar to this batch and used regular bakers yeast. That fermented in 2 weeks. The second batch was a box of frosted flakes and 3 boxes of corn chex. I used 10 lbs of sugar and used regular bakers yeast too. This fermented in 10 days. I distilled all if it and got 2 gallons from the first distillation and then distilled again and that yielded 1.5 gallons. The second distillation was at 86% ABV and then dropped down to 56% ABD at the end. I am very happy and satisfied with my results and now I will dilute this batch to get average around 100 proof. I am going to flavor some of it with apple cinnamon. But the corn taste in this shine is very nice and has a smooth mellow taste. Thanks for you recipe and your video. Mike
Rule of thumb (for me anyway) I use 1 teaspoon of yeast per gal (estimated). I also add a couple spoons of turbo yeast in this 5 gal mash. You can add more for quicker fermentation, but that could also affect taste so I add as little as possible and let time do most of the work.
also I watched a lot of videos before choosing this recipe. I found this one to be easy to understand and follow. thanks! i really love the end product I got from this recipe!
Siege Perilous Probably as much as anyone would need to know, her and George from Barleyandhopsbrewing which just put that into youtube and you'll find more information then you can process its a expensive hobby but hell with my mile high 13 gallon electric variable controlled Dual purpose reflux/pot still its more than enough to get it right and as long as you dont use that shitty turbo yeast you'll be fine
I know this is an old video but if you don't mind how much emulast enzyme did you put in it and do you remember about how many quarts you got out of that
@@wcemichael How would you then get it to near 200 percent proof, such as Everclear is? This is my goal, to make very high proof alcohol for herb tincture / herb oil extraction purposes. Thanks, Michael! Really enjoying your moonshine videos - all new to me - though I've made wine before, but never this. Thanks again.
@@steveandrews8301 if still wondering, you just have to run the distillate through the distiller again and again. My countertop distiller with 5 gallons of sugar wash (6 batches, very time consuming) makes almost 3 quarts @ 90 proof. Then I put that product through the machine 5x more to get less than 1 quart at 185 proof. It is a very old countertopdistiller.
I've already had this argument. I have more corn than sugar. I also have fruit so argue that it's brandy, another person insists it's corn wine. It's a very *traditional style* corn whiskey. Go argue with the southern mooners over the name. I don't care if you call it a "flying artichoke sundae"
Its called a mixed distillate or mixed spirit. Techincally if you followed the other guildlines such as proof and oak aged it can be labeled a bourbon. The only base requirement of the mash is that at least 51% is corn. You could add whatever as long as the corn is 51% or more of the mash You are also correct its very traditional to add fruit various botanical s herbs you name it.
It's an insulated "igloo" water cooler. I have another video where I converted a pressure cooker. It holds 1 gal. You can get a mash done in a couple of hours and refill it and go again. My best tasting shine is made from fruit juice and common bread yeast. I'm sure you can come up with that.
Depends on how much yeast you use. I tend to use less yeast and let time be the key ingredient. Mashes tend to need at least 5-7 days. When the brew stops bubbling, it's done.
@@casperh-k324 If your house is 70 deg F...it should be fine. I have kept one next to a heat vent with a coat/blanket over both to catch the heat. If you can keep it at 90 it should work better
To do a simple "starch-end" test [to see when all starch has converted to sugars] get a small plate or mug [white porcelain] and place a drop or 2 of the mash liquid [without any corn at all, just mash liquid] onto the plate. On the edge of the pool of mash liquid, place 1 drop of iodine. If the iodine/mash liquid turns black, starch is still present. No color-change of the iodine means no starch [all sugar]. Toss that test into the sink, not back into the mash :D Thanks for the video!
That works great but I just take a small sample and add a pinch of yeast. After 10 min it will foam up. it won't tell me if it's totally converted but it works.
No no no....Please, watch my other videos. Start with redistilling cheap whiskey or vodka, then move to distilling wine to learn to make your cuts, then make make brandy using your own fruit mash, THEN make grain alcohol. Each step has it's own lessons that need to be learned. If you dive into the final step, you could do 1 of 100 things wrong
Ive done this and messed up my last two mash attempts because of temperature issues. DO NOT ADD THE AMYLASE UNTIL YOU COOL DOWN TO AROUND 150 DEGREES F. Also meal is ok to just heat up like this but if you use cracked corn, you must boil it for a while until it gets nice and soupy and thick. Ive been doing a lot of research because i cant get my starches to covert with the amylase enzyme. Any input?
If you did your research a bit more thoroughly, you would find that you have only converted your starches from the corn into UNFERMENTABLE long-chain sugars (i.e. dextrose, etc.). In order to convert long-chain sugars into short-chain FERMENTABLE sugars (sucrose, fructose, glucose) you must add GLUCOamylase AFTER the alpha amylase. ALPHA amylase turns starches into long-chain non-fermentable sugars only. you should start adding the Alpha at around 165 F, rest an hour, then add the Glucoamylase at 150 F, rest it there for a few hours. Insulation really helps keep the heat at this stage (Use an insulated 5 gal water cooler as per this vid and extra blankets). My main point here is, you could make more and better shine using this method (or by using malted barley that has ALL the enzymes needed to convert starches from corn into fermentable sugars). You should be able to nearly DOUBLE your yield of shine. I happen to be gluten intolerant, so I will stick to enzymes. Hope this helps all the new distillers out there! BTW, using table sugar is cheating and adds toxins and off-flavors. Potentially lethal ones like methyl alcohol, also potentially causing blindness. Use common sense.
This reminds me of learning how to make brew while in jail. Nothing fancy about it, simple and easy to do. I am going to try this recipe, thanks for sharing.
Simple reason, I want to keep things as simple as possible for the newbies. When they get their confidence up after a couple batches, they can start experimenting with other stuff like brewers yeast.
@@anonymousplayer5080 Oh no no no.. Don't start out with this. Practice re-distilling cheap booze then the wine....then making your own wine.... THEN this
@@wcemichael hey, glad to see a newer comment, means you are still around ;) ... just asking for a friend, there is some cheap likker here in THailland, is it possible to upgrade it? lets say a couple of bottles of this really shitty tasting booze added with some fruits, keeping it for 2 weeks and after stilling it?
I made the same with Jimmy Red corn, and it was fabulous. Did not use any kind of juice. I used flashman's bread yeast did a 10 gal Mash I ran it very low and slow. On a solid copper still and the results was fabulous as always. I never use cornmeal.
great vid i made and distilled this mash myself followed this recipe and it is 100% no fake i altered a couple measurements of things dew to own taste but with and with out fruit both came out 170 proof if any one tries this and it goes wrong its your own fault as this recipe works .
@@ebertaellenburg5865 thats relative to how much mash you make. If its a 5 gallon mash you'll end up close to 4 liters so it all depends on how big your fermenter is
"Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the saccharification of starch and fermentation of the resulting sugar. The starch and saccharification enzymes are often derived from malted cereal grains," My recipe does fit these guidelines. ALSO, moonshiners often refer to their mashes as beer. IN POPCORN SUTTON'S VIDEO (the last dam run of likker I'm ever gonna make) HE REFERS TO MASH AS BEER.
Of course you can. I only use it as a total volume booster. But as a rule of thumb, you'll only get about 1 lb of usable sugar for every 5 lb of corn, it might be a little more.
My uncle made moonshine in the 1930s in a 50 gallon still, he said he always used chopped corn and never corn meal because of the problem you had. He cooked the mash in the still and he refilled the still twice more to get all the alcohol out of the mash. He used caramel that he made on the stove to color the whiskey. He said even after the third cooking the mash still had some alcohol in it when he cleaned out the still.
Amylase will convert starch into mostly dextrin, which is not fermentable. What you need is glucoamylase, which will convert starch all the way down to fermentable glucose. I know BSG Handcraft markets "Convertase AG-300", which is glucoamylase extracted from Aspergillus molds, however, I don't know where one can purchase it in small quantities. China appears to be the main manufacturer of all these enzymes.
thank you. I did it by just putting it in the garage in a cardboard box and putting towels around it. it just ferments slower in lower temp. took me about 2 1/2 weeks but I was also adding sugar until the yeast couldn't handle anymore.
+wcemichael I had did EVERYTHING you did except add fruit. Also I used The White Cornmeal with Amylase enzymes, and it is Day 3 and My Mash Smells Like Sourdough bread.. Is this Normal?
With all these fancy enzine ingredients that you're putting in i think I hear Old Man McCooch spinning in his grave! HA HA HA!!! It's always good to update/upgrade SOME old recipes.. I'm guessing that you must also live alone because when Mash is working it smells to High Heaven. Your house will have an aroma of it's own! HA HA HA!!! Most women usually don't take to the aroma! If they do MARRY them! HA HA HA! As to people usually young_uns that say "All that work for JUST THAT? I can spend ten bucks and get more!" These folks have completely missed the point! It's the self satisfaction of knowing that you CAN do it! Especially If the Dung Hits the Fan! Thank you Sir for an entertaining video. I wish you would of shown people the distilling process and some easy methods. A Pressure Cooker comes to mind.
2 key things. Get your mash as strong as possible. After getting your still up to heat, turn the flame down and cook it off as long slow as possible. All my mashes with sugar added, usually have a proof of 130. My rice only mash made 80 proof.
"Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the saccharification of starch and fermentation of the resulting sugar. The starch and saccharification enzymes are often derived from malted cereal grains," My recipe does fit these guidelines. ALSO, moonshiners often refer to their mashes as beer. IN POPCORN SUTTON'S VIDEO (the last dam run of likker I'm ever gonna make) HE REFERS TO MASH AS BEER. Strike two.
Had a friend from up in Tennessee and he would go up and get 5 gallons of popcorn suttons finest brew . You had to buy it at least 5 gallons at a time so we would go in together . Was $80 a gallon way back then . But a couple of shots had you walking sideways .
I made my 1st batch of moonshine the other day with this recipe and I have to say the flavor from the fruit is absolutely delish. I will use this recipie again and again! highly recommended. very high alchol content and smooth yummy flavor! give it a go you wont be disappointed!
In general, malt is seed that has been allowed to sprout. Seeds are full of starch, but plants run on sugar produced by the leaves and sunlight. Until a plant is big enough to grow leaves it survives on it own food supply and the sprouts have the enzymes to convert starch to sugar to allow it to grow it's first leaves These sprouts are collected, dried, ground up, and added to grain mashes to convert starches to sugar. Yeast then converts sugar to alcohol.
I followed this recipe almost to a T. Made some great shine. However, with the fruit I added, it had a smell of distilled wine. Better than the smell of rubbing alcohol.
You said sugar and yeast could be found on any shelf in any store. I looked on the motor oil shelf at my local auto parts and didn't see either of those things...
I finally got a chance to try this recipe, only I had no access to dried fruit so I just used corn meal, spring water and a few pounds of sugar. I use a different yeast as well, but yeast is a debatable thing and typically something each brewer approaches differently. I tried this before with cracked corn, but cracked corn doesn't really convert well with amylase, least it didn't for me, but corn meal works wonderfully. I use a doubler keg to get a cleaner product as well, and distilled correctly, this is the best straight corn I've ever made and I've been at it awhile, this is now my standard. I didn't even have to charcoal filter it either, just a clean coffee filter. I may do variations of ground grains as well, like rye and barley.
I actually use to use raisins as a yeast nutrient in my old cracked corn/sugar batches, my cousin who is a winemaker told me about it as opposed to using the "chemical" yeast nutrients that you buy a brew suppliers. I want to try the dried fruit though, I'm sure if I look hard enough at the local Amish market I will find it for reasonable, just as I was able to finde the yellow corn meal for $2 for 5 pounds.
Oh yea, I can get a BIG bag of corn meal. But I don't know yet if I'd use it all. Still exploring what I show people and I live in a small house with no man cave.
Just wanted to say thanks for putting up the video. Once I make it a few times I'll be moving on to my great grandmas recipe. It's been hanging framed in my house for 24 years!
Its an Okay recipe.. wouldnt call it the best though.. Enzymes are not necessary to add to this mash.. Adding Enzymes is for when you are using a Back set as your yeast.. Starch,sugar,water, yeast.. all you need.. If you were to use whole kernels, and not sprout them, you would need the enzyme.. If the corn is milled in any way, the enzyme is released..
I love this. It can be made on the back of my pickup truck on the tailgate with a Coleman camp stove whilst at the lake and the kids playing in the local watering hole !
I don't know the exact numbers, but it is also my obervation (and Derp's argument), that a small 3 gal mash (for example only) containing 2 lb of corn won't make as much alcohol as the same mash made with 1 lb corn and 1 lb sugar. The sugar may be more expensive in the short term, BUT that sugar will give you a greater amount of alcohol. So in the long term, pound for pound and gallon for gallon, corn and sugar cost about the same.
Using a copper pot belly still with both thermostat and pressure gauge two tumbling kegs and instead of a condenser worm in a water filled container I use an up right freezer with 150 feet of copper tubing snaking through the door like a radiator keeping the freezer below 35 degrees
What everyone here needs to know is that without the Amylase Enzyme, the corn (regardless of what type) WILL NOT CONVERT TO SUGAR! Unless you use fully malted corn, or some combination (over an extended ferment period) to convert the corn via malting, there is NO WAY to convert the corn starch into sugar via heat alone. Period. It's simple chemistry. Otherwise all you get is a corn flavored (barely, and by that I mean vey little flavor) sugar wash. Fine for making "alcohol", but not corn whiskey. If you follow this recipe properly, I promise you it will produce delicious, proper corn whiskey, And if you use a higher grade, better yeast, you can actually get much higher yields. I've done it.
Very well said. My recipes are as basic as they can get but still get the job done, and I do use basic stuff found in common places. This is done so the average layman can understand the basic principles involved. I hope that they can be creative and inventive and find new and/or better ways to do things, such as you have done.
@@Forbidaxe everything I have made has always smelled like wine but I have have done is fruit mash and sugar was. Never have done a corn wiskey. Mostly because I haven't done much research into amylase enzyme and I know its needed to convert starch to fermentable sugar.
Actually, you can do freeze distillation. It's a process where you place the alcoholic "beer" (after the yeast is done fermenting) into the freezer. As ice crystals form on the surface, you scrape them away and throw them out (this is mainly water). The alcohol will not form into as in home freezers (it doesn't get cold enough). As you throw more and more ice away, your liquor gets stronger and stronger. There will be a point at which ice no longer forms. This is how apple jack is made.
Don't use 'bread yeast' for distilling; most bread yeast (including Red Star) produces an average ABV of around 8%... Use a high alcohol tolerant yeast which is designated for grain distillation mash; which runs usually around 14%- 18% ABV. A friend of mine who makes vodka uses a yeast made for Sake production; which can run as high as 23% ABV under optimal fermentation conditions (checking for the correct sugar content w/ a hygrometer per amount of yeast, using the yeast nutrients & fermentation temperatures as specified on the package.) It's probably one of the highest ABV producing yeasts in the world right now-. Made by Alltech.
Bull shit, i use redstar all the time for my fractional still and it works fine so this whole it doesn't provide high enough abv is bullshit, im getting 185 proof runs with my still just fine, I also use distillers malt/2 row/corn wash with 50 pounds of sugar so its not true about what you said.
That's a rookie mistake. Keep the ABV of the wash to 8% or so but not higher. You develop off flavors when you shoot for higher ABV. Just make a larger wash at 8% and do a couple of strip runs then a spirit run. You'll end up with much better product that way. Also if using sugar (I don't) the very best yeast to use is typical bread yeast. Same for Rum. I wouldn't use other yeasts until you get into all grains.
Yes. Don't ask me why. All the beer and wine you buy at the store are the same way. Someone told me you can leave it in there, BUT I won't and there is also a taste difference, so cutting it out adds smoothness.
wcemichael Incorrect, the acrospires need to be shaken off because if fermented they introduce off flavors since they are protein/starch profile outgrowths of the corn, to form the plant. You don't make whiskey with the acrospires, or what you again incorrectly call sprouts. You need to learn this before passing on all this dangerously wrong information. But at least they will know how to make bad sugar liquor.
NatureMovies The definition of acrospire is the first shoot/sprout. "you don't make whisky with the acrospires" Not seeing were I said you did You soak a seed, it starts to grow, before it has leaves to convert sunlight into sugar, it's called a sprout. You know, like in bean sprouts? All vegetation runs off sugar from sunlight, it's called photosynthesis. Until it has leaves to do that, it has to run off it's own starch reserve found in the seed. The sprout has the enzymes to convert the starch into sugar. You collect them, dry them, grind them, add them to grain starch, you get sugar
wcemichael In the above comment you said "the sprout IS the important part of the malt." It isn't....only what it does, which is to convert the starches to fermentable sugars naturally. Also, Alpha Amylase only convers sugars into long chain sugars, Gluco Amylase is necessary to make those same long-chain sugars actually fermentable. You only mention amylase, well, there are several kinds, the Alpha and Gluco being two critical one's for fermentation. I'd really suggest you look at homedistiller.org and do some reading, you will find it extremely enlightening. Your information here is pretty spotty and I barely see how anyone could actually get a distillable wash out of your recipe. Fruit? Fruit requires an entirely different enzyme to break it down into usable nutrients and sugars, called pectinase. You never mention that. You can get marginal sugar results from simple water exposure, but you are missing around half of available sugar without using a pectinase. That and the lack if distingusihing between the amylases are prime examples of incorrect knowledge of distillation, knowledge that can make the difference between having no fermentation, or a crappy distillate, or having something worthwhile from the same mashing materials. Again, no offense intended. I appreciate your enthusiasm, if you did this right you would have some useful videos. Please consider research, it would help your mashes as well. For reference, I am a Federally licensed distilling professional.
MarquisEstelle Enzyme conversion. You have to use two enzymes in the right order and at the right temps to get any kind of conversion. If you add either one above 170 they will be of no use. Alpha Amylase should be added between 150-160 Far. and kept at around 155 to convert starches into long chain sugars, these sugars ARE NOT fermentable. You must add Gluco Amylase at between 147-155 and keep it at strike temp for at least an hour to get conversion. Most don't let it go over 151, but the enzymes can handle a little variation. Keep in mind too that in grain mashes barley does this job, but commercial distilleries use amylase to ensure complete conversion. Iodine starch test can easily confirm. It is important to use both enzymes at the right temp in order get good conversion of starches. Corn needs to be cooked in order to loosen and expose the starches. Using fruit for mashes requires pectinase enzyme to break open the sugar containers in order to ferment. There are high temp versions of these enzymes that can be added at high temps and start conversion before chilling. In real-life distilling situations an immersion chiller is used to chill the wort faster for adding enzymes and heat is controlled to maintain and hold strike temps to get complete conversion. No need to use enzymes on sugar, in fact, do not put enzymes in at the same time as sugar, add sugar after fermentation has commenced. Alpha added first, then Gluco later, Gluco is the enzyme that does the real work, but it can only work with long-chain sugars provided by the Alpha.
MarquisEstelle I didn't read your whole comment. I will read it in full later, but you were spot on from what I did read. However, I use a mixed amylase. It has both parts in it and used it with whatever info I could scratch up. Maybe I'll have to do a follow up video on this later. Thanks for the info.
I said that because the thumper would prevent your mash foam from getting into your coil/ whisky as you mentioned in my previous comment. Also preventing you from having to filter it so finely.
Got to give it a go , looks really good , all i will change is to use turbo yeast and use turbo clear after fermentation . Well done mate and thanks for sharing , cheers :-)
Have you ever used ground malt or liquid malt instead of the amylase? Wondering which route I should take....I'm thinking that ground or liquid malt may add some flavor, Just curious. Great Video!
Yeah nice one, a way thicker mash than I am used to, I tend to do 50l sugar washes, cornmeal once in a while and fruit when it's in season (especially if theres a tree handy). I am running the stills this weekend, I'm just de-gassing and sterilizing everything, but I will try this method next time, thanks man. I expect you are still at it...
Hi w/c could I use regular fruit (not dried ) in my mash instead ? Say strawberries, kiwi or what ever thinking g a couple lbs blended up and put into mash thx great video
I use bread yeast so I only get a quart of 130 proof. Then I get about a quart and a half of tails that range from about 100 pr. To 40 real fast. If you use a yeast that is for high alcohol you can get alot more of the good stuff. I will be using a turbo yeast soon so I can get more. I'm new at this too but I've had good success with the 8 runs that I've done with just using the bread yeast. But I'm looking forward to using the turbo.
I still had some corn residue solids, making it cloudy. So once you get the chunky stuff out and an initial residue out, your good to go. A single or double will work
What kind of blueberry shine? This has corn in it, or do want all blueberrys. Do you want a small amount of pure blueberry, or a large quantity made partly with sugar?
Started watching yoy, Michael about 6 yeara ago. You have tought me how to shine. From the still tovthe wash/mash. Hooe youre recovering well keep uo the awesome videos and content
Ah. You are right in that aspect, but also you wouldn't know if you were foaming because you could not see inside the barrel. It works but it's a little bit of a trade off.
Can you do a video. Of you running the corn mash through your (on the stove steel) I would love to see that. I have made several Brandy's but never my own mash or beer. I have been reading the foxfire books and have gathered a lot of info but haven't had the funds to build my larger steel, however I built a simple steel like yours besides I added a thumper and it works great I just want to see the corn mash ran to see the similarities between corn mash and store bought wine. Thank you for your videos and feedback keep it up. Michael
That's one rule I have, I'll talk all day long about making moon, and I ran the video of running a little bit of store wine because I thought it was important for people to get a fundamental idea, but I won't ever make a video of me actually making moon. Sorry. There is not going to be a big difference in how you run a still with wine VS a mash. Everything is going to be the same except the overall flavor and your final proof.
and now imagine everyone would use the same measures like LITER instead of quarts or Celsius instead of dark ages Fahrenheit. Since a quart is 0,946353Litres and everybody has 10 but not 12Fingers it would make counting much easier. ;) Great Videos here, hope @wcemichael is still doing his Hobby in Oct. 2021, cheers from a grumpy ole German guy
With 180 degrees between freezing and boiling, the antiquated fahrenheit measuring scale is more accurate. As far as I can tell the metric system was designed for people who are too lazy to do simple math. I refuse to encourage that type of attitude.
I use simple cracked corn as my medium for my mash. 50 lb bag at tractor supply costs $11. That can yield me a 7-8 5 gallon batches of wash for distilling. Add 5lb sugar and you're done. Cheapest solution I've found thus far. After distilling I plan on adding some sliced peaches in the collection jars for flavor, just for an experiment this go around. I estimate each batch of my shine costs only $5 to make, plus the time/effort. Can't beat that!!
is that alpha amylase enzyme you're using or beta enzyme. ive heard you need alpha amylase to break down the big starch chains into small ones and the beta amylase to work on the smaller bits that the alpha left behind.
25 pounds of corn meal, 35 pounds of sugar, 20 packs of yellow pack red star yeast, 50 gallons of hot water, stir, let sit about 10 days. filter it after fermented and pump it into a 30 or 50 gallon still. and its now up to you if you want to break the law or not. enjoy!
Depends on the yeast you use. You can only get 14%+- with bakers yeast. I get 20% because I add a spoon of turbo yeast to the bakers yeast, and give it enough time to work.
When you dilute the shine do you use spring water or distiller water to get to proof needed. And do you run your shine through a charcoal filter to get some of the sharpness out of the distiller shine.
Michael Izbicki On this I've taken the example from good ol' Popcorn Sutton and used (bottled) spring water. I've tried to use charcoal filters a couple times, like with the cognac recipe but I didn't like the black tint it left (that's why you didn't see it in the video). So there might be a couple of good times to use charcoal filters. I just haven't found the need yet. But sometime I should just break down and work with it so viewers have the info
I have put the jack daniaels chips in the corn whiskey I have made and let set for 2 weeks. Drained through coffee filter twice looks good but has a harsh bite to it. Should I put it through a charcoal filter to get the harshness out of it.
Michael Izbicki You might try that. You also may have used too many chips and over aged it. I find that it can have too woodsy of a taste, so I always hold back some unaged spirits to blend back in. Did you try any before aging it?
Michael Izbicki Oh, I cut mine back to 100 proof with spring water, and when I made the cognac, I cut that back to 80 and I added a spoon full of honey
Haha very true man! ;) And thank you soo much for the quick reply! If you drank it at exactly the point you had filtered it would it taste like liquor? Or would it need to go through the whole distillation process?
The temperature of the mash when you pitch the yeast is very important. If it's too hot it will kill the yeast. I usually let it cool to about 80deg F. Also temp during fermentation will effect the time it takes to ferment. You want it to stay over 73 deg but less than 90 deg. Also use fresh yeast. It does have an expiration date.
This is a very good recipe for small batches. Doing it just as shown in the video produced a 7.5% ABV corn beer that distills into a tasty white whiskey. Fermentation time was two weeks using active dry bread yeast. I blended the rehydrated fruit as suggested which allowed it to mix into the mash nicely. I did have to re-energize the fermentation with an additional yeast pitch after four days. Finally, I used a mesh brew-in-a-bag that fits into a 6.5 gallon bucket to filter out the solids before distilling. Next time I'll probably just use raisins instead of exotic fruit and see how that works. Thank you for this video instruction, wcemichael!
+Rob Ricks Glad to hear it worked for you, and thank you for your input
I made the mash and I did two batches. The first batch I followed your recipe to the tee using corn meal, 2-3 pounds of dried fruit, but I also added a jar of Welch's grape jelly when I heated up the fruit to hydrate it. I did use a blender to chop it all up. I added 7 lbs of sugar to this batch and used regular bakers yeast. That fermented in 2 weeks.
The second batch was a box of frosted flakes and 3 boxes of corn chex. I used 10 lbs of sugar and used regular bakers yeast too. This fermented in 10 days. I distilled all if it and got 2 gallons from the first distillation and then distilled again and that yielded 1.5 gallons. The second distillation was at 86% ABV and then dropped down to 56% ABD at the end.
I am very happy and satisfied with my results and now I will dilute this batch to get average around 100 proof. I am going to flavor some of it with apple cinnamon. But the corn taste in this shine is very nice and has a smooth mellow taste.
Thanks for you recipe and your video.
Mike
I like the changes you've made.. I'm surely gonna give it a try as well.. thx for sharing
Breakfast of champions!
Right on
Yum!
What temps should be used @Michael Conroy
Old time moon shiners understood chemistry far better than most people think!
Rule of thumb (for me anyway) I use 1 teaspoon of yeast per gal (estimated). I also add a couple spoons of turbo yeast in this 5 gal mash.
You can add more for quicker fermentation, but that could also affect taste so I add as little as possible and let time do most of the work.
also I watched a lot of videos before choosing this recipe. I found this one to be easy to understand and follow. thanks! i really love the end product I got from this recipe!
Are you using a pot still or reflux?
Go check out Rosie O'Kelly she makes great shine videos and recipes and is really nice. Just go in with a open mind before you watch her vids
Scotty Weißmüller and
Scotty Galloway Lol, she knows her shit.
Siege Perilous Probably as much as anyone would need to know, her and George from Barleyandhopsbrewing which just put that into youtube and you'll find more information then you can process its a expensive hobby but hell with my mile high 13 gallon electric variable controlled Dual purpose reflux/pot still its more than enough to get it right and as long as you dont use that shitty turbo yeast you'll be fine
I used to work for rinkel mill, the building is exactly as shown on package.
When going to a party, it's not as impressive to say "hey, I bought a bottle of Everclear" as it is to say "Hey, check this out I made it myself"
I know this is an old video but if you don't mind how much emulast enzyme did you put in it and do you remember about how many quarts you got out of that
@@thomasharris4562 No... I just eyeballed it... Any 5 gallon mash I make with sugar added gets me about 2 quarts distilled and about 100 proof
@@wcemichael How would you then get it to near 200 percent proof, such as Everclear is? This is my goal, to make very high proof alcohol for herb tincture / herb oil extraction purposes. Thanks, Michael! Really enjoying your moonshine videos - all new to me - though I've made wine before, but never this. Thanks again.
@@steveandrews8301 if still wondering, you just have to run the distillate through the distiller again and again. My countertop distiller with 5 gallons of sugar wash (6 batches, very time consuming) makes almost 3 quarts @ 90 proof. Then I put that product through the machine 5x more to get less than 1 quart at 185 proof. It is a very old countertopdistiller.
@@13whip13 Thanks!!
I've already had this argument. I have more corn than sugar. I also have fruit so argue that it's brandy, another person insists it's corn wine.
It's a very *traditional style* corn whiskey. Go argue with the southern mooners over the name. I don't care if you call it a "flying artichoke sundae"
Its called a mixed distillate or mixed spirit. Techincally if you followed the other guildlines such as proof and oak aged it can be labeled a bourbon. The only base requirement of the mash is that at least 51% is corn. You could add whatever as long as the corn is 51% or more of the mash
You are also correct its very traditional to add fruit various botanical s herbs you name it.
It's good ole down home white lightnin
Flying artichoke sundae tastes...lightenin-gy(to quote the brother rat in Ratatouille movie)
@@Junglehunter677 haha sounds about right, i m loving the name :D :D
Ahhh he said flying artichoke aunday!
thanks for your patience and time. Looking forward to making my first batch!
It's an insulated "igloo" water cooler.
I have another video where I converted a pressure cooker. It holds 1 gal. You can get a mash done in a couple of hours and refill it and go again.
My best tasting shine is made from fruit juice and common bread yeast. I'm sure you can come up with that.
Depends on how much yeast you use. I tend to use less yeast and let time be the key ingredient.
Mashes tend to need at least 5-7 days.
When the brew stops bubbling, it's done.
@@casperh-k324 If your house is 70 deg F...it should be fine. I have kept one next to a heat vent with a coat/blanket over both to catch the heat. If you can keep it at 90 it should work better
i followed youre recipe for the first time i ever distilled and it proofed out at 140. everyone liked it.
@@oldguitarguy7528 That's great, man. Have you been distilling long?
@@wcemichael NO! I HAVE MADE 2 RUNS
@@oldguitarguy7528 wow.. I hoped you at least saw the safety video
To do a simple "starch-end" test [to see when all starch has converted to sugars] get a small plate or mug [white porcelain] and place a drop or 2 of the mash liquid [without any corn at all, just mash liquid] onto the plate. On the edge of the pool of mash liquid, place 1 drop of iodine. If the iodine/mash liquid turns black, starch is still present. No color-change of the iodine means no starch [all sugar]. Toss that test into the sink, not back into the mash :D
Thanks for the video!
That works great but I just take a small sample and add a pinch of yeast. After 10 min it will foam up. it won't tell me if it's totally converted but it works.
Tommy Rad Thanks! Where can we get the iodine? Would be great, since there are so many uses!
Toss the 2-3 drops of your test back INTO your mash and you will have a "Scotch" flavored product. HaHa!
@@fakename8896 walmart drug section with rubbin alcohol and witch hazel
Vinegar. Boil a couple of cups of vinegar through whole still set up, then water.
It's in my still safety video.
Unfortunately I
This looks so good. I bet this shine is top shelf.
I have received quite a few compliments on it
THanks for the link. I will have to watch this a few times before making any corn whiskey!
No no no....Please, watch my other videos. Start with redistilling cheap whiskey or vodka, then move to distilling wine to learn to make your cuts, then make make brandy using your own fruit mash, THEN make grain alcohol. Each step has it's own lessons that need to be learned. If you dive into the final step, you could do 1 of 100 things wrong
@@wcemichael That sounds like a wise approach to me. Thank you, sir.
Ive done this and messed up my last two mash attempts because of temperature issues. DO NOT ADD THE AMYLASE UNTIL YOU COOL DOWN TO AROUND 150 DEGREES F. Also meal is ok to just heat up like this but if you use cracked corn, you must boil it for a while until it gets nice and soupy and thick. Ive been doing a lot of research because i cant get my starches to covert with the amylase enzyme.
Any input?
Sounds like you have a good grasp of the subject and utilizing available data nicely
If you did your research a bit more thoroughly, you would find that you have only converted your starches from the corn into UNFERMENTABLE long-chain sugars (i.e. dextrose, etc.). In order to convert long-chain sugars into short-chain FERMENTABLE sugars (sucrose, fructose, glucose) you must add GLUCOamylase AFTER the alpha amylase. ALPHA amylase turns starches into long-chain non-fermentable sugars only. you should start adding the Alpha at around 165 F, rest an hour, then add the Glucoamylase at 150 F, rest it there for a few hours. Insulation really helps keep the heat at this stage (Use an insulated 5 gal water cooler as per this vid and extra blankets).
My main point here is, you could make more and better shine using this method (or by using malted barley that has ALL the enzymes needed to convert starches from corn into fermentable sugars). You should be able to nearly DOUBLE your yield of shine. I happen to be gluten intolerant, so I will stick to enzymes.
Hope this helps all the new distillers out there!
BTW, using table sugar is cheating and adds toxins and off-flavors. Potentially lethal ones like methyl alcohol, also potentially causing blindness. Use common sense.
Dextrose is 100% fermentable.
How much yeast and Amylase Enzyme do you add to the mash recipe?
Thaen Watkins if you were paying attention he never let it get passed 150. Thats standard.
This reminds me of learning how to make brew while in jail. Nothing fancy about it, simple and easy to do. I am going to try this recipe, thanks for sharing.
Simple reason, I want to keep things as simple as possible for the newbies. When they get their confidence up after a couple batches, they can start experimenting with other stuff like brewers yeast.
Well as someone whos looking to start out i greatly appreciate it
@@anonymousplayer5080 Oh no no no.. Don't start out with this. Practice re-distilling cheap booze then the wine....then making your own wine.... THEN this
@@wcemichael hey, glad to see a newer comment, means you are still around ;) ... just asking for a friend, there is some cheap likker here in THailland, is it possible to upgrade it? lets say a couple of bottles of this really shitty tasting booze added with some fruits, keeping it for 2 weeks and after stilling it?
I made the same with Jimmy Red corn, and it was fabulous. Did not use any kind of juice. I used flashman's bread yeast did a 10 gal Mash I ran it very low and slow. On a solid copper still and the results was fabulous as always. I never use cornmeal.
I've made beer in the past and this seems like an extremely good recipe for making simply fermented beer. Thanks
great vid i made and distilled this mash myself followed this recipe and it is 100% no fake i altered a couple measurements of things dew to own taste but with and with out fruit both came out 170 proof if any one tries this and it goes wrong its your own fault as this recipe works .
how many mason jars am i gonna need for this amount?
crazytattooguy how much shin does this make
Matthew Motes 3gg
crazytattooguy u
@@ebertaellenburg5865 thats relative to how much mash you make. If its a 5 gallon mash you'll end up close to 4 liters so it all depends on how big your fermenter is
Add yeast on end when temperature is betwen 20ºC-28ºC.
Hot water will kill yeast's
"Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the saccharification of starch and fermentation of the resulting sugar. The starch and saccharification enzymes are often derived from malted cereal grains,"
My recipe does fit these guidelines.
ALSO, moonshiners often refer to their mashes as beer. IN POPCORN SUTTON'S VIDEO (the last dam run of likker I'm ever gonna make) HE REFERS TO MASH AS BEER.
Yep hes running his made beer mash and strippings
@Logan...the song (if your question hasn't been answered yet) is Man of Constant Sorrow by the "Soggy Bottom Boys" (aka Union Station)
Of course you can. I only use it as a total volume booster. But as a rule of thumb, you'll only get about 1 lb of usable sugar for every 5 lb of corn, it might be a little more.
We're alcoholics
... and proud :-)
Big time
yay
Charles Manson5
What did you write? I see four of everything...
My uncle made moonshine in the 1930s in a 50 gallon still, he said he always used chopped corn and never corn meal because of the problem you had. He cooked the mash in the still and he refilled the still twice more to get all the alcohol out of the mash. He used caramel that he made on the stove to color the whiskey. He said even after the third cooking the mash still had some alcohol in it when he cleaned out the still.
If he had a good rectification section in his still and cooked it more slowly rerunning twice should not be necessary. But he did what he knew how.
I've been on the shine since 99' I can't kick it cause I sip it all the time ain't got no problems haven't even gone blind
Is he blind yet?
I think you may be a bit blind bro, dern TOOTIN
1ll1l221llllp 1www
@@bisasomukasa ?
lot
Amylase will convert starch into mostly dextrin, which is not fermentable. What you need is glucoamylase, which will convert starch all the way down to fermentable glucose. I know BSG Handcraft markets "Convertase AG-300", which is glucoamylase extracted from Aspergillus molds, however, I don't know where one can purchase it in small quantities. China appears to be the main manufacturer of all these enzymes.
thank you. I did it by just putting it in the garage in a cardboard box and putting towels around it. it just ferments slower in lower temp. took me about 2 1/2 weeks but I was also adding sugar until the yeast couldn't handle anymore.
+wcemichael I had did EVERYTHING you did except add fruit. Also I used The White Cornmeal with Amylase enzymes, and it is Day 3 and My Mash Smells Like Sourdough bread.. Is this Normal?
DEE BEE. yes you want your mash sour... no sugar that how you no the yeast did its job and ya getting the best percent on alcohol
With all these fancy enzine ingredients that you're putting in i think I hear Old Man McCooch spinning in his grave! HA HA HA!!! It's always good to update/upgrade SOME old recipes.. I'm guessing that you must also live alone because when Mash is working it smells to High Heaven. Your house will have an aroma of it's own! HA HA HA!!! Most women usually don't take to the aroma! If they do MARRY them! HA HA HA! As to people usually young_uns that say "All that work for JUST THAT? I can spend ten bucks and get more!" These folks have completely missed the point! It's the self satisfaction of knowing that you CAN do it! Especially If the Dung Hits the Fan! Thank you Sir for an entertaining video. I wish you would of shown people the distilling process and some easy methods. A Pressure Cooker comes to mind.
ask those poor lads in TX right now
run a good batch of sourmash meal, then when bottling put a handfull of cherries in the jar, thats goood flavor
Sounds awesome...the dried fruit probably gives it nice hints of flavor. Genius bro.
2 key things.
Get your mash as strong as possible.
After getting your still up to heat, turn the flame down and cook it off as long slow as possible.
All my mashes with sugar added, usually have a proof of 130. My rice only mash made 80 proof.
"Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the saccharification of starch and fermentation of the resulting sugar. The starch and saccharification enzymes are often derived from malted cereal grains,"
My recipe does fit these guidelines.
ALSO, moonshiners often refer to their mashes as beer. IN POPCORN SUTTON'S VIDEO (the last dam run of likker I'm ever gonna make) HE REFERS TO MASH AS BEER.
Strike two.
i use champagne yeast, it makes a higher proof wine
How do you know it's the best? Have you tasted all the rest? I know u ain't had nary a drop of mine.
"I think I have the best but I haven't tried Real-Batman's moonshine" doesn't just quite make a good title...
yeah, yeah... Everyone's got "the best."
Patrick Bohler
Well then, my title is perfect.
Had a friend from up in Tennessee and he would go up and get 5 gallons of popcorn suttons finest brew . You had to buy it at least 5 gallons at a time so we would go in together . Was $80 a gallon way back then . But a couple of shots had you walking sideways .
David Black Not unless the drinker was an 8-year-old. Popcorn tempered his liquor to right around 90 proof, just like everyone does.
Very nice, Thanks and I will try this recipe but with cracked corn.
for whatever reason, watching you squeeze the cheese cloth, and see all that nectar gush out calmed something in me.
cheers.
Hmmm....curious
I'm on my way to an AA meeting now,,I got drunk watching this
I made my 1st batch of moonshine the other day with this recipe and I have to say the flavor from the fruit is absolutely delish. I will use this recipie again and again! highly recommended. very high alchol content and smooth yummy flavor! give it a go you wont be disappointed!
Thank you very much.
Methanol has an almost burning sensation on the tounge. When this taste starts to mellow out, I start keeping it.
I show this in my saftey video.
Does cracked corn gel up when cooked? Like this corn meal?
So the "firsts" are methanol, not ethanol? Thanks. All new to me, at this point.
@steve Andrews, as a rule of thumb, most people throw out the first 2oz, as this contains the highest concentration of methanol and acetone.
@@elihoffman6906 thank you for that Ive been thinking of making moonshine but I never understood the concept of heads
I hope you're doing well Michael.
In general, malt is seed that has been allowed to sprout. Seeds are full of starch, but plants run on sugar produced by the leaves and sunlight. Until a plant is big enough to grow leaves it survives on it own food supply and the sprouts have the enzymes to convert starch to sugar to allow it to grow it's first leaves
These sprouts are collected, dried, ground up, and added to grain mashes to convert starches to sugar. Yeast then converts sugar to alcohol.
I followed this recipe almost to a T. Made some great shine. However, with the fruit I added, it had a smell of distilled wine. Better than the smell of rubbing alcohol.
You said sugar and yeast could be found on any shelf in any store. I looked on the motor oil shelf at my local auto parts and didn't see either of those things...
If you literally thought I meant to look in an auto parts store then you should never be without adult supervision.
wcemichael "any shelf in any store"
And you REALLY think that means to go look in an auto parts store?
every man likes A__ __ but not many like a smart A__ __
Yes , but not afraid to show my face Anvilshock ..... ASS ASS ASS !!!
Thanks to yer vidjas I done built myself a still. And made shine fore the first time. I no longer need to steal my dads beer
same boat. buying from bums
ROFL
I fucking love you lol lost brothers me and you
Yes! I know! Your the 4th person to tell me! I never herd the word before, and I said it wrong! Sue me!
I finally got a chance to try this recipe, only I had no access to dried fruit so I just used corn meal, spring water and a few pounds of sugar. I use a different yeast as well, but yeast is a debatable thing and typically something each brewer approaches differently. I tried this before with cracked corn, but cracked corn doesn't really convert well with amylase, least it didn't for me, but corn meal works wonderfully.
I use a doubler keg to get a cleaner product as well, and distilled correctly, this is the best straight corn I've ever made and I've been at it awhile, this is now my standard. I didn't even have to charcoal filter it either, just a clean coffee filter. I may do variations of ground grains as well, like rye and barley.
If you can't find dried fruit, you can add whatever you can get, like a can of your favorite fruit juice concentrate, or even hawaiian punch
I actually use to use raisins as a yeast nutrient in my old cracked corn/sugar batches, my cousin who is a winemaker told me about it as opposed to using the "chemical" yeast nutrients that you buy a brew suppliers. I want to try the dried fruit though, I'm sure if I look hard enough at the local Amish market I will find it for reasonable, just as I was able to finde the yellow corn meal for $2 for 5 pounds.
Oh yea, I can get a BIG bag of corn meal. But I don't know yet if I'd use it all. Still exploring what I show people and I live in a small house with no man cave.
Just wanted to say thanks for putting up the video. Once I make it a few times I'll be moving on to my great grandmas recipe. It's been hanging framed in my house for 24 years!
+Tom Kerins I want to say sooo much about that but I can't think of anything to say, so I'll leave it to just one wordAwesome!!
Your next bowl of pasta is gonna get you tipsy.....
You can put that in my pasta any day lol.
Its an Okay recipe.. wouldnt call it the best though.. Enzymes are not necessary to add to this mash.. Adding Enzymes is for when you are using a Back set as your yeast.. Starch,sugar,water, yeast.. all you need.. If you were to use whole kernels, and not sprout them, you would need the enzyme.. If the corn is milled in any way, the enzyme is released..
also, for a higher proof wash, you want at least One pound of sugar per gallon of water
I had to call it something, and it does seem to outclass most corn mashes that have been posted on YT
I love this.
It can be made on the back of my pickup truck on the tailgate with a Coleman camp stove whilst at the lake and the kids playing in the local watering hole !
Thank you very much sir for good info . would you do a video about
making Jäermeister (the famous German spirit ) thanks again
Brilliant video and very easy to follow. Is their anything I can use instead of the Amylase Enzyme?
I was working on in and my life got interrupted by divorce
Ya'll goin making liquor in the woods too.
You know you are alcoholic when you search this video
Would work better at 98 degrees so you dont denature the enzyme.
Whos telling you this bs?
Exactly. Proteins (almost all enzymes are proteins) lose their structure at that high of a temperature. 100 degrees is better
I don't know the exact numbers, but it is also my obervation (and Derp's argument), that a small 3 gal mash (for example only) containing 2 lb of corn won't make as much alcohol as the same mash made with 1 lb corn and 1 lb sugar. The sugar may be more expensive in the short term, BUT that sugar will give you a greater amount of alcohol. So in the long term, pound for pound and gallon for gallon, corn and sugar cost about the same.
Using a copper pot belly still with both thermostat and pressure gauge two tumbling kegs and instead of a condenser worm in a water filled container I use an up right freezer with 150 feet of copper tubing snaking through the door like a radiator keeping the freezer below 35 degrees
What everyone here needs to know is that without the Amylase Enzyme, the corn (regardless of what type) WILL NOT CONVERT TO SUGAR! Unless you use fully malted corn, or some combination (over an extended ferment period) to convert the corn via malting, there is NO WAY to convert the corn starch into sugar via heat alone. Period. It's simple chemistry. Otherwise all you get is a corn flavored (barely, and by that I mean vey little flavor) sugar wash. Fine for making "alcohol", but not corn whiskey. If you follow this recipe properly, I promise you it will produce delicious, proper corn whiskey, And if you use a higher grade, better yeast, you can actually get much higher yields. I've done it.
Very well said. My recipes are as basic as they can get but still get the job done, and I do use basic stuff found in common places. This is done so the average layman can understand the basic principles involved.
I hope that they can be creative and inventive and find new and/or better ways to do things, such as you have done.
You can't please all the people all the time, so I don't try to..
..I get a lot more sleep at night! lol
the mash smell like Beer!!!, When I had the mash in my still it smells like alcohol and I got a contact high and got drink !!!.
what did u think it was going to smell like?
@@petmogul2967 Well my mash smells strong of wine, so this statement is open ended.
@@Forbidaxe everything I have made has always smelled like wine but I have have done is fruit mash and sugar was. Never have done a corn wiskey. Mostly because I haven't done much research into amylase enzyme and I know its needed to convert starch to fermentable sugar.
Actually, you can do freeze distillation. It's a process where you place the alcoholic "beer" (after the yeast is done fermenting) into the freezer. As ice crystals form on the surface, you scrape them away and throw them out (this is mainly water). The alcohol will not form into as in home freezers (it doesn't get cold enough). As you throw more and more ice away, your liquor gets stronger and stronger. There will be a point at which ice no longer forms. This is how apple jack is made.
No, I don't know about culturing yeast.My yeast is inactive. I figure it has a limited shelf life. I don't know if you can freeze active yeast.
Don't use 'bread yeast' for distilling; most bread yeast (including Red Star) produces an average ABV of around 8%...
Use a high alcohol tolerant yeast which is designated for grain distillation mash; which runs usually around 14%- 18% ABV.
A friend of mine who makes vodka uses a yeast made for Sake production; which can run as high as 23% ABV under optimal fermentation conditions (checking for the correct sugar content w/ a hygrometer per amount of yeast, using the yeast nutrients & fermentation temperatures as specified on the package.)
It's probably one of the highest ABV producing yeasts in the world right now-. Made by Alltech.
Hey Alex... Privet! Where can you buy this yeast?
Bull shit, i use redstar all the time for my fractional still and it works fine so this whole it doesn't provide high enough abv is bullshit, im getting 185 proof runs with my still just fine, I also use distillers malt/2 row/corn wash with 50 pounds of sugar so its not true about what you said.
he mean with just fermenting u will get 2x more with koji yeast
That's a rookie mistake. Keep the ABV of the wash to 8% or so but not higher. You develop off flavors when you shoot for higher ABV. Just make a larger wash at 8% and do a couple of strip runs then a spirit run. You'll end up with much better product that way.
Also if using sugar (I don't) the very best yeast to use is typical bread yeast. Same for Rum. I wouldn't use other yeasts until you get into all grains.
Very detailed and informative! BTW, amylase is pronounced AM uh lace.
Yes. I've been told how to pronounce it 101 times.
When i saw the thumbnail i thought you were cooking your own vomit.
Dr death today we're going to learn how to turn your body's waste into party liquor. first, you'll want to cut into your jenkem stash...
Ha! At first I thought this comment was kinda rude.
Then I saw the mash with the fruit in it.
Total puke bucket. 🤣
Yes. Don't ask me why. All the beer and wine you buy at the store are the same way. Someone told me you can leave it in there, BUT I won't and there is also a taste difference, so cutting it out adds smoothness.
Antonio Giardina
No, the sprout IS the important part of the malt
wcemichael Incorrect, the acrospires need to be shaken off because if fermented they introduce off flavors since they are protein/starch profile outgrowths of the corn, to form the plant. You don't make whiskey with the acrospires, or what you again incorrectly call sprouts. You need to learn this before passing on all this dangerously wrong information. But at least they will know how to make bad sugar liquor.
NatureMovies The definition of acrospire is the first shoot/sprout.
"you don't make whisky with the acrospires" Not seeing were I said you did
You soak a seed, it starts to grow, before it has leaves to convert sunlight into sugar, it's called a sprout. You know, like in bean sprouts?
All vegetation runs off sugar from sunlight, it's called photosynthesis. Until it has leaves to do that, it has to run off it's own starch reserve found in the seed. The sprout has the enzymes to convert the starch into sugar.
You collect them, dry them, grind them, add them to grain starch, you get sugar
wcemichael In the above comment you said "the sprout IS the important part of the malt." It isn't....only what it does, which is to convert the starches to fermentable sugars naturally. Also, Alpha Amylase only convers sugars into long chain sugars, Gluco Amylase is necessary to make those same long-chain sugars actually fermentable. You only mention amylase, well, there are several kinds, the Alpha and Gluco being two critical one's for fermentation. I'd really suggest you look at homedistiller.org and do some reading, you will find it extremely enlightening. Your information here is pretty spotty and I barely see how anyone could actually get a distillable wash out of your recipe. Fruit? Fruit requires an entirely different enzyme to break it down into usable nutrients and sugars, called pectinase. You never mention that. You can get marginal sugar results from simple water exposure, but you are missing around half of available sugar without using a pectinase. That and the lack if distingusihing between the amylases are prime examples of incorrect knowledge of distillation, knowledge that can make the difference between having no fermentation, or a crappy distillate, or having something worthwhile from the same mashing materials. Again, no offense intended. I appreciate your enthusiasm, if you did this right you would have some useful videos. Please consider research, it would help your mashes as well. For reference, I am a Federally licensed distilling professional.
MarquisEstelle Enzyme conversion. You have to use two enzymes in the right order and at the right temps to get any kind of conversion. If you add either one above 170 they will be of no use. Alpha Amylase should be added between 150-160 Far. and kept at around 155 to convert starches into long chain sugars, these sugars ARE NOT fermentable. You must add Gluco Amylase at between 147-155 and keep it at strike temp for at least an hour to get conversion. Most don't let it go over 151, but the enzymes can handle a little variation. Keep in mind too that in grain mashes barley does this job, but commercial distilleries use amylase to ensure complete conversion. Iodine starch test can easily confirm. It is important to use both enzymes at the right temp in order get good conversion of starches. Corn needs to be cooked in order to loosen and expose the starches. Using fruit for mashes requires pectinase enzyme to break open the sugar containers in order to ferment. There are high temp versions of these enzymes that can be added at high temps and start conversion before chilling. In real-life distilling situations an immersion chiller is used to chill the wort faster for adding enzymes and heat is controlled to maintain and hold strike temps to get complete conversion. No need to use enzymes on sugar, in fact, do not put enzymes in at the same time as sugar, add sugar after fermentation has commenced. Alpha added first, then Gluco later, Gluco is the enzyme that does the real work, but it can only work with long-chain sugars provided by the Alpha.
MarquisEstelle I didn't read your whole comment. I will read it in full later, but you were spot on from what I did read. However, I use a mixed amylase. It has both parts in it and used it with whatever info I could scratch up. Maybe I'll have to do a follow up video on this later. Thanks for the info.
Filtering sux so much
He's in a trailer isn't he ?
No hair on his hands, what's with that ?
I'm starting to get scared.....................
Tickle was in a trailer when he made his lol
10:47 look at the eyes!!
I said that because the thumper would prevent your mash foam from getting into your coil/ whisky as you mentioned in my previous comment. Also preventing you from having to filter it so finely.
Got to give it a go , looks really good , all i will change is to use turbo yeast and use turbo clear after fermentation . Well done mate and thanks for sharing , cheers :-)
where de hell is this dudes ol lady while he's trashin her kitchen ? ARF!
teeopee10
teeopee100 6
Have you ever used ground malt or liquid malt instead of the amylase? Wondering which route I should take....I'm thinking that ground or liquid malt may add some flavor, Just curious. Great Video!
Yeah nice one, a way thicker mash than I am used to, I tend to do 50l sugar washes, cornmeal once in a while and fruit when it's in season (especially if theres a tree handy). I am running the stills this weekend, I'm just de-gassing and sterilizing everything, but I will try this method next time, thanks man. I expect you are still at it...
Hi w/c could I use regular fruit (not dried ) in my mash instead ? Say strawberries, kiwi or what ever thinking g a couple lbs blended up and put into mash thx great video
Use what ever you want. The reason for my videos is to show what people can do and give them new ideas.
I use bread yeast so I only get a quart of 130 proof. Then I get about a quart and a half of tails that range from about 100 pr. To 40 real fast. If you use a yeast that is for high alcohol you can get alot more of the good stuff. I will be using a turbo yeast soon so I can get more. I'm new at this too but I've had good success with the 8 runs that I've done with just using the bread yeast. But I'm looking forward to using the turbo.
I still had some corn residue solids, making it cloudy. So once you get the chunky stuff out and an initial residue out, your good to go. A single or double will work
What kind of blueberry shine? This has corn in it, or do want all blueberrys. Do you want a small amount of pure blueberry, or a large quantity made partly with sugar?
Started watching yoy, Michael about 6 yeara ago. You have tought me how to shine. From the still tovthe wash/mash. Hooe youre recovering well keep uo the awesome videos and content
Ah. You are right in that aspect, but also you wouldn't know if you were foaming because you could not see inside the barrel. It works but it's a little bit of a trade off.
You got a lot of patients wcemichael and thanks for your advice. Oh yea can orange juice make a good mash?
Can you do a video. Of you running the corn mash through your (on the stove steel) I would love to see that. I have made several Brandy's but never my own mash or beer. I have been reading the foxfire books and have gathered a lot of info but haven't had the funds to build my larger steel, however I built a simple steel like yours besides I added a thumper and it works great I just want to see the corn mash ran to see the similarities between corn mash and store bought wine. Thank you for your videos and feedback keep it up. Michael
That's one rule I have, I'll talk all day long about making moon, and I ran the video of running a little bit of store wine because I thought it was important for people to get a fundamental idea, but I won't ever make a video of me actually making moon. Sorry.
There is not going to be a big difference in how you run a still with wine VS a mash. Everything is going to be the same except the overall flavor and your final proof.
and now imagine everyone would use the same measures like LITER instead of quarts or Celsius instead of dark ages Fahrenheit. Since a quart is 0,946353Litres and everybody has 10 but not 12Fingers it would make counting much easier. ;)
Great Videos here, hope @wcemichael is still doing his Hobby in Oct. 2021, cheers from a grumpy ole German guy
With 180 degrees between freezing and boiling, the antiquated fahrenheit measuring scale is more accurate. As far as I can tell the metric system was designed for people who are too lazy to do simple math. I refuse to encourage that type of attitude.
I use simple cracked corn as my medium for my mash. 50 lb bag at tractor supply costs $11. That can yield me a 7-8 5 gallon batches of wash for distilling. Add 5lb sugar and you're done. Cheapest solution I've found thus far. After distilling I plan on adding some sliced peaches in the collection jars for flavor, just for an experiment this go around. I estimate each batch of my shine costs only $5 to make, plus the time/effort. Can't beat that!!
Thank you for sharing. Cant wait to try a batch.
is that alpha amylase enzyme you're using or beta enzyme. ive heard you need alpha amylase to break down the big starch chains into small ones and the beta amylase to work on the smaller bits that the alpha left behind.
One helpfull add that i have used in this recipe is a bubble mesh bag that i put it all into so i had almost nothing that needed straining afterwards
25 pounds of corn meal, 35 pounds of sugar, 20 packs of yellow pack red star yeast, 50 gallons of hot water, stir, let sit about 10 days. filter it after fermented and pump it into a 30 or 50 gallon still. and its now up to you if you want to break the law or not. enjoy!
Depends on the yeast you use. You can only get 14%+- with bakers yeast. I get 20% because I add a spoon of turbo yeast to the bakers yeast, and give it enough time to work.
When you dilute the shine do you use spring water or distiller water to get to proof needed. And do you run your shine through a charcoal filter to get some of the sharpness out of the distiller shine.
Michael Izbicki On this I've taken the example from good ol' Popcorn Sutton and used (bottled) spring water.
I've tried to use charcoal filters a couple times, like with the cognac recipe but I didn't like the black tint it left (that's why you didn't see it in the video). So there might be a couple of good times to use charcoal filters. I just haven't found the need yet. But sometime I should just break down and work with it so viewers have the info
I have put the jack daniaels chips in the corn whiskey I have made and let set for 2 weeks. Drained through coffee filter twice looks good but has a harsh bite to it. Should I put it through a charcoal filter to get the harshness out of it.
Michael Izbicki
You might try that. You also may have used too many chips and over aged it. I find that it can have too woodsy of a taste, so I always hold back some unaged spirits to blend back in. Did you try any before aging it?
tasted the same like it was too strong to drink
Michael Izbicki Oh, I cut mine back to 100 proof with spring water, and when I made the cognac, I cut that back to 80 and I added a spoon full of honey
Nice Stuff hopefully I will try this Craig Koeng
Yes, always. No matter what kind of mash you make, even simple sugar wash, or distill ready made wine.
Good looking recipe ,How much of that amylace did you use on this one 3.5 TBLS.
Haha very true man! ;) And thank you soo much for the quick reply! If you drank it at exactly the point you had filtered it would it taste like liquor? Or would it need to go through the whole distillation process?
The temperature of the mash when you pitch the yeast is very important. If it's too hot it will kill the yeast. I usually let it cool to about 80deg F. Also temp during fermentation will effect the time it takes to ferment. You want it to stay over 73 deg but less than 90 deg. Also use fresh yeast. It does have an expiration date.
Im assuming process is the same with cracked corn, but would we add additional poundage??