Amylase Enzyme (or, what else do you use?).

[Kelvin]

Looking at using grain or corn meal to make a mash for running through my still to make my first lot of Moonshine.

Where do you folk get your amylase enzyme from (or do you just add a brewers malt or something?).

Haven't tried grain before, but all my reading points to amylase (alpha and beta) needed to convert starch to sugar.

I don't want to get a large sack of malted grain, and I can get corn meal in smaller amounts from the local Binn Inn. Only need about 10kg of corn meal for 3 runs.

Your thoughts?

Thanks for any help.

[Cain Harland]

My understanding of it is you can use malted barley in the mash to convert corn. You defiantly don't need to buy a sack, brew shop for example let you order to the gram http://www.brewshop.co.nz/malts-grains/malt-gladfield-ale.html . But the effectiveness of this is limited to a mash with a reasonably high ratio of barley to corn.

Both corn liquor and bourbon are generally made by cooking the mash to break down the starch in the corn rather than mashing at a favorable temp and letting the enzymes do their thing like we do with beer (or scotch or Irish whiskey).

Also I think they are not sparged, you just ferment the whole mash, then distill it. This really put me off as the opening in the top of my still is very small and I don't like the idea of trying to clean bits of cooked on fermented corn out of it

[Cain Harland]

If your interested in doing all grain whiskey gladfields make distillers, peat smoked, manuka smoked and un-malted barley all of which could be put to good use.

[Kelvin]

Thanks Cain for both your answers.

I'll try the corn meal first and then an all grain to see how each one performs.

No problems with my still boiler. It has a nice wide opening.

I'll check out the Gladfields products too.

Thanks again.

[Cain Harland]

Assuming corn meal is just crushed corn I would imagine you just chuck it in a pot with some water boil for a particular amount of time, cover and let cool, then pitch yeast. I'm sure a with a little research on the net you could find corn to water ratio and cook time.

[Cain Harland]

I may have been wrong in my previous post Ive had a look around and there are

1. recipes using malted corn - mashed like beer
2. recipes using unmalted corn and 20% + malted barley for conversion - mashed like beer
3. recipes for cooking the corn (and other grains for bourbon)
4. recipes for cooking the corn then cooling and adding malted barley and mashing like beer
5. recipes that mash then cook

So I guess there is more than one way to skin a cat.

My bet would be on 4 for winner and I think the ones that say 3 really mean 4

[Kelvin]

Thanks Cain, much obliged.

[Peter Smith]

Kelvin, there is a very experienced beer home brewer using this method.  Getting the exact details of where he is sourcing his Enzymes.   Will ask him if he will join this conversation directly.    I am sure he is not using malt.

[Kelvin]

Thanks Peter.

I may have to use corn meal, plus about 18% - 20% of the grain to be malted barley if I can't get the enzyme.

That will work OK, but the enzyme makes it easier.