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Offline Hokey  
#1 Posted : Monday, November 02, 2015 10:45:27 PM(UTC)
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A homebrewer friend of mine just asked me if I wanted a free 50 lb bag of brewers malt. Hmmm... What to do, what to do. I do mostly sugar washes to make a vodka-like product. I have done some successful UJSSM's and a nice rye bread rye but that's about it. What would you do? Oh, by the way, I did take the malt.
Offline dieselduo  
#2 Posted : Tuesday, November 03, 2015 8:10:49 AM(UTC)
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what kind of brewers malt is it ?
Offline Hokey  
#3 Posted : Tuesday, November 03, 2015 10:38:14 AM(UTC)
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Bag says Briess brewers malt. Looked it up and it is 2 row barley malt.
Offline John Barleycorn  
#4 Posted : Wednesday, November 04, 2015 10:31:09 AM(UTC)
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I wish I had friends like that!

Mash it, ferment it, & run it!

You should be able to get somewhere close 20 gallons at about 1060 or so ... should keep you busy for a little while. I would toss in about 5 lbs of Caramel 40.

But keep it away from your column ... pot still it & oak it. If it turns out good, you may never use your column again. ;-)

--JB

Edited by user Wednesday, November 04, 2015 10:33:18 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Offline Hokey  
#5 Posted : Wednesday, November 04, 2015 5:36:48 PM(UTC)
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Hello JB, Nice to hear from you. So, If I wanted to scale down to 10 gals of mash, I would use 2.5 lbs of Caramel 40? I like that idea. I do kind of want to get some peated malt for an Islay Scotch like product for at least part of this bag. Bad idea?or no. Oh,yah.... no column. Pot mode one or two copper plugs.

Edited by user Wednesday, November 04, 2015 9:42:33 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Offline dieselduo  
#6 Posted : Thursday, November 05, 2015 11:41:58 AM(UTC)
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if you don't want to do an AG you could always replace some of the corn in UJSSM with it. Should make a decent drop as I sometimes use peated malt in that recipe
Offline RCRed  
#7 Posted : Friday, November 06, 2015 7:10:18 AM(UTC)
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Some of us use that Malt in sweet feed washes too :) Makes for a very distinguished taste at the end after Low and slow spirit runs ;)

Fer instance, the sweet feed recipe here, in there they talk about adding it... I tried that a few times with the malt and Whoa babi.. Now a regular part of my SF washes.

And, Sir Barleycorn speaks reams of truth concerning the oakin's Cool

Edited by user Friday, November 06, 2015 7:13:25 AM(UTC)  | Reason: I spilled coffee on the post..

Offline Hokey  
#8 Posted : Monday, November 09, 2015 10:14:12 PM(UTC)
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Thanks guy's. I am studying up on mashing techniques. Got two more vodka stripping runs, then the spirit run. Might be a couple weeks before I get to it. Oh yeah. I'm pretty sure it's not ground either. That will be a new experience.
Offline RCRed  
#9 Posted : Tuesday, November 10, 2015 5:35:31 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: Hokey Go to Quoted Post
Oh yeah. I'm pretty sure it's not ground either. That will be a new experience.
...which is what led to a new cereal meal grinder for me Blink Cool

Offline John Barleycorn  
#10 Posted : Tuesday, November 10, 2015 8:16:42 PM(UTC)
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Gentlemen, Great thread here! Great ideas & it's nice to see everyone contributing again!

Hokey, about 25 lbs 2-row and about 2.5 lbs of a lighter crystal (40 L or so). That should get you about 10 - 11 gals in the fermenter around 1060 (or a bit higher if your efficiency is above 80%). I've never used peated malt, but I've read that a little goes a very long way ... maybe someone else can chime in with a recommended amount.

BTW: you might be able to get your LHBS to run it through the mill for you ... or maybe you can borrow Red's grinder! BigGrin

Red, what did you pay for your mill? I just can't spend the $$ for a mill just yet since I picked up chugger pump & set of cam-lock hoses (the high-temp food-grade ones) ... don't want the better half seeing to many new toys ... gotta spread 'em out a bit.
Offline RCRed  
#11 Posted : Wednesday, November 11, 2015 7:40:36 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: John Barleycorn Go to Quoted Post

...
Red, what did you pay for your mill?...


Heya JB, and a fine day to you, sir! I think I caught it on sale at 99, reg 119 (USD) - Adventures in Homebrewing is where I got that from. Yes, it's a beer provisioning outfit, and if Rick carried them in stock, I'd buy from him, but..

Comes with the lid spacer to add to the top of a barrel, and you can easily switch the crank handle to something mule driven, or electrified. I tried an armadillo, but he didn't have the traction for those heavy grains... Poor thing... PETA will never forgive me for causing that treadmill to lock up and that little guy bumping his head...

Edited by user Wednesday, November 11, 2015 7:43:13 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Typing too early and w/o enough coffee

Offline John Barleycorn  
#12 Posted : Wednesday, November 11, 2015 5:08:53 PM(UTC)
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That's a nice mill ... looks very similar to the one at my LHBS. They have an old compressor motor with a belt drive ... looks like parts from the cutting deck of a old lawn tractor ... but it sure does the job.

Hey Red, you better lay off those armadillos 8-) BTW: a good old boy from TX told me that they'll jump up just before a truck would've otherwise safely passed over them. I couldn't tell if he was goofing on me or not. True?
Offline Hokey  
#13 Posted : Friday, November 13, 2015 9:38:35 AM(UTC)
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Thanks for the ideas guy's. I think I'll go to my LHBS and get some Crystal malt and ask them if they will mill some of my barley while their at it.
The same guy that gave me the malt used a lb of peated in his batch of beer (Not sure of the other part grain bill) (6 gals) and he said it was way over the top. Like salt water.

Red, As for the armadillos I'm going to call PETA... People Eating Tasty Armadillos.BigGrin

Edited by user Friday, November 13, 2015 9:47:12 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Offline dieselduo  
#14 Posted : Friday, November 13, 2015 10:40:02 AM(UTC)
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sounds like he way over did it. a little peat goes a long way. I never use more than 4 to 6 ozs per 5gal
Offline Hokey  
#15 Posted : Friday, November 13, 2015 11:13:20 AM(UTC)
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Yup. He realized that a little too late I think. Thanks Dieselduo, now I know how much to use when I do a 7 gal ferment. It's nice talking to you guys again.

Have fun and Keep Stillin'guys.
Offline Hokey  
#16 Posted : Wednesday, December 09, 2015 5:18:21 PM(UTC)
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OK, here goes. 1st all grain, real mash. 5 gals of h2o at 165 degrees. Ph 5.2. Doughed in 18 lbs of 2 row malted barley and 2 lbs of Crystal 40 malt. At that point temp was 150. I have 4 gals of sparge water ready but don't plan to use it all. I've read that on average you should use 1.5 qts per 1 lb of grain. But, is that for the total mash or just the strike water? So I figured I would go a little heavy on the strike water and sparge with less water and more of the wort. Sparge water will be at 170 degrees. Vorlauf, that was a new term (thanks JB). Knowledge is good. It's been almost an hour now. So, back at it.
Any suggestions? If I screwed up, it didn't cost me much. The guy that gave me the barley took 20 lbs back to his store and milled it. So 2 lbs of Crystal 40 is no big deal.

Thanks,

Scott
Offline Hokey  
#17 Posted : Thursday, December 10, 2015 6:38:14 PM(UTC)
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Things went remarkably well I think. Wound up with 3 gals of wort before sparging so I did need the 4 gals of sparge water. So, 7 gals total with an sg of 1.060. Good call again JB. Bubbling away better than I was expecting. Just picked up a 5 gal once used Hillrock Distilleries single malt heavy smoke oak bbl. Might take me 3 or 4 runs to have enough to put in it. Thanks for your help,guy's.

Scott

Edited by user Friday, December 11, 2015 7:19:25 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Offline John Barleycorn  
#18 Posted : Saturday, December 12, 2015 12:12:51 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: Hokey Go to Quoted Post
I've read that on average you should use 1.5 qts per 1 lb of grain. But, is that for the total mash or just the strike water?

That's for a single infusion mash only -- it doesn't include any of your sparge water (which for most of us really amounts to just rinsing the remaining sugars into the brew pot or fermenting bucket). I've used anywhere from about 1.5 to 2 quarts/lb & can't say I've noticed any difference in efficiency. I adjust the ratio in that range so that everything fits in the mash tun ... and to make measurements easier. That is, a heavier wort has more grain, so the mash might need to be thicker (less water) to fit everything in the tun. In the winter I try to use more water if possible ... to get more mass in the tun ... it helps to keep the temps from dropping too quickly (I brew in the garage). So it's really just a practical matter for me.

I'm glad to hear it worked out so well for you. Congratulations! Keep us posted on your progress ... it sounds like you'll have some great whiskey before too long.

BTW: What yeast did you decide to use?

--JB

Offline Hokey  
#19 Posted : Saturday, December 12, 2015 10:38:09 AM(UTC)
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I just use Fleishmans when I make vodka but I did have some Liquor Quik whisky yeast with AG. I'm down in Charlotte for the weekend but when we left it was working fine. Put a heat belt and towel on it before I left.
Offline John Barleycorn  
#20 Posted : Sunday, May 01, 2016 1:42:48 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: John Barleycorn Go to Quoted Post
That is, a heavier wort has more grain <snip>.... In the winter I try to use more water if possible ... to get more mass in the tun ... it helps to keep the temps from dropping too quickly....

Whoops ... better make that less water (thicker mash), not more water. Sorry if I caused any confusion.
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