Objective

The objective is to create a mixture where the yeast can get to sugars to convert them into alcohol.  Even if you use sugar as an ingredient you must heat it to break down the cellulose pulp to make the sugars yeast-friendly.  

Enzymes

The sugars in grains like corn and wheat must be broken down with a malt barley.  

Barley is just another grain, but malted barley is different.  Malted barley has already started to germinate.  At that stage the barley turns mostly to enzymes.  These enzymes at on the grain to separate the sugars from the pulp.  The germinated barley is only allowed to germinate a little bit, then it is killed by excessive heat from an oven at a certain temperature.   This is done such that the enzymes still remain and can be activated with some heated water.  These enzymes work on the sugars in the barley and then they go and activate sugars in other grains present.  Other than their own activation, they can activate sugars in other mixed grain at about 4 times the amount that they weigh.

Making the Whiskey Batch before Distilling

Water – Pour in 20 liters of good quality water. 

Malt – Add 4 kilograms of cracked or crushed malt. 

HEATING MASH  

Heat to 65C (150 F) for one to one and a half hours.

Then raise the heat to 73C (163F) for several minutes.

Pour the batch through a strainer to separate the malt particles.  Take 450 liters of good water that is hot and rinse the malt particles that are in the strainer and add that liquid to the previous strained liquid.

use a bag, don’t let it touch the bottom of the pot.

stir constantly so as not to scorch the bottom.   filter through a strainer if no bag used

heat for 60 min @ 160 F 

use iodine on potato to see a starch reaction

use mash before heating , use mash after heating … put iodine in them to see starch present (after heating none)

cool mash down to 70 F … can add water and ice

check gravity  (1.10+-)          potential 17%  ABV 

 

Heating a Wash

-For A Sugar “Wash” —————————————

Your objective is to heat the water to about 161F. This is the pasteurization temperature area. This will kill off any bacteria. While the heat is rising past 130F introduce the sugar and stir it vigorously to dissolve the crystals. This temperature will also break down any cell walls of sugars. Don’t use the white table sugar. It has been bleached white [very pretty] and the bleach residue will be in your wash. It will add a greenish yellowish hue to the liquid. Use corn sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, etc.

After you reach a little over 161F, let the pot sit for one minute. Then transfer it to the fermenting vessel. It will take hours to cool down to 85F+- which is the maximum yeast pitching temperature. 65F is the ideal yeast pitching temperature.  So you can add cold water (if bacteria free) to speed up the cooling down time.

Pitch yeast to a maximum temperature of 85F, preferably around 70F room temperature. Make sure your PH is 5.2.

Rule is: Max safe 2 lbs of sugar for every gallon of wash. Target specific gravity of 1.090 or 22.5 Brix (12% potential ABV) If the specific gravity is too high because too much sugar, the water content wont be sufficient for the yeast and the yeast will go dormant before converting all the sugars.