Corn Meal: DON'T

Hey,

I made a Corona clone last night (...I know....).
Instead of flaked maize, I thought that corn meal may be a suitable substitution to add that little bit of flavour even though I wasn't expecting many gravity points from 500g. I boiled it for about 60 mns...and added it to the mash. It looked ok to star with. Then after a little while, it turned the mash into a grey, goovy soup. I thought my beer was ruined (and it still may be). I thought that the grain bed filtering, hot break and cold break/irish moss would help...after all it would sink the protiens.
Anyway, it looks like beer int he fermentor now...and it looks normal -so my fingers are crossed.

Short moral of the story: don't use corn meal...go with flaked maize or something proven.

Cheers.

(...waiting for the corona comments).

Give it a chance before you write it off. You never know.
Just be sure to bottle in clear bottles and leave it out in the sun.

I would be very curious to hear how it turns out in the end.

I am heartened that it looks, smells and tastes like wort.

Ya, I am actually thinking of a methodical why of skunking the beer.
Perhaps 15 mins in sun (and take note for the UV index for the day)....and
see what it takes like.

I will publish the experiment once done. It won't be scientific, buit may serve as a loose guide for all those who are always asking about corona.

Cheers.

JZ mentioned using cornmeal and the way to do it right. I don't remember which show it was, but look in pils or the like shows. He also talked about using polenta.

That reminds me, I have some pork loin and polenta to eat. mmmm.

drouillp said:

He also talked about using polenta..

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yeah I was about to say. It sounds like you just made some polenta (grits) in your beer.

I brewed a Corona clone using rolled corn. It turned out OK, just a bit too much corn flavor. Next time I will use cracked corn.

I'm still baffled why you would want to brew a Corona Clone.

I mean, its a watered-down version of a European style lager, and its relatively cheap.

To each his own, I guess.

Sorry, noone posted any Corona comments yet. . . .I felt obliged!!

Biermann said:

I'm still baffled why you would want to brew a Corona Clone.
I mean, its a watered-down version of a European style lager, and its relatively cheap. To each his own, I guess.
Sorry, noone posted any Corona comments yet. . . .I felt obliged!!

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I don't disagree...but I am getting such a kick outta the possibilities with AG that I had to try something very light in colour and body. Also, this beer is a Frankenstien mish-mash of ingredients and an experiment for a few variables: Nottingham yeast in a lager-type wort, UV exposure, and a full test of my home made grain mill.

I also should have RDWHAHB for the corn meal - it has settled out as a normal brew.

Cheers.

What about BLUE corn? A naturally purple beer?

Update: After 8 days in bottle.

Everything cleared nicely.
I bottled in clear glass and left the beer in the hot sun for about 1.5 hrs.
I'll be damned, it took on a nice skunkiness like a corona. I don't know if the
skunkiness will change over time - but for now, this is a really good beer.
I could always add more UV once this is bottle conditioned fully after another few weeks.


I may even bring this to a party next weekend.


Cheers.

Next time, try it without the intentional skunking. I bet Corona would be a decent beer if it were stored properly. Ever had a properly stored Grolsch or Heineken? ...it's actually really good beer!

I kinda like the skunkiness (for some beers) - so does the wife.
She likes corona and PC Lager (Cdn beer)...
I don't think I'd do this for more than one batch/year - but the fun part of this is actually suceeding in making a decent clone. (even though used nottingham dry ale yeast).
This is just one more drink to add to the basement.

Cheers.

Axegod said:

Update: After 8 days in bottle.

Everything cleared nicely.
I bottled in clear glass and left the beer in the hot sun for about 1.5 hrs.
I'll be damned, it took on a nice skunkiness like a corona. I don't know if the
skunkiness will change over time - but for now, this is a really good beer.
I could always add more UV once this is bottle conditioned fully after another few weeks.


I may even bring this to a party next weekend.


Cheers.

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Nicely done. I love the skunkiness of beer like St. Pauli's Girl. What was your recipe for the corona?

I brewed a pale ale yesterday and added 12 oz of cornmeal and 1/4 cup of oats. To use that much corn meal it has to be mashed seperatly to a boil in another pot. Its a lot of work i must say. As it turns to mash it absorbs all the water. Then adding to the other grains for the steep it clogs up the biab grain bag. And is difficult to drain. You have to hold up a 10-12 lb bag for a long time to get to drain, rest in another pot and then rinse it a couple times to get out the starch sugars out. Added 45 to my cook time.

The reason for this was two fold. First to experiment on how much either rice corn i could use because i wanted to do a baby beer for a bud drinker. Second was to get a feel for any flavors it impatrs on my beer. And last its just friggen cheap to buy rice and cornmeal, thats why the commercial brewies do it.

Ive used a cup of cornmeal before its not hard, but i was going to see if i could 1 lb of rice and 1lb of cornmeal in a future batch. But with my equipment i dont think its possible.

Batch was 6gal
Sg was 1.052
Yeast us05 starter 1liter at high krassen.
Pitch at 71f in 67f bath. cooling to 60f now. 8 hour delay in airlock activity and sadly bubbled out the airlock in under 20 hours.

WOW an 8 year old zombie thread ressurection.........

When it comes to the proteins that become gooey in cornmeal, which beta Glucan make up the bulk, I put it in with 1/4 of the grist and hold between 113°F-116°F for 30-35 minutes for a beta Glucan rest, the same when using wheat, rye especially, oats, etc., which breaks that gummy/gooeyness down. Some say 20 minutes but I find that due to the high carbonate water I have here the half hour is best. Then proceed from their. You can then add the rest of the grist in for an additional protein rest in the 120s if you want or later for your sac rest.

beergolf said:

WOW an 8 year old zombie thread ressurection.........

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Now 15 y.o.

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