Partial Mash with Whole Raw Corn?

I am looking to make a light style beer that has corn as one of the main ingredients (if thats possible...). I have read that there are different steps that you have to follow when dealing with whole raw corn. I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with this and whether it was successful or not? I would also appreciate any recipes if anyone is willing to share?!?

Thanks for all your help! You guys are AWESOME!

The whole reason I am looking to do this (becuase many people have a negative view on brewing with corn) is because I live in Iowa and we have a family farm and I would like to make a batch of beer with our own corn as a gift for my uncle!


Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Miller has a corn component

Try the google search above. Use quotes.

"raw corn"

Thusly..

Using the search bar didn't really show any results so anyone with any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Corn needs to be malted (sprouted) in order to convert the starches to sugar (raising the abv).

Unmalted corn needs to be gelatanized and fermented with a malted barley (or other grain which supplies enzymes that breaks down the corn starches into usable sugars).

---- OPTION 1 - Buy pre-gelatanized flaked maize from your local homebrew store. ---

1.) Ensure you mash with high enzyme malt to ensure conversion.

---- OPTION 2 - Gelatanize whole kernel corn ---

1.) Crush your corn
2.) Boil it to release the starches
3.) Ensure you mash with high enzyme malt to ensure conversion.

---- OPTION 3 - Malt your corn ----

Generally speaking you do the following:

1.) Soak the corn until it sprouts (watch for mold/fungus!) (24hrs+ with air rests)
2.) Keep it warm and moist until the shoots are 1 1/2 - 2" long (watch for mold/fungus!) (cover with moist towels/keep in trash bag/etc...)
--- make sure you have 90-95%+ sprout rate! ----
3.) Dry the sprouted corn at a low temperature 90-120F (5-6hrs - use pillow case in clothes dryer on lowest setting???? this will also dry the sprouts)
4.) Seperate the corn from the dried sprouts (place corn in pillow case and put in dryer... might be better to use a fanning mill)
5.) Crush the sprout free corn into a fine grist (hammer mill/several times through roller mill/coffee grinder/etc...)
--- now conduct cereal mash on malted corn ---
6.) Place corn in pot with 2 - 3 quarts water per pound of corn - also add malted barley (preferably 6-row) about 1/2 - 1lb
7.) Raise temp to 145F and hold for 15-20min (beta-amylase/glucanase rest)
8.) Heat slowly to ~170F and hold for 15-20min (for gelatanization)
9.) Bring to gentle boil for 15-20min.
--- now add this back to main mash ---

Hope this helps.

I just listend to a session episode where a brewery in Iowa does a beer using fresh sweet corn, Peactree brewing. Was a recent episode, you might listen to it. Cornicopia was the name of the beer.

Assuming you are doing all grain. Boil the heck out of the corn for an hour to gelatinize. Cool down and add to your mash tun when at your grain mash temp. The base malt will have enough enzimatic power to convert the corn. Do an iodine test to ensure full conversion.

Opps, realized you are doing BIAB. The same principle applies.

Since you will be using fresh corn, just cook it before adding it to the mash. You have to gelatinize the starches. You also need to crush it. You wont get much out of it otherwise. Make sure you are using some malt with enzymes in there as well.

As said above, pretty simple just crush it, cook the heck out of it and add it to the mash...I think you can do like 40% corn w/ 2-row barley and a bit more w/ 6-row barley due to the higher enzymes in the 6-row, hence why the big boys BMC use 6-row.

If you have a stick mixer/ immersion blender, hit it with that. I've used this approach for whole raw wheat berries and coarse corn. Works well.

Ok, thanks for all of the ideas and suggestions! When it comes to making a recipe for a 5 gallon batch, (if I were to do all grain) how do I come up with how much of each grain I need to use? If I wanted to use 6-row, corn, and then some type of SG (any suggestions) how do I decide how much of each grain I need?

Also any suggestions on bittering hops as well as aroma hops would be appreciated! (I'm not fond of a super bitter beer)

Thanks!

Ok, thanks for all of the ideas and suggestions! When it comes to making a recipe for a 5 gallon batch, (if I were to do all grain) how do I come up with how much of each grain I need to use? If I wanted to use 6-row, corn, and then some type of SG (any suggestions) how do I decide how much of each grain I need?

Also any suggestions on bittering hops as well as aroma hops would be appreciated! (I'm not fond of a super bitter beer)

Thanks!

Click to expand...

You have several options:

1.) Browse the recipe database here and select a recipe that uses corn: A Miller Lite clone

2.) Use beer recipe calculator software like BeerSmith, Brewers Friend etc... and make a recipe yourself

3.) Perform all the Diastatic power and gravity/plato calculations yourself for each type of grain you select.

PupThePup said:

You have several options:
2.) Use beer recipe calculator software like BeerSmith, Brewers Friend etc... and make a recipe yourself

Click to expand...

fyi hopville.com is a free alternative. not as good as BeerSmith, but it works.

dhammers91 said:

Ok, thanks for all of the ideas and suggestions! When it comes to making a recipe for a 5 gallon batch, (if I were to do all grain) how do I come up with how much of each grain I need to use? If I wanted to use 6-row, corn, and then some type of SG (any suggestions) how do I decide how much of each grain I need?

Also any suggestions on bittering hops as well as aroma hops would be appreciated! (I'm not fond of a super bitter beer)

Thanks!

Click to expand...

This is what I would do. Look up Cream of Three Crops on this forum. It's a cream ale using corn and rice. Then I would sub all the rice with your corn, in addition to the corn already called for.

You would want to find some conversion between dry and raw weight equivalents. That should be published somewhere on the internet.

I brewed a cream ale with cluster at 60, northern brewer at 30, equal amounts to 15 ibu ( min for style), and it came out great, but I should have gone to 18-ish. I also subbed in some biscuit and honey malts.