Adding some corn?

[puttster]

For my next batch I'm thinking of adding some corn. I have some dry field corn and a grinder (for my 2-row malted barley), how much corn should I add to 10 lb BIAB effort in order to make a tasteable difference?

 

[pdxal]

You'll want to do a cereal mash before the main mash. A couple of pounds would probably be enough to taste. Try looking up the "Cream of 3 crops" recipe,

 

[Aristotelian]

Check out recipes for Kentucky Common. I would think you will make a terrific beer. I think they usually run about 20-25% corn. You will need a strong grinder--I tried grinding popcorn using a Corona mill and it was much much tougher than grinding barley.

 

[puttster]

I wound up using 24 oz of instant grits. Just added it to the crushed barley to make 10 lbs total. Mashed for an hour, its draining and getting rinsed now. I'm using BIAB.
At 5 gal, and 72 degrees, the SG is only 1.004. Maybe the grits did not add any sugar? Maybe more rinsing or a squeeze will raise it up? I need something higher, yes? Time to add sugar? Or grind two pounds more of barley and re-mash (if there is such a word)?

 

[MrPowers]

1.004 or 1.040? If it is the latter, you might be ok, but with a lower ABV than anticipated. If it is the former, you basically have water.

 

[puttster]

1.04. I'm boiling now, thinking at the end of the boil throw in a pound of cane sugar. Next time use grain+corn of 12 lbs.

 

[puttster]

Beer is kind of stinky, not sure why but next time, no grits.

 

[CJ-3]

If you decide against grits I would recommend you give it another shot with flaked corn. I have used it with very nice results.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

My cream ale is 75/25 Maris Otter/flaked corn and it has a real nice subtle but noticeable corn note in the finish.

 

[puttster]

Flaked corn = corn flakes?

 

[ericbw]

Flaked corn works well and is cheaper than instant grits.

 

[ericbw]

Flaked corn is a brewing adjunct grain. It looks like chunky smashed corn.

 

[IslandLizard]

Flaked corn is a brewing adjunct grain. It looks like chunky smashed corn.

First I mill the flaked corn on a narrow gap (0.024") to enable fast gelatinization and conversion. Then boil the flaked corn in water for 30' or so. You'll need quite a bit of water so it turns to the consistency of a thin polenta. That then becomes strike water, or part of it, in the mash tun, where you add your other (diastatic) grains for conversion. You could do a cereal mash instead, but the boil works fine for me.

 

[zachattack]

I don't believe you need to mill or preboil flaked grains, I've always just added them right to the mash.

 

[ericbw]

First I mill the flaked corn on a narrow gap (0.024") to enable fast gelatinization and conversion. Then boil the flaked corn in water for 30' or so. You'll need quite a bit of water so it turns to the consistency of a thin polenta. That then becomes strike water, or part of it, in the mash tun, where you add your other (diastatic) grains for conversion. You could do a cereal mash instead, but the boil works fine for me.

OK, I'm confused now. I thought a cereal mash was what you're doing with the 30 minute boil. Is that different than a cereal mash?

For our size batches, I decided it is cheaper to just buy flaked corn. It's a couple of dollars difference compared to cornmeal/grits (not instant), but it adds 30 minutes and extra stirring.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

My notes from a Cream Ale that took 3rd best of show not long ago:

Pre-cook the grits with 5% of 6-row malt by doing the following:

Use about 5-gallons of boiling water, turn the heat off, and add the grits + 5% of cracked malt. Cover, let sit without heat for 20 minutes, stirring a bit every 5 minutes.

This was for a 10-gal batch, with 3.5 lbs of regular (Not quick or instant) grits, along with 11.75 lbs of 6-row (total).

Mash:
30m @ 122F
90m @ 152F
10m @ 165F


Conversion was complete.

MC

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I don't believe you need to mill or preboil flaked grains, I've always just added them right to the mash.

This is true. Briess product info on their flaked corn... http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_IGYellowCornThinFlakes.pdf


CHARACTERISTICS / APPLICATIONS
• Insta Grains® Yellow Corn Thin Flakes can be used as a cereal adjunct. The flakes can be added to the mash without first using a cereal cooker.

 

[IslandLizard]

I don't believe you need to mill or preboil flaked grains, I've always just added them right to the mash.

OK, I'm confused now. I thought a cereal mash was what you're doing with the 30 minute boil. Is that different than a cereal mash?

For our size batches, I decided it is cheaper to just buy flaked corn. It's a couple of dollars difference compared to cornmeal/grits (not instant), but it adds 30 minutes and extra stirring.

Good idea to use flaked corn, grits are not gelatinized at all, and instant grits only partially. Since they are hard and dense they'd need a long boil/soak to gelatinize. Same for steel cut oats.

I simply boil the finely milled flaked corn for 30'. There is no diastatic malt involved, so it's not a cereal mash. The fine milling and subsequent boiling hydrolyzes them, making the now fully gelatinized starches available to the enzymes in the mash that follows. Corn and rice do not contain much beta glucan, so a cereal mash (performing a beta-glucanase/protein rest) is not needed, boiling works fine for these.

Here's where the confusion lies:
Contrary to common brewers' belief, flaked goods are only partially gelatinized, not fully. Milling flaked goods breaks them into much smaller pieces for faster hydrolyzation and gelatinization during the mash.

Diastatic enzymes in cereal mashes gelatinize starches and break down beta glucan matrixes faster and better at 113F (combined beta-glucanase/protein rest) than boiling does at 212F. So that's preferred for those cereals that contain large amounts of beta-glucans, such as unmalted barley, rye, oats, and wheat.

See John Palmer's How to Brew on Cereal Mashing, pgs. 173-175.