Has anybody ever used corn or corn cobs during brewing?

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jasno999

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I saw some crazy recipe on the Mr. Beer website where they were using a corn cob in the fermentor.
 
well, i wouldn't say Mr. Beer has the greatest recipes (they don't even boil) and i wouldn't just throw corn into the wort. don't know what kind of benefit that would have.

Flaked corn can come in handy though. i made a great cream ale recipe with flaked corn recently. it lightens the body and makes for a nice crisp brew. one of my best ever.
 
If this is the recipe, skip it. That looks positively TERRIBLE! Don't put raw corn, crushed peanuts, ice cream topping, and a corn cob in your fermenter. While certainly creative, that recipe is quite haphazard. Search for "Caramel Cream Ale" on this forum if you want a tried and true recipe that's sweet like Crackerjacks.
 
corn and rice are used as adjuncts in partial mash and all grain recipes to add OG without changing the color. Corn has a distinct flavor and is generally only used for a very small portion of the grain bill. Just tossing a cob into a fermenter sounds a little cooky to me:drunk:
 
Yuri_Rage said:
If this is the recipe, skip it. That looks positively TERRIBLE! Don't put raw corn, crushed peanuts, ice cream topping, and a corn cob in your fermenter. While certainly creative, that recipe is quite haphazard. Search for "Caramel Cream Ale" on this forum if you want a tried and true recipe that's sweet like Crackerjacks.
oh, god...that looks terrible.

i was looking through their website, but didn't find that. i just found a buncha recipes with beautiful looking beers next to them :rolleyes:

had to look away
 
I use fresh (from a can) whole corn kernels in my mash for a cream ale. It makes an excellent cream ale and the corn taste is very nice.
 
DeathBrewer said:
well, i wouldn't say Mr. Beer has the greatest recipes (they don't even boil) and i wouldn't just throw corn into the wort. don't know what kind of benefit that would have.

Flaked corn can come in handy though. i made a great cream ale recipe with flaked corn recently. it lightens the body and makes for a nice crisp brew. one of my best ever.

Sounds pretty darn good. Do you have the recipe for the cream ale handy? might like to try it one day. I am assuming that it is an all grain, and I am not quite there yet, but one day . . .! :rockin:
 
you could do it as a partial mash. here is the all-grain recipe. if you PM me, i can get you a partial mash recipe when i get home and describe the easy "pseudo-mash" i use in my kitchen. you probably won't need any more equipment then you have now.

here's my AG recipe:

6 lbs of 2-row
0.5 lbs German Vienna
0.5 lbs German Munich
1 lbs Flaked Corn
1 lbs Flaked Wheat

i used hallertau for bittering and saaz for finishing (don't recall how much...recipe's at home.) it really turned out amazingly crisp.

here, check out the BJCP guidelines and Jamil's Podcast
 
"Priming" is when you add the priming sugar just before bottling, right? I'd never heard of this as a stage before, and i wanted to make sure i got it right. I like the looks of that caramel cream ale, but the recipe isn't completely clear to my noob mind.
 
Moonshae said:
"Priming" is when you add the priming sugar just before bottling, right? I'd never heard of this as a stage before, and i wanted to make sure i got it right. I like the looks of that caramel cream ale, but the recipe isn't completely clear to my noob mind.

Yes sir you are correct.
 
It is high time in Northwest Jersey for tons of good sweet corn. I was thinking of cutting some kernels off of a half dozen ears in the mash for an ale I am making to see how it does. I would be using about 5 pounds 2-row, one-pound caramel, and six ears worth of corn kernels. What do you say, would these provide corn sugar?
 
Peacetree brewing company in Iowa does a seasonal belgian blonde called 'cornacopia' that uses corn husks in the primary fermenter. It was a favorite of mine last year and comes out really soon!

sweet corn season is almost over tho and I meant to use them in a beer this season...anyone have any experience doing this?
 
You need to cook the hell outta the corn first, or it won't do much. Mash temps aren't high enough to break up the kernels. Cut the corn off and boil it with plenty of water for an hour or so, then add it to the mash... you can let it cool first if you need to.
 
BTW, they would provide "corn sugar" once the enzymes in the 2-row convert the starch but they would also provide a significant corn flavor to the beer. I like using a little corn in my lighter lagers and ales. I find the flavor quite nice, but it's easy to go overboard and end up with beer that tastes like creamed corn, which is NOT a good flavor. Still, with a pound of caramel (you did mean caramel malt right?) you have some other flavors for it to blend with.
 
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