How to Malt at Home: An In-Depth Guide

[user 345769]

So I just finished drying my first dextrin malt now just have to run it through the kiln for a wee bit.

 

[user 345769]

Well, the first batch of rye was a bust. Musty smelling and full of junky grain, weed seeds, and bugs. Probably won't kill the chickens.
View attachment 859148

Made a run to the local feed mill and snagged a 56lb bag of seed rye for $20. That looks much better.
View attachment 859147

Also grabbed another 50 sack of wheat for $13, and 100lbs of fresh cracked corn for $14. Godbless the Midwest!

From all the stories, I've read of people getting the feed bags of grain, I don't think I can handle picking out bugs and weed seeds. I have elected to go directly to nutrient a AG company here that I can get a bushel for pennies on the dollar and it's clean I don't have to worry about too many weed seeds or bugs so I can get for free if I'm willing to sort it out rocks and wheat but usually this is only once or twice a year when they're switching bins and whatever is left in the auger. But it's free and it's clean for the most part so I can't complain.

I just have to find a better sieve. The barley ones are outrageously expensive.

 

[Agent]

So I just finished drying my first dextrin malt now just have to run it through the kiln for a wee bit.

Nice looking dextrin!

Can't argue with super discounted mixed grains!

Got nice chits going on the rye after two days soaking.

Finally built a malt couch for 25 lb batches. My hoarding of materials is paying off!

And full!

 

[user 345769]

Thanks, unfortunately I forgot to unplug my kiln and do to my SSR leakage really bad my 2nd batch I left in side to cool overnight kinda gave it a bit more color then I wanted. 8 hrs at 80c , thank goodness I had my fan on still.

Nice malt box! 25lbs of rye nice, the chiting look fairly even.
I only once malted in a container and I did not like it. Now it is on the open floor, just pulled my last batch of the year off the floor.
Drying now for the next 18 hrs or so.

 

[user 345769]

so I am looking at Sensata Crydom i was thinking maybe i also need to put the 2nd heater on it own SSR Output instead of having them come off the 1 ch.

 

[user 345769]

Got nice chits going on the rye after two days soaking.

I find grain once rehydrated looks so alien, especially these naked rye kernels

 

[Agent]

so I am looking at Sensata Crydom i was thinking maybe i also need to put the 2nd heater on it own SSR Output instead of having them come off the 1 ch.

I'm always a fan of redundancy when it's feasible. That said, I still haven't built my "Good enough to probably not electrocute someone" boil controller, so I'm not really one to talk!

Are your SSR control wires shielded? I wonder if you had some induced voltage that activated the SSR.

 

[user 345769]

Are your SSR control wires shielded? I wonder if you had some induced voltage that activated the SSR.

90% of the wires that I'm currently using is a solid copper 10. gauge. is what was leftover that I stuck through my wall for this project. They are shielded. they got the plastic coating on the outside I am planning on replacing most of this wire because a lot of it is pieces that were just either soldered together or crimped together. This ssr has been working a lot better than the first one that I got from Inkbird But I am looking for a better one, I found one here locally a Crydom dual 240v 25a. But I am kind of holding off until I can figure out everything else and make sure my wiring plan is proper. Because if I'm shorting out these SSRS, then it's my bad and not the manufacturer, I'm just waiting on some 12 gauge to clean up my circuit.

 

[Agent]

I've got a moment of downtime, so let's see if I can sneak my followup in.

So-so on evenness, but I'd rather have slightly under modified.

25lbs is a full load in the 7 rack hop oast. Gotta keep the grain thin enough for air to flow through each layer. Kilning is my current choke point, as I use my dehydrator and can only fit 8lbs at a crack in there.

A long minute with the paint mixer knocks off all the roots and most of the acrospire. Good enough for rye malt at $0.40/lb.

Running through the sack of wheat this week!

 

[user 345769]

Good day, fellow maltsters, So I finished up my last Green malt for the year I think 70lbs is enough I think. I still can not find a way to determine what my potential diastatic power would be, I do take specific gravity readings at the beginning, throughout my test sample and then at the end.
So if anybody here has an idea that can give me at least a basic idea of what my base malts are at. I know I have some diastolic power as my sample shows the conversion is happening but I'd like to be able to put a number to them at least to have an idea, I don't want to add any extra enzymes to the mash If I don't need to, I'd rather let the grain do it if possible but I will add if necessary.

 

[user 345769]

A long minute with the paint mixer knocks off all the roots and most of the acrospire. Good enough for rye malt at $0.40/lb.

Nice look'n, really nice reminds me of my wheat.

 

[Davepub]

The iodine test is to determine if conversion is complete, that the enzymes have broken down the long chain starches into sugars. If the conversion isn't complete, either due to not enough time in the rest or not enough enzymes to do the conversion, you'll know from the test.

If the mash is stuck due to not enough enzymes, you could add some amylase enzyme to get it to fully convert.

When should the iodine test be done? I have read “toward the end of the mash,” and “at the end of the boil.” But,
(1) Does “end of mash” mean before lautering, or after lautering? If it’s done at the end of lautering, isn’t it too late at that point to remedy a problem of too much starch?
(2) What would be the purpose of testing after the boil? Presuming a test was done during the mash, with a negative result, why test again? And what could be done at that point to remedy a problem of too much starch?
Thanks.

 

[MaxStout]

You can test with iodine at any point during the mash. I usually do it just before mashout, to ensure conversion is complete.

I see no point in testing after the boil. If there was incomplete conversion at that point it's too late.

 

[Davepub]

I found this on another website (rewritten to avoid copyright issues)..

Even if the iodine test is negative at the end of the mash, the wort could still test positive. Possible reasons:
1. Starch granules can transfer into the boil kettle during lautering, or they can simply pass through a BIAB bag. These granules can gelatinize and dissolve in the wort as it boils.
2. If the sparge water is too hot, additional starch can gelatinize and dissolve in.
If you do get a positive reading at the end of the boil, there are limited options for degrading the starch. You can add an amylase enzyme to the fermenter, or add a small amount (.1% of the wort volume) of fresh wort to the fermenter. This can be created with a short low mash at 60-62°. This option introduces some risk of contamination because the wild microbes on the grain may not be killed with a short low-temperature mash.
What do you think?

 

[MaxStout]

Got a link to that website?

 

[Davepub]

https://brewingforward.com/wiki/Iod...is should be,during lautering and/or sparging.