So, what are your thoughts on corn?

[user 336313]

As an adjunct in lagers, cold IPA's, Italian IPA's... Or just in general.
The owner of the brewpub I work at said: 'Isn't that only used by macro lager brewers to cut the cost? '
Seems like an outdated perspective...

 

[Miraculix]

It has it's own taste and it lowers protein content of the mash. If that suits your beer, go for it!

 

[TheMadKing]

I find that it also smooths hop bitterness. I'll use corn in scottish light, heavy, and export for that reason.

I like the taste of it in cream ales and its also a great option for adding gravity while keeping color and body as low as possible.

 

[brewbama]

I use corn in KY Common and Cream Ale. That’s about it.

 

[user 336313]

I find that it also smooths hop bitterness. I'll use corn in scottish light, heavy, and export for that reason.

I like the taste of it in cream ales and its also a great option for adding gravity while keeping color and body as low as possible.

Sounds good. What percentages are we talking about here?

 

[Miraculix]

I used it in an American lager-ish type of beer once at 20 or 30% and the result tasted like a Corona clone. I think you start really tasting it somewhere at at least ten percent of the grist.

 

[TheMadKing]

Sounds good. What percentages are we talking about here?

I try to keep it 10% or less

 

[madscientist451]

I'm brewing a "Brut IPA" recipe that uses rice and corn.
Found the recipe here on HBT; here's the thread, post #6, brewer says it came out tasty:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/is-it-possible-to-have-a-tasty-true-brut.723592/ I've used corn and rice in various other brews with positive results, so yeah, adjuncts are used by industrial brewers but that's no reason to avoid using them in homebrew.

 

[cire]

Flaked maize was used in many British Pale Ales in the years preceding WWII as it provided more extract and less nitrogen than barley, allowing the use of a proportion of cheaper malted barley with high nitrogen content. During WWII supplies of maize dried up and these breweries used flaked barley and later flaked oats (unmalted) by direction of Government to limit energy consumption. After the war and when supplies of maize returned, those breweries soon returned to brewing their beers with flaked maize.

Today maize is not common use for ales, but is for lager as now low nitrogen barleys are plentiful with improved and better malting. I use flaked maize because it costs me less than does malted barley.

 

[T Murph]

I have used flaked maize in lagers in the past with good results. I especially like it in preprohibition lagers at 20 % of the grist bill. In the near future I plan to make a Checz style pilsner with 10 % maize and 10 % potatoes. I'm actually eager to get this one done as I have made one once with 20 % potatoes that turned out awesome.

 

[Immocles]

Cream ales and American lagers for me. I'd have to check where I landed on my cream ale recipe, but I make a simple lager thats 80/20 with 2 row/corn ratio. Love it.

 

[hottpeper13]

My brew club is doing a contamination tasting at a brewery that we can only bring in homebrew to sample so I made an American adjunct lager with 20% jasmine rice and a cereal mash. I'll be putting this on the to brew again list.
I also brew a KC with corn grits and a cereal mash that i do twice a year(brothers fav).

 

[mantaray]

Cream ales and American lagers for me. I'd have to check where I landed on my cream ale recipe, but I make a simple lager thats 80/20 with 2 row/corn ratio. Love it.

@Immocles - I love simple recipes.

80/20 2-row/corn is pretty straightforward.
What you are hopping with?

 

[user 336313]

Thank you all for commenting. I'm def gonna make a recipe with it now.

 

[Immocles]

@Immocles - I love simple recipes.

80/20 2-row/corn is pretty straightforward.
What you are hopping with?

I've used a few different hop additions. Generally, I bitter with mittelfruh at 60 (usually half oz for a 3G batch) and then give it a charge of something else at 10-15m to bring my total IBU around 25. Tettnang and mittelfruh were both great, Perle was okay. Styrian aurora was fantastic. The current batch is using Sonnet from YVH. Never used that hop before, so im really curious how it will turn out. With a higher amount of corn, you can really toss quite a bit of hopping at it.

 

[user 336313]

So this will be my recipe:

Pilsen malt 70%
Flaked corn 20%
Vienna malt 10%

Magnum hops as a bittering addition at 60 minutes.
Aurora, Mittelfrueh en Tettnang in whirlpool.
26 IBU - 0,60 BU/GU

W34/70 lager yeast.

Cheers.

 

[Miraculix]

So this will be my recipe:

Pilsen malt 70%
Flaked corn 20%
Vienna malt 10%

Magnum hops as a bittering addition at 60 minutes.
Aurora, Mittelfrueh en Tettnang in whirlpool.
26 IBU - 0,60 BU/GU

W34/70 lager yeast.

Cheers.

Sounds really good! You could go with 20% Vienna if you want to, I'm not sure if ten % really contribute much.

 

[user 336313]

Sounds really good! You could go with 20% Vienna if you want to, I'm not sure if ten % really contribute much.

Nice one. Thanks.

 

[GrogNerd]

So this will be my recipe:

Pilsen malt 70%
Flaked corn 20%
Vienna malt 10%

Magnum hops as a bittering addition at 60 minutes.
Aurora, Mittelfrueh en Tettnang in whirlpool.
26 IBU - 0,60 BU/GU

W34/70 lager yeast.

Cheers.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

I had a yeast cake coming off a California Common a few weeks ago so I decided to do cream ale - 70/30 2-row/flaked corn. Cold crashing it right now. Will keg it this week.

Usually the recipe would have been 80/20 but decide to use up the excess flaked corn I had. Also, never used SF Lager yeast for this and I guess the hops, too. Only had Hallertauer Mittilfrueh available, so.......ok nothing like any of my previous attempts.

Never declare your beer before you taste it!

 

[Miraculix]

I had a yeast cake coming off a California Common a few weeks ago so I decided to do cream ale - 70/30 2 row/flaked corn. Cold crashing it right now. Will keg it this week.

Usually the recipe would have been 80/20 but decide to use up the excess flaked corn I had. Also, never used SF Lager yeast for this and I guess the hops, too. Only had Hallertauer Mittilfrueh available, so.......ok nothing like any of my previous attempts.

Never declare your beer before you taste it!

Brewed a similar one once. It will taste like Corona without the light struck flavour part. Crushable something.

 

[BrewAgain]

Corn is perfect at about 20% with Vienna pils for a Mexican style lager. Perfect for those people who typically like only the common beers. It's a crowd pleaser.

 

[user 336313]

Corn is perfect at about 20% with Vienna pils for a Mexican style lager. Perfect for those people who typically like only the common beers. It's a crowd pleaser.

That's perfect. The hops in the whirlpool will give it a distinct twist.

 

[mashpaddled]

For most brewers the question is do you like the taste of lagers with corn? If so, brew with it. If not, don't.

Most of us are brewing with typical brewing grains which don't need adjuncts to deal with problems with grain (e.g. high nitrogen) so adding corn is mostly a matter of taste. It can be used without favor in small amounts to dry out a beer but you can accomplish the same thing with less effort using table or corn sugar.

 

[Yeast Farmer]

I like a corny cream ale. Going to experiment with it in some lagers this spring. When brewers started putting corn and rice in beer, it was more expensive than barley. It was done for the intended result of making a pale, light, refreshing beer, which was wildly successful.

 

[shetc]

 

[Kickass]

So this will be my recipe:

Pilsen malt 70%
Flaked corn 20%
Vienna malt 10%

Magnum hops as a bittering addition at 60 minutes.
Aurora, Mittelfrueh en Tettnang in whirlpool.
26 IBU - 0,60 BU/GU

W34/70 lager yeast.

Cheers.

I’d drink that!

I typically do a 70% Vienna and 30% corn lager with noble hops every summer. Love, love, love it.

 

[Upstate12866]

I have found that corn is a nice addition, usually around 10% if I want something that adds gravity without too much color or taste (though I think corn does have its own flavor that you might pick up on). I mainly use corn grits since they can do double-duty in my small pantry.

I'll add: I'm consistently amazed at how open historical brewers were to using any available ingredients, often at proportions that shocked me! So I don't think it's fair to say corn or other adjuncts are the evil mark of macrolagers because these were in use long before industrialization, and it was "real" enough of a beer to those hardy folks. Not to mention, with all the price swings of the last few years, some of those adjunct ingredients might be the most expensive part of the recipe at certain times! So maybe they aren't simply cheap filler...

 

[user 336313]

For most brewers the question is do you like the taste of lagers with corn? If so, brew with it. If not, don't.

Most of us are brewing with typical brewing grains which don't need adjuncts to deal with problems with grain (e.g. high nitrogen) so adding corn is mostly a matter of taste. It can be used without favor in small amounts to dry out a beer but you can accomplish the same thing with less effort using table or corn sugar.

Good point.

 

[cire]

I use corn and rice in beer when it is cheaper. They lighten beer that in turn require fewer hops. Climates where maize and rice grow well are where those ingredients were first used to counter the costs of importing barley from cooler climbs.

 

[user 336313]

I use corn and rice in beer when it is cheaper. They lighten beer that in turn require fewer hops. Climates where maize and rice grow well are where those ingredients were first used to counter the costs of importing barley from cooler climbs.

Yes, see first post. I mentioned that reason, as it was told to me.