Target OG on mash

[sail681]

Can't seem to find a good resource for whiskey grain bills relative to gravity targets, mash temps and use of sugar. Going with a base grain bill of: 63% flaked corn, 27% rye malt, 10% 2-Row. (Basil Hayden)

Collection of random items I have seen:

2lbs grain / gallon of water (11gallon batch = 22lbs)
OG of 1.06 to 1.07
OG over 1.09 to have a 10%+ wash
No real guidance on how much sugar to use to boost OG
Champagne and beer yeast work fine.

Love to hear thoughts on where to go and why.

 

[bracconiere]

i have my doubts, that grain bill will convert...and i'd say just pretend you're making beer? just don't add hops...

 

[sail681]

What part of the bill doesn’t make sense? Not getting enough of the right enzymes? Wrong yeast?

i’m now looking at a 1.07 OG target, as other info I’ve read says the taste gets pretty harsh if you go much higher.

going for 150 mash temp, then a light sparge with no subsequent boil. Seeing that while the boilgo or able kills bacteria it does more harm than good in terms of overall complexity. We a hard yeast kick plus distilling it, it kills off any bacteria at some point.

 

[Jtvann]

I haven't researched nearly as much as it sounds you have, so take this with a grain of salt. I believe theres lacto bacteria naturally in grain. I would want to bring to a boil for at least a few mins, up to 15 just to prevent any competition with the yeast.

I was in the baby steps of looking into this a year ago. Let me know what you find out or what successes you have.

 

[bracconiere]

not enough enzymes....it looks to me, anyway, like a fancy sugar wash....the grain is just there for flavor and nutrients.....

you could add amylase to the mash, and gluco to the fermenter though...the predictions for the gravity, if you're using a calc, would assume it's being converted.....

i just don't see 10% 2-row having the strength of will to do the job of converting that much corn......

 

[doug293cz]

not enough enzymes....it looks to me, anyway, like a fancy sugar wash....the grain is just there for flavor and nutrients.....

you could add amylase to the mash, and gluco to the fermenter though...the predictions for the gravity, if you're using a calc, would assume it's being converted.....

i just don't see 10% 2-row having the strength of will to do the job of converting that much corn......

The rye malt will bring some amylase enzymes as well, although rye seems to vary widely w.r.t. diastatic power. I would add some amylase or glucoamylase to the mash, and a bit more glucoamylase to the fermenter. Leaving unfermentable and undistillable dextrins behind seems like a waste.

Agree that just using a beer recipe calculator will be the easiest way to predict wash OG.

Also agree that grain comes with lactobacillus in spades so if you do a no boil, you are at risk for souring during the fermentation. This may or may not be a good thing, depending on what you are looking for in your end product.

Brew on

 

[BigEd]

Can't seem to find a good resource for whiskey grain bills relative to gravity targets, mash temps and use of sugar. Going with a base grain bill of: 63% flaked corn, 27% rye malt, 10% 2-Row. (Basil Hayden)

Collection of random items I have seen:

2lbs grain / gallon of water (11gallon batch = 22lbs)
OG of 1.06 to 1.07
OG over 1.09 to have a 10%+ wash
No real guidance on how much sugar to use to boost OG
Champagne and beer yeast work fine.

Love to hear thoughts on where to go and why.

I'd bump the barley malt up to 20%. If you don't want to reduce the rye then you can take that weight out of the corn or reduce each one a bit. Adding some amylase wouldn't hurt, I like to do that as an added measure of conversion security. 7-8.5% ABV is good and I would not add any sugar. Whatever your OG is just live with it. Taste is more important IMO. My preference on mash temp is to go low, about 144F. This isn't drinking beer you want to maximize the fermentable sugar yield.