Who here uses corn?

[Steve973]

I'm just curious if any of you (or many of you) use corn once in a while in your beer. I've seen some discussion about it, and honestly, I can't imagine why anybody would use it in their beers. i think it imparts a terrible flavor... It's the reason why I think Yuengling Lager is a horrible product. At least rice doesn't impart that tangy off-flavor that corn contributes.

So, I'm not trying to instigate any arguments about ingredients, but I'm interested in hearing everybody else's take on this golden grain.

 

[Rhoobarb]

I have once - for a cream ale. A cream ale isn't a true American cream ale without the use of some kind of corn product. Take a look at this thread.

 

[Steve973]

I hear ya, but i probably wouldn't make a beer when the grain bill includes corn, but pretty much only because I don't like corny beer styles. But to each his own, and that's exactly why we brew!

 

[Lost]

Hey, I like Yuengling!

In all fairness though I do know that it is considered by most as a crappy adjunct.. but as you can see in the other thread I'm gonna use it. We'll see how it tastes.. I'll report back once I figure out exactly what I'm brewing this weekend.

Ah, it would just be so much easier if I just threw together some chocolate malt, crystal 80L, victory, etc. and make a nice tasty colorful brew.. to bad she won't even try that. Ah well I've got my work cut out for me...

 

[Sir Sudster]

I hear ya, but i probably wouldn't make a beer when the grain bill includes corn, but pretty much only because I don't like corny beer styles. But to each his own, and that's exactly why we brew!

Well, how about corny jokes about beer? I know a Guy named Jimmie and he cracked corn and didn't care!

 

[El Pistolero]

I thought sudsmonkey copyrighted that joke?

 

[Sir Sudster]

I thought sudsmonkey copyrighted that joke?

No, our Bro Sudsmonkey Pm'd me and ask if he could have limited rights to it. So , I said maybe, and he took that as a yes.and went with it.

 

[Steve973]

It might sound weird, but I actually don't mind rice in a brew if there's no corn. The Japanese beers like Kirin Ichiban are definitely not objectionable to me. I'd like to know what is different about the fermentation of corn sugar. Anybody have the chemistry knowledge to know why the taste is so much different between barley, corn, and rice fermentation?

 

[Rhoobarb]

Rice is nice! Bud has rice as an adjuct, not that I'm a Bud fan at all. I really like James Page Boundry Water Golden Lager from James Page Brewing in Minneapolis. I used to be able to get it where I live, but not anymore.

It is a pilsner brewed with Minnesota Wild Rice. Great on a hot summer day and more flavorful than Bud. I like to romanticize that Bud might have tasted like this 150 years ago, long before Prohibition. In reality, Bud was probably never as good.

 

[SwAMi75]

I never found Yuengling to be real corny tasting. You wanna tase corn, grab a Rolling Rock. Blech.

Although I may one day, I have zero motivation to brew a classic American cream ale (CACA).

 

[Lost]

I never found Yuengling to be real corny tasting. You wanna tase corn, grab a Rolling Rock. Blech.

Although I may one day, I have zero motivation to brew a classic American cream ale (CACA).

Is THAT what makes that stuff taste soooooo bad? I had no idea.. boy.. I better go easy on that corn. Maybe .5 lb...

Jeez.. rolling rock is really really bad.

 

[Cheesefood]

No, our Bro Sudsmonkey Pm'd me and ask if he could have limited rights to it. So , I said maybe, and he took that as a yes.and went with it.

I'm in Violation

 

[vtfan99]

I make a Cream Ale in the summer months....kind of like my lawn mower beer. It has 1 lb of corn in it. I don't think it imparts a bad flavor...then again maybe I just like the flavor My neighbors like it a lot (maybe thats why it goes so fast). Sometimes I just want a lighter beer...something to have on a hot day. Im not a big hefe fan, so this is my alternative.

 

[BitterRat]

I use corn in my CAP and in Cream ale. In the CAP I use 1.6 lbs of corn and it is really good ( btw, this is for a 6 gal batch) . I don't understand why people think it's a crappy adjunct, unless they are only familiar with the products from the commercial breweries. It imparts a touch of sweetness and I have never seen beers as clear and bright as when I use corn in the brew, and that's without filtration or clarifying agents, just whirlfloc in the boil. Here's my CAP recipe if your interested:

Recipe Specifics
----------------
Recipe Name: My CAP #6
Brewed On: N/A


Batch Size (Gal): 6.00
Est. IBU: 26.5
Est. OG: 1.046 Plato: 11.50


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
78.2 8.00 lbs. Pale Malt(6-row) America 1.035 2
15.6 1.60 lbs. Flaked Corn (Maize) America 1.040 1
6.1 0.63 lbs. Carahell Malt Germany 1.034 12

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.90 oz. Cluster Whole 7.00 20.6 60 min.
0.75 oz. Styrian Goldings Whole 3.90 5.8 20 min.
0.75 oz. Styrian Goldings Whole 3.90 0.0 0 min.


Yeast
-----

your favorite lager strain


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Multi Step

Grain Lbs: 10.23
Water Qts: 10.01 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 2.50 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1 - Before Additional Infusions

Acid Rest Temp : 0 Time: 0
Protein Rest Temp : 122 Time: 15
Intermediate Rest Temp : 140 Time: 10
Saccharification Rest Temp : 154 Time: 45
Mash-out Rest Temp : 168 Time: 20
Sparge Temp : 166 Time: 60

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.
My last couple have used straight infusion mashes at 152ºF.

 

[Turricaine]

When I used corn it my beer it was a small amount. I was ordering through a commercial supplier and the idea of 'flaked maize' seemed interesting enough at the time. It was ok but I dont have much of a desire to repeat it. There was certainly nothing wrong with it. I think I might experiment using some rice though in a future brew.

 

[Genghis77]

If you think you might like corn beer, there's always Chicha. A favorite drink in Peru. Generally pretty week and sour. Some people like it, most don't.

 

[Rhoobarb]

If you want a very good ale that uses corn, try and get your hands on some Spotted Cow Ale from New Glarus Brewing in Wisconsin. I was there last weekend and bought some! Yum!

 

[Dude]

If you want a very good ale that uses corn, try and get your hands on some Spotted Cow Ale from New Glarus Brewing in Wisconsin. I was there last weekend and bought some! Yum!

I must have had a bad one when I was there--I thought that stuff tasted like ass....is that the one they cask condition and serve it from a pump?

FWIW--I'm really liking corn in my brews. The pepper beer I did recently had 2 lbs. in it. It rocked. The base cream ale tasted like a better version of Bud Select, or a classic american lagerish type beer. I say that in a good way--cause Bud Select actualy has potential, IMHO.

At any rate--I'm doing more beers with corn, for sure.

 

[david_42]

I used corn in my Poor Richard's. It does change the flavor, but the molasses really dominates.