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January 10, 2014
Last updated

Corn Mash Recipe - Whiskey Mash

Owner of Clawhammer Supply

We made a corn whiskey mash recently and documented the process for others to see. Though, before we get started, a reminder: making mash is legal. It' just like making beer, which is legal in 48 states in the US. However, distilling alcohol is illegal without a federal fuel alcohol or distilled spirit plant permit as well as relevant state and local permits. Our distillation equipment is designed for legal uses only and the information in this article is for educational purposes only. Please read our complete legal summary for more information on the legalities of distillation.

The following is a detailed corn mash recipe, illustrated with pictures. This is one of our older recipes, so this is a tried and true process. For a newer version of this recipe check out our article on How to Make Moonshine.

When we tested this procedure, we had a fuel alcohol permit and we were in compliance with state and federal regulations. We produced, stored, and used this alcohol in accordance with TTB requirements. We also kept and reported production logs in accordance with TTB fuel alcohol permit requirements.

The following is how a commercial distillery would likely make corn whiskey

 

Mashing Equipment

  • First, making corn whiskey mash is pretty simple. Less equipment could be used, but having the following basic equipment will make this a lot easier. All a distiller needs is a large pot for mashing, a wort chiller for cooling liquid, a brewers thermometer, cheesecloth, a plastic funnel, and a spare plastic bucket for aeration. Make sure to check out our recommended distillation equipment guide.

   

Corn Mash Ingredients

  • As far as ingredients go, a distiller needs the following:
    • 8.5 lbs. of crushed corn (sometimes called flaked maize)
    • 2 lbs. of crushed malted barley*
    • 6.5 gallons of water
    • 1 package of bread yeast (Fleischmann's Active Dry works well)

*Note, barley MUST be malted, otherwise recipe will not work (more on this below).

 

How To Make Corn Mash

  • We heated 6.5 gallons of water to roughly 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the temperature was reached, we cut off the heat. It won't be needed for a while. Next, we poured all of the crushed corn into the water and stirred for 3-5 minutes. After that we stirred for 5-10 seconds every 5 minutes. This is the start of our mash.

    • The corn will turn to a "gel" as it gets stirred up. We weren't alarmed when this happened as this is perfectly normal. The corn is being broken down and starch is being released, which makes the mixture quite thick. Once the barley is added and mashing begins, the mixture will thin out considerably.

 

  • We monitored the temperature as we stirred. Once the temperature dropped to 152 degrees, we added the malted barley and stirred for 1-2 minutes. Once stirred, we covered and let the mixture "rest" (sit) for 90 minutes.

    • During the rest, enzymes in the malted barley will convert starches in the corn and the barley into sugar. Later, during the fermentation process, yeast will be added and the yeast will actually turn the sugar into alcohol. So, to rephrase that, what we're ultimately trying to do during mashing is turn grain starch into sugar so we can add yeast and turn the sugar into alcohol during the fermentation process. The enzymes found in malted grains (i.e. malted barley) are what convert the starches into sugar. Without enzymes, none of the starch will be converted into sugar and fermentation will fail. So, it is critically important to use malted barley, and not regular flaked barley, for this recipe.

 

  • While the mash is resting, we made a "yeast starter" by re-hydrating our yeast in a glass of water. For this recipe, we added 2 packages of active dry bread yeast to 1/2 cup of 110 degrees F water along with 1 tsp. of sugar.

    • Completing this step allowed us to verify that the yeast is good (a "yeast cake" will form and expand on top of the water if it's working). This step also allows the yeast to get a "head start." Once added to the mash, the yeast will be able to begin rapid fermentation immediately. This reduces the chances of contamination of the mash by ambient bacteria.

  • After a 90 minute rest, we needed to cool the mash down to a temperature suitable for adding yeast. This is generally somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 degrees. To cool a mash, a distiller can either use an immersion chiller to rapidly cool the mash, or simply leave it sit for several hours. Once cool, we poured the mash through a cheesecloth (any fine strainer will do) to separate solids from the liquids.

    • It's always a good idea to cool the mash as quickly as possible to reduce the likelihood that the mash will become contaminated with ambient bacteria while it is sitting. Immersion chillers work great for this. 

    • We like to use a cheesecloth to separate solids from liquids. We scoop a little bit into the cheesecloth bag at a time and then squeeze the hell out of it. Using small amounts allows us to wring out the bag and recover most of the liquid (which means we'll end up with more final product).

 

  • After cooling and removing grain solids, we aerated by pouring the mash back and forth between two sanitized buckets. We made sure to aerate aggressively enough to see froth and bubbles forming (that's a sign of good aeration). We poured the liquid back and forth 10-15 times. After aerating, we took a specific gravity reading by filling a test tube and using a hydrometer. Another way a distiller might do this is by dropping a bit onto a refractometer collection plate and taking a refractometer reading.

    • Aeration is critically important. Yeast need oxygen to survive. Without aeration fermentation could fail and the yeast won't do anything. Aerate!

    • The specific gravity reading is used to determine potential starting alcohol. Basically, it allows one to determine how much alcohol will be in the wash if everything goes well during fermentation. After fermentation, another reading will be taken to determine actual alcohol content of the wash. Both readings are needed to calculate this number.

  

  • After aerating and taking a specific gravity reading, we added the entire contents of our yeast starter to the mash. Finally, we transferred our mash to a fermentation vessel.

    • We use 2 small packages of bread yeast per 5 gallons of mash

    • Our favorite container for fermentation is a 6.5 gallon glass carboy.

 

  • The last step of the mashing process is fermentation. Once the mash was transferred to the fermenter, we sealed it with an airlock and left it sit for at least 1 week. A distiller could leave this sit for as many as 3 weeks. If it's still bubbling, it's still fermenting. We left it alone until we didn't see any bubbles.

    • We made our own airlock using a rubber stopper, some clear plastic hose, and some zip ties. We looped the hose a few times and added some sanitizer solution so the very bottom of a few of the loops are full, forcing air to bubble out while not letting any air in.

Distillation

For a quick tutorial on how a commercial distiller would turn a wash into high proof alcohol, check out How to Distill - 101. Also, make sure to check out our copper still kits before leaving.

Kyle Brown is the owner of Clawhammer Supply, a small scale distillation and brewing equipment company which he founded in 2009. His passion is teaching people about the many uses of distillation equipment as well as how to make beer at home. When he isn't brewing beer or writing about it, you can find him at his local gym or on the running trail.

  • It’s possible to use all corn but you have to Malt (sprout) 1/3 of it to gain starch conversion into fermentable sugar. It was told to me by an old moonshiner that the starch in the raw (unmalted grain) was to protect it from birds until it started to sprout and grow naturally. Malted grain is more easily digestible for us and animals!

    Posted by Morto on January 16, 2015
  • Do u have any recipes for the one gallon or where I can find any recipes Thanks

    Posted by Nick martinez on January 12, 2015
  • You use a hydrometer to check proof !! 10-25$ at any brew store

    Posted by Eric on December 05, 2014
  • Hi, I am opening a micro distillery with the aim of reaching 95 percent ethanol but I need some clarity on the following challenges am facing.
    1. How can I start corn starch conversion, fermentation and distill in 56 hours as some energy production companies in the US like Guardian energy and poet do?
    2. I run text on corn starch conversion after using alpha amylase and glucoamylase but the iodine text shows blue/black, (a) how long must I boil the corn mash before adding the alpha amylase and at what temperature (b) what temperature must I add the glucoamylase I know that yeast operate well in 90 degreec
    3. Example: Quantity of alpha amylase to 60lbs of corn? And quantity of glucoamylase?
    I will do iodine text after conversion.
    Thank you

    Posted by Kojo on November 10, 2014
  • In the recipe it calls for 8.5lbs of flaked maize – can cracked corn be used instead?

    Posted by Jason on November 08, 2014
  • Hi, Kyle. The ingredients above call for one pack of yeast but the the “starter yeast” calls for two packs. Which is it for a 5 gallon mash, one or two packs of dry yeast?

    Posted by Shane on November 02, 2014
  • I’m use to rum washes where the bubbler begins right away. Its been 1 hour as of now, and not one bubble. Yeast was active when it went in.

    Posted by rob on October 28, 2014
  • @Brett, “the head” methanol, 50-75 ml on a 20 gallons of mash?? It must be more than that, 50 ml is 0.1 pint. Take look at my still in the picture. There is no thump keg because in my Country we are traditionally making brandy from plum an other fruits, I never did that with grain. Also, it is legal to make your own liqueur in my Country :)
    [IMG]http://i57.tinypic.com/2a7bsc6.jpg[/IMG]

    Posted by Mario on October 07, 2014
  • Mario, it is somewhat a rule of thumb to recover 10-15% alcohol, like you I have a 20 gallon still and a 10 gallon stove top still both have a thump and worm. I usually get in the neighborhood of 6-8 gallons of heads, harts and tails, keep the weak tails to use in your thump keg (called backins) makes your next run much better than using water in your thump.
    Your second question is a general one and far to many ignore this, the first 50-75 ml is (basic wood grain alcohol) should be pitched, mind you advanced distillers will keep this and use it when they proof their final product, I would not suggest you use this if you are a bigginer, just be safe and pitch it, it’s not that much and in reality you’ll avoid any problems.

    Posted by Brett on October 01, 2014
  • My copper still iz 20 gallons, if I do mash like it’s described (without adding any sugar) how much finished product should I expect?
    And most important, first that comes out is methanol which should be thrown away. How much of that should I thrown away? I don’t wanna thrown too much, but I also don’t want that in my whiskey.

    Posted by Mario on September 10, 2014
  • MICHAEL – you can purchased flaked maize at any homebrew shop.
    http://www.biyhomebrewsupply.com/products/flkmaize1lb

    Posted by StillDaddy on September 09, 2014
  • So here goes, I followed the directions as precisely as possible with two exceptions: 1. Instead of crushed corn, I used cornmeal and 2. Instead of crushed malted barley, I used dried malted barley extract. After waiting the proper amount of time, the mixture had very little liquid and because of its consistency, squeezing through the cheesecloth was just not going to work as the cornmeal/malted barley just as easily squeezed through with what little spare liquid was left. So we decided to add the yeast starter after we aerated between the glass fermenting jar and the pot used to prepare the mash. The next morning, the contents looked to be better used in building a foundation to a large structure than anything else. But I do not give up easily and will find the crushed corn and malted barley for round two.

    Posted by Michael on September 09, 2014
  • Looking forward to trying your recipe this weekend. Due to size restrictions, I will be cutting your recipe by one half. I have tried other recipes but this will be the first with malted barley. My question is this: from other sites I’ve read that allowing wild yeast to enter during the fermentation process was a positive. Can you tell me why I should not allow this? Also, I will be using malted barley extract… Good or not good?

    Posted by Michael on September 04, 2014
  • Cane sugar, or table sugar as some call it is called sucrose I believe. Sugar that comes from corn starch (requiring malted barley to convert it to sugar) is called dextrose. It does taste different. It will depend on how much cane sugar you add as to how much it will affect the taste. The only way to known if you like the taste is to try it for yourself. But if almost all the whiskey makers in the world use grains to make their whiskey that tells me that sugar produced from converting starches from grains must be better. With that being said I have tried likker made from a combination of corn that was cooked to produce starch/sugar combined with table sugar that was very passable. So have fun experimenting. I would follow the recipe given here and add maybe 5 lbs of table sugar to it and see how it tastes. But if you add more than that you probably should also add more water so you don’t have such a high % of alcohol that it will kill off your yeast.

    Posted by jim on August 11, 2014
  • Going off what Mario said about adding sugar, would the added sugar significantly effect the flavor even out of a reflux still?

    Posted by Connor on August 10, 2014
  • It is best to cover the mash while it is fermenting. But you have to allow the CO2 to escape or it may bust the container. Either place the cover loosely to keep bugs and crap out or use an air lock that will let the CO2 out. You want the yeast that you put in the mash to consume the sugar, not wild yeasts that may be around. So clean everything good maybe even sanitize and use an airlock for best results!

    Posted by jim on July 27, 2014
  • Thanks @JIM, just one more question.
    About fermenting process, when I make mash and leave it to ferment, should I leave the barrel open or close it with seal cover so nothing comes in-nothing comes out?

    Posted by Mario on July 15, 2014
  • @ ROBERT-I think you are referring to doing a sourmash.

    Posted by MASHMAKER on July 14, 2014
  • You do not have to strain the grain, you can leave it in the mash, you have to strain to distill it. Save some of the grain for next batch of shine it will give it a nice sour flavor.

    Posted by Robert on July 14, 2014
  • If you add sugar it will increase alcohol produced but it will no longer be pure corn whiskey and won’t taste as good. However if you add sugar 5 pounds would probably work ok.

    Posted by jim on July 13, 2014


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