Adjunct mashing

Brewing processes and methods. How to brew using extract, partial or all-grain. Tips and tricks.

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jayhawk
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Adjunct mashing

Post by jayhawk »

Does anyone have experience mashing corn and/or rice? I know flaked is the easiest, but I can't seem to track any down around here. What is the method for preparing corn meal or rice for the mash? Also, I just read that torrified corn, which is popcorn, can be used in the mash. Any comments on this? Would torrified corn be as effective in reducing chill haze relative to the other forms of corn (ie meal, grits)?
Chris
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BYO article

Post by Gravity Thrills »

There's a "Help Me, Mr. Wizard" column response in the December 2001 BYO that breaks it down, Chris. Raw corn and rice require a detailed pre-boil to gelatinize and also a mash setup good ol' Mr. Wizard calls the "American Double mash", in which one of the mashes contains all the cereal grains and 10-20% of the total high-ezyme 6-row barley the grain bill calls for.

i can reread the response and give you some more detail if you can't find that ish.

Cheers,
Jim
jayhawk
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If you don't mind

Post by jayhawk »

I don't have access to that issue, and that article is not on the BYO website. Could you give me the lowdown on what Mr Wizard had to say? All the websites I have found on this subject are woefully inadequate, lacking the important details of how to actually mash the !@#$ stuff.
Thanks
Chris
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Here's the skinny

Post by Gravity Thrills »

OK, here's the meat from the Mr. Wizard column:

- It would be a whole lot easier to use flaked rice or corn, but where's the challenge in that? The raw form to look for is rice or corn grits.

- The "American double mash" is a hybrid form of decoction mashing. Th efirst of the two masges is the cereal mash and it contains all your adjunct as grits and 10-20% of your total malted barley.

-High-enzyme 6-row malt is preferred because the adjuncts are almost pure starch and have no diastatic activity.

-The cereal mash begins at @158F (sorry for the Emglish units, eh?), and is then quickly raised to boiling for 20-30 minutes to help gelatinize the starches.

Meanwhile, the second mash (the main mash) should be held at a protein rest temps near 120F while the cereal mash is boiling. The main mash should account for 65-75% of the total mash volume.

- When the cereal mash boil is complete it is added to the main mash to raise the temp up into starch conversion range, between 154-158F.

- Mr. Lizard the Wizard notes you can accomplish the above with a single mash tun if you do the cereal mash/boil first, then let it cool to near normal mash protein rest strike temp and add the main mash grist and enough hot water to get the proper mash consistency.

(aside: Dave Miller suggests the use of a 2-hr starch rest for his American pils, so that all the starches in the adjuncts can be fully converted by the 6-row enzymes)

Man, this is a lot of work to brew a beer style that most higher primates grew out of back in high school! I guess it's a style to try just to cross it off of the life list, though :-) Sadly, there is probably not much you can do to make a light beer with so much adjunct very robust. Overhopping will quickly throw the beer out of balance in such a thin-bodied beer. Hope this helps.

Brew Like You Mean It (then add 40% adjunct!?)
Jim

P.S. I had forgot that the same 12/01 BYO ALSO has a 4-pg piece on "Adjuncts Explained" that has some additional info - pony up for the back issue, cheapskate :-)
jayhawk
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Thanks, now I can save the $4 for some Bud

Post by jayhawk »

Thanks for the info Thrills. You are right about the effort required, but I think there are some merits to light bodied beers if they are done right (ie not like Busch and his buddy Miller Genuine do it). I love Moosehead lager, from the Canadian maritimes. It has a little corn in there, but it is a great crisp Canadian lager. Hey, you stick with the wiezen, and I'll try my hand at a little corn mashin'. Your help is much appreciated.
Git brewin
Chris
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Clearly Canadian

Post by Gravity Thrills »

You are right in that most Candian light lagers have a bit more character than the American counterparts. Moosehead was the upscale college beer for us, day-after flatulence notwithstanding. I rarely get some of the simple pleasures like Labatt's 50 here (the label says it's an ale, but it must be a hybrid because it's very lager-like), so when I do it's a treat.
stumpwater
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50???

Post by stumpwater »

A 50 fan in the states? I love it!!! (are you a woman?, we could get married)
Gravity Thrills
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kindness of friends

Post by Gravity Thrills »

Sorry, I've got a Y chromosome that puts the skids on this romance. I got to really like 50 on an Ontario fishing trip many years ago, only to realize I couldn;t find it anywhere back home. now I have to rely on transplanted Canadian friends to bring some back to me when they go up north for visits.

Cheers,
Jim
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