Ruddy's Malting setup

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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby Wellsy » Sat Oct 09, 2021 2:49 pm

:text-+1:
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby Wellsy » Sat Oct 09, 2021 3:00 pm

Ok the smoker is life and struggling to stay at 50 c grain still feel very damp so it all might be transferred inside oven for the night. As Bryan said if I can anybody can lol. At this point in time I a definitely making it up ask go along. What is the worst thing that can happen. Lol
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby Wellsy » Sun Oct 10, 2021 6:40 am

I did not want to leave the oven on all night so turned it off and left the door open a little.

I need a better way to dry the grains initially and with summer coming up, some fly wire racks for the little hothouse might just be the answer. I should have started with 2 kg not the 5 litres but these sort of misjudgements force you to be adaptive and quickly. Will definitely do the experiment again but am also thinking that the time and money saved may not be as large as first thought lol. How much is a 20 kg bag of malt again lol
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sun Oct 10, 2021 9:02 am

Wellsy I faced the same problem and when I did mine it in winter, the first batch I did was 5 kg's and i had to dry it in 2 batch's :angry-banghead:

In the end I found getting my shed fire going and putting the SS trough infront of the fire and gently going over the grains with a heat gun over the course of the day did get 90% of the moisture out. Lucky for me we did have sunny days so the grains were put outside with that fresnel lense over the top of the trough and within 2 days the grains were fully dry.

Years ago I made a hot box and now the weather is warming up it will be a case of getting the grains to the point of drying then just chuck em in the hotbox and after a day or two fully dry grains. So here's a thought just make up a hotbox with a perspex lid to keep the critters out and the rain if it happens then just chuck the grains in and let the sun do it's job.

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby Wellsy » Sun Oct 10, 2021 12:55 pm

Lol Bryan I am to lazy to build anything lol.
I am however going to make some fly wire racks that will fit nicely in the $20:00 hothouse, and then as you say nature can do it’s thing. The trick will be not putting the grain to thick.
Thanks mate for the tip about the rootlets as most of these are just drying up and disappearing or rolling off during the drying process. I am keen to try some 50/50 barley malted barley for an Irish style as well as a straight 100% malted barley.
By the time I do a second and third batch I should have the process better sorted. Might even start another batch, tomorrow of course I have to weigh up all the options, it is just go go go for me lol. Oh look at that snail whizzing by :laughing-rolling:
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sun Oct 10, 2021 1:10 pm

Wellsy what size is that hot house mate as I do have an idea to make it a decent grain dryer, like you say a few trays but depending on size only 2 kg's maybe the limit due to the mass of the grains.

Hot air flow in the hot house would encourage more drying so just stick a computer fan or 2 to the hot house and use a 12 volt 5 watt solar panel to power the fans then it's set and forget.

O but you you are even too lazy to watch the flies walking up the wall let alone build anything so just buy a suction cup and flexible hose and eat plenty of baked beans then simply fart into suction cup to provide the warm air and the final taste would suit a mexican who drinks VB :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sun Oct 10, 2021 4:04 pm

Ok Wellsy do I feel bad about those last comments :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

So here's a tip just find a cheap solar panel from a shop close by and go to a second hand shop to find the 12 volt fans but better still if you have an old computer there there is screwdriver called a philipshead screwdriver that you use to take out the fan on the old computer :handgestures-thumbupleft: So you must have got that step now right :scared-eek:

Now with that solar panel to connect the wires and just remember red is positive and black is negative and hook the fans up...... too easy isn't it mate :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

'Now if the fan is going backwards it means you crossed the wires and with using DC it doesn't matter so just reverse the wires and if twisting together 2 wires is too much for there is no hope mate :scared-eek:

So give it go mate and I do hope this step by step is enough for you to take it in :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

As always I am here to help but if I need to take baby steps on everything then so be it as we already you Mexicans do need help on everything as thinking is too hard :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

Cheers Bryan

P.S. As I grew up in NSW all Victorians are Mexicans dudes without clue south of the border
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby Wellsy » Sun Oct 10, 2021 4:33 pm

Firstly Bryan, after all the crap I throw at you mate no need to feel bad, he’ll I was leading you down that path hoping for a bite lol. The hot house is a little Aldi one for $20:00 with a poly tube frame. It is about 10 yards away from me but I am comfortable with my white dog and can’t be arsed getting up to measure it :laughing-rolling:
It would be about 2 feet x 3 feet maybe a foot and half tall before going into the a framed space at the top. It even has a vent at the top, unlike you who has one in the middle. It is a little lift off job that come up fairly regularly, and think it will be perfect. I reckon half a dozen trays, 4x2 edge with fly wire strecthed across to all lots of airflow as you say. I would guess 10 kg would be doable in the heat of summer pretty comfortably.
Got plenty of old PCs so will grab a couple of fans to boost the airflow.
For all the dung I fling at you mate I really appreciate your input into getting us all on this next step of the journey.
Oh and the kitchen smells amazing could only smell better if I brought in some fresh cut lucerne
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sun Oct 10, 2021 5:18 pm

Right so you need baby steps :laughing-rolling: there is a device called a tape measure you can use but if that is too hard just measure your feet and take baby steps :handgestures-thumbupleft: and count them if you can :laughing-rolling:

now the whole point of this exercise is the make some liquid gold whisky you are surely doing a Paul Hogan of this and telling Strop he is doing it the wrong way but the only problem is you are arguing with your self :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby Wellsy » Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:20 pm

I never argue with myself. I sometimes talk to myself but then again I sometimes need an experts opinion :laughing-rolling:
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:55 pm

Wellsy wrote:I never argue with myself. I sometimes talk to myself but then again I sometimes need an experts opinion :laughing-rolling:



If one argues with oneself one never wins and if one thinks they have won then it's the third stage or simply called victoroaism an incurable disease that can never be cured whilst VB is taken as a medication. The best result is a straight jacket and if unruly the XXXX treatment is advised where the patient may show signs of Queenlandism which is a point of no return Glaldy
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sun Nov 07, 2021 12:47 pm

G'Day Guy's,
Well at 6.30 this morning fired up the boiler for the 3rd generation and as I only got about 40 litres from the wash decided to add some feints I had. man :scared-eek: what a difference in yield took around 7 litres of 90%+ and having a D.P. the full flavour was there :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I do think with this years batch it is time to buy a 20 litre keg where French Oak is the wood as I do like the taste it gives and get a fresh batch of malted barely going, I'll go for a look on a website where there is a primer for malting and add to this thread as it does get down to the nitty gritty of malting.

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby Wellsy » Sun Nov 07, 2021 3:17 pm

Just in the final stages of drying my second 4kg batch of home grown malt.
This time I took a more lay back approach as the first time things went so well. I did not bother stirring the grains while they were growing and left them a day before touching them. That was a mistake as they were very matted with the roots taggling the seeds together. The growth was also very uneven unlike the first time. Apparently malt likes a little love.
I took an average view of the situation and put the damp grains in the little hot house on racks, but it did not get quite hot enough in there and some of the little buggers kept growing. Still you live and learn and the last batch is in the oven getting a final dry. I keep looking at the u used clothes dryer in the shed and thinking hmmmm grains in a pillow case should work fine.
This should give me a total enough to do a 50 litre wash to see what it tastes like.
We get another batch underway this week and with the warmer weather grains sprout and grow much quicker
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby bluc » Sun Nov 07, 2021 3:34 pm

How much volume you reakon 4kg needs welsy??
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby bluc » Sun Nov 07, 2021 3:39 pm

As in how much space to malt 4kg?
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby Wellsy » Sun Nov 07, 2021 4:14 pm

I am guessing the 4 kg weight Bluc, it was a 5 litre measuring jug full of raw barley that I used mate.

It expanded to about 15 litres so 3 times original size mate. I did not actually measure the final product so that is best estimate. I let the seeds sprout in 2 levels of an old green worm farm I have but I needed more room due to the matting as mentioned earlier. If I had of turned the seeds a couple of times a day I probably could of gotten away with it.

Drying I am using fly wire on a frame approx 2 foot by 3 foot. I used 2 but need 3 to spread out the seeds about an inch or so thick.

I hope that helps mate
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby Wellsy » Sun Nov 07, 2021 4:25 pm

Ok I just broke the habit of a lifetime and got out of my chair and measured them lol
They are approx 20 inch x 30 inch mate.
If you have access to an Aldi catalogue the greenhouse I am using is on page 24-25 for 24:99 and goes on sale on Saturday the 13th. It is all very low tech and I stand the frame on the small 1 inch square seedling tubes , 1 on each corner of the frame. I them put another on each corner to support the next frame. No fan in there yet as no moisture was condensed on the inside and I could leave the zips undone to allow excess heat out and stop the birds getting in to grab the seed
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby bluc » Sun Nov 07, 2021 5:08 pm

Def dont need a hothouse here thinking of using temp controlled chest fridge 8-}
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sun Nov 07, 2021 8:35 pm

Ok first up I do think it is time to split this thread and make a new thread for Wellsy in his malting exercise, that way each member can use it like I have as a diary on the hobby where members can post help on the members thread instead of this thread :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Now that link i tried to find has been taken down but here's the gist of malting

Now as barely has around 12% of moisture we need to get the moisture content upto 45% at around 20C, now the steeping water should be around 40C as the warmer water will help in the soaking of the grains.

An air rest is needed after 8 hours of steeping so the grains can breathe and soak in the moisture around the hull, this step is repeated several times until the grains reach 45% moisture.

In order to measure the moisture a selection of grains is measured then the weight can be worked out from that with further samples

Once the acrospire reaches the full length of the grain it's time to kiln the grains.

8 hours of warm air in a dehydrator then a 12 hour rest, then 3 hours in a oven at 200C and leave in until the required grain colour is reached.

So in a nut shell we aint making beer but there is a primer for malting :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Ruddy's Malting setup

Postby RuddyCrazy » Mon Nov 08, 2021 5:47 pm

G'Day Guy's,
Well that was the best yield to date with AG doing one run and ended up putting down 10 litres @65% :handgestures-thumbupleft: Put 15 grams of French Oak from my big domino in each demi after splitting and charring the oak so that make this AG run to 20 litres off 3 ferments so I dod reckon that will do for this batch.

Cheers Bryan

P.S time to start malting again to get another batch started now the warmer weather is here
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