Hi all,
While im waiting for 5 star to get their quality stock back in, im doing a lot of research on what I plan to make when i get my new still (Cant wait!!)
I have always wanted to make corn whiskey and when people try my neutral they all call it moonshine and I really want to make a genuine moonshine just for kicks so I can give them a taste of the real thing and so I can tick that off my list of things to make. (its a big list) I have been a bit of a fan of Popcorn Sutton and I have dong a little reading up on him and his legacy and it turns out he published a basic recipe that's what this post is all about. I plan to scale it down to 60 Liters to start with and if I like it I might put down 200L in my new big fermenter when its finished.
My questions to the brains trust are as follows:
1) The recipe calls for using the wild yeast on the grains to trigger fermentation, is this safe? any red flags or additional precautions i should take before putting a batch down?
2) Yeast aside does anyone see any issues or potential problems with whats listed below?
Please try not to laugh too loudly, I would rather ask a n00b question here than stuff up horribly wrong and put more negative stigma on our hobby. I found these 2 versions on a website claiming its his recipe but the comments go back and forth yes it is no its not, hence the call out for a bit of guidance.
Here is the recipe in full
Mr. Sutton published “Me and My Likker,” an anecdote of his life and moonshining practices. In his book, a couple of times he mentioned a basic moonshine recipe, with a few different variations that he used when he was "putting up a barrel of beer". Here's Popcorn's recipe from his book:
Ingredients:
Version 1
25 pounds coarse ground white corn meal, enough to fill half of your barrel/container
50 pounds of sugar – 1 pound of sugar per gallon of water of total volume
1 gallon of malt – can be corn, barley, rye or a combination.
Directions:
Boil the water and pour over the cornmeal to cook. Allow them to cool to the touch. Add sugar and malt and stir in well. Leave it for a day. The following day the mix should be bubbling on top, stir it one last time and then leave it.
You see here that we did not mention any addition of yeast, Popcorn said that the malt (any kind or combination of corn, barley, rye) is what makes it work — so he's using it here as alternative to distiller's yeast. Also, he's after the idea that wild yeast will start the fermentation within the mash.
After a couple of days, when all activities in the mash has stopped, it should be ready to be distilled. Use a siphon or a bucket to transfer the wash to the still.
Version 2
25lbs yellow corn. 25lbs malted yellow corn. Cook the corn to get the starch out and mix together. Add up to 50 lbs sugar and load into barrel .add water to fill.No Yeast.Absolutely No Yeast. Fermentation takes 2 weeks to 4 weeks. Then run off
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Thanks for your help and guidance