by MtnMoonshiner » Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:22 am
My technique for malting corn, and barley are the same. Depending on how much I want to malt, I'll use either a paper grocery bag with a hand towel in the bottom, or a burlap sack or old pillow case, laid across a piece of plywood. Pour your corn or barley into the paper bag, about 4 or 5 inches deep, or fill the sack/pillow case. Every day, and only once a day, pour enough warm water over the corn/grain inside the bag, or over the burlap sack to keep the corn/grain damp, but not soaked.
I normally find that 1 drinking cup of water is enough for the bag, while 2 or 3 might be needed for the burlap sack. You'll have to feel the stuff and find out for yourself, as your drinking cups probably aren't the same size as mine.
I always malt the stuff inside, so I'm never worried about the temperature. But outside in the shade, or in a tool shed or something would be good too. The key thing is, you don't want it drying out instantly, and you don't want some animal or bird running off with it. After about a week, most of the grain or corn will have started to sprout. Some of the sprouts will be longer, others shorter. It don't matter much
As long as mostly all of the corn or grain has started to sprout, you can consider that entire batch malted for the purposes intended on this forum. I make A LOT of liquor, and this technique has never failed me.
Most of the time, I don't dry it out. This is simply because I malt a batch of whatever I need, for a specific mash I'm intending to make. Since I know it takes a week-ish to malt, I plan accordingly, and normally start the mash the day the malt is done. I've got a good quality professional blender, that I'll chop the malted corn or grain up a few hand fulls at a time. It doesn't have to be the consistency of meal, just mostly blended up to about the size of cracked corn. However, I've found that if I do want or need to dry it; I can thinly spread the malted grain on a piece of cardboard box, and lay it in a garage or somewhere where it's dry, but the birds won't get at it. It'll fully dry out in about 3 or 4 days. Then you can save it in a separate sack whole, or grind it up and save it that way. I prefer grinding it up.