Simple All-Grain Bourbon For Anyone
Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 5:13 pm
So I did a bit of a write up on stuff I’d learnt on some of the processes which could be used in Bourbon production, and posted it in the Mash Tun here. That was the process I was using at first, and it was fairly involved with the equipment used, but I’ve since refined that process to something much easier, and wanted to share it to encourage more people to jump into some real all grain distilling.
So this one I’m presenting as a recipe, and hopefully a simplified guide for anyone to follow and reap the reward of a superior product.
This recipe is for a 40L boiler charge of all grain bourbon, which will yield around 2.5L of product to age @ 62.5%abv
EQUIPMENT
- 50L keg with the top cut out, used as a big ol’ pot (will need to be well insulated with about 3 layers of insulation...I use the silver and black stuff from Clark Rubber).
Or: - Large esky dedicated to mashing
- Boiler elevated above mash tun
- Paint mixer mounted on power drill. I use a 240V drill, not sure that a cordless would be up to the job...
GRAIN BILL
- 7.5kg Cracked Corn (cracked to a FLOUR...if you do it any other way, don’t link your results to this recipe ;-) ) [$7.20]
- 2kg Malted Barley (I get Pilsner) (fine crack, I get 0.9mm) [$6.25]
- 1.9kg Malted Wheat (fine crack, I get 0.9mm) [$6.40]
- 2x 3g packets of dried enzymes [$3]
For those that like the spicier traditional bourbons, you can substitute the wheat malt with rye malt (yes, malt). I'm currently doing a 4 grain bourbon with Corn/Barley/Wheat/Rye.
I get my cracked corn run through the industrial grinder at the local home brew shop at 0.25mm. It’s still not fine enough, so I then run that through my corona mill at home to achieve the flour consistency. For some reason on the below video, it looks like there are quite large pieces in the container, but when you see me pick it up and run it through my hand, you should get a good idea of the flour-like consistency. The more flour, the better the yield...
So this one I’m presenting as a recipe, and hopefully a simplified guide for anyone to follow and reap the reward of a superior product.
This recipe is for a 40L boiler charge of all grain bourbon, which will yield around 2.5L of product to age @ 62.5%abv
EQUIPMENT
- 50L keg with the top cut out, used as a big ol’ pot (will need to be well insulated with about 3 layers of insulation...I use the silver and black stuff from Clark Rubber).
Or: - Large esky dedicated to mashing
- Boiler elevated above mash tun
- Paint mixer mounted on power drill. I use a 240V drill, not sure that a cordless would be up to the job...
GRAIN BILL
- 7.5kg Cracked Corn (cracked to a FLOUR...if you do it any other way, don’t link your results to this recipe ;-) ) [$7.20]
- 2kg Malted Barley (I get Pilsner) (fine crack, I get 0.9mm) [$6.25]
- 1.9kg Malted Wheat (fine crack, I get 0.9mm) [$6.40]
- 2x 3g packets of dried enzymes [$3]
For those that like the spicier traditional bourbons, you can substitute the wheat malt with rye malt (yes, malt). I'm currently doing a 4 grain bourbon with Corn/Barley/Wheat/Rye.
I get my cracked corn run through the industrial grinder at the local home brew shop at 0.25mm. It’s still not fine enough, so I then run that through my corona mill at home to achieve the flour consistency. For some reason on the below video, it looks like there are quite large pieces in the container, but when you see me pick it up and run it through my hand, you should get a good idea of the flour-like consistency. The more flour, the better the yield...