Trying another Bourbon

Bradster68

Made another Bourbon. I'll master this if it kills me. Started at 10am.7lbs crushed corn added to 190 water.at 185 added my hte (first time using them and wow did it thin things out

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(I forgot I got a bag of PAN pre-cooked white corn meal I'll be trying next time as per advice from TB.)I held that temp for 7 hours before I got conversion.( seems long to me,but it converted).In another pot had my oats.5lb, wheat1lb, and rye1.5lb at 140 to 150 held each temp for a couple hours hoping for some good conversion this time.also added enzymes to that pot. When corn cooled to 150 I mixed them together. Total 23 litres of water then let sit another 6 hours till temp was about 80. ph was around 5 so I left it. my OG was 1.059.
Pitched some bakers and an hour later it going like gang busters. Also hung some eggshells in their hoping to maintain ph a little.
I'll be going twice through my pot if it works out this time

Any feedback is greatly appreciated

still_stirrin

No malted barley?  That’s a valuable flavor component of any bourbon.  
The wheat is an added complexity (and yes, I use wheat in my bourbon too).  But wheat is not a traditional bourbon cereal grain.  The same for the oats, although oats will add a natural “smoothness” to the various flavors.  And it also helps mouthfeel, giving the spirit a nice supple “chewiness”.  
The rye is a traditional bourbon cereal grain and is great in small proportions like you’ve used.  It will add a little “spice” to the product at maturity.  And rye, especially malted rye, will improve the body of the spirit.
Probably didn’t need eggshells, I’ll bet.  The grains themselves add enough buffering to minimize pH crash.  The calcium carbonate won’t hurt, but is probably isn’t necessary.  And the grains add plenty of nutrients for the yeast as well.
Keep it up.  And keep good records.  It will help you along the journey.  
Good work.
ssAttention new distillers: Cranky's spoon feed info
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My Cadco hotplate modification thread: Hotplate Build
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Sporacle

Keep us posted Bradster,
I went with
12kg micronized corn
5kg wheat malt
2kg malted barley
1kg honey malt
Pretty close to HBB from the tried and true, just with the ingredients that were available.
Sitting in the esky at the moment.
Interested to see the difference in the 2 in 12 months, this is my first large batch bourbon run" you can pick your nose and you can pick your friends; but you can't always wipe your friends off on your saddle" sage advice from Kinky Friedman

Stonecutter

I don’t PH buffer my AG. No issues so far. Ferment temperature is what I focus on most.
The Malted Barley is either the largest percent of cereal grains used or the second largest. I swap between Corn and Malted Barley.
In my humble opinion, twice through the pot is the way to do er’. One and done pot whiskey runs bring along a certain bitterness on the back end of the pallet. Especially if you ain’t got no copper.
Not sure of your rig. Congratulations on your all grain endeavor  

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Bradster68

No malted barley?  That’s a valuable flavor component of any bourbon.  
The wheat is an added complexity (and yes, I use wheat in my bourbon too).  But wheat is not a traditional bourbon cereal grain.  The same for the oats, although oats will add a natural “smoothness” to the various flavors.  And it also helps mouthfeel, giving the spirit a nice supple “chewiness”.  
The rye is a traditional bourbon cereal grain and is great in small proportions like you’ve used.  It will add a little “spice” to the product at maturity.  And rye, especially malted rye, will improve the body of the spirit.
Probably didn’t need eggshells, I’ll bet.  The grains themselves add enough buffering to minimize pH crash.  The calcium carbonate won’t hurt, but is probably isn’t necessary.  And the grains add plenty of nutrients for the yeast as well.
Keep it up.  And keep good records.  It will help you along the journey.  
Good work.
ssThanks SS. I'll definitely add the barley next time to compare. I'm very new to the all grains and especially the flavors each grain will give. I keep very detailed notes so I can compare for future recipes. Lots to learn still.

Bradster68

That's awsome.  I guess I may have messed up by not adding the barley,but this should produce something at least drinkable. (although not technically a bourbon).iv got all the gear I need to do a large batch but wanna make sure my conversions and ferments go well before I risk a large batch.
Goodluck. hopefully I'm not to far behind you for a large blue barrel full of goodness.

Last edited by Bradster68 on Tue Sep 27, 2022 3:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

Bradster68

Yeah I guess it unanimous about the barley(or lack of).A rookie mistake. I'll be adding for sure to see the difference it makes nextime. If nothing else it's a way to compare the difference in grain flavors I guess. I use bakers mostly so iv set up an area that luckily maintains a 80 to 85 temperature consistently and easily. The HBB recipe says eggshells for "ph autopilot".so I added them out of nervousness. Iv got a nice PH tester coming for the future. I'm on a well here so got pretty good water.  I'll omit them next batch and just monitor the ph throughout the ferment. It'll also be twice through the pot forsure.

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Twisted-Brick

I wouldn't call it a rookie mistake, Brad. More like one of a handful of valuable experiences that are gonna add up to an excellent whiskey that you like. Keep up the pursuit - you're on the right track to the goodness that is AG.
I use seashells I get from the beach but they're self-regulating cheap insurance that can't hurt.
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