bluetic

We are getting what i feel is a good fermentation. What we do not have is very much alcohol after distilling. So what you are saying is taking temp up to 170 is killing off the enzymes that convert the starches to sugar. That being the case no wonder we are getting but a little alcohol. We pass the iodine test but only enough sugar to show we passed. No backset as we are just getting started. coop

A couple things,

-by my calculation if you truly started at 1.2 and it went to 1.1 it should be about 13% abv., however these numbers are extremely high and distilling this with this amount of residual sugar and solids would likely be a nightmare. If I were doing a mash I would want to start at about 1.080 and try to get it down to as close to 1.005 as possible

-40 gal. of water with about 300 lbs of total grain seems nearly impossible to manage in terms of mash consistency--did you add more water?

-If you are working with cracked corn, like I mentioned, you need to boil the corn first to break down cell walls and expose the starch, then you need to cool it to mash temp. (140-150) and add your cracked barley and wheat. The enzymes will then convert all the starch in the barley, wheat, and corn. If you don't boil the corn, it will contribute nothing to the initial gravity.

-I may be missing something here but, with all due respect, you may want to research this type of mashing a little more

Hey Coop,

Just out of curiosity, how much corn is in your mash, and have you already boiled the corn to break down the cell walls and solubilize the starch before adding your barley? Did you take an initial gravity?

just trying to get the whole picture here