Rye Whiskey

[PeteB]

I have been experimenting with Rye mash. Have tried 80% rye grain grist + 20% malted barley, and also 100% green malted rye. As expected I find the mash is hard to drain. Beta glucanase helps a lot and adding a lot of seed husks helps. My next step is to do a 300Kg of grain but I would appreciate some advice before I go ahead. I don't want to end up with a vat of unusable porridge!

Thanks in advance

PeteB

Tasmania

[MadMacaw]

I have been experimenting with Rye mash. Have tried 80% rye grain grist + 20% malted barley, and also 100% green malted rye. As expected I find the mash is hard to drain. Beta glucanase helps a lot and adding a lot of seed husks helps. My next step is to do a 300Kg of grain but I would appreciate some advice before I go ahead. I don't want to end up with a vat of unusable porridge!

Thanks in advance

PeteB

Tasmania

When you say "drain" are you draining the whole wash or are you lautering?

[PeteB]

I am lautering. If I don't use enzymes and seed husks the wort is very thick and I get very little runoff. I am only using a little homebrewers mash tun for experimenting. I hope it will still work when I do a 300 Kg batch. Maybe there is another method. I don't want to put any grain into my still as it is direct fired.

[Cog]

I am lautering. If I don't use enzymes and seed husks the wort is very thick and I get very little runoff. I am only using a little homebrewers mash tun for experimenting. I hope it will still work when I do a 300 Kg batch. Maybe there is another method. I don't want to put any grain into my still as it is direct fired.

what temp are you mashing at? Try doughing in to rest at 148-150F. A little more strike water might help also. When ever I've mashed rye over 60% in the bill..I've used barley/rice hulls and started the runoff very slow. A long(1.5hrs)sparge is required. Just my 2cents...hope it helps. Cheers, Cog.

[PeteB]

Hi Cog

I cook the grist at about 200F then drop to 145 and add 20% malted barley. As soon as I start sparge, the fines in the initial runoff settle on the bed and and it stops running off. Beta glucanase certainly thins the mash a lot. I don't have cheap access to rice hulls but I have used empty seed heads of a grass called cocksfoot. They seem to work well. They are fan shaped and I think they are acting like little lauter screens all through the mash. I am pretty sure this is going to work but I wanted to find out how others were solving the problem. How much rice hulls do you use, volume of hulls : volume of grain?

Thanks

PeteB

[delaware_phoenix]

If this is an all rye (or rye + barley) mash why take it up to 200º F? The gelatinization temp for rye is way below that.

[PeteB]

I have obviously been given the wrong info about temperature for gelatinasation!

This is why I joined this forum.

What is the best temp?

PeteB

[PeteB]

Just found another site that mentions 135-147F to cook rye! If that is the range then that is good news because I thought I would have to invest in a steam cooker.

PeteB