Planning for my mashing process

[Beerzerker]

Hi all, I am in the planning stages here, and I am trying to write down my process from start to finish to identify any equipment I may have missed on my list.

I am intending to mash using a 6 row and potato mix (or potato and enzymes even). Hot water will come from a propane hot water on demand source.

So my questions are these:

1. What happens after mashing? Should I plan to do a boil, similar to how one would prepare beer wort? or do you chill, and pitch right out of the mash?

2. If I do need to chill, what do you use to chill? Wouldn't a plate chiller get plugged up with the grains/potato? Chill coil like home brew?

THANKS EVERYONE!

Jon (beerzerker)

More questions to follow I am sure

[Mash]

The best advise is to take a course. Learn from a pro or trial and error. Distilling is a lot like art and science, there are basic rules and processes, but you've got to fully understand them

in order to break the rules. What works for us, will most likely not work for you.

[Beerzerker]

Already setup some training at a local college... Just trying to work on a business plan, and equipment is part of that (gotta list the stuff I am going to spend money on).

Anyways, I guess it doesn't hurt to plant to buy a boil kettle with a glycol jacket and a big huge chiller.

But, that being said, anyone have opinions? I've done a bunch of no boil beers, and they turn out sour usually (thats the goal).

[captnKB]

in regards to your potato question, try giving this a read http://homedistiller.org/fruit/wash-fruit/pot

as far as equipment list goes, id suggest visiting a few distilleries to get a better idea of all the equipment you'll need

[stevea]

Your potato starch has a relatively low gelatinization temperature - 56C-66C and probably dependent on whether the potatoes were 'waxy" or "starchy" types. That's low compared to most grains, w/ corn at the top ~72-76C. Gelat temp is the temperature (and other conditions) where the amylopectin unravels and becomes accessible to enzyme degradation, but also the temperature where water molecules align in the amylopectic branches and the stuff thickens amazingly.

There isn't really a specific magical temp, unless you specify other conditions, like time and pH; still it's a good figure in practice.

So with the low gelat temp you can likely get good extraction with no pre-cooking.

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The point of a boil in beer-making is manifold; sanitizes (almost sterile), coagulated protein for a clear beer, extracts hops and isomerizes them for solubility, drives off some DMS/DMSO. The point of a crash cooling in beer making is to avoid infections (the cooling sweet wort is attractive), and to prevent DMSO formation from a slow cooling.

Sterilization & to prevent infection are the only reasons relevant to distilling that I am aware of. I have no clue what sorts of natural infections to expect from potato starch, but the main issues after a few well-started yeast fermentation is the presence of the few organisms than can tolerate the acidic wash conditions - lactobaccilli (which are common in grain & desirable in limited qty in a distillery ferment), acetic acid bacteria, which are generally very slow, and pediococci which can add a barnyard funk to the beer. A few others more rare.

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Fermentation of any non-sterile media is dicey. I promise you that the malt alone, even after a mash, has enough bacteria to be an issue, unless you manage the yeast fermentation. Setback, is not about tradition or flavor continuity, it's about acidifying the wort which give yeast a big advantage and disadvantages most bacteria. It's probably a good idea to run some tests for extraction and bacterial load, since I doubt you'll find a lot of experience wrt potato starch.

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WARNING: my experience is wrt beer, not distilling. I'd like to hear any other advice on the topic.

[Bluestone]

Hi all, I am in the planning stages here, and I am trying to write down my process from start to finish to identify any equipment I may have missed on my list.

I am intending to mash using a 6 row and potato mix (or potato and enzymes even). Hot water will come from a propane hot water on demand source.

So my questions are these:

1. What happens after mashing? Should I plan to do a boil, similar to how one would prepare beer wort? or do you chill, and pitch right out of the mash?

2. If I do need to chill, what do you use to chill? Wouldn't a plate chiller get plugged up with the grains/potato? Chill coil like home brew?

THANKS EVERYONE!

Jon (beerzerker)

More questions to follow I am sure

You can crash cool using the jacket on your mash tun, an immersion chiller or a counterflow chiller. Batch size matters for this.