Two halves that make a mighty tasty whole: Bulleit Rye and Old Potrero 19th Century

[MrAtomic]

I don't have any specific information to contribute, but I'd like to thank everyone who has, because this thread typifies my favorite aspects of this forum. I'm learning a lot, getting ideas for vatting, and generally having my mind blown by the knowledge at people's fingertips.

Thank you.

[tmckenzie]

He says the shells of the corn are heavy and cause it to sink. The same phenomenon is noted in Harrison Hall's "The Distiller" from 1818. His Pennsylvania book (it's on Google but I lost the link when I downloaded the PDF) cautions against using a mash of 100% corn, saying that because of the bran it tends to sink to the bottom of the hogshead and is thus difficult to ferment. Most of Hall's mashes are proportions of corn and rye; he considers a mixture of the two to make a better and purer spirit than either alone, but says you can use as little as 25% rye.

Getting back to Read, it's interesting the overwhelming prejudice he has against corn, because of its fusel oils. Because both he and Hall talk about the shell or bran of the corn weighing it down, I wonder whether the corn they were using was milled or not...it almost sounds like whole kernels.

I doubt they were using whole kernels. I think the cap is something I have heard older folks including ,my grandaddy talk about. You need rye or wheat bran or something to cap it up to hold the heat in. It could be that is what they are talking about. But it sounds like he is takling about an acutal structure in the fermenter too. and it could be that they were using pots, with not any pratical way to stir them and had some type of cap you could raise up from the bottom during the highest stage of fermentaion to extract all of the grain, instead of using a lauter tun which would be a pain in the you know what with corn. Corn has to be milled just right, it will not cap up completly, but it will roll. The yeast get down in it at the bottom of the fermenter and will cause a show like you have never seen. Just a costant rolling from time to time of corn. If you grind too fine it will setup like concrete, but if you have the right screen in the mill, it will give some surface are for the co2 to push the grain up on. It is really fun to watch.

[Gillman]

One of the things (there are some) not discussed much, if at all, on SB is how the various grains are milled and what differences if any there are to the same grains milled in M'Harry's and Harrison Hall's time.

This page shows a brief enumeration of the by-products of wheat, only some of which are used for human food:

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/...acts/wheat.htm

Grist for the mill (ahem) for another thread, but it would be interesting to learn how each grain used today in bourbon and rye production is processed and milled.

Gary