Here comes the "stupid" newbie question.....What makes one decide whether to use 2 or 6-row barley? Is it purely preference or based on the grain bill?
2 and 6 row have different diastetic power… the ability to convert starch to sugar. 6 row has the most conversion power of any malted grain. I’m sure they have slightly different flavors… but I can’t imagine it’s significantly noticeable in distillation… depending on the amount. Using calculations to account for how much starch needs conversion to sugar in your mash will determine how much diastetic power you need from your malts. Or you could use amalase enzymes.instead of malt. I tend to use high malt content in my mash because I prefer malt flavor to corn. I’ve used just about every distillers malt… including peat smoked 2 row. While I’m sure an advanced palate can discern the flavors… I’ve never noticed a huge difference in flavor between them. But it always depends on the amount of barley present in the mash.🥃👍 P.s… There are no stupid questions. Just stupid answers.🤣👍🥃
@@BillMcGirr My man! That's what I was looking for. The only reason I asked is because I've notice Randy use a combination of either 2 or 6 row not just him but others. Curiosity as to why some use 2-row in a batch and 6 in another. Thanks for the great explanation!
@@srawnc It’s probably also important to remember that necessity and availability are the mothers of invention. The Scottish and Irish whiskeys use malted and unmalted 2 row… Because it’s what is readily available. But remember they don’t use corn… Hence the term single malt. The malted barley has more than enough to convert the unmalted barley. And most major distilleries are content with a 9-12% potential abv. They believe it’s the sweet spot. And who could argue? They DO NOT add sugar to the mash. The more I distill… the more I agree. Fortunately I live 6 miles from a BSG warehouse. I have ready access to MANY options of malts at a reasonable price. Most aren’t that lucky. Shipping is obviously an added expense. But other options are unmalted barley available at feed stores and farming co ops…. And you could use both alpha and gluco amalase powder for conversion. And of course MANY grains are malted… barley, rye, wheat and also I believe oats. 🤷♂️ The sky is the limit… It just depends on your tastes and the availability and cost for you and where you live. Best wishes.😊👍🥃
I got a recipe....not sure if youd be interested in trying it...cant legally distill here...and I have had my fill of federal law enforcement this year...
@@stillworksandbrewing not your fault damn neighbors fault for making bogus complaints. Anyway here's my recipe. 22 pounds peaches 5 pounds green walnut honey (2 pound green walnuts in 4 pounds brown sugar maceration takes 30 days) 2 pounds walnut syrup (tap tree like maple syrup except syrup must age for 6 months due to the tannins) 8 pounds toasted walnuts broken into pieces. 1 pound wild honey Other ingredients: black walnut tree bark. Cut 1 inch wide strip into tree and pull the strip to take off in a long strip. Only take 1 strip per tree. Never take the bark off in horizontal strips only ever vertical otherwise you'll kill the tree. Take the bark and boil it in the water to make a strong tea. How much bark depends on how much water is being used. This tea should have a tarnish honey amber color to it before adding to the peaches. Make your mash as you normally would. However during your run on your pot still. Let your distillate run into a coffee filter. In that coffee filter have some additional ground walnut and a piece of heavy charred oak upon the top and bottom before capturing.
