Corn Beer

Classification: corn beer, American lager, light ale, all-grain

Source: Pete Akerson (akerson@clark.net), r.c.b., 11/21/95

OK, 'corn beer' always gets slammed here, and I had never made any, So, instead of just going along with the usual hype and chit-chat, I made a corn beer as follows. It gets rave reviews by brewers I respect - until I mention corn. ;-).

Ingredients:

5 lbs cracked corn, sold as bird food
8 lbs light barley malt
1/2 lb Crystal (40L.)
yeast from the bottom of a Saisson Dupont bottle
4 oz whole Hallertau

Procedure:

Mash corn at 110, for an hour, then 140 for another hour. Stir lots, since its sticky.

Mash malted barley as usual at 110, 148, 140, 160. I used a separate pot for the 110 1/2 hour protein rest, and then just tossed into the corn grits.

Mash water was around 26-30 quarts. Sparge to about 6 gallons after at least 3 hours in the 140-160 range.

Hops to taste, depending on what you're making. The yeast from the bottom of a Saisson Dupont bottle really does well with the corn content, but make sure you like that kind of beer first. 4 oz whole Hallertau for 7 gallons of wort sounds about right, but hey, adjust to your tastes.