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Bourbon Mash

A traditional bourbon mash recipe using corn, rye, and barley for home fermentation, teaching the authentic distilling process.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 5 gallons
Course: Fermentation Project
Cuisine: American Whiskey Craft
Calories: 120
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Main
  • 8 pounds flaked or cracked cornmeal
  • 2 pounds flaked or cracked rye grain
  • 1 pound flaked or malted barley
  • 5 gallons filtered or distilled water
  • 1 packet distiller's yeast Fleischmann's or equivalent or turbo yeast
  • 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
  • 1/2 teaspoon food-grade salt optional

Equipment

  • Large stainless steel pot (10-gallon capacity minimum)
  • Grain thermometer or digital probe thermometer
  • Long wooden spoon or grain mash paddle
  • Cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer
  • Food-grade plastic bucket (5-gallon capacity)
  • Airlock or fermentation lock
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Hydrometer
  • pH strips or pH meter
  • Sanitizing solution (diluted bleach or commercial sanitizer)
  • Rubber tubing or siphon

Method
 

  1. Sanitize all equipment by washing with hot soapy water and soaking or spraying with sanitizing solution, then air dry.
  2. Heat 5 gallons of water to 165°F in the large stainless steel pot, monitoring with a grain thermometer.
  3. Slowly add the cornmeal, rye, and malted barley to the 165°F water while stirring constantly to prevent clumps.
  4. Maintain mash temperature between 149°F and 158°F for 90 minutes, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes and adjusting heat or adding cool water as needed.
  5. After 90 minutes of mashing, remove the pot from heat and cool the mash to 68°F–72°F using a cold water bath or ice bath, stirring frequently.
  6. Strain the mash through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer into the sanitized food-grade bucket, leaving solids behind.
  7. Take an original gravity reading with a hydrometer in the cooled wort and record the value.
  8. Sprinkle the distiller's yeast and yeast nutrient on the surface of the cooled wort, let stand for 5 minutes to rehydrate, then stir gently.
  9. Seal the bucket with an airlock and ferment at 68°F–75°F for 5 to 7 days, until bubbling slows to one bubble every 10–15 seconds.
  10. Take a final gravity reading with the hydrometer to confirm fermentation is complete before using or distilling the mash.

Notes

Use the fermented mash as a base for distillation or further fermentation experiments; save spent grains for animal feed or compost.