Note: I am no longer writing a blog. I am only providing notes, observations and data records of my homebrew batches. I am exploring a variety of ingredients, brew waters, temperatures and recipes. I will be analyzing taste and possible improvements I can make to the next batch. I may make some yeast reviews here. Taste is subjective. Make what you want to drink. Draw your own conclusions...
No homebrew cooking nor tasting with this blog entry. While I work on my cookbook recipes of corn ale and other historically correct brews, I thought it might benefit the homebrewing community to see what I found from research about what might make a great corn ale or lager. (Pardon the unusual outline below as this website wanted to convert some of my small case letters in my document into little numbers. For simplicity reasons, I chose not to mess with it any further)
A. Chica beer created by having corn grains sit with enzyme on them to break down the sugars
1. Human saliva was traditional “spit” added to the grains which sat for 24 hours
2. Alternative to saliva is amylase enzymes
3. Recipe of the simmering of peas for 3 hours may be clues to breaking down sugars through a cooking process prior to the mashing (document from the 1800’s)
B. Amylase enzymes are lacking in corn; these foods may have been added to the brew or used for a 1 to 1 ½ day soaking prior to the mashing in the brewing process
1. Fruits
2. Vegetables
3. Sprouted seeds - corn seed germinated in the ground first may have resulted in better conversion
4. Raw nuts
5. Legumes
6. Sorghum
7. Raw honey - unknown amylase here, research further
8. Rye flour
9. Aspergillus fungi found on ginger root is a natural source of this fungi, soaked for 1 to 1 ½ days added to precooked corn
C. Clues from the Chica recipe steps
1. Modern method
a. Cold water soak for hour
b. Boil, add sugar, simmer for 3 hours
c. Spices added at end of boil
d. Take off burner and sit for an hour
e. Strain liquid with cheese cloth
f. Pitch yeast at 70 F
g. Ferment at 60 to 75 F for 5 days
h. Rack to secondary and ferment 1 to 2 weeks
2. Traditional method
- Combination of raw cornmeal with cornmeal that has human saliva sitting on it for previous 24 hours.
- Heated water to 150 F is poured on the grains and it soaks till cool
- Top liquid is pulled the pot leaving jelly-like substance in middle of pot and grains
- Do a decoction of jelly-like layer till caramel colored
- Strain remaining liquid from grains on bottom of pot
- Boil the liquid from step c and liquid from step e together for an hour
- Add in caramel colored liquid
- Cool mixture to 70 F
- Pour in fermenter and add yeast
- Bottle in 1 week
D. Chica has history in being brewed different ways with ingredients that may have helped convert sugars (different sources)
1. Ginger was used along with lime zest.
2. Wild fruits, cacti, rice, potatoes
3. Curacao, lime, mint and cinnamon
4. Fruit in the fermenter may have helped to convert more of the sugars over
E. Native Americans preparation of corn may have been used in the brewing process:
1. Roasted corn over fire
2. Ground it in something similar to mortar and pestle
3. Add blackberries, elderberries, strawberries, currants or raisins
4. Add beans previously cooked
5. Add walnuts or butternuts
F. Early recipes of cornbread that were added to a batch to make beer
1. Basic recipe was usually cornmeal, water, cooking fat and salt
2. Northern Americans added honey or molasses to the basic recipe
3. Southern Americans added bacon or lard without the sweeteners of #2
G. Early leavening agents helped cornbread to rise that may have been added to beer
1. Native Americans used wood ash, lime or lye as leavening agents
2. Colonists used potash to molasses or sour milk to get bread to rise
H. Alternate method to make corn ale without the addition of cornbread
1. Malting of local maize
- Plant corn
- Wait for sprouting
- Dig up the sprouts
- Wash them
- Dry in the sun or roast in a kiln
- Separate roots and stems from germinated seeds