What is malted corn supposed to smell like

[8gallonalchemy]

I malted up a batch of corn a couple weeks ago and it's got a very sour smell to it with notes that I usually associate with fermentation. Not necessarily a bad smell, just very pungent and it would fall into the unpleasant category with the slightest alteration. Has it gone bad or is this what it's supposed to smell like?

 

[bracconiere]

never malted corn, but when i malt barley. i get a bacterial funk if i soak it at first more than an hour....

you want to keep it wet but dry, and let it breath a lot...if that makes any sense...

 

[8gallonalchemy]

never malted corn, but when i malt barley. i get a bacterial funk if i soak it at first more than an hour....

you want to keep it wet but dry, and let it breath a lot...if that makes any sense...

So, is what I'm smelling a reason to throw the stuff out? Actually, now that I think about it, it smells very similar to bananas when they start to ferment in their skins (which tells me absolutely nothing about what it's going to taste like once it's fermented since I make banana mead sometimes).

 

[bracconiere]

So, is what I'm smelling a reason to throw the stuff out?

As long as it's not red(fusarium), or black(aflatoxin) mold...it won't make you sick or kill you, at least it didn't me...when i got bacterial contamination i was still making dark munich malt, so it tasted fine...

 

[8gallonalchemy]

As long as it's not red(fusarium), or black(aflatoxin) mold...it won't make you sick or kill you, at least it didn't me...when i got bacterial contamination i was still making dark munich malt, so it tasted fine...

I presume the way to identify those molds is to look for the fuzz.

 

[bracconiere]

actually you can check for aflatoxin with a UV flashlight...not sure about fusarium, besides red....

 

[Vale71]

I presume the way to identify those molds is to look for the fuzz.

Not all mold is fuzzy.

 

[8gallonalchemy]

Not all mold is fuzzy.

Sooo... blacklight?

 

[Vale71]

If you have the slightest doubt you might have mold growing on it I would personally dump it without hesitation. The effects of mycotoxins on your health can be quite horrific.

 

[bracconiere]

The effects of mycotoxins on your health can be quite horrific.

i can attest to that..damn, my liver hurt bad for a month! (learned to clean my tub with bleach/water in between batches quick after that! never got sick from funky smelling malt though)

 

[bracconiere]

Sooo... blacklight?

UV only works for aflatoxin, fusarium will produce gushing beers...that's what got me. i keg so i thought it just got over carb'd...i found out otherwise the morning after next, by an excruciating liver.

edit: don't let this scare you out of malting though, it's still safer then eating chicken!

 

[8gallonalchemy]

If you have the slightest doubt you might have mold growing on it I would personally dump it without hesitation. The effects of mycotoxins on your health can be quite horrific.

i can attest to that..damn, my liver hurt bad for a month! (learned to clean my tub with bleach/water in between batches quick after that! never got sick from funky smelling malt though)

Ok, now y'all got me paranoid. I'm not seeing anything that doesn't look like corn and I'm not smelling anything that screams "fungal". Seems a shame to throw this stuff out after all that time and effort.

There was a little bit of something green sticking together two of the grains of another (6lb) batch. Got rid of them quick and everything else looked perfectly normal, but I'm still on the fence on throwing the whole thing out. A cheap blacklight will run me under $10 so I'm probably going to pick one up just to be safe.

 

[bracconiere]

A cheap blacklight will run me under $10 so I'm probably going to pick one up just to be safe.

they sell UV flashlights at the hardware store, i think for scorpions....personally in your case i'd use it, but i'm a lot like this guy...

 

[8gallonalchemy]

they sell UV flashlights at the hardware store, i think for scorpions....personally in your case i'd use it, but i'm a lot like this guy...

So, I got a UV flashlight, but I'm not actually certain what I'm looking for. The only thing I'm seeing that stands out are some yellowish patches, but they seem to be on the edges of almost every kernel. The few photos I can track down suggest I'm looking for a bluish glow.

 

[bracconiere]

So, I got a UV flashlight, but I'm not actually certain what I'm looking for. The only thing I'm seeing that stands out are some yellowish patches, but they seem to be on the edges of almost every kernel. The few photos I can track down suggest I'm looking for a bluish glow.

i've just thought it was florescence in general you're look for, nothing should glow....i tried taking a picture of my store bought malt under UV, but my camera sucks...


if anything looks like one of the 80's fluorescent posters throw it....i personally didn't know about colors...

https://www.coleparmer.com/tech-article/aflatoxin-detection-using-blak-ray-uv-lamps

 

[8gallonalchemy]

i've just thought it was florescence in general you're look for, nothing should glow....i tried taking a picture of my store bought malt under UV, but my camera sucks...


if anything looks like one of the 80's fluorescent posters throw it....i personally didn't know about colors...

https://www.coleparmer.com/tech-article/aflatoxin-detection-using-blak-ray-uv-lamps

Cool, thank you so much for the help.

 

[bracconiere]

Cool, thank you so much for the help.

sorry?

 

[8gallonalchemy]

sorry?

Just, you've been the one to answer all my questions in this thread so, thanks.

 

[bracconiere]

Just, you've been the one to answer all my questions in this thread so, thanks.

just don't forget i'm actually "special", and it's the internet...i saw the florescent thing on TV in a How it's made episode of bourbon whiskey, and corn deliveries .....

 

[8gallonalchemy]

just don't forget i'm actually "special", and it's the internet...i saw the florescent thing on TV in a How it's made episode of bourbon whiskey, and corn deliveries .....

I'll be sure my corpse gets shipped to your house if I die of aflatoxin poisoning.

 

[bracconiere]

I'll be sure my corpse gets shipped to your house if I die of aflatoxin poisoning.

all i had to do to recover from fusarium, was cut back to a 12 pack a day, and eat more of my graonola....instead of your corpse, i think shipping would be less for me to ship you that.....