I’ve had to postpone brewing until today…it is amazing and unfortunate that people get sick around New Year and interfere with our best laid brewing plans…but such is life and I am always a doctor first.  Better late than never and I get to call today’s brew New Year’s Eve Jackass Bitters Brown Ale!

As I mentioned previously, maize has a higher gelatinization temperature than barley; so high, in fact, that the active enzymes for starch conversion are denatured.  This means that the usual temperature steps in mashing have to be altered so as to both keep the enzymes and gelatinize the maize starch.

The way to get around this then, is to start mashing in the usual way with the normal Beta-glucan and protein rests and then siphoning off the wort that is there, keep it somewhere safe and clean while more water is added to the grains.  The grains and water are then boiled for five or ten minutes, cooled to mashing temperatures and the liquid that was taken off is added back in (hopefully with all the enzymes still intact); the conversion then is finished in the normal way.

If you want the detailed recipe and procedure followed check it out here:  Bored-In-Belize:  Brewing New Year’s Eve Brown Maize Ale.

I’ve only included a few photos (look at the full recipe for more) since they really all look the same…a big pot with stuff in it…

Here is the wort siphoned off into a gallon jar for safe keeping:

Here’s a photo of sparging all of the wort before the final boiling with Jackass Bitters.

The rest of the brewing process is straight forward and follows the usual steps.

There it is, the New Year’s Eve Brew is completed!

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