6/17/2015 Whiskey Acres: How they turn corn into whiskey
By Holly Spangler
Whiskey Acres: How they turn corn into whiskey
Illinois farmers are capitalizing on value‐added agriculture and major metro proximity to produce and sell farm‐distilled whiskey. Here's a look at how they convert grain to whiskey.
Published on: Jun 17, 2015
DeKalb farmers Jim and Jamie Walter like to grow corn. They also have enough foresight to know high grain prices don't last, which is why they formed Whiskey Acres with business partner Nick Nagele.
Related: So you want to make some whiskey?
Check out the June 2015 Prairie Farmer for the full story or find it online: cover, page 6, page 7.
Why whiskey? Jamie Walter says distilled spirits are the fasted growing alcoholic beverage category and within that, bourbon is the fastest growing segment. They launched the business three years ago and began distilling whiskey this past winter.
For the uninitiated, there's a big difference between the whiskey, bourbon and vodka being produced at Whiskey Acres.
Whiskey: Made from a fermented grain mash, which distinguishes it from other Step Seven: Barrel or Bottle. After distilling, vodka will go into a bottle. Bourbon and rye whiskey will go to barrels distilled beverages. to age, then will be bottled. Corn whiskey doesn't have an aging requirement like bourbon. Fifteen‐gallon barrels will age for 18 months; 25‐gallon barrels for 18 Bourbon: A kind of whiskey, made from months to 3 years; 53‐gallon barrels for 3‐5 years. corn, small grains and malt. By law, it has to be made in the U.S. with a minimum of 51% corn ﴾Whiskey Acres uses 75%﴿. It's distilled to no more than 160 proof, aged in a new charred white oak barrel and bottled at no less than 80 proof. No added coloring, flavoring or additives.
Vodka: Free of odor and flavor, distilled to at least 190 proof and made of anything fermentable, often potatoes; diluted and bottled at 80 proof. Whiskey Acres makes 100% corn vodka. Fun fact: much of the nation's vodka now comes from ethanol plants, as bulk grain neutral spirits, then purchased and flavored at the distillery. Thus, the variety and popularity of flavored vodka today.
Related: Whiskey or 10,000 acres
And if you've ever wondered just how whiskey is made, click your way through this slide show, where Walter and Nagele walk us through the entire process.
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Step One: Mill. Using a mill purchased from a local hog farmer, the guys at Whiskey Acres choose their best corn and small grains to mill. They run it through a cleaner and grind it until it's not quite as fine as flour. The idea is to expose as much of the kernel as possible to extract as much starch as possible.
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Step Two: Cook and Cool. The mash is made with milled corn, wheat and rye ﴾grown on the Walters' farm﴿ and malt – moistened barley that sprouts and is dried. The mash goes into a 500‐gallon cooker, where it's steam boiled and agitated for 20 minutes. The malt enzymes are converting starch to sugar in this step, turning it from a thin oatmeal into a liquid. Then, cold water circulates in a jacket around the cooker, cooling the mash to 90‐95 degrees Fahrenheit. Note: Whiskey Acres saves the water to use in the next day's mash, saving hundreds of gallons of water compared to most urban distilleries. "We can't use our well that way," Jamie Walter says.
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Step Three: Add Yeast. Walter adds dehydrated yeast into the mash, using different types of yeast to create different tastes. Yeast ingests sugar, secreting alcohol and carbon dioxide. Walter and business partner Nick Nagele test the yeast continually during this step. "This is our livestock," Walter laughs. "We feed millions of little single‐cell head a day!"
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Step Four: Ferment. They pump the mash from the cooker to fermentation vats, where it will ferment for 4 to 6 days. At the end of this process, it's an 8‐10% alcohol solution, like a beer.
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Step Five: Distill. From the fermentation vats, the solution goes to the 500‐gallon copper still. In the still, the temperature rises and vapors are released. The copper still conducts heat and slowly eats itself away over time, as the sulfur reacts with the copper and precipitates out, improving whiskey aroma and flavor. A well‐cared‐for still can last 50 years.
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Step Six: Cuts. The vapors from the still are cooled with cold water and condense, which is what Walter will taste to determine when to make cuts. He says distilling is similar to running a corn dryer: it's art and science. Conventional distilleries focus on quantity and don't make many cuts; Whiskey Acres makes a lot of cuts, for better quality. They'll often distill a second time, especially for vodka.
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Step Seven: Barrel or Bottle. After distilling, vodka will go into a bottle. Bourbon and rye whiskey will go to barrels to age, then will be bottled. Corn whiskey doesn't have an aging requirement like bourbon. Fifteen‐gallon barrels will age for 18 months; 25‐gallon barrels for 18 months to 3 years; 53‐gallon barrels for 3‐5 years.
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