Things You'll Need:
- Barley (10 lbs.) Kiln Pepper mill 4 or 5 large metal pots 3 or 4 metal cooking trays Copper pot still Fermentation vessel One cup of brewer's yeast Stirring utensil (any large enough to stir liquid in the oak barrel) 10-gallon oak barrel
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Step 1
Soak the barley. Place the entire sack of barley in full pots of water and soak until it is thoroughly saturated, stirring occasionally to ensure evenness.
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Step 2
Spread out the soaked barley. Transfer the soaked barley from the full pots of water into shallower metal cooking trays. Allow the barley to sit in these trays (room temperature is fine) for two to three weeks while malting occurs.
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Step 3
Check the barley for sprouting. Small green growths appear in the barley, like the start of little plants--this is sprouting. As soon as sprouting is visible anywhere in the batch, drain the barley of the water.
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Step 4
Dry out the barley. During this germination the enzyme amylase is produced, which converts the starch in the barley into sugars. The sprouting is halted by drying the barley and heating it with hot air from a kiln. For Scotch whiskey, the fuel used in the kiln includes peat, a soft, carbon-rich substance formed when plant matter decomposes in water. The peat gives Scotch whiskey a characteristic smoky taste. The malted barley is then ground like other grains.
Place the barley into a kiln, where the hot air will cease the sprouting and make the barley suitable for grinding. Keep the barley in the kiln until it is dry; drying times will vary, depending on the kiln size, temperature, and fuel used to heat the kiln. -
Step 5
Grind the barley into a powder using a pepper mill.
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Step 6
Place the ground barley into the still. Add five gallons of boiling water to the barrel and stir. The mixture produces a sugar-rich liquid, known as wort. Allow the mixture to cool before proceeding to the next step.
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Step 7
Add the brewer's yeasts to the mixture and close the still. Yeast will convert the sugars of the wort into alcohol. This is the fermentation process.
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Step 8
Assemble the fermentation vessel according to its directions. (Many types of fermentation vessels are available, and basically function the same, though their assembly instructions may differ.)
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Step 9
Wait three or four days for the alcohol (distilled) to rise into the fermentation vessel.
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Step 10
Place the distilled alcohol into an oak barrel, close, and age for a minimum of three years.
