This would satisfy my scientific curiosity. Anyone have a recipe for mash?

Question

I've made wine. I've made hard cider. Now I want to make the hard stuff: white lightning, moon shine; ever clear. I have a still or at least the plans for one; what I really need is the recipe for the mash, something simple. Remember, I'm really interested in the science behind it all.

Answer 1

Here's plenty of science for you:
mashing is the process of mixing milled grain (typically malted grain) with water, and heating this mixture up with rests at certain temperatures to allow enzymes in the malt to break down the starch in the grain into sugars, typically maltose.

Large breweries usually employ a decoction mash method, in which the thickest part of the mash is boiled to extract more starch from the grain, then returned to the mash to achieve the next rest temperature. These can be classified into one-, two-, and three-step decoctions, depending on how many times part of the mash is drawn off to be boiled. Smaller breweries use infusion mashing, in which the mash is heated directly to go from rest temperature to rest temperature. Some infusion mashes achieve temperature changes by adding hot water, and there are also breweries that do single-step infusion, performing only one rest before lautering. It is important to note that fancy equipment and methods do not guarantee a good beer. Many wonderful beers are produced on inexpensive, bare-bones equipment, and some bad beers are produced in breweries that are state-of-the-art.

In large breweries, in which optimal utilization of the brewery equipment is economically necessary, there is at least one dedicated vessel for mashing. In decoction processes there must be at least two. The vessel has a good stirring mechanism to keep the temperature of the mash uniform, and a heating device which is efficient, but will not scorch the malt, and should be insulated to maintain rest temperatures for up to one hour. A spray ball for clean-in-place (CIP) operation should also be included for periodical deep cleaning. Sanitation is not a major concern before wort boiling, so a rinse-down should be all that is necessary between batches.

Smaller breweries often use the boil kettle for mashing, or use the lauter tun. The latter case either limits the brewer to single-step infusion mashing, or leaves the brewer with a lauter tun which is not completely appropriate for the lautering process.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashing

Answer 2

In all seriousness...brew a batch of beer and omit the hops.
When the "beer" has finished primary fermentation, it's ready for the still.
You can use malt extract (dry or liquid) or all grain if you have the equipment. If you've done cider, then an extract batch will be a no-brainer (about 8-10 pounds of per 5 gallon batch).
You can also use corn syrup, sugar, molasses, and a whole bunch of other things depending on what you want your final result to be.

Better yet, study hard...http://homedisltiller.org