Through studies with Dr. Kris Berglund at Michigan State University, we have been able to identify efficiencies by using a fine grind flour in a distilling mash vs. preground malt.
When using flour, we are able to increase the amount of fermentable sugars by 8%, so for every 1,000 lbs of malt you could gain as much as 60 bottles of whiskey. We also had a 9% reduction in mash volume, so for every 1,000 lbs of malt used over 50 gallons were gained in volume. At the end of the day we produced 10% more ethanol per batch. If you are an on-grain distiller you will be able to utilize less space, produce more alcohol per batch, and have a faster throughput by utilizing a fine-floured malt.
However, one of the common concerns we receive from customers who want to use our flour products is that they have difficulty getting the flour into a clump-free solution when mashing in. This video demonstrates a quick and easy solution to remedy this problem: A Distilling Venturi.