How long the mash wanders. Why is the process of mash fermentation delayed? Maintaining optimal temperature

Moonshine was made in almost every home 20 years ago. It is needed for drinks, on the farm, for medical purposes. The culture of making alcohol at home has not gone anywhere. More and more of those who are tired of harmful, it is not clear what made alcohol, and the same alcoholic beverages, join it.

Mash preparation technology for moonshine

Braga is made from three components: yeast, sugar, water. Sugar and yeast are easiest to buy off-the-shelf.

Wild yeast is found on the surface of berries (raspberries, rose hips, strawberries, currants, grapes and unprocessed raisins), fruits (apples), cereals (wheat, corn, barley).

Important! Fruits and grains are not heated above 30 degrees C, so that the plaque from microorganisms remains on them.

Cereals can first be fermented - prepare a sourdough, which is then poured into the main amount of syrup. For the sourdough, mix sugar, grain and water, put it on for several days without a water seal. When it starts to foam actively, the leaven is ready. Sometimes they immediately mix the grains with all the syrup and set them to ferment.

Mash is widespread on starchy grains and legumes, vegetables. These include wheat, corn, rice, barley, oats, potatoes, peas. Instead of sugar, malt is used - germinated grain. It contains natural enzymes that break down starch into sugar and convert it into alcohol. Dry enzymes (amylosubtilin and glucavamorin) are inexpensive, give a high yield of the final product, but partly harm its organoleptic properties (taste and smell).

The glucose and fructose in fruits contribute to fermentation, but store-bought sugar is usually added to them.

Wild yeast and fruit sugar produce a product with a pleasant plant smell and taste. But the alcohol yield is less than from the mash on purchased sucrose and yeast.

How the fermentation process works

Yeast dissolved in water eats sugar, converting it into alcohol and carbon dioxide. As soon as there is too much alcohol in the water, the yeast does not eat sugar, does not release alcohol. Microorganisms, their food (sugar) and space for activity (water) must be in the right amount.

Wild yeast produces alcohol until the concentration reaches 11%. The ratio of sugar and water is -1: 5.

Bread yeast is active at 12% alcohol. They are designed to release carbon dioxide. Water takes 5 liters per kilogram.

There is an alcoholic yeast that is active even if there is already 18% alcohol in the mash. They require less water - for 1 kg of sugar - 4 liters.

600 ml of alcohol comes out of 1 kg of sugar. 10% of this figure is toxic waste.

All components are poured into a container, leaving a fourth of it free for future foam. Braga on cereals is kept open for the first couple of days, and then they put a water seal.

Excess carbon dioxide also interferes with fermentation. It is released from the liquid a couple of times a day, shaking it.

Important! Fermentation takes place at a temperature of 25-30 degrees. If it is higher or lower, the yeast dies.

It is better to use alcohol yeast to make mash.

Approximate fermentation time for different types of mash

The minimum fermentation time is 1 day with turbo yeast, the maximum is more than a month. This is influenced primarily by the choice of yeast (wild or commercial). The choice of sugar is also important: fruit sugar in fruits, purchased sugar or starch products, on which enzymes still need to work. There are such main types of mash and fermentation duration:

1. Braga on sugar. Wanders 5 days - 2 weeks.
2. Braga on starchy products (grain, potatoes, peas, corn) is cooked for 3 - 5 days.
3. Fruit mash with purchased yeast costs 2-3 weeks.
4. On wild yeast, the mash ripens for 2 weeks - a month and a half.

Ready mash retains its quality for a month in the basement (except for grain, which sour).

Factors affecting the fermentation process of the mash

Fermentation is determined by various factors. Even professionals do not accurately predict the fermentation time of a particular wort and the final result. Some believe that the time of mixing the components, the phase of the moon, at which the whole process takes place, and the atmosphere in the house affect. For example, it should be morning, and only a young month.

There are main factors:

• Braga, first of all, depends on the quality of the original ingredients: purchased or wild yeast, water composition, type and variety of plants, sugar.
• The accuracy of the recipe (including proportions) is important.
• Temperature and humidity.

Choosing the Right Yeast

All yeast has its pros and cons; for each type of mash, its own yeast is selected:

• Bakery (dry, pressed). Dry ones are useful in reserve - they are better stored. On pressed fermentation is more active. Pros of this type: easy to buy, cheap, used in any wash. Cons: not everyone has a pleasant smell, many harmful components, low alcohol yield and high carbon dioxide yield.
• Alcoholic yeast. They give a high yield of the product; less harmful than the first type; do not smell. It is worth considering the disadvantages: they have a higher price, they are purchased on the Internet and in special stores.
• Wine. Used for cereal and fruit bases. They do not smell, they emit few hazardous substances. You will also have to look for them, they have a low yield and a high price.
• Turbo yeast. They save time, they have a neutral odor, a high alcohol yield, and are resistant to temperatures. There is only one drawback - they are expensive.

Capacity and location

The container is chosen from wood, glass or plastic. If it is metal, then aluminum or stainless steel. Features:

• Toxic substances can enter from low-quality plastic.
• Aluminum oxidizes and can also spoil the taste and smell of alcohol and harm health.
• The glass is safe, but it lets in light, is warm and breaks easily.
• The listed disadvantages are absent in stainless steel. But she's dear.
• A tree has the same only drawback - cost. Of the additional advantages: it adds its own flavors to the product.

The volume is chosen different: from 3-liter cans to 500-liter containers.

The location is chosen at its discretion, the main thing is to maintain the necessary degrees in the room.

Optimal temperature conditions

The optimum temperature for mash does not fall below 20 and does not rise above 30 degrees C. Within these limits, the process is going well. The average (22-25 degrees) is close to optimal.

Recipe

Cooking recipes are varied. Everyone contributes something of their own. Here are just a few:

To make mash on sugar, mix water, yeast and sugar.

Any water can be taken, but a tasty product will turn out to be tasty. Chlorinated one is weathered for a day in an open container.

100 g of pressed yeast (10-12 dry) requires 1 kg of sugar. Hydro-module - 1: 5.

To improve the taste of alcohol, instead of "dry" sugar, invert syrup is also used. It is sugar boiled in water and acid. Heating sugar in water breaks it down into glucose and fructose.

Important! Yeast does the same thing, but it secretes enzymes that smell unpleasant. Enzymes will spoil the smell and taste of the finished alcohol.

Invert syrup:

1. The proportions of the starting products: sugar and water - 2: 1. Citric acid - 5 g per 1 kg of sugar.

1. Dissolve sugar in hot water (but not yet boiling).
2. After boiling, add acid.
3. Leave to cook for 20 minutes.
4. The syrup is ready.

A mixture of sugar (syrup), water, yeast is poured into a fermentation vessel. First, the yeast is diluted in a small amount of sweet warm water and allowed to ferment for 15 minutes. The resulting foam is poured into a fermentation vessel filled with water (30 degrees). Each kg of sugar will release 600 ml of alcohol and gas. Leave room for future alcohol and foam - a fourth of the dishes. The dishes are closed with a water seal and placed in a warm room (25-30 degrees C). It is better to wrap the container with a thick old cloth, clothes. The temperature in this place should not drop below the designated temperature, because the yeast will stop working. On average, fermentation lasts a week. Braga is ready if no more gas is emitted. To keep the temperature from dropping, heating for the aquarium is effective. Carbon dioxide in the liquid slows down fermentation, so it is shaken several times a day for 1 minute.

• Wheat mash

1 kg of sugar, 1 kg of wheat, 4 liters of water. Wheat is washed with water at a temperature not higher than 35 degrees C, so as not to kill live yeast on grains. Fall asleep in a fermentation tank. Sugar is completely dissolved in water until all grains disappear. Pour wheat syrup. Close with a water seal and put in a warm place. Fermentation begins after 2-3 days. Then they wait another 2 weeks. Be sure to drain the mash on time: when it has almost finished fermenting and almost does not emit carbon dioxide. If allowed to ferment completely, the product can smell like acetone.

• Braga on sprouted wheat

For 10 liters of container - 1 kg of wheat. Wheat washed in several waters is poured with cold water so that there is 4-5 cm above the grains. If large portions are made, then the wheat can rot. A few grains of potassium permanganate will prevent rotting. The wheat is left to soak up the water. This takes about a day. The remaining water is drained and the grains are washed. The surface of the grain is covered with a dense wet cloth so that moisture does not escape. They wait until the wheat germinates, washing it regularly once a day. After 2 days, the sprouts are already clearly visible. They are poured with water so that they are 5 cm above the surface of the grain. For each kg of wheat, 500 g of sugar are poured. I don't mix sugar with water, it should be on top, cover the grain. They wait 7-10 days.

The drained mash is poured into a fermentation vessel, topped up with water at 35 degrees, sugar is poured (1 kg per 3-3.5 liters of water). Leave to ferment for 7-10 days in a container with a water seal. The finished mash is distilled, poured into the same germinated wheat, the same amount of sugar is added again and it is set to ferment again for the same period as the first time. This can be repeated 4-5 times until the quality is acceptable for a particular person.

• Grape mash

For 1 kg of grape cake (including branches) take 500 g of sugar and 3 liters of water. The hat obtained during fermentation is stirred daily. Fermentation lasts 2-4 weeks. Gas evolution is monitored to determine when fermentation is complete. A completely fermented product no longer produces it.

The reasons why mash does not wander

The reasons reflect omissions in the execution of the instruction:

1. The temperature of the wort and the air in the room is below 20 and above 30 degrees.
2. Accumulation of gases that are not eroded by stirring.
3. Inconsistency of proportions, including the hydronic module.
4. Boiled or chlorinated water.

Sometimes the mash stops wandering, being still sweet (unprepared). The reasons:

1. Little water (just topped up).
2. Low temperature.
3. High acidity. Add a teaspoon of soda or chalk to 10-15 liters of mash.

Ways to speed up the fermentation process

• take fresh yeast;
• add a couple of bread crusts;
• pour a teaspoon of diluted tomato paste for each liter.
• add 3-4 tablespoons of peas or corn per 1 liter of wort.
• a handful of raisins;
• Shake the wort several times every day, allowing the gas to escape.

How to determine the readiness of the mash for distillation

The readiness of raw materials is manifested in:

• distinct smell of alcohol;
• bitter taste and complete absence of sweetness;
• sediment;
• absence of carbon dioxide over the wash: check with fire or put on a glove. A glove raised up means that the wash has to stand still.

Finding your own recipes and proportions can be difficult, but exciting and delicious. It is worth stocking up on theory and patience.

For many novice moonshiners, the main problem is haste and impatience, so they try to speed up all stages from the preparation of raw materials to the final product by any means, and as a result they lose quality. In this article, I will consider the question - how much the wash wanders in time, but not from the point of view of theory - on the Internet you will find a bunch of slender tables and mathematical calculations, but based on my own practical experience. I drive moonshine all year round, so my home brew matures in the most diverse, and sometimes even fantastic conditions for her, and I cook it on different types raw materials.

How long does the mash roam and what does it depend on?

In my practice, the mash matured in time intervals from 4-5 to 60-70 days. Yes, don't be surprised - this is a unique case when in the fall I collected a plum carrion - about 40 kg, cleaned, kneaded, added a little water and forgot about it for 2 months. At the same time, she stood in the basement at a temperature of about +7 ... +12 C o. Many will now say - yes, nonsense, it is dead! And I will say - pipes, not only survived, but also fermented in a gorgeous way into alcohol at the expense of natural yeast - I did not add them to this wash.

So what does the rate of fermentation depend on? Let's take a look at all these factors point by point:

• External conditions are temperature and rest. I do not get tired of repeating that the home brew is alive, therefore, it requires appropriate treatment. Not only the temperature, the optimal range of which is + 22 ... + 28 C o, affects the intensity and speed of fermentation, but also dormancy. Remember when mom or grandmother puts the dough to come up, then puts it in a warm room and asks you not to run there? Vibrations can "flush out" the yeast, and the dough may fall. So is the wash - ideally, it should be in a quiet and dark place. That is why in my cellar, even at the lowest temperature, it completely fermented without adding yeast and sugar, however, for a long period of time, like wine
• Chemical composition - here we are talking about the quality of the water and the type of raw materials. For example, fruit mash ferments faster than cereals, since the sugars in them are more readily available for yeast. And to stimulate a good fermentation of pure sugar mash, I use a little secret that in the summer allows me to achieve optimal carbonation of homemade kvass, which I also desire myself. I add some raisins to it. For 20 liters of mash, 50 grams of raisins are enough. The microelements it contains are a natural supplement for yeast, so fermentation is more active.
• Type of container - remember - never, under any circumstances, use containers made of non-food metals for making mash! In such a container, it does not turn sour, but is filled with metal oxide, acquiring a disgusting taste - this is my personal experience, and I did not even distill such a wash. The optimal types of containers are glass, food stainless steel, aluminum, copper. These types of metals interact very weakly, and glass does not interact with liquids at all. Food grade plastic is fine too, but less preferable than glass

How to achieve optimal results and what to focus on?

Optimal mash fermentation times

If you do not take into account exceptional cases, my home brew, regardless of its composition, wanders on average for 8-10 days. Purely sugar mash ferments about the same with proportions of 1 kg of sugar per 3 liters of water and 50 grams of live baker's yeast. In principle, it is possible to overtake it (especially the summer one) on the 7th, 8th day, but I try to achieve the maximum output. Most often I drive from what grows in the garden, and in my case it is a plum, apple, quince, pear, apricot and grapes. Yes, yes, quince is added solely for the sake of aroma, since its output is small. Most of all I have plums, that's why mash is more often from it. I cook braga as follows:

• Gathering the carrion - fallen fruits
• Peel (if not lazy)
• I load it into an aluminum forty-liter flask (aka my alembic), crush it in mashed potatoes
• For 15-20 kg of pulp, add about 15 liters of water
• I add to this volume 2 kg of sugar and 100 grams of baker's yeast
• Mix well and put under a water seal
• I give it to ferment for 8-10 days - during this time, the fermentation process at a temperature of +25 C o completely stops

And then, attention! I take out the silicone tube from the water bottle, which acts as a water seal, and put the flask on the gas burner. Yes, yes, no separation of the pulp, no clarification - just gas! And I connect the branch pipe to the refrigerator through my homemade steam boiler. Nothing burns with me, everything is perfectly distilled, and I talked in detail about how I distill the mash into moonshine in another article.

When I make whiskey mash, and its main component is corn grits, I let her roam for at least 14 days! I will say more, you can safely leave it for 17-20 days - the main thing is that the water seal and the container are airtight. Even after boiling for wort, corn starch is quite difficult to process with yeast (both baking and wine - alcoholic). Therefore, 15 days is the optimal period for which the sugars will be completely processed and the aroma will open properly.

As a rule, most recipes indicate how much mash ferments with sugar and yeast. But if this information is not available, you should determine the readiness yourself. If you overexpose the wort, it will begin the souring process, and insufficient aging will affect the quality of the finished product. It is not recommended to use such a mash for distillation.

The main art in home brewing is not to miss the moment when the brew has already fermented, but has not yet fermented, otherwise the taste of the finished drink will be terrible

But what to do if the recipe does not indicate how many days the mash wanders? There is a solution. It is necessary to comprehensively compare the presence of several aspects. Let's consider each in more detail.

Taste qualities

When the brew has played, it has a pronounced bitter taste. If you feel sweetness during tasting, then the yeast composition has not yet converted sucrose into alcohol and you need to wait a little more.

The method makes it possible to track not only how much the wash costs, but also its quality, and also, if necessary, allows you to correct the situation if this factor does not suit you.

If you do not observe the temperature regime, which should be constant and have indicators of 20-28 ° C, then there is a possibility of premature death of the yeast. As a result, the mash stops walking even before the complete processing of sucrose. Here you will need to "feed" an additional yeast portion, followed by storage in a place corresponding to temperature standards.

By time

To determine how long the wash should be, the following factors must be taken into account:

• quality of products - granulated sugar, water and yeast;
• environmental conditions - temperature and humidity levels.

As a rule, on average, home brew should stand for at least 5 days and no more than 2 weeks. But this is provided that the wort was diluted with sugar and no additional components were added to it in the form of fruits, berries and other impurities. If there is grain in the mash, then the aging period is reduced to 3-7 days.

Grape must, in which there are no yeast components, takes 25-60 days to fully ripen. These indicators are too indicative to rely entirely on them, but they can be taken into account additionally.

External parameters

This is another method of calculating how long a yeast and sugar mash should ferment. IN this case it is necessary to pay attention to the foam cap, which stops growing when the product is ready.

The fact is that when the sugar is completely processed, yeast stops emitting carbon dioxide, due to which bubbles are not formed. The hissing sound also disappears, and top part sugar mash becomes lighter. All solid components and impurities descend to the bottom in thick sediment.

Fire check

With active fermentation of sugar mash, carbon dioxide supposedly pushes oxygen out of the fermentation tank. To understand the degree of readiness of the wort, you need to light a match and hold it above the surface of the consistency.

If it has gone out, it is required to wait an additional infusion time, the yeast is still progressing. But if the flame remains, it's time to put it on distillation.

VIDEO: What to do if fermentation has not started

Measuring instruments

The professional way is able to determine the parameters by which you can calculate exact time how much to insist on the mash. The nuance consists in one thing - in this case it is necessary to use a special device, a hydrometer. This device is acquired only by experienced distillers, whose hobby of moonshine has already passed to the stage of industrial production.

But here, too, not everything is so simple, to use the device, you need to perform a number of actions:

• 200 ml is separated from the total volume of the mash;
• this part is filtered several times through multilayer gauze;
• the wort is poured into a glass and a hydrometer is placed in it.

The device calculates the remaining granulated sugar, that is, the unfermented amount of sucrose. If the device showed a value less than 1.002, which is equivalent to 1% sugar, then the infusion of the mash can be stopped and proceed to distillation.

How to speed up fermentation

When the time is pressing, and the sugar mash does not show signs of readiness, experienced distillers resort to drastic measures - accelerating the fermentation process. There are 4 main methods that will help out at the right time.

Chemical method

This is the most effective option and rarely does not lead to the desired result. With the help of several chemical components, the mash will prepare for distillation much faster.

Choose the best method for yourself from the following:

• add ammonium sulfate in proportions of 2 gr. preparation for 1 kg of granulated sugar used in the wort;
• stir in superphosphate taking into account the formula - for 1 kg of sugar 3 gr. component;
• place in a fermentation tank 5 g. chicken droppings for each liter of mash;
• no less effective will speed up the process 1 gr. ammonia for 1 liter of wort.

Although these methods are harmless, they are not suitable for every moonshiner.

Mechanical method

This is the easiest way to shorten the fermentation time of the wort. It does not require application chemicals or other components. The mechanical way to speed up the conversion of sugar into alcohol is to stir the mash frequently and regularly. In the language of moonshiners, such a process is called aeration, more precisely - saturation of the consistency with oxygen.

The secret lies in the yeast elements, which require intensive oxygen enrichment for vital functions and the formation of carbon dioxide. It turns out that the more the wort is endowed with oxygen, the sooner the fungi will grow and separate, as a result the mash will ripen several times faster.

When using the mechanical method, alcohol release is significantly reduced.

Malt

For accelerated processing of granulated sugar, malt - sprouted grain can be added to the liquid, followed by drying. Wheat, rye, barley, etc. are suitable as raw materials. This component can be purchased in a store or made by hand.

To improve the taste and accelerate metabolic processes, it is recommended to use malt - germinated and milled wheat grains

How to add malt:

• prepare the product with the calculation - for 40 liters of sugar mash 1 kg of the component;
• heat the drinking water to a temperature of 60 ° C, pour in the malt and 0.5 tbsp. granulated sugar;
• cook the mixture for 3-5 minutes. stirring regularly;
• cool the consistency to a temperature of 30 ° C, add 10 gr. dry yeast;
• pour into the fermentation tank with the mash.

Despite the laborious process and financial costs, this method is considered to be the favorite among distillers. It is completely environmentally friendly and also gives the finished product a pleasant bready aftertaste.

Traditional methods of acceleration

Moonshine recipes are passed from generation to generation, along with them have survived to our time folk ways accelerating the maturation of the brew. Let's consider the most effective options:

• rye bread - for 30 liters you need 1 small loaf;
• grapes, raspberries, strawberries - 10 liters will require 20-30 crushed berries;
• fruit juice - used in proportions of 100 ml per 10 liters of mash.

The selected component is pre-crumbled or crushed and added directly to the wash.

VIDEO: How to determine the readiness of the mash for distillation

The mash production process has some features, the observance of which is the key to obtaining a high-quality basis for moonshine. If the conditions for its preparation were somehow violated, fermentation can be significantly delayed, or even stop altogether.

Why does the braga wander for a long time

On average, subject to all the necessary conditions, the mash comes to readiness within a period of several days to two weeks. But sometimes the process is significantly delayed. What should you check first?

Temperature regime

Braga can ferment poorly if the temperature in a room with a fermentation tank has dropped below 20 degrees. Excessively high temperatures also harm the process, but overheating it is somewhat more difficult than supercooling it, because yeast can die only at temperatures above 35 degrees.

Read also:

Perhaps the proportions were not observed when laying the products.

The ideal ratio when making mash with sugar and yeast: you need to take three times more water than sugar. Yeast - 50-70 grams per 1 kg of sugar. If there is not enough yeast, and there is too much sugar, the mash will turn out sweet, the yeast will not have time to process the entire amount completely. In the event that products containing sugar are used for mash - for example, fruits, berries or jam - you should reduce the initial amount of sugar or add yeast.

Substandard products

When preparing mash, do not use boiled, chlorinated or mineral water... You also need to check whether the expiration date of the yeast has expired, do not use yeast that has been stored in unsuitable conditions. They must be diluted strictly in accordance with the instructions on the package. Fermentation is improved by special alcoholic or wine yeast.

With a prolonged fermentation process, the mash can be fed

From natural products, a little is suitable rye bread, a handful of raisins or a couple of spoons of any jam. If it is possible to get malt, it can be an excellent top dressing. Also, garden fertilizers are often used - urea or superphosphates. You can add special yeast with additives. This will improve the yeast multiplication process and speed up the fermentation.

Regular stirring contributes to the improvement of fermentation. In order not to open or depressurize the container, you can gently shake it a couple of times a day.

Why does the braga not wander

If the mash stopped fermenting or did not even start, there may be several reasons for this: most of them are listed above, they can either slow down the process or completely stop it, without waiting for the mash to be completely ready for distillation.

Read also:

What other factors can affect the termination of fermentation?

1. Perhaps the process has simply not yet begun, and not much time has passed. Then you just need to wait a little. Braga begins to ferment after 8-10 hours from the moment the products were laid.
2. The yeast died during preparation and breeding. It is imperative to dilute yeast in warm water, not higher than 30 degrees. Exceeding the optimum temperature is detrimental to them.
3. The fermentation tank is depressurized. If this happened, oxygen got inside, and vinegar turned out instead of mash. Further use of such a product becomes impossible.
4. If fermentation has stopped during the temperature drop, you can try to reanimate the mash: you need to wrap it up well and put it closer to the heat source. You can use an aquarium heater, or slightly heat the mash container in another way. Just do not overdo it: in an overheated mash, the yeast will simply die. True, in this case, there is also a way out. If the dead yeast has precipitated, you need to carefully drain the liquid and add a portion of fresh yeast. Perhaps this will save the day and the home will be reanimated.
5. Excess sunlight. Fermentation should be carried out in a dark place, without access to light. In the light, harmful microorganisms can begin to multiply, which will compete with the yeast and impede the process.

How long does the braga wander

Fermentation can last from a few days to two or even three weeks. The more precisely all the necessary conditions are met, the faster the process takes place.
Mash cooked on fruits or starchy foods - grains, legumes or potatoes - ripens first.

What is braga?

Braga is a wort containing sugar and yeast. When the yeast is fermented, the sugar produces ethyl alcohol, carbon dioxide, and a small amount of foreign matter and impurities.

How to make sugar mash?

There is a very simple way to make mash: 1 kg of sugar must be dissolved in 4-5 liters of warm water, Then in a small amount of warm water (about 30 * C), you need to dissolve 20 g - dry, or 100 g of fresh pressed yeast and pour the yeast into the sugar syrup ... After mixing well, leave to ferment for several days.

Alcoholic fermentation is a process in which, with the help of yeast fermentation, sugar is converted into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.

What temperature should be for successful fermentation?

The optimum temperature is from 18 to 40 * C. If the temperature is below 18 degrees, then the process can slow down greatly, but if you overheat to a temperature of more than 40 * C, then the yeast bacteria will die.

How long does the mash take to prepare?

The readiness of the mash depends on two factors: the raw materials used and the temperature. Braga usually wanders from 3 to 14 days.

How to determine if the mash is ready?

The main criterion for readiness is taste. Braga should not be sweet (that is, all the sugar should decay). Carbon dioxide also ceases to be released, and the required fermentation time has passed. But all these signs need to be looked at together. For example, enough time has passed and the mash no longer emits carbon dioxide, but the taste remains sweet - this means that you made a mistake in the proportions between the ingredients or in the choice of yeast. In such a case, it is necessary that the mash "do good". If you do not want to lose some of the product.

How much moonshine should I get from my mash?

Usually, from 1 kg of sugar from the mash, 1 liter of moonshine with a strength of up to 50% can be obtained. On an industrial scale, 1.28 liters of 50% strength is considered an excellent result, 1.24 liters is a good result, and 1.2 is satisfactory. For accurate calculations, you can use the moonshiner calculator.

What to make home brew for moonshine?

You can make mash in any container designed for food. The lid, it is better that it does not close tightly or has holes so that carbon dioxide can escape freely. Fermentation is usually very vigorous and no additional protection against foreign bacteria is required.

What does moonshine consist of?

Moonshine consists of ethyl alcohol, water and impurities formed during the life of yeast and their interaction with oxygen. To produce a high quality drink, you need to strive to reduce the amount of impurities. This can be achieved using quality raw materials, strict adherence to the fermentation technology.

Why is moonshine obtained when distilled from mash?

If all the technology is followed, alcohol begins to boil at a temperature of 77 degrees, and this is much earlier than water. When the mash is boiling (a fermented mixture of alcohol and water), the alcohol evaporates much more intensively than water. When this vapor is cooled, the alcohol content in the resulting liquid increases significantly. In addition, non-volatile impurities (for example, salts) remain in the cube - this is the purification.

How to distill moonshine correctly?

At the very beginning of the distillation there are "heads", or, they also say, "pervach", these impurities contain a large number of harmful substances that have a boiling point lower than alcohol. This part is not used for consumption and is approximately 50 milliliters for each kilogram of sugar in the mash. Next comes the used part. And then - again, the unusable part - "tails", which contains a very large amount of harmful and bad-smelling components, which boil after alcohol. The beginning of the "tail" part is determined when the strength of the moonshine is 40% - at this moment it stops boiling. The amount of such "tail" waste is about 100 ml per 1 kg of sugar in the mash.

PREPARATION AND PREPARATION OF BRAGA

# 1 Is water important for mash?

The main requirement is that the water must be potable. You should not use boiled or distilled water, as it may be too soft, lack the necessary trace elements and sufficient oxygen to ensure good fermentation of the yeast.

# 2 What is the best yeast to take?

The choice of yeast must be taken seriously. Most often, fresh pressed baker's yeast is used in the mash, they ferment well and give excellent results. But it's best to get some special yeast for alcohol - that's ideal.

# 3 Why does the mash wander badly?

This can happen for several reasons: not enough heat, bad - not fresh or low-quality yeast, little yeast was added.

# 4 Yeast loves warmth, should you insulate a container with mash?

Yes, the yeast should be warm, but whether it is additionally insulated depends on the temperature in the room. And it is worth remembering that heat is also generated during fermentation. Well, in a cool room, you should still wrap a barrel with mash, but constantly monitor the temperature.

№ 5 Braga stopped wandering, but still sweetish, why?

Most likely, the yeast has already released so much alcohol that it is not able to develop normally further. Apparently, the proportions were violated when preparing the mash - a lot of sugar was added or the wrong yeast was taken.

# 6 Can I make moonshine from fruit?

Sure you may. Moreover, such moonshine will best quality than sugar. But most likely, sugar will still have to be added, since fruits often do not have sufficient sugar content.

# 7 Why ferment yeast and how to determine its ability to ferment wort?

Usually yeast is sold in a depressed state and cannot start fermenting well right away, or it may not be viable at all. In order to make sure of the quality of the yeast, you need to put it on preliminary fermentation. To do this, yeast is diluted in 0.5 liters of unboiled drinking water and add 70g of sugar. Then this mixture is placed in a warm place (ideally, the temperature should be 30 degrees) in an open container for 1-1.5 hours and is often stirred to dissolve oxygen. The main sign of yeast activity is fluffy foam.

No. 8 In what conditions should yeast be stored?

All conditions and periods of storage of yeast are usually indicated on the package. But, despite the standard shelf life of pressed yeast of 7-10 days, they can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 year without the risk of losing fermentation ability. Defrost such yeast in warm water and then, be sure to ferment.

No. 9 How to close the container with the mash?

There is an excellent folk method- a rubber glove is put on the container with the wash, and 1-3 punctures are made on the fingers with a needle to release carbon dioxide. Such a water seal is popularly called “Hello Gorbachev”. This device helps to control the fermentation process. If the glove is inflated - the process is underway, the opal means that it has completely fermented, it's time for distillation. However, it should be borne in mind that with a sharp drop in temperature, the glove also falls off, sometimes it is even sucked into the vessel.

DISTILLATION (DISTILLATION)

№1 How much should I pour the mash into the cube of the apparatus?

It is better not to fill the cube more than 3/4 in height. This prevents the foam from splashing outwards, and also reduces the ingress of splashes into the cooler tube.

# 2 How fast to drive moonshine?

Only the "heads" need to be taken at a low speed, so it is easier to separate them from the food part. The speed of distillation of the food part can be limited only by the design capabilities of the apparatus, the ability to efficiently conduct and cool the steam. The quality of the body of the moonshine does not suffer at all from the high distillation rate.

# 3 Why does the distillation rate drop and I have to increase the heating?

Since there is less and less alcohol in the tank, more water is evaporated, and more heat is required to evaporate the water. And also with strong heating of the tank, heat is more actively released into the environment.

# 4 Why did I suddenly have cloudy moonshine? And what to do?

Most often, muddy moonshine is obtained if mash is thrown into the refrigerator (earlier this phenomenon was called "shoulder strap"). Braga at a strong boil "escapes" like milk, and the foam goes into the tube. Reduce heating. This cloudy moonshine can be poured into the next batch of mash for distillation.

No. 5 The distillation had to be interrupted unexpectedly. Then you can continue, and how?

You can simply heat up and continue the distillation. At the same time, there is no need to take away the "heads" - they have already left for the first time.

CLEANING, IMPROVEMENT

# 1 Why clean moonshine?

During the fermentation of yeast, harmful substances are released that get into the moonshine. And you need to get rid of them through cleaning. Many moonshiners are also prompted to additional cleaning by the unpleasant smell and turbidity of the drink. But nevertheless, the main argument in favor of cleaning is considered to be precisely the large amount of harmful impurities, which sometimes even have a very pleasant smell.

# 2 What cleaning methods are available at home?

Can be filtered through substances absorbing impurities - activated carbon. Repeated distillation with dilution can help. You can also use protein-rich foods, such as milk or eggs, to clean the moonshine. We add the product to the moonshine, the protein folds and precipitates over time. Protein retains harmful substances, which are then filtered out along with it. Only rectification will help to completely remove the unpleasant odor.

№3 How to distill moonshine 50% a second time, just pour it into the device, and the process started !?

Before the second run, the moonshine must be diluted to at least 40, and preferably up to 10%. Repeated moonshine is carried out not only with the aim of increasing the strength, but also for additional cleaning from harmful and foul-smelling impurities. Distillation of strong moonshine greatly complicates the separation of impurities.

There are many recipes for making mash, and its choice depends on the type of raw material that we intend to use for making the wort. Sure classic recipe moonshiners are: 3-4 liters of water, 1 kg of sugar and 100 g of yeast. If you observe this proportion, then ideally you get 0.51 liters of pure 96% alcohol. The estimated output is 1/1, i.e. 1 liter of moonshine with a strength of 40 ° from 1 kg of sugar. This is taking into account all the losses, when, for various reasons, it is impossible to accurately observe the entire technological process of both fermentation and distillation. It is very important to select all three main components of the wort, from which the mash will ultimately turn out: water, sugar and yeast, because the quality of the final product mainly depends on them.

Yeast- For the best result, it is best to use ready-made pressed yeast, alcoholic or brewer's, but you should not use yeast for baking, you will get no mash, but the yield of the final product will be much less.

Sugar- What can we say about ordinary store-bought sugar, “it’s sugar in Africa too,” the only thing that can distinguish it is what it is packed in. it is more convenient to measure sugar in bags of 1 or 5 kg than from a bag of 50 kg.

Water- by and large, any water can be used. But most importantly, any water, whether from the water supply system or from the “holy spring”, must be allowed to settle and passed through a household filter. Note: I have the opportunity to use water from a source not far from the city, they say the water there is healing, and much more (people generally say a lot of things), but the moonshine turns out to be quite good, maybe for this reason, so the choice is yours.

Process

To make mash, we need a fermentation tank. Naturally, we select its volume depending on the amount of wort that we want to put for fermentation. Glass cylinders (or jars) or plastic containers (with an inscription - for food products) are best suited for this, but iron or galvanized ones cannot be used at all. Note: I only use glass containers. I can't say anything bad about plastic containers (for food products), but for me glass is more reliable (in terms of, at least, the theoretical possibility of extracting foreign substances into the wash, from a plastic container).

Wort

First of all, we need to dissolve sugar and yeast in water. Pour 4-5 liters of water into a saucepan and heat it to about 30 ° C (until the accuracy is important), and pour 1 liter into a separate container (there we will dissolve the yeast), then heat the remaining water to 40-45 ° C. Dissolve 100 g of yeast in warm water (the temperature of which should not exceed 30 ° C (otherwise this yeast will die). Stir until they are completely dissolved, then they should stand for a while.

Heating the water in a saucepan to the temperature we need (40-45 ° C), and removing the water from the heat, add 1 kg of sugar in small portions (it is very important that the sugar is all dissolved). Allow the water in the pot to cool to 20-25 ° C (yeast will do well during this time). Now we are ready to pour the sugar solution into fermentation tanks (for this we use two glass three-liter jars).

Add the yeast diluted in water to the container. It is convenient to use measuring dishes for this.

Fermentation takes place in three stages: initial, main and after-fermentation.

Initial fermentation

During fermentation, yeast breaks down the sugar in the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide. At the initial stage of fermentation, a violent reaction occurs with a large release of carbon dioxide, and the temperature of the wort rises by several degrees. It is very important: to prevent the entry of air and the release of carbon dioxide, close the fermentation tank (in this case, the can) with a special fermentation valve.

As you can see in the photo, carbon dioxide released during fermentation filled the rubber gloves put on in place of the cans' lids. Gloves are a "classic" version, it is more convenient to use a special lid with a water seal for these purposes.

Main fermentation

The main fermentation is also accompanied by copious foam production. In order not to use various antifoaming agents (for example, crushed biscuits), they simply leave free place... You need to be more careful with foam, because it can climb outward, clog the shutter, and most of the wort will simply disappear.

Fermentation

During fermentation, foam settles, bubbles of carbon dioxide stop appearing, and the mash itself brightens and stratifies. Now it is important to correctly determine the moment when the mash is fully ripe. I must say that this skill is acquired only with experience. According to the technology, it takes 7-10 days.

That's it, we drain the mash from the sediment through the tube, and distill it.