Is it possible to make braga. Braga for moonshine: the rules and nuances of cooking

Any production of alcohol, both in the factory and at home, consists of several stages. Moonshine includes making mash. This step is the first and one of the most important in the whole process. What is moonshine brew? This is a drink containing a small amount of alcohol, obtained in the process of infusion of pre-prepared wort under the action of yeast. To obtain a high-quality initial product, it is important from what and how to properly put the mash for moonshine. The fermentation process must be carried out in compliance with all the rules and conditions.

Making home brew for moonshine is a combination of selected raw materials with a product that starts the fermentation process. Sometimes it occurs naturally if the peel of fruits or berries contains natural yeast. In another case, sugar or specially purchased nutritional yeast becomes the activator.

How to make mash

Braga for moonshine is prepared in several stages:

• The choice of raw materials.
• Container preparation.
• Mixing ingredients.
• Infusion.
• Definition of readiness.
• Filtration.
• Lightening.

In order to know how to prepare mash for moonshine, you need to familiarize yourself with each stage separately. At the first stage, the selection of products takes place, on which the characteristics of the preparation and taste of the future drink depend. Brazhka at home, from which good moonshine is made, can be prepared from:

• Jam.
• Vegetables or fruits.
• grains or honey.

When using additional ingredients, filtration is required. Thus, the stones, peel, husk or cake obtained during the preparation of the wort are separated. In addition to them, water, sugar and yeast will be used. To make brew for moonshine, you need to mix all the ingredients in the correct order and place in a prepared clean container. After that, the mixture is infused in a warm room. Braga at home has to insist from two weeks to several months. All this time, you need to observe the mixture, sometimes mix it and, with active foaming, remove the top layer that has appeared. Only by knowing how to properly make mash and observing all the requirements, you can get good moonshine.

Ingredients

The main thing that mash is made of is:

• Water.
• Sugar.
• Yeast.

The selected water must be clean, without impurities and odors. The best option is purchased bottled liquid. In the absence of such, tap water is used. You can't boil it. To cleanse, you need to withstand the water for a couple of days before the formation of sediment. After that, the water is carefully removed. You can also apply a filtering system. The best mash is obtained on artesian natural water.

Sugar, like water, must be pure. Old, stale sand can have an unpleasant odor. This will negatively affect the future product. Braga can be bitter, have an unpleasant odor or taste. Therefore, fresh and clean granulated sugar is selected, which does not have signs of even a slight spoilage.

The choice of yeast requires a particularly careful approach. They are the catalyst for the fermentation process and are of particular importance. For the preparation of moonshine mash, you can use whiskey yeast, wine, alcohol, baker's yeast. The latter are used in the classic recipe, without the addition of other ingredients. At the same time, the alcohol content in the finished mash will not exceed 10%. Alcoholic yeast will increase the degree to 18%, but will create additional harmful impurities. Wine are used when used as a basis for fruits or berries. Whiskey yeast is used to make grain mash. Therefore, this ingredient is selected depending on the technology and the overall composition.

Proportions

In order to prepare a container of suitable volume and get the right mash, you need to know the proportions of cooking. They reflect how much pure forty-degree moonshine will be obtained from a certain amount and ratio of ingredients. In theory, for every kilogram of sugar spent to make mash, the output will be a little more than 1 liter of moonshine. But most often in practice, this ratio is not confirmed and the volume is less by 10%.

For 1 kilogram of sugar, you need 10 times less simple yeast and 50 times less dry yeast. About 5 liters of water are required, but for each individual recipe this amount is calculated individually. The fermentation tank is not completely filled, but somewhere around ¾. The remaining space is saved for foaming and expansion of the liquid in volume.

Capacity selection

The container is selected according to the volume required for mixing all the ingredients. Special barrels are best suited for this. Since many do not have the required inventory, and its purchase is too expensive, one has to use available improvised containers. Large enamel pots, plastic barrels, twenty-liter water bottles are used.

Any container and inventory before cooking sterilized. Clean dishes are the key to a quality drink. A poorly processed container can cause damage to raw materials, an unpleasant odor or foreign taste.

Water seal

This device is needed for mash in the process of keeping it. It removes carbon dioxide formed during fermentation. The finished fixture is purchased at the store and put on the filled container. The discharge tube is lowered into the glass for convenience, since a small amount of condensate can escape through it.

The most common and effective replacement for a professional water seal is medical glove. She is put on the neck of the container. A small hole is made in one of the fingers with a needle to remove gas. During the fermentation process, the glove will be inflated, gradually losing its volume by the time the liquid is ready.

In the first days of fermentation, foam may actively form. This process must be carefully observed and, if necessary, removed. If this is not done, then the water seal may become clogged with foam, and the glove may fall off the container.

How to put the braga correctly

Knowing how to properly put the brew for moonshine, there will be no difficulties with its preparation. The drink will turn out the first time without much effort and difficulty even for beginners. To put the mash on moonshine, you need to follow the technology and proportions.

First of all, the ingredients are selected for the mash. When using fruits or vegetables, the fruits are cleaned with a dry cloth and checked for spoilage. Rotten or darkened are selected and not used.

After that, mix the raw materials with water and sugar and put on a slow fire. The mixture is boiled until syrupy and then cooled. At the same time, you need to make sure that the sugar does not burn and does not caramelize too much. The consistency should remain liquid.

How to put mash for moonshine using yeast will be prompted by the instructions on their packaging. The dry mix is ​​pre-prepared before being added to the wort. Dry yeast is simply poured out, pressed is finely broken and activated by mixing with sugar. After that, they are poured with a small amount of warm water and infused for about half an hour.

Many people know how to put the mash correctly, but at the same time they make mistakes in the waiting process. The fermentation process requires attention. The container is placed in a dark room. Ultraviolet rays adversely affect the fermentation process and lead to spoilage of the mixture. The ambient temperature should be 22 - 25 degrees. An increase will cause the yeast to die, a decrease will cause it to "fall asleep" and not work. After 3 - 4 days of observation and removal of the foam, the mash is left alone until fully cooked. Now you need to periodically monitor so as not to miss the completion of the process. The end is determined by several external features.

How to understand that the mash is ready?

Indicators of the completion of the fermentation process are:

• Stopping the release of carbon dioxide from the water seal.
• Falling off of a glove worn on the neck of a container.
• Lack of sweetness in taste.
• Absence of gurgling.
• No foaming or characteristic hiss.
• The appearance of a distinct smell of alcohol.
• A match that continues burning above the surface of the mash.

If, when preparing mash for moonshine, sweetness in taste was preserved, then a mistake was made in the technology. The rate of sugar per serving of yeast may be exceeded. Because of this, so much alcohol was formed that the action of the yeast stopped, and all the sugar was not processed. To get out of the situation, you need to add water to the mash and still stand it.

Another mistake is violation of temperature conditions. When the temperature is set below 20 degrees, the yeast stops working and the sugar does not break down. In this case, the container with the mixture is transferred to a warmer place.

After eliminating the errors, you need to wait for the reappearance of signs of completion of fermentation and only then consider the drink ready for the next stage.

Lightening

This stage is the final one and separates the preparation of the mash and the process of distillation in a cube. Clarification is performed to cleanse the mash from harmful impurities. If this is not done, then during the distillation process they will burn in the cube and give the moonshine a sharp unpleasant odor.

Before clarification, the mash is removed from the sediment or simply filtered through a sieve or colander. After that, we do a few things:

1. We cool the container with mash to 5 degrees.
2. Pour the betonite solution into the container.
3. We insist one day.
4. Pour in the soaked gelatin and keep for a couple more days.
5. We remove the exfoliated clean mash so as not to touch the sediment and not to stir up the liquid with it.

Concrete is soaked with warm water in a small amount, gelatin - in cold water and aged until swelling. After completing all the points, the mash is ready for further distillation.

Recipes

Braga and its recipes differ depending on the initial ingredients. The simplest home brew recipe for moonshine is one that does not use additional raw materials. For its preparation you need:

• Sugar - 1 kilogram.
• Yeast - 20 grams.
• Water - 5 liters.

The water is heated and granulated sugar is poured into it. The liquid is thoroughly mixed. At this time, the yeast is diluted in a small amount of warm water and added to the syrup.

The finished wort is poured into a container for fermentation, a lock is put on and the mixture is aged until ready. To speed up the process by reducing the cooking time of the mash to 2 - 3 days, a heater for aquariums is placed in the container. It must constantly maintain a temperature of 24 - 25 degrees. In the absence of such a device, the container is wrapped in several layers of fabric and placed near the battery or any other household heater. With this approach, fermentation will take up to one week and requires constant temperature control. It should not exceed 28 degrees.

Recipe mash from jam contains 2.5 kilograms of a sweet product. Moreover, due to the new ingredient, sugar is excluded from the composition, and the amount of yeast is reduced to 2-3 grams. Jam is mixed with water and heated to 50 degrees. The prepared mixture is cooled to room temperature and mixed with yeast. The mixture is infused in a dark place for a couple of weeks until signs of completion of fermentation appear. The recipe for home brew for moonshine is one of the most popular, as many often make preparations for the winter, some of which remain unclaimed and are looking for applications.

Ways to prepare mash for moonshine may not contain yeast at all. In such recipes, as the main raw material, corn. For cooking, it is pre-sprouted. For the recipe you need:

• Wheat - 5 kilograms.
• Water - 15 liters.
• Sugar - 6.5 kilograms.

Wheat should be carefully sifted, poured into a container and poured with warm water so that its level is 1 - 2 centimeters above the grains. To them you need to add 1.5 kilograms of sugar and cover with a lid. After the appearance of sprouts, wheat is poured with 15 liters of water and covered with the rest of the sugar. The mixture is infused for a week and a half in a warm place under a water seal.

Cherry Braga Made with just 1 ingredient. The berries are separated from the seeds, kneaded and poured with a small amount of water. Such mash is infused, like grape mash, in a warm place until signs of readiness appear.

The best brew recipes for moonshine are very simple, do not require much time to prepare for fermentation, and consist of a small amount of ingredients. You can make moonshine even on peas. For this you need:

• Water - 15 liters.
• Sugar - 5 kilograms.
• Yeast - 60 grams.
• Peas - 2 kilograms.
• Sour cream - 200 grams.

Water, yeast and peas are mixed in a container. The mixture is infused for an hour. After that, sugar and sour cream are added to it. All ingredients are mixed and fermented for 3-4 days.

In fact, mash for further distillation can be prepared from almost any improvised product. It can be apples, watermelon, jam, potatoes, bread, grains. The main thing is to observe all the nuances for preparing the wort and starting the fermentation process and correctly determine the moment of its readiness.

It is not enough to put the mash and forget about it until the distillation, the period of which is indicated in the recipe. It takes knowledge and some effort.

fermentation phase

Rapid fermentation in the first stage is considered the norm. For this reason, never fill the fermenter under the lid. The maximum allowable is ¾, although 2/3 is better. If you use a water seal, it gurgles intensely. The glove inflates. If it inflates too much, pierce another 1-2 holes with a needle.

As the mash matures, the foam subsides, the gurgling becomes less frequent. Under normal conditions, fermentation lasts 3-7 days.

Rules for determining readiness

It is important to correctly determine the moment of readiness of the mash. . Unfermented mash will give a lower distillate yield, since not all sugars are converted to alcohol

Overstayed can turn sour, especially if delivered without a water seal. Determine readiness by:

An unfermented brew will give a lower distillate yield, since not all sugars have been converted to alcohol. Overstayed can turn sour, especially if delivered without a water seal. Determine readiness by:

• The gurgling of the water seal completely stopped, and the glove hung on the container.
• The foam fell off.
• Braga tastes bitter, without the slightest sweetness.
• A lighted match brought to the surface of the wort continues to burn.
• The clearing of the liquid is noticeable - the yeast settles, the wort becomes transparent.

Don't just use one way. Better apply everything for fidelity.

Lightening

Yeast residues (including microsuspensions) lead to burning and the appearance of an unpleasant odor and taste in the moonshine. Therefore, before distillation, lighten the mash. It is better to use bentonite for this purpose (this material is cat litter without additives). Grind in a coffee grinder, soak until yogurt is thick and then add to the mash.

Lightening occurs in a few hours. Then remove the mash through a straw from the sediment and distill. Norm - 1 tablespoon with a slide for 10 liters of mash.

Proper distillation

If you want to have a quality product on the table, and not smelly moonshine, you have to do it. Distill for the first time without fractionation. Secondarily - taking the first drops into a separate bowl - dangerous for the health of the head (30-60 ml from each kg of sugar in Braga).

Then drive the body of moonshine until the fortress in the jet drops to 40 °. Everything that is distilled further is tails filled with fusel oils.

Home brew components

The main components are sugar-containing raw materials, water and yeast. Let's consider them in more detail:

1. Yeast. You can use several types, taking into account the features of each of them. The most common are baker's (bread) yeast. Their main advantage is cheapness. However, they can provide a product strength of no more than 10%, and also form a lot of harmful substances.
   Fruit and berry raw materials are best fermented with wine yeast. They emit few harmful products, allow you to get a higher fortress. The strongest product with a minimum of harmful impurities can be made using alcohol yeast. The strength of the must can reach 18%.
2. Sugar or sugar-containing raw materials.
3. Water should be used only drinking, purified. You can just filter the tap water. It is impossible to boil, because after boiling the oxygen content becomes insufficient for fermentation. Chlorinated water should be avoided, filtration or settling can also help here.

Quick mash for drinking in 12 hours

photo from the site http://gotovim-doma-vse.ru

Nature cannot be deceived, and no matter how hard you try, the yeast will not work hundreds of times faster. Therefore, if a quick mash for drinking in an hour communicates with a recipe, you should not trust such a source. The fastest fermented drink is kvass, and it contains a small degree of alcohol. Prepare the following ingredients:

• Borodino bread - 0.5 kg;
• Water - 8 l;
• Sugar - 2 kg;
• Dry yeast - 15 g;

The strength of homemade kvass can be adjusted independently by increasing or decreasing the fermentation time. For 12 hours, the drink will receive about 2.5⁰ of alcohol, which is quite enough for a refreshing effect.

1. Dry the bread in a pan until crispy.
2. Dissolve sugar in warm water and add yeast.
3. Cover the container with gauze and leave for 12-18 hours.
4. Drain the finished kvass from the sediment and bottle it, adding 5 raisins to each of them.

Do not flatter yourself if you are offered a recipe for a quick mash for drinking in a washing machine, because you will not be able to get a full fermentation in a few hours.

Selection of capacity and components

There are no trifles in moonshine brewing. The strength of the final product depends on many factors: the choice of dishes in which fermentation will take place, the water used, yeast and the quality of sugar.

For sugar mash, the choice of dishes for fermentation is important, especially indicators of volume, material of manufacture and tightness.

In addition, in many cases, a water seal will be needed to ensure the release of carbon dioxide that occurs during the fermentation process and at the same time prevent oxygen from entering the container, which can lead to souring of the mash.

1. The volume of the container must be selected taking into account that the mash must be filled with a maximum of ¾ of the volume. Otherwise, there is a risk that the foam, which invariably appears on the surface, will be thrown out during fermentation.

2. Materials for the container may be different:

• the most suitable is glass. These can be large-capacity bottles, as a rule - starting from 10 liters, because usually the preparation of sugar mash starts from 6 - 7 liters;
• also a good option is to use various vats made of food grade stainless steel;
• Today there is a large selection of plastic containers of various sizes on sale. But be sure to make sure that this utensil is intended for food products, which must be marked on the container;
• at home, brew for moonshine from sugar is often placed in aluminum dishes. It can be a milk flask, a saucepan;
• suitable can be considered and enameled dishes.

Important! When using enameled dishes, make sure that there are no chips on it, otherwise the mash, and with it the finished product, may acquire an unpleasant metallic taste. In addition, the risk of souring increases.

If you plan to drain sugar mash in the future, it would be good to equip the container with a drain tap and place the container on a rise of half a meter

In addition, this improves heat transfer, since the mash will not draw cold from the floor.

If you plan to drain the sugar mash in the future, it would be good to equip the container with a drain tap and place the container on a rise of half a meter. In addition, this improves heat transfer, since the mash will not draw cold from the floor.

3. In order for the mash for moonshine made from sugar using yeast to turn out perfect, the choice of sugar is very important. Many moonshiners, especially beginners, believe that any sugar can be used and are very disappointed when they receive a shortage of strength in the future.

For some reason, this most often happens when buying sugar in large supermarkets, where a fake product is often sold. Home brewers are well aware that high-quality sugar is needed, so they buy it from a trusted network, choosing the right brand and never use a spoiled product.

The ideal proportion for obtaining moonshine with a strength of 40 ° and above: 1.1 liters per kilogram of sugar.

4. Yeast is just as important as quality sugar. The best is sugar mash with alcoholic yeast, bakery mash can be used only if there are no others, since they do not provide the proper yield of high-grade alcohol.

Dry ones can be a good alternative, and here most tend to think that they are good for moonshine saflevure, which can be bought everywhere.

In addition to providing a good yield of moonshine, they also reduce the formation of foam during fermentation. It is necessary to know the proportions and, before making the mash, take them into account. For each kilogram of sugar, take 20 g of dry or 100 g of alcohol or pressed.

5. Water is equally important, because it largely determines what kind of moonshine you get. Spring is considered the best, but you can also use filtered. Never try to make yeast using ordinary chlorinated water. So you can spoil the mash: it will quickly turn sour, and the final product will be spoiled.

Speaking of proportions, we note that for every kilogram of sugar, 4 liters of water are required.

How to put mash on moonshine ingredients and recipe

In the preparation of any drink, the ingredients used and their proportions play a leading role. In home brewing, not only taste characteristics depend on them, but also quality parameters, such as the amount of toxic impurities and the yield of the finished drink.

How to put mash at home: proportions

The classic and simplest recipe is sugar moonshine. The ratio of components is selected in such a way that the yeast converts all the sugar into ethyl alcohol. When the strength of the mash reaches a critical value for mushrooms, they stop working, and all the remaining sugar simply disappears. The standard recipe looks like this:

• sugar - 1 kg;
• water - 4-5 l (depending on the type of yeast);
• yeast - 100 g pressed or 20 g dry.

Calculation of the hydromodulus for different types of yeast

Yeast fungi strains have different resistance to ethanol. The more alcohol they can produce, the higher the sugar content of the wort should be. To determine the optimal concentration of syrup, the concept of hydromodulus is used - this is the ratio of sugar: water.

1. Pressed yeast stops consuming sugar already at 12⁰ alcohol, so a 1:5 water ratio is used for them.
2. Dry yeast is brought to mash up to 14⁰ strength, and to give them the right amount of food, a water ratio of 1: 4.5 is applied.
3. Alcohol strains are bred to achieve 18% ethanol content, and the optimal hydromodulus for them is 1:4.
4. Turbo yeast, as a kind of alcohol, gives 20⁰ mash with a water ratio of 1:3.5.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the hydraulic module for turbo yeast. Different manufacturers recommend their own ratio, which is usually indicated on the packaging.

photo from the site tonnasamogona.ru

We provide osmosis

A high concentration of sugar in the must increases the density of the solution, which slows down the passage of substances through the cell membrane of fungi. To speed up fermentation with a hydromodulus of 1:4 and higher, it is better to add sugar in two steps. Half of the serving is added immediately, and the second after 24 hours.

Mixing components

You need to add components to the wort in a certain sequence:

1. Heat the water to a temperature where it will be comfortable to hold your hand (about 30⁰С).
2. Dissolve sugar in water, and pour ½ liter of syrup into a separate container.
3. Dissolve the yeast in the cast portion and keep it warm to activate.
4. After 20-40 minutes, a yeast cap will appear on the surface, then add the yeast to the fermentation vessel.
5. Stir the wort until smooth.

If the yeast is not fermented, or there is very little foam, they cannot be used. Fermentation on them will not start or will go very slowly, which will adversely affect the organoleptic properties of the finished drink. Alcohol strains do not need to be activated; before putting the mash, they can be added immediately to the fermentation tank.

Unusual cooking methods

Braga recipes include ingredients such as jam, grains, potatoes and other vegetables. Also, various varieties of fruits can become components.

No invert

Ingredients:

• 100 g of sugar;
• 10 g pressed yeast.

Cooking method:

1. Mix sugar in 0.5 liters of water.
2. Add yeast.
3. Leave the resulting sweet solution for 2 hours in a warm room.
4. To eliminate the rapid formation of foam, it is necessary to stir the mash.

To prepare the wort:

1. 4 kg of sugar is diluted with 4 liters of water, all this is stirred.
2. Mix the wort and solution with yeast.
3. Place the container with the resulting liquid in a warm room with a temperature of + 20 ... + 34 ° С.

Additional heat is released, so you need to ensure that the mash does not overheat. For abundant release of foam, leave free space in the container used. The procedure can last from several days to a half month.

From jam

If there is fermented jam from berries or fruits at home, it can be put on mash. Ingredients:

• 30 liters of water;
• 6 liters of jam;
• 200 g of pressed yeast;
• 3 kg of sugar.

Cooking method:

1. A capacious container (at least 30 liters) is filled with water.
2. Sugar must be dissolved in this water.
3. Add jam to water and sugar. Everything mixes well.
4. Yeast is recommended to be diluted separately, and then added to the container with the rest of the components.
5. The dishes should be kept in a room with a temperature of +18…+25°С for up to 10 days.

The basic rule for making high-quality moonshine at home is a responsible approach to making mash. The better the raw material, the better the resulting alcohol. In addition, no less attention should be paid to the preparation of the process and the choice of dishes. Today we will analyze in detail such a product asmash from sugar and yeast, proportions, the process of preparation and variations of the recipe.

Preparing for the process

Braga is obtained by fermenting wort with yeast. Today there are many recipes for the preparation of this raw material. In the future, it is distilled through a moonshine still and high-quality home-made alcohol is obtained, which has its own flavors, due to the composition of the wort.

In order to get really excellent moonshine, absolutely everything is important. Including the choice of dishes and equipment that will be used in the cooking process.

Experienced distillers strongly advise not to use containers and tools that can react and release harmful substances into the liquid at any of the stages of preparing home-made drinks. This applies to zinc or aluminum appliances and utensils. Also not the best choice would be plastic and PVC. It is best to choose dishes made of stainless medical steel or glass.

Choice of Ingredients

In addition to issues related to dishes, the choice of ingredients from which the mash will be obtained is of great importance. Most of the liquid is water. All experienced moonshiners say out loud that the result depends on its quality. The liquid must be raw, the boiled liquid is devoid of oxygen dissolved in it, and therefore the yeast has nothing to eat and the fermentation process will not fully take place. It is best if spring or artesian water with a minimum content of calcium and magnesium salts is used. It can be filtered or simply defended.

About to putmash from sugar and yeast, proportionswhich we will point out later, many are wondering which yeast to choose? This component is also of no less importance, because it is the yeast that, processing sugar, produces ethyl alcohol. The best choice would be alcohol yeast, which can be purchased at a specialty store. If this is not possible, then you can use ordinary raw baker's yeast or dry quick Saf-Moment or Saf-Levure. Often they are used in tandem, since the latter give abundant foam, and the former extinguish it.

Yeast should be activated in advance. To do this, they are bred in warm water with sugar and allowed to stand warm for a while. It is important not to overheat the solution and remember that yeast dies at temperatures above 30 degrees.

Braga from sugar and yeast: proportions

As already mentioned above, there are a great many recipes for making mash, from which moonshine will be obtained in the future. Basically, several types can be distinguished: on fruits or berries, on starch (or potatoes) and simple mash on sugar.

The last variety can be attributed to the classic. This is the easiest drink recipe that does not require a lot of ingredients. Consider its proportions and the nuances of preparing raw materials for subsequent distillation into strong alcohol.

Composition:

• sugar - 1 kg;
• water - 5 liters;
• yeast, raw - 100 gr, dry - 20 gr.

From the above composition, approximately 1 liter of high-quality moonshine with 50% strength is obtained. If you want to cook more alcohol, then the composition must be increased while maintaining the current proportions.

Home brew

Cooking processmash from sugar and yeast in the specified proportions has many nuances. The fact that it is required to use containers of suitable materials and ingredients of appropriate quality has already been discussed in detail above. In addition, the process itself has many subtleties.

1. Sugar must be thoroughly dissolved in warm water. If the sugar crystals do not disperse completely, they will sink to the bottom and will not participate in the fermentation process. In this regard, the amount of alcohol at the output will drop sharply. Therefore, you need to make sure that there are no visible crystals left.
2. Yeast also requires preliminary preparation. They need to be revived in order to quickly start the fermentation process. The temperature of the water in which the yeast will walk should be no higher than 25-28 degrees. For the best effect, add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and make sure that it dissolves. An hour is enough for yeast to activate. Then they can be poured into the main fermentation tank.
3. Once all the ingredients are ready, they can be mixed in a suitable container and placed in a warm dark place for fermentation. As for the temperature regime, the ideal indicator will be 20-22 degrees. Lower temperatures slow down the process, while higher temperatures kill the yeast and stop fermentation altogether. The container must be sealed with a water seal or a simple medical glove with a puncture on the finger to release carbon dioxide. Such a design releases the container from excess pressure and prevents the ingress of oxygen, the effect of which will spoil the taste of mash and moonshine in general.
4. The process of fermentation and maturation of the mash lasts about one to two weeks. It is important to determine the final in time and not let the mash stand. During this period, foreign substances begin to be released in it, which will spoil the taste and quality of alcohol. The fact that you can start distillation will be reported by a fallen glove and a calmed water seal. The mash itself will brighten and give a precipitate, from which it must be carefully drained. The taste of the drink will be bitter without a hint of sweetness, since all the sugar will be processed by the yeast.

You should not assume that more sugar in the mash will lead to an increase in the amount of alcohol in the output. Yeasts process the product and release ethyl alcohol into the liquid. As soon as the concentration of the latter reaches 12-14%, the yeast dies, as they are not able to survive in such conditions.

Ripe mash also does not tolerate long-term storage. If there is no opportunity to start distillation immediately after maturation, then it is better to put the liquid in a cold place in order to stop the ongoing fermentation process as much as possible.

People experienced in preparing homemade alcohol can give a lot of advice. Firstly, if ingredients containing starch are used in the composition, then the amount of yeast can be halved. Secondly, if the mash actively foams during the fermentation process, you should crumble some cookies into it or pour in half a bag of Saf-Moment yeast (it is this product that quenches foaming). In order to speed up the process, the yeast can be fed; for this, minerals with phosphorus and nitrogen are added to the must, but this method is not suitable for fruit mixtures.

Braga from sugar and yeast, proportionswhich are presented to your attention above, produces moonshine with optimal taste and quality indicators. If necessary, diversify the product, you can add additional components to the mash, but in this case it will be a completely different recipe.

So, mash is a product that is obtained as a result of fermentation of sugar in water with the addition of yeast. Before proceeding directly to the process of making mash, you need to decide how much product you want to get at the output. As practice shows, at home, from 1 kg of sugar, with the correct organization of the technological process, you can get 1.1-1.2 liters of moonshine with a strength of 40 degrees. At the same time, 1 kg of sugar requires 5 liters of water and 100 grams of pressed or 10 grams of dry yeast. Thus, to put mash on 20 liters of moonshine, you will need about 16 kg of sugar, 80 liters of water, 1.6 kg of pressed or 160 g of dry yeast. This calculation is purely theoretical, but any practitioner will say that, given external factors (difficulty maintaining a constant distillation temperature, heterogeneity of raw materials, etc.), the amount of ingredients must be increased by 10-15%. We say it too. With these calculations in front of your eyes and knowing how much drink you want to get in the end, even without a calculator it is easy to calculate the amount of ingredients needed.

Invert mash

Next, we will pay attention to the description of the inversion process. Such a tricky word is called the preparation of ordinary sugar syrup. The purpose of this process is to break down sugar into simple sugars. In this case, the yeast will not produce enzymes to decompose this sucrose into simple sugars. As a result, the product will be less smelly, as there will be no extra enzymes in it. In principle, you can do without inverting, and those who are in a hurry to the final goal can simply skip the next paragraph of the article, but, we repeat, the more carefully you follow the technological process, the tastier the drink will be. So let's continue. The inverting process is simple and does not require special costs. The required amount of water is brought to a temperature of 70-80 degrees, after which sugar is added there. We prepare the syrup as follows: 2 kg of sugar is taken per 1 liter of water. The resulting mass is mixed and brought to a boil, after which citric acid is added to it. Proportions - 5 g of citric acid per 1 kg of sugar. After adding citric acid, the mixture is boiled for another 15-20 minutes, after which it is removed from heat. The syrup is ready.

As you know, without water - not there and not here.

Water plays an important role in the cooking process. Direct dependence - The better the water quality, the better the final product looks and tastes.. We understand that spring water is not available to everyone, but we urge you not to use at least tap water, but to take that purified bottled or spring water for making moonshine. And remember that water for moonshine should not be distilled or boiled - this will lead to the loss of oxygen, and yeast needs it for fermentation.

The fermentation process itself

After you have prepared the syrup, it is poured into a fermentation tank. The right amount of cold water is also poured there. In this case, the container should be filled no more than three-quarters, because with active fermentation, the foam will overflow, and your high spirits from a successful process will be somewhat overshadowed by crawling on the floor with a rag. Next, add yeast to the container. You can simply knead them with your hands, or, as in the case of inversion, you can strictly follow the technical process: dissolve in a small amount of must (a mixture of sugar and water). This is done in a small saucepan, after 10-15 minutes foam forms on the surface, and all this is poured into a fermentation container. After all the necessary ingredients are in one container, a water seal is put on it, and it is installed in a room where the temperature is maintained at 26-31 degrees. Remember that a stable temperature is very important for the normal development of yeast, so use anything from old blankets to aquarium heaters to maintain it. Fermentation lasts an average of 7-10 days. Twice a day, the container with mash must be shaken for a minute, so excess carbon dioxide is removed from there, which interferes with the work of yeast.

Signs of readiness of mash

• the presence of an alcohol smell;
• the bitter taste of the drink, which indicates the complete processing of sugar;
• stop the release of carbon dioxide;
• sediment appeared at the bottom of the container, and the top became lighter;
• you brought a lit match to the mash, but the burning process continued.

If your product has at least 2-3 of these features, then the mash is ready.

Degassing and clarification of mash

At the final stage, it is necessary to carry out degassing and clarification of the mash. In principle, you can also do without this process, as well as without inverting, but in the end you will get a cloudy-colored drink, which marginal-looking elements in domestic television films like to drink. Is this what you tried for? Therefore, be a little more patient and pour the mash through a straw into a large saucepan, ridding it of sediment. Next, heat the pan to 50 degrees, so the remains of carbon dioxide will be released from the mash, which are completely unnecessary in the further process. Next, lighten the mash with bentonite - natural white clay. To clarify 10 liters of mash, you will need 1-2 tablespoons of crushed bentonite, which must be dissolved in 125 ml of warm water. After 10-15 minutes of infusion, the consistency of the mixture will be akin to thick sour cream. It is added to a container with mash, which is tightly closed, and then vigorously shaken. After that, the mash settles for 20-30 hours and is ready for distillation.

In this article, we briefly covered all the main steps in the preparation of mash. In principle, the drink that is now in your container can be consumed - once in Russia there was even an expression “eat mash” - but we are sure that you are interested in a full-fledged final product, and in further materials we will continue the story about making high quality moonshine.

Video 1. We put the mash on sugar, water and yeast

Video 2. We put mash: experience, mistakes, answers to frequently asked questions.