Choice of fermentation tank for wine, mash and beer. Dishes for making homemade wine

TASTE, JUICE
YEAST MUSHROOMS
FORTRESS OF THE DRINK
FERMENTATION
PURIFICATION
WINE FROM RAISINS
WINE FROM JAM
APPLE WINE
ASSORTED
THE TRUTH IN WINE
Article "Noble Moonshine"

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“Aleksey, how do you make such wine?” - ask friends who have tasted my intoxicating drinks. And I begin to explain once again - how. They listen, seem to listen, but then partially forget and confuse everything. Now, when this question is asked again, I will answer: “Drive it in the search engine - Prose. ru - Repository, and read my article on winemaking.

And at the same time with you - dear readers and admirers of good natural wine, I will share my 22 years of experience in making delicious and joyfully intoxicating alcoholic drinks that will not give you a headache or diarrhea.

Someone will think that the Internet is already full of articles about winemaking - what can you say new? But, having familiarized myself with many of them, I did NOT discover some of the nuances that my own experiments led to ...

First of all, you need to understand the general patterns, and not stupidly memorize recipes. The production of any wine relies on three "pillars": taste, yeast mushrooms and a fortress.

TASTE - OBTAINING JUICE FOR FERMENTATION

The taste of wine, first of all, depends on the wine material itself, that is, berries. In principle, with a competent approach, good wine can be made from any berries and fruits, and even from dried fruits and jam. The main thing is to correctly pick up the taste from the wine-material and choose the optimal concentration. For example, many complain that cherries, blackthorns, plums, etc. make too “heavy wines”. That is, thick, saturated, from which heartburn appears and the stomach hurts.

But this is just an advantage, not a disadvantage. Who said that you need to make wine from pure juice? It's like complaining about a fortress pure alcohol- dilute with water to desired degree and sing. Only apple juice cannot be diluted, it is already too watery. But when the berry gives thick juice, it will take a little to make more wine by adding water.

Saturation record holders can be considered turn and gooseberries. I managed to make 30 liters of wine from a bucket of blackthorn (not crushed). Gooseberries have the same saturation, you dilute it, dilute it, and it is still thick. From a bucket of ripe, burgundy (not crushed) cherries, you can put 20 liters. Less than half a tank of crushed Isabella grapes is boldly topped up with water to the top.

Extracting juice from berries always causes the greatest difficulties for novice winemakers. Many crush the berry and immediately try to squeeze the juice out of it. But there is a much lighter and effective method, which is applicable to almost all wine materials. Try to use only ripe berry, which scored a maximum of sugar, and lost acid.

Pour strawberries, gooseberries, currants (everything that is pitted) in SMALL portions into a large metal (stainless, aluminum or enameled) liter mug and crush the berries in it with a miniature wooden "log" ( a piece is better from a branch of a fruit tree, evenly sawn from both ends, 6-7 cm in diameter and 25-30 cm long) to complete kneading. Then you shake out this mess into the tank, crush the next portion, shake it out again, and so on the whole berry.

Then, in a free bucket with warm water(you can use the tap, not hot, so as not to boil the yeast fungus) dissolve the sugar (the amount of sugar is about 1 kg per bucket of water), and pour the transferred mass with this syrup (this is necessary in order to avoid souring), leaving 7 cm. Pour a handful of UNWASHED raisins into the same place and mix everything thoroughly until this “compote” is homogeneous, then cover with a lid and leave for 3-4 days.

After this period (do not leave for a long time, maximum 5 days, otherwise it may turn sour), all the pulp will float to the surface, it may even be dry on top, or become moldy. Remove the mold, and squeeze the juice from the popped-up pulp into a large funnel (with a doubly nested mosquito net for windows) inserted into a plastic 5-liter bottle with a nylon mesh for vents, and then, scooping out a mug, pour over, filter and squeeze out all the infused pulp from the pulp. liquid. The pressings have given up all the taste and color, so they are thrown into the trash.

Any wine material is soaked in a similar way. But, there are some differences. For example, stone fruits (cherry, plum, turn, apricot) will have to be kneaded in a bucket with your fingers, otherwise the beans will be crushed. Ideally, in the process of kneading, try to remove as many beans as possible, because their infusion (especially cherries) can make your head ache. The ratio of the volume of the transferred berry to water is also very different.

BERRIES: approximately equally (1:1), pour half the capacity of mint berries with the same volume of syrup. Black currant, red currant, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, plum, apricot, chokeberry, sea buckthorn - about the same. But, this is an average proportion. For example, strawberries can be diluted one and a half times (2: 1) - it will be tastier, but less. And chokeberry can be tripled (1: 2) - it will not be too liquid. In general, saturation directly depends on the ripeness of the berry, so it is better to dilute to your taste. If you do not dilute it with water at all, then after three days the pulp will also give up juice and float, and the taste will turn out to be more saturated. But you should not do this with cherries, thorns, plums and chokeberries.

GOSEBERRY: the transferred mass should occupy only 25-30% of the total volume of the tank (1:4 - 1:3). But it seemed to me that you can dilute even more (1:5). The rest of the space is filled with syrup for soaking. Thoroughly knead the gooseberry pulp with your hands already in syrup in order to wash out the maximum taste from it (and ideally, do not crush it in a mug, but scroll it in a meat grinder - this way it will release more substances).

TURN: the same proportions as gooseberries; collect already overripe soft fruits and knead with your hands to a puree-like consistency; during the kneading process, try to remove as many bones as possible. In the rest - everything is like with gooseberries.

GRAPES "ISABELLA": it is more convenient to crush in 3-liter concrete with a more massive log (8-10 cm in diameter and 35-40 cm long). Fill full concrete with whole bunches and crush until complete destruction, you should get half concrete of the mess, shake it out into the tank, and crush the next portion. When the tank is almost half full, pour the crushed grapes with syrup (1 kg of sugar per bucket of water) almost to the top (7 cm), pour half a glass of unwashed raisins, and mix thoroughly and knead the whole mass with your hand until smooth, cover with a lid and leave to infuse.

Soak for no longer than the peel and branches completely float (3 days), so that they do not have time to infuse strongly, after which the pop-up mass is squeezed out with your hands like wet laundry back into the tank, and the rest is drained with a nylon mesh through a large funnel into a transparent plastic 5- liter bottle. Then, in an empty bucket, pour the rest of the sugar with this “compote”, stir until completely dissolved and pour into a container for final fermentation.

YEAST MUSHROOMS

There were special laboratories at the distilleries of the USSR, where special yeast mushrooms were grown for each type of wine, which launch the right process fermentation. Only in this case, the intoxicating drink turns out to be tasty and does not leave heaviness in the head. It is clear that at home there is no way to get ideal natural wine yeast.

That is why many homemade wines have an unpleasant aftertaste and leave headache. Because during fermentation from ignoble mushrooms in wine, it may turn out not ethyl (as it should be), but methyl alcohol. And many home winemakers put the must on fermentation only at the expense of those mushrooms that live on the skin of berries and fruits (that's why they are crushed unwashed - so as not to wash off the yeast). And they in the middle lane are often not distinguished by nobility, therefore, our homemade wines are tasteless and heavy. But southern grape varieties, as a rule, carry noble mushrooms on their skins, especially if these are special wine varieties.

The best solution for the winemaker middle lane- go to the market, buy raisins, and ferment your fruit and berry must with them. Namely, pour half a glass (per bucket - 10 liters) of UNWASHED raisins into all containers when soaking the crushed berries, and into any apple juice intended for wine. And rinse your berries in the shower to wash off dubious yeast. Once I felt very clearly the difference between the two canisters apple wine made from the same juice of the "northern senap". As an experiment, one and a half glasses of UNWASHED raisins were poured into one container (a plastic canister of 30 liters), and not into the other. As a result - in a canister with raisins we got a tasty, noble and intoxicating wine. And in the one that was left without raisins - a nasty and heavy drink, from which there was no pleasant intoxication, but heaviness appeared in the head. And this despite the fact that apple juice was originally the same here and there.

If the wine turned out to be especially good (tasty, and without heaviness in the head), then do not throw the thick sediment out from under it, but dissolve sugar in it (about a glass per liter). Drain into a separate container with a non-hermetic lid (for example, just a glass jar with a nylon lid, otherwise the residual fermentation may break), and put it in the refrigerator, at least for a year, at least for two. And the next batch of wine can be fermented with this liquid instead of raisins (about a glass for a 20-liter bottle). And thus select best yeast and further...

FORTRESS OF THE DRINK

The strength (percentage of alcohol) directly depends on the amount of sugar, because from it, and only from it, wine spirit. Of course, taking into account the sugar that is contained in the berries (but this is a small proportion). For any fermentable liquid (including brew for moonshine) maximum amount sugar about two and a half (2.5) kg. per bucket (10 liters). This is the maximum amount that can ferment (break down) into alcohol and give maximum strength (15-17%). Anything over this limit will safely remain sugar (sweet wines, liqueurs). If less, for example, 1-1.5 kg. - you get a light dry (sour) wine.

The main mistakes of beginners:

It seems to them that with such an amount of sugar (2.5 - 3 kg per bucket), the wine will be too sweet and cloying. But believe me - from 2.5 kg. (and for a 20-liter bottle it is 5 kg.) There will be no sweets left at all. To make the wine at least semi-sweet, you need 2.8 - 3 kg, depending on the sweetness or acidity of the berry.

For many, the wort sours (turns into vinegar) because they do not stir the sugar until completely dissolved, believing that the fermentation process itself mixes and dissolves everything, and most of the sugar just lies in the bottom of the bottle in a thick layer.

Or they try to stir the poured sugar, shaking the whole bottle, while the dissolution is partial. And you need to pour sugar into a bucket, pour it with juice, mix thoroughly with a slotted spoon until completely dissolved, and pour it into a fermentation container already in the form of syrup.

AND SO, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SUGAR PER BUCKET (10 LITERS) OF THE LIQUID THAT SHOULD BECOME WINE, CONSIDERING THE BERRY SOAKED IN THE SYRUP, AND THE MAIN SUGAR, WHICH IS DISSOLVED ALREADY IN THE READY JUICE, SHOULD BE IN THE AREA OF 2-X, ON 5 ) KG.

Sugar-sand has approximately the same density, and hence the volume with water. Therefore, it is not necessary to weigh it, but you can simply measure it with a liter or half-liter mug. That is, a full liter mug of sugar roughly corresponds to a kilogram.

FERMENTATION

Many manufacturers of homemade wines are convinced that the drink should be placed only in glass containers i.e. in a bottle. But I assure you - it is very troublesome and fraught with trouble. Imagine what will happen to your floor if you accidentally break a glass bottle, and 20 or even 40 liters of sweet-sweet must will spill everywhere and flow into all the cracks. Horror! But if you put it in a canister with a wide mouth, made of food-grade plastic, then you can kick it with impunity, and it will not burst from pressure, but only swell.

Food plastic will not affect the taste, and the wine will not infuse on it, and will not draw out any harmful substances, this requires a high temperature. Personally, I keep wine in 30-liter plastic food cans for a year or two, and no aftertaste is felt. Also great are the 18 liter clear plastic water cooler bottles that are used in all offices.

And you can do it even easier and put the wines in small portions in the well-known and free-accessible to everyone 5-liter transparent plastic bottles. Especially if the winemaker is weak and unable to move 20-30 liter containers. And five-liter bottles can be placed in all free corners, and it is easy to handle them, and after fermentation is completed and the wine is removed from the sediment, it can be stored in them.

Many winemakers are convinced that fermentation must necessarily proceed with the use of a water seal, that is, a tight cork with a tube that is inserted into a jar of water gurgling sweetly with bubbles. Well, or at worst, put on a rubber glove with a pierced finger on the neck of the bottle, which should stand against gas pressure and indicate active fermentation.

The meaning of such events is to prevent atmospheric air from getting inside the bottle, because oxygen oxidizes and provokes souring of the wort. In this case, the gases from fermentation should freely exit. But, I assure you - it can only turn sour dry wine because it is low in sugar. And if you put semi-sweet or sweet wine (2.8 - 3 kg of sugar per 10 liters), then this amount of sugar is a reliable preservative and will not let the drink turn sour. I somehow made wine in regular saucepan by simply covering it with a lid.

But for safety, I recommend screwing the canister cap, but NOT to the end, but so that gas can seep through the thread, the same with 5-liter bottles. If the throat is not wide and smooth (like a bottle from a cooler), then you can simply put a smooth small rubber ball on top, it will work like a valve - release gas, but not let air in. And don't bother with gas pipes and jars of water.

If you want to definitely be observers of the fermentation process, then unscrew the lid of the canister and put your ear to your throat .. You will hear the hiss of bubbles, like just now open bottle Coca-Cola, this is active fermentation in all its splendor. But after the expiration of the period (30 - 45 days), this hissing will not completely stop, because at the bottom there is a thick sediment with yeast fungi.

Some wine materials (grapes, blackthorn, etc.) give a lot of yeast, which at the beginning of active fermentation floats to the surface and foams. In this case, it is better to scoop out the excess with a spoon so that the wine does not acquire a yeasty smell and taste, and for full fermentation, the yeast that has already dissolved in the juice is enough.

The fermentation period depends on the room temperature. If it's hot, it will ferment in a month, and if it's cold, then two may not be enough. Therefore, learn to determine the taste. If you immediately feel the fortress and not much sweetness, it means that most of the sugar has turned into alcohol, and it's time to remove it from the sediment. If it is still cloying and not strong, then let it continue to ferment ... By the way, dissolve all the sugar at once, so there will not be too rapid fermentation in the initial stage (a high concentration of sweetness will slow down the rapid reproduction of yeast), and accordingly - there will be no strong yeast smell and taste.

Another common mistake self-taught people make is that they constantly shake the contents of the bottle, believing that regular stirring will be beneficial. In no case do not do this, because all the turbidity that settles to the bottom may remain in suspension, and you will no longer be able to achieve transparency in the drink. In addition, it will turn out to be heavy in terms of headaches. We dissolved all the sugar, thoroughly mixed the wort, set it to ferment - and forget about this container for a month ...

PURIFICATION

Due to the gravity of the Earth, all the turbidity settles to the bottom of the tank, if it is not disturbed in vain. When the fermentation stage is over (30-45 days), the wine must be removed from the sediment, otherwise the taste may deteriorate. For this purpose, I recommend making a special tube. On a half-meter piece of stainless or aluminum tube with an outer diameter of 8-10 mm. tightly put on a transparent nylon tube so that the total length of this device is approximately 1.8 meters (180 centimeters).

Raise the container of wine on the table, stick the metal end of the tube inside, suck it in from the soft end, and drain it into exactly the same empty clean container, previously placed on the floor. Press the metal tube against the wall so that its end is visible through the translucent or transparent wall of the container (therefore, choose only white canisters). As the wine decreases from the upper container, carefully bring the end closer to the sediment at the bottom, which should also be visible to you through the wall. But so that the dregs do not suck. When this is no longer possible, gently tilt the container to make it easier to draw out the clear wine. The suction force can be adjusted by lifting the lower, soft end of the tube.

Do not rush to drain the sediment into the toilet, but pour it into a 2-liter plastic bottle. After 2-3 days, another liter of clear wine will settle in it, which is carefully poured into another bottle so that it settles even better, then it can be poured into a common container. If the wine turned out to be especially good, then do not pour out the sediment liquid, but dissolve sugar in it (about a glass per liter), and store it in the refrigerator, in a jar with a NOT tight lid. This slurry can ferment new wine must.

Keep the wine removed from the sediment for a month in a container, it will give a little more sediment and finally stop fermentation. If the wine turned out not at all sweet - add and dissolve sugar in it to your taste, hold it in a container for a couple more weeks so that the fermentation finally stops. After the second removal, the wine can be poured into 1.5 - 2 liter plastic bottles, and it is advisable not to drink it for at least eight (8) months. During this period, a little more sediment will fall in the jagged bottoms of the bottles, and the drink will have time to acquire a more delicate taste than if you drink it young.

WINE FROM RAISINS

Raisin wine will require a slightly different approach. Give preference to raisins wine varieties grapes, as a rule, it has a blue skin. Check by touch that it is as dry as possible and always WITHOUT PITS. For each bucket (10 liters) you need 1 kg. UNWASHED raisins and 2 kg of sugar. Grind all the raisins in a meat grinder - you get a very viscous and thick mass. Put it in a bucket, fill it with a small amount (liter 2) warm water, and carefully knead this clot with your hands until completely dissolved.

Pour a kilogram (1 kg) of sugar there, add warm (not hot, so as not to boil the yeast fungus) water almost to the edge (7 cm). Mix everything until the sugar is completely dissolved - you get a cloudy dark liquid, cover it with a lid and leave it for soaking. After 3-4 days, the pulp will float to the surface and become moldy. Remove the mold and throw it in the trash.

Scooping out a mug from a bucket, pour into a 5-liter plastic bottle through a large funnel with a nylon mosquito net folded in half, straining and squeezing all the pulp from the liquid (throw the squeezes into the trash - they have already given up all the taste and yeast). Pour the rest of the sugar (1 kg) into an empty bucket, pour the resulting infusion and mix thoroughly until the sugar is completely dissolved. Everything. In this form, pour into a container (canister, bottle) for fermentation for 30-45 days ...

WINE FROM JAM

From jam, you can also make a decent wine. Especially from strawberry, currant, cherry, plum, blackthorn, apricot. In general, all but apple and pear; jam and jams are also not desirable. The main thing is to guess with sugar. If the jam was prepared classic recipe, that is, 1 kg of berries per 1 kg of sugar (1: 1), then, for example, in liter jar this jam will be about 750 grams (0.75 kg) of sugar. So 3 liters of jam should be poured into a 10-liter bucket, pour warm water and dissolve thoroughly. Add more water, almost to the edge (7 cm), pour a glass of UNWASHED raisins or a glass of sediment from a good wine there, mix everything again until the sugar dissolves and leave to infuse under the lid. After 3-4 days, remove and discard the mold (if it appears), drain and squeeze the resulting liquid from the pulp, dissolve half a kilo of sugar, and in this form, pour into a container (canister, bottle) for fermentation for 40-45 days ...

APPLE WINE

This wine-material is usually abundant, especially in apple years. But, unfortunately, not all varieties of apples can make good wine. Summer varieties are especially unsuitable for this. Out of competition, of course SAFRAN. This autumn variety was bred specifically for the production of domestic apple wine. Even the apples themselves already have a wine smell. But other autumn varieties are also quite suitable, on one condition - the addition of a good "sourdough".

Apples cannot be crushed and soaked like berries, grapes and stone fruits. You can't do without a juicer or a powerful press. But I used to do it in a primitive way. From the trunk of a fruit tree he made a club with a handle at the upper end and an evenly sawn end at the lower, working end, in a narrow bucket he broke apples in small portions and shook them into a tank. The filled tank, covered with a lid, left for three days, and then squeezed the juice from this pulp with a nylon mesh for the windows. Apple juice is used only undiluted (it is not very saturated anyway). Therefore, to put a 30-liter canister, you need 8-9 buckets juicy apples. Then everything is as usual.

Pour 2.5 kilograms of sugar into an empty bucket, pour it apple juice, add a glass of UNWASHED raisins or sediment from under good wine and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then, in this proportion, pour into the fermentation tank. And as usual, leave to roam for 30-45 days (depending on the temperature in the room).

ASSORTED

Do not be afraid to mix the wort from different berries and fruits. Especially if you don’t want to put half the container, then feel free to supplement it with other juice. Often it turns out even tastier and more original than from a homogeneous must. All berries and stone fruits are especially well combined with apple juice. Compositions such as: cherry or grapes (Isabella) + currants (red) are also good; cherry, plum or blackthorn + chokeberry ...

And you can mix ready-made wines in order to mutually compensate for their possible shortcomings. For example, mix sweet with sour. Heavy and thick - with light and liquid. If you want to stick to a certain color, then mix light colors only with light ones: apple, gooseberry (green), apricot, sea buckthorn. Well, red and red. It is only undesirable to combine two heavy wines, for example, cherry + blackthorn. In general, professional tasters do just that - they create new original flavors choosing a composition of classic wines.

THE TRUTH IN WINE

Now you have the technologies for the production of homemade wines, to which numerous mistakes and experiments led me. I hope this knowledge will add bright colors to your life. Let the god of winemaking Dionysus not remain indifferent. And if the ancient Greek philosopher Pliny the Elder was right, arguing that: “Truth is in wine”, then perhaps it will be revealed to you too, when the first glass of a heady drink made by yourself spreads bliss throughout the body and warms the soul ...

Article "Noble moonshine" -

Manufacturing house wine is a rather complex and responsible process. At the same time, the received alcoholic drink can easily and quickly become unusable if errors were made during its storage. This situation is by no means uncommon and requires increased attention from the winemaker. Storage of homemade wine is no less important part of winemaking than the technology of its production.

Use of plastic bottles

At home, wine storage can be carried out in almost any container that is available. At the same time, glass jars and plastic bottles, which are in abundance in every home, are rightfully considered the most popular containers.

The quality of preservation of homemade wine in plastic bottles has collected a lot of information on various thematic sites and forums. negative feedback. Most often, winemakers are concerned about the appearance of a specific taste and smell that suddenly appears in wine. Plastic bottles are made from various kinds polymers. Wine can only be stored in containers that are labeled PET or HDPE. Such letter abbreviations indicate that the bottle is made of food-grade plastic and can be used to work with food.

Other plastic containers are absolutely not suitable for storing wine. At the same time, any plastic, even the food group, can react with alcohol. However, this happens only when its fortress exceeds the threshold of 20 degrees. grape wine with an alcohol content of 10-14 degrees, it is quite possible to store in plastic bottles. In turn, it is better not to use plastic containers for storing fortified wines, since this will significantly affect their taste.

To avoid contamination of wine with pathogenic microorganisms or the appearance of specific smell plastic, you must strictly follow the rules for bottling home-made alcohol.

1. Storage containers are used exclusively from under food products or drinks. At the same time, they must be well washed and free of foreign odors.
2. The label must be checked before use. At the bottom of the bottles there should be appropriate marks HDPE or PET.
3. After washing, the containers are disinfected with a special solution, which consists of iodine and water. The antiseptic is diluted in cold water in a ratio of 1:2500. In this case, it is not necessary to use iodine. Disinfection can be carried out using any other means suitable for working with plastic and food products.
4. The prepared disinfectant is poured into bottles, after which they are shaken for 1-2 minutes. The lids are soaked in the solution separately for 50–60 minutes.
5. The disinfectant liquid is drained and the containers are filled with wine in such a way that 1–2 cm of free space remains up to the neck.
6. Closed bottles are lowered into the cellar for up to 3 months and placed vertically. At the same time, every 10-15 days you need to check the taste of the drink for the presence of impurities.

At what temperature can wine be stored? The best conditions for storage of the drink are darkness and a constant temperature in the range of 2-6 degrees. Such thermal parameters contribute to the additional purification of the wine and the formation of its final aroma. It is better not to store finished wine in the apartment at all, because when room temperature it absorbs odors much faster.

Features of the use of glass jars

How to store wine glass jars? When storing a drink in such a container, there is one problem, which is to ensure sealing. Standard methods of preservation using nylon or metal caps not very suitable when working with wine. The metal quickly oxidizes, and capron produces specific compounds that affect the taste of the drink. However, store it under iron and nylon lids nevertheless it is possible. At the same time, they should be well sterilized and have minimal contact with wine. The shelf life of the drink in this case is 5-6 months, after which the wine should be drunk.

The best solution is to use glass lids with a silicone seal. In such a situation, the shelf life of a drink in transparent jars is dark room reaches 2-3 years. It is necessary to fill the containers to the very edge so that they have as little free space as possible for air. Optimum temperature storage of wine in glass jars is 2-4 degrees, and the best place serves as a dark basement or cellar.