Fruit moonshine attracts a lot of connoisseurs of strong alcoholic drinks. When properly prepared, it is smooth, easy to drink, and has minimal effects when consumed in moderation. Grape moonshine is especially prized, but grapes are a seasonal raw material, but dried grapes - raisins - can be obtained all year round. The recipe for making moonshine from raisins is simpler than from grapes, but the quality and organoleptic […]
The variety of homemade alcoholic drinks is amazing. Moonshine in its pure form is already an independent drink, and there are a great many recipes for homemade moonshine infusions. But it’s no secret that most elite alcoholic drinks (except for vodka, if certain types of such can be classified as elite) are aged in oak barrels. What happens in the barrel? In short […]
Wheat moonshine has always been famous for its softness and ease of use. Recipes for home brew for moonshine made from such raw materials most often involve the addition of sugar and yeast culture, but you can do without them. The most budget-friendly, but the most labor-intensive of all wheat moonshine recipes is a recipe for wheat moonshine without sugar and yeast at home. A little theory. […]
Feijoa is an exotic fruit that is not found very often in our area. However, it can be an excellent base for moonshine mash recipes. The taste characteristics of feijoa are very unusual. Everyone who tries it notes their own taste characteristics. If we summarize them, we can conclude that feijoa resembles a cross between strawberry and kiwi, and there are also sweet notes […]
Recipes for moonshine made from flour have been known in Rus' since at least the 17th century. And even though the process of obtaining a strong distillate from such raw materials is not simple, its quality and organoleptic characteristics more than pay for the effort expended. What is the complexity of the recipe for making moonshine from flour at home? The thing is that the flour (and [...]
Some may ask the question “why make moonshine if there is a lot of alcohol on the shelves in the store for every taste?” The answer is obvious! What is sold rarely turns out to be a high-quality product, since the technology for producing strong drinks is complex and manufacturers save money and mainly produce diluted products with various impurities. The right solution would be mash recipes for moonshine and cooking in [...]
Moonshining is an ancient Russian invention that does not require special skills or high costs. The simplest and already slightly forgotten recipe is a recipe for moonshine made from bread. To make it, you need a minimum of ingredients - water and bread. An interesting technology for preparing this alcohol at home is valued for its efficiency; the drink is soft, aromatic and of good quality. Bread recipe […]
Serbs know the secret of a high-quality strong drink called “dunevaca”. Dunya from Serbian means quince, and accordingly, the distillate is obtained from mash placed on quince. The recipe for making quince moonshine is relatively easy to prepare, and the drink is very aromatic. There is also the so-called “Japanese quince” or chaenomeles. Although this plant is only a distant “relative” of the quince (they have one thing in common [...]
There are many different recipes for making moonshine. Many people prefer this drink among other alcoholic products; it is quite easy to prepare from various available products, in other words, you can easily choose a drink “to suit your taste.” Let's look at a recipe for fruit moonshine. Making this type of moonshine greatly depends on the sugar content of the fruit you want to use. If […]
Moonshine made with prunes is an excellent aromatic dessert drink. It is also valuable because it retains all the vitamins and microelements that plums are rich in. Prunes and wild plums (sloes) are common ingredients in recipes for homemade moonshine liqueurs due to the softness and pleasant taste of the resulting drink. The main thing in the recipe for moonshine with prunes is to choose the right ingredients. Then drink […]
It is known that properly dried fruits and berries retain almost all their beneficial properties. It’s not for nothing that dried fruit compotes are included in diet and children’s menus. Recipes for home brew for moonshine were no exception, because dried fruits still contain sugar, which means that you can get a wonderful fruit distillate from them. The aroma will no longer be [...]
Many novice moonshiners, who easily obtain the coveted drops, are wondering how to properly purify the resulting liquid to rid it of the unpleasant aroma and taste. For odorless moonshine recipes, or rather for cleaning methods, generally known methods are used: filtration through activated or specially prepared charcoal; cleaning with milk; purification using manganese; […]
Wheat moonshine is considered one of the mildest homemade alcoholic drinks. There are several ways to prepare it, but they all differ only at the stage of preparing mash recipes for moonshine. The most accessible recipe for moonshine is made from sprouted wheat, in other words, from malt. Why is it the most accessible? Because malt can be bought ready-made. But you can germinate grain [...]
Before the invention of granulated sugar in its pure form, the sweetest foods were always berries and fruits. And if there are sugars, they can always be processed into alcohol using yeast. Recipes for moonshine made from various fruits and berries have been known since ancient times. The craftsmen also paid attention to the irgu. Irga is a berry in the middle [...]
Everyone knows the nutritional value of pine nuts, pine nut oil, as well as their benefits for human health. Pine nut shells are only slightly inferior in value to the kernels themselves. They are rich in tannins, which are good antiseptics. Therefore, instead of regretfully disposing of the “remnants of former luxury,” a good solution would be to infuse moonshine on cedar shells. Pine nut shells [...]
The healing properties of cranberries are known to everyone. This unique berry contains a lot of vitamins and beneficial acids, micro- and macroelements (iron, magnesium, iodine and others). All the beneficial properties of cranberries are preserved in alcohol for a year without loss. Cranberry moonshine prevents the formation of vascular plaques, helps fight gum problems and thyroid diseases. Vitamin C contained in cranberries […]
Everyone probably has several liters of jam in their house. We didn’t cook it ourselves, it was given as a gift from generous relatives. And almost everyone has these jars sitting around, they don’t want to eat them, but it’s a pity to throw them away. They are candied, fermented... There is always a way out - to distill! However, let’s make a reservation right away: if mold appears, there is only one place for such jam - in a landfill. Don’t look at how mold is only on top, [...]
Only since the invention of the still, the work of which is explained in physics lessons, have people learned to distill wine into stronger alcoholic beverages. The method of distilling liquids through a still is called distillation, and moonshine is obtained by distilling mash. There are a huge variety of mash recipes for moonshine, but mash made from pearl barley occupies a special position, because pearl barley porridge is […]
Home brew recipes for moonshine can be made from almost anything that contains sugar or carbohydrates. Particularly pleasant drinks are made from berries and fruits, and citrus fruits are no exception. For example, orange and tangerine contain enough sugar to make mash, although along with other citrus fruits (lemon, lime) they can also be used in recipes for homemade moonshine infusions. At home […]
Wheat moonshine is a classic alcoholic drink in many European countries. But if you couldn’t find high-quality grain to make a wheat moonshine recipe, don’t despair. Simply follow the recipe for moonshine made from wheat flour at home - and you can pamper yourself and your loved ones with a soft, barely sweet drink. The recipe for moonshine made from wheat flour has [...]
Cherry plum is most often used to make jams and compotes; sometimes it is used in recipes for homemade moonshine infusions. In its composition, cherry plum contains many vitamins and organic acids, but there is quite a bit of sugar (fructose) in it - only about 4-5%. And since its fruits are quite sour, cherry plum is not used so widely in home brew recipes. […]
Raspberries are not a popular raw material for preparing mash recipes for moonshine. Most often in the case of spirits, raspberries are used for cocktails and recipes for homemade moonshine infusions. The thing is that although the berry seems to taste sweet, it contains quite a bit of sugar. And since there are few sugars, the alcohol yield from this […]
Moonshine is an alcoholic drink “of the people.” It has many variations and experienced moonshiners know the intricacies of preparing the drink based on the available raw materials. The recipe for moonshine from berries also has its own cooking characteristics. The taste and smell of such moonshine depends on the berries themselves chosen for preparation. The process begins with their preparation: Washing the berries is not recommended, since they […]
Having decided to try a mash recipe for apple moonshine, you need to know the principle of its production: yeast placed in apple juice absorbs sucrose, glucose and fructose (fruit sugar) contained in apples, releasing carbon dioxide and alcohol. Apple mash that you make and do not distill is called cider. Moonshine from apples, which is obtained as a result of distillation [...]
You can make wonderful moonshine from buckwheat (or buckwheat). At the same time, depending on the selected type of raw material (green - unroasted or brown core - fried), the flavor of the final drink will depend. If you use green buckwheat in the mash recipe for moonshine, the drink will have light herbaceous and fruity notes, and if you use the core, it will have a hardness and bready […]
It's no secret that moonshine-based nutcracker is valued for its high content of vitamins and microelements. All this wealth passes into it when the moonshine is infused with pine nuts. Pine nuts are unique: they contain a number of vitamins and micro- and macroelements, amino acids and antioxidants. Despite all its beneficial properties, drinking moonshine infused with pine […]
For those who are interested in producing homemade alcohol, it is difficult to select the best moonshine recipe - there are a lot of them. However, general patterns can be identified among them.
Let's look at what makes up the basis of homemade moonshine recipes.
First, ethyl alcohol. It is made by mixing yeast and sugar in water. Yeast consumes sugar and produces ethyl alcohol. The resulting mixture is the wort.
Secondly, the wort is sent to infuse in a dark and warm place. In a sealed container to prevent oxygen from entering, the fermentation process takes place there. It is important to remember to release carbon dioxide from the container.
The liquid obtained after the yeast has absorbed all the sugar is called mash. Recipes for home brew for moonshine are also varied.
And third: ethyl alcohol has been obtained, but you still can’t drink it, it’s fraught with poisoning. Therefore, it must be purified by distillation. There are two ways here: distillation (splitting a liquid into components due to the difference in their boiling points) or rectification (several distillations one after another). The second method produces cleaner products.
The whole process takes place using moonshine stills. They have one operating principle, although there are many varieties.
Even the simplest recipes for making moonshine at home are based on heating the mash and helping the alcohol begin to actively evaporate. Its vapors are discharged through a pipe cooled in one section, due to which the alcohol becomes liquid again.
Using homemade devices you can often get weak, heavy-tasting or bad-smelling moonshine. The solution to this problem is simple - buy a moonshine still. The product obtained from them will delight you with its purity and pleasant taste, no worse than store-bought vodka. In addition, it is perfect for many recipes for homemade moonshine tinctures.
Making sugar moonshine can be called a classic of domestic moonshine. In terms of love and popularity among Russians, this alcohol is the undisputed leader. There are many recipes for sugar mash and distillation methods, but not all methods give good results. So that beginners do not waste precious raw materials, I will tell you how to properly brew moonshine at home. If you follow the technology, the drink will turn out better than most store-bought vodkas. We will consider in detail all the nuances of the process.
First, I advise you to take care of the cleanliness of the containers you use. The container should be rinsed with hot water and wiped dry with a clean cloth. The cleaner the bottles and pans, the higher the quality. Many novice moonshiners make the mistake of neglecting sterility, and then complain about a foreign smell or taste.
As an example, I will give the exact amount of ingredients that are needed to prepare just over 5 liters of forty-degree moonshine using classical technology:
- sugar – 6 kg;
- water – 24 liters;
- dry yeast – 120 grams (or 600 grams pressed);
- citric acid – 25 grams.
Sugar mash recipe
1. Calculation of proportions. First, let's decide on the amount of moonshine that is needed at the output. At home, 1 kg of sugar produces 1.1-1.2 liters of moonshine with a strength of 40 degrees. But when making calculations, I advise you to increase the amount of ingredients by 10-15%, since for various reasons (temperature, quality of raw materials, improper distillation) the real yield is always less than the theoretical one by this amount.
For 1 kg of sugar add: 4 liters of water (plus another 0.5 liter if inverting is done) and 100 grams of pressed yeast or 20 grams of dry.
2. Inverting sugar. A very complex name refers to the preparation of ordinary sugar syrup with citric acid. The fact is that during fermentation, yeast first breaks down sugar into simple monosaccharides - glucose and fructose, and only then converts these substances into alcohol. Heating also kills pathogenic microorganisms on the surface of the sugar, which are waiting for more favorable conditions to reproduce (temperature and humidity). The activation of harmful microbes in the mash is undesirable, since it can negatively affect the smell.
Moonshine made from inverted sugar ferments faster and tastes better. Although the inversion step is considered optional, and most recipes only suggest dissolving the sugar in warm water, I still recommend boiling the syrup.
To invert sugar for mash, you need to do the following:
- Heat 3 liters of water to a temperature of 70-80°C in a large saucepan.
- Add sugar (6 kg) and mix slowly until a homogeneous mass is formed.
- Bring the syrup to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes, skimming the foam from the surface.
- So slow(a lot of foam will appear) add citric acid (25 grams), reduce the heat on the stove to a minimum.
- Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 60 minutes.
Ready syrup 3. Water preparation. A very important stage, during which the taste of the finished product is largely formed. Water for mash must meet hygienic standards and have no color, taste or smell.
Attention! Water for moonshine should not be boiled or distilled, as this will lead to the loss of oxygen needed by the yeast for fermentation.
4. Mixing ingredients. Pour the syrup prepared at stage 2 into a fermentation container, add cold water (24 liters). If using non-inverted sugar, dissolve it in warm water, stirring vigorously. In both cases, the optimal temperature of the finished mixture is 27-30°C.
The container cannot be filled to more than ¾ of the volume, otherwise during active foaming the mash may overflow over the edges and you will have to collect the product with a specific odor along the floor.
5. Adding yeast. Pressed yeast can be added directly to the container after kneading with clean hands. But it’s still better to first dissolve the briquette in a small amount of prepared wort (water and sugar), cover with a lid and wait until foam appears. Usually everything takes 5-10 minutes.
Before adding to the wort, dry yeast needs to be pre-activated. To do this, just strictly follow the instructions on the bag. In most cases, boiled water is cooled to 32-36°C, the required amount of dry yeast is added, covered with a lid, and the container itself is wrapped in thick cloth or placed in a warm place to maintain a stable temperature. After 20-40 minutes, a uniform foam cap will appear on the surface. This means that diluted dry yeast can be added to the wort.
When using baker's yeast, active foaming sometimes begins, which extends beyond the container. As a defoamer for mash, I recommend using a crumbled half of dry store-bought cookies or 10-20 ml of vegetable oil. Adding these products will not affect the quality of moonshine in any way.
The video shows a method for setting mash without inverting sugar with a hydromodule of 1:4.
6. Fermentation. Install a water seal on the bottle with mash and move it to a room with a stable temperature of 26-31°C (very important for normal yeast development). Braga made with inverted sugar has a pleasant caramel smell that does not spoil the air.
To maintain the temperature regime, cover the container with blankets or fur coats, insulate it with building thermal insulation materials, or install aquarium heaters with a thermoregulation system. Fermentation lasts from 3 to 10 days (usually 4-7). Every 12-16 hours I recommend shaking the mash for 45-60 seconds without removing the water seal. Thanks to shaking, excess carbon dioxide will evaporate, which interferes with the normal functioning of the yeast.
Signs that sugar mash is ready for distillation:
- bitter taste (all sugar is processed by yeast into alcohol);
- the release of carbon dioxide has stopped (the water seal does not gurgle);
- the upper layers of the mash became lightened, and sediment appeared at the bottom;
- the hissing stopped;
- there is an alcohol smell;
- a match brought to the mash continues to burn.
Use the signs comprehensively; you need at least 2-3 to appear at the same time, otherwise it’s easy to make a mistake. For example, an excess of sugar leads to the fact that the yeast dies before it has time to process everything. Most yeast fungi “fall asleep” at an alcohol concentration above 12%, so even the finished mash will remain sweet.
7. Degassing and clarification. Making the right moonshine is unthinkable without this stage. It's time to remove the sugar mash from the yeast sediment by pouring into a large saucepan through a straw, then heat to 50°C. High temperature kills remaining yeast and promotes the release of carbon dioxide from the liquid.
Pour the degassed mash back into the bottle and lighten it with bentonite (preferably) - natural white clay, which is sold in bags and as part of cat litter. Verified brands (at the time of publication): “Pi-Pi-Bent”, “WC Closet Cat”, “Kotyara”.
Bentonite Attention! When choosing white clay, make sure that the composition does not contain aromatic additives that will irrevocably spoil homemade moonshine. Also, fermentation must be completely finished before clarification, otherwise the method will not work.
To clarify 20 liters of mash, you need to grind 2-3 tablespoons of bentonite in a coffee grinder and dissolve in 250 ml of warm water. Then stir and wait until the clay turns into a thick mass, reminiscent of rich sour cream. This takes 10-15 minutes.
Add bentonite to the mash, close the container tightly and shake vigorously for several minutes. Next, leave the mash alone for 15-30 hours, after which you can begin distillation.
The sediment should not be poured into the sewer; cement plugs may appear there, which are then difficult to eliminate.
The use of bentonite removes foreign impurities that did not precipitate during fermentation. As a result, the mash loses its unpleasant yeasty smell, and distilled moonshine is much easier to clean, since the clay removes most of the harmful substances.
Clarified mash How to distill moonshine
8. First distillation. Drain the bentonite-clarified mash from the sediment into a distillation cube. The purpose of the first distillation is to separate the alcohol from other substances. Many novice and lazy moonshiners stop there, never having tasted the taste of real homemade moonshine made according to all the rules.
Distillation is performed over low heat. I propose immediately dividing the output into factions: “heads”, “body” and “tails”. Collect the first 50 ml per 1 kg of sugar in a separate container. According to our proportions, this is 300 ml of “pervak” - the head fraction, which can only be used for technical needs; due to harmful impurities, this distillate is hazardous to health.
Then select the “body” - the useful middle fraction, called raw alcohol. Stop sampling when the strength of the distillate (in the stream) drops below 40 degrees. It is better to determine the strength with an alcohol meter (necessarily at a temperature of 20°C), but you can also use the traditional method - while the distillate is burning in a spoon, continue sampling.
The last thing to collect in a separate container is the “tails” - the third fraction containing a lot of fusel oils. This distillate can be poured into the next mash (after removal from the sediment) to increase the strength or not collected at all, turning off the moonshine still after collecting the “body”.
9. Cleaning. Before the second distillation, the middle fraction (raw alcohol) needs additional purification from harmful impurities. There is no single generally accepted method; any can be used.
Purifying sugar moonshine with charcoal is considered natural and environmentally friendly, but with the right approach, for example, potassium permanganate with baking soda also gives good results. The main thing before cleaning is to dilute the distillate with water to 15-20 degrees so that the molecular bonds become weaker.
10. Second distillation. Pour the diluted raw alcohol (necessarily for fire safety purposes) into the distillation cube and begin distillation over low heat. As the first time, especially if you are brewing moonshine for yourself, cut off the “heads” - the first 50 ml for each kilogram of added sugar.
Immediately after selecting the first (head) fraction, it is advisable to replace the steam chamber if the module is provided for in the design of the moonshine still. Next, until the strength in the stream drops below 40 degrees, select the main product.
11. Dilution and settling. At the last stage, dilute homemade moonshine with water to the desired strength (usually 40-45%). To make the taste of the drink softer and more balanced, pour the finished product into bottles, cap it, and let it brew for 3-4 days in a cool, dark place. This time is enough for the completion of chemical reactions that occur when mixing liquids.
Stanislav shared the secrets of diluting alcohol with water especially for Alkofan.
Moonshine is a strong alcoholic drink obtained by distilling alcohol-containing raw materials (mash).
Sugar can be used as a raw material for making mash (easiest at home), or berries and fruits containing sugar (fructose) in pure form, or starch-containing raw materials (rye, wheat, barley, corn, etc.) which are processed into sugar using malt or malt enzymes.
Let's take a closer look at the preparation of moonshine from the main types of raw materials:
1. Moonshine from sugar
This method is the simplest on preparation. To prepare it you only need sugar, yeast and water.
The ratio of components is approximately the following: for 1 kilogram of sugar - 5 liters of water and 100 g of pressed yeast, or 18 grams of dry yeast such as Saf-Moment or Saf-Levure.
Sugar is dissolved in warm water, then yeast is added, pressed yeast must first be diluted in part of the sugar solution and wait until it is activated (3-5 minutes), dry yeast can simply be scattered over the surface of the sugar solution.
The container is closed with a water seal.
The mash ferments for about 7 days, after which it is drained from the yeast sediment and distilled in a moonshine still.
To refine such moonshine You can add various fruits and berries to the mash, such as grapes, plums, blackthorn, etc., they impart their taste and aroma to the finished drink, and also help the fermentation process due to the wild yeast contained on their surface.
2. Moonshine from starch raw materials.
Grain moonshine is considered one of the most noble, thanks to its original taste and aroma. It is much more difficult to prepare than sugar, but the result is worth it, try it yourself! Grain, flour or cereals are suitable as raw materials.
First, a little theory.
Grains contain a lot of starch, which contains sugar molecules. Starch can be broken down into simpler molecules, including sugar, which is precisely what is necessary for alcoholic fermentation. To convert starch into sugar, enzymes are needed, which are contained in sprouted grains - malt.
Enzymes work catalytically. Therefore, you can sprout 1 kg of grain, grind it and, with the help of its enzymes, turn starch from 5-6 kg of unsprouted grain (crushed), or cereal, or flour into sugar. The starch in unsprouted crushed grains, cereals, and flour is closed inside the cells. To make it available to enzymes, unsprouted grain (crushed, or cereal or flour) must be boiled - the cell membranes burst and the starch goes into solution, this solution is called wort.
It is not necessary to use malt to obtain sugar from starch; there are ready-made enzymes for this: amylosubtilin, which helps liquefy the wort and glucavamorin, which promotes saccharification.
The saccharification process itself requires great care and strict adherence to temperature conditions, for example, enzymes cannot withstand overheating above 75 degrees, and if underheated, fermentation will not be complete. Also, at the end of the fermentation process, it is important to sharply cool the wort to room temperature, this is necessary so that various microorganisms do not have time to multiply in the resulting nutrient medium during gradual cooling, otherwise the yeast may die.
After saccharification- obtaining sugar from starch, the wort is fermented with conventional yeast, for example Saf-Moment or Saf-Levure.
Another complication making moonshine from starch The problem is that the fermented wort is very thick, so it cannot be distilled in a classic moonshine still, because it will simply burn to the walls of the still and the drink will be completely spoiled. Distillation of grain wort is carried out either by steam or in a water bath or some other bath, such as a glycerin bath.
3. Moonshine from berries and fruits.
Fruit moonshine has the taste and aroma of the fruits or berries from which it was prepared.
It is no more difficult to prepare than sugar, but it has its own characteristics.
If you have already decided on the raw materials, you need to find out what sugar content it contains.
Next, the raw materials are crushed.
BUT under no circumstances don't wash it, the surface contains wild yeast, we will still need it to ferment sugar and fructose!
The crushed or mashed raw material is placed in a fermentation container, it should ferment on its own (1-2 days).
After which sugar and water are added, if necessary.
The sugar content should be about 25% so to calculate how much to add, refer to the table above.
For example, if you are making plum brandy (the sugar content in plums is approximately 10%), then for 10 liters of crushed berries you will need 1.5 kg of sugar.
If you dilute it with water, then sugar is added to it as in a regular sugar mash.
If distillation involves using heating elements or a stove for heating, then make sure that the raw materials are completely fermented, otherwise the residues or fruit peels may burn, which will lead to spoilage of the entire product and rapid wear of the heating elements.
To distill fruit mashes, especially thick ones, it is recommended to use a steam generator or a water bath to prevent the possibility of burning.
In the last few years, in shopping centers you can find specialized stores selling goods for home brew. The increase in the number of such stores is due to a sharp decline in the quality of alcoholic beverages in the public retail chain. This article explains the basic principles ethanol synthesis or raw alcohol, which can become a good business in a BP environment. After reading it, you will understand what the quality of the resulting product depends on.
Ethanol synthesis or ethyl raw alcohol– a complex multi-stage process. At the first stage, it is prepared feedstock. It can be any product rich in sucrose or starch: sugar beets, grapes, potatoes, apples, halva, molasses, etc. The most common and well-known is sugar. Sugar is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:4, after which it is added to this solution yeast.
The quality of water and yeast determines how quickly you will get matured mash, suitable for distillation. When using tap water, it must first be boiled and cooled to remove the chlorine it contains.
Yeast, before adding them to the sugar solution, it is necessary to “revive” them - that is, place them in warm water (30-35 degrees Celsius) and keep them in this water for about half an hour until foam appears in the yeast solution. After this, the yeast is added to the sugar solution. For better dissolution of sugar, the water in which it is planned to be dissolved is preheated to a temperature of 80-90 degrees. (Or, what is more effective, they boil sugar in it for several hours to obtain the so-called “invert sugar”. In any case, after receiving the medium, it is cooled to a temperature of about 30 degrees. 27 - ideal conditions for the growth and functioning of yeast - Notes from knowledgeable people.)
After adding yeast, the fermentation process begins, lasting several weeks with strict adherence to temperature and constant removal of carbon dioxide, which is formed during fermentation. When the temperature drops, fermentation stops, and when the temperature rises, the yeast may die. Therefore, the temperature must be strictly controlled. Thermostats for aquarium fish do an excellent job of this task.
A water seal is used to remove gases. The simplest design of the shutter is a hose, one end of which is inserted into a fermentation tank, and the other into a jar of water. At the very beginning, the fermentation process proceeds rapidly, with abundant gas formation, so it is necessary to monitor the free flow of the hose.
The fermentation process is not fast and takes an average of 14 days. It can be accelerated by actively mixing the fermentable raw materials. During Prohibition, household washing machines were even used for this purpose.
Special yeast with the prefix “turbo” in the name is also available for sale. This means that yeast contains enzymes that speed up its growth. When using such yeast, a product ready for distillation can be obtained in a few days. At the end of this stage, the product should be mash - a low-alcohol raw material for the subsequent synthesis of ethanol. The strength of the mash, as a rule, does not exceed 14-16 degrees. Braga is a light translucent solution with yeast sediment in a fermentation container.
The next step is distillation or obtaining raw alcohol(moonshine). Yeast-filtered mash is poured into the distillation container and heated to a certain temperature. Vapors from the mash evaporating when heated pass through a coil tube lowered into cold water. During the heating process, the temperature of the mash begins to rise and when it reaches 65-70 degrees, the first drops of liquid with a characteristic pungent odor appear at the outlet of the coil tube. This is the so-called first"(first fraction), which is acetone.
« Pervach"is a strong chemical poison that can cause severe liver damage even in small doses. In industry it is used as a solvent called industrial alcohol. Collect it in a separate container. You will wipe the contacts with a thin layer. In general, it has a lot of uses, since it is a good solvent for fatty deposits. With a distillation cube capacity of 10 liters, you will get at least 200 ml of “pervach”.
When the temperature of the mash vapor reaches 73 degrees, the separation of the primary material stops and begins to flow out of the coil drop by drop raw alcohol, aka moonshine. The heat should be reduced, otherwise the mash brought to a boil will throw sedimentary yeast into the coil tube, which will give the drink a characteristic white color. The temperature on the thermometer stabilizes at 73.0-73.5 degrees and its further growth stops until the raw material with maximum strength is separated. As a rule, this is 40-60 degrees (depending on the initial strength of the mash).
As soon as an increase in temperature is recorded (over 74 degrees Celsius), further distillation must be stopped. If you continue the process while the temperature on the thermometer continues to rise, you will feel the characteristic smell of fusel oils, and the strength of the product will drop in parallel with the increase in temperature.
If you are interested in quality rather than quantity, then it is wiser to interrupt the distillation process at the very beginning of the temperature rise. Having opened the distillation cube, you will be surprised that a fairly large amount of mash remains in it (at least 1/3 of the volume of the cube), only now it is called not mash, but bard. This is a high-calorie raw material rich in enzymes, which in the old days was poured into the manger of cattle so that they would gain weight faster. How you use the stillage is up to you.
What to pay attention to. With a distillation cube capacity of 10 liters and a mash strength of 16 degrees, you should get about 4 liters of high-quality raw alcohol, requiring neither filtration nor re-distillation. This is with scrupulous adherence to the process. Where did the remaining 6 liters go? 200-300 ml – primary product, 4 liters of product, and the rest stillage. Don't mind 6 liters? It's a pity! From them you can get about 2.5 liters of moonshine with a strength of about 30%. True, this moonshine will have a strong smell of fusel oils and will taste unpleasant.
So, it’s a pity to pour out the bard not only for you. At distilleries, where the distillation stills have capacities 100-1000 times larger than yours, tens and hundreds of liters have to be drained of the first liquid and stillage. And these are losses. Therefore, it is not profitable for alcohol producers to produce high-quality products. That is why the alcoholic drinks that reach the shelves are by no means of the best quality. Think about it. Take care of your health! Maybe buy some alcohol mashine- not such a bad idea?
Editor's note
We remind you that at this particular moment only the distribution of home-made alcoholic products is prohibited. For personal use, moonshine can be distilled calmly, but once you start distributing it, especially for money, and not “free of charge, as a service,” then that’s it, administration at a minimum.
UPD: in response to numerous comments
The article is for informational purposes only, intended to give a general idea of the processes that ensure the synthesis of raw alcohol. We deliberately do not consider private cases related to the industrial production of this substance, as well as special cases of manufacturing various wine and vodka products. Nevertheless, we cannot help but respond to the fair comments of our readers. Yes, yeast will most likely die at the specified temperature, since the optimal conditions for its existence are 27 degrees Celsius. Yes, invert sugar is a more efficient medium for their growth, allowing for greater production. Yes, alcohol is produced in production using hydrolysis and rectification methods. And to many other statements the answer is also “yes”. So thank you, dear readers, for fighting so zealously for the clarity of numbers and wording. We are grateful to you for your advice and will try to take them into account in our next articles on this topic.
It seems like everyone knows about moonshine, a strong alcoholic drink. And many people mistakenly believe that moonshine “loses” in quality to more noble drinks. In fact, this is absolutely not true, because if everything is done correctly, following the technology of each stage without violations, you will get an ideal product - transparent, strong, and most importantly - your own!
Homemade moonshine recipes are very diverse, because the peculiarity of the drink is that it can be prepared from a wide variety of raw materials. Grain, berries, fruits, vegetables, all kinds of jams, tomato paste, starch and even candies - all of the above is suitable for infusing mash and subsequent distillation, while each type of raw material makes it possible to prepare a certain type of moonshine. From grains you will get a strong and strong drink, from berry mash - a more aromatic one, the main thing is that the raw materials are of high quality.
Sugar mash recipe.
1.Calculation of proportions. First, they determine the amount of moonshine that is needed at the exit. At home, 1 kg of sugar produces 1.1-1.2 liters of moonshine with a strength of 40 degrees. When making calculations, I advise you to increase the amount of ingredients by 10-15%, since for various reasons (temperature, quality of raw materials, improper distillation) the actual yield is less than the theoretical one.
For 1 kg of sugar add: 3 liters of water (plus 0.5 liters if inverting is done) and alcoholic Turbo yeast.
2. Inverting sugar. A very complex name refers to the preparation of ordinary sugar syrup. The fact is that during fermentation, yeast first breaks down sugar into simple monosaccharides - glucose and fructose, and only then processes these substances into the alcohol we need. Heating also kills pathogenic microorganisms on the surface of the sugar, which are waiting for more favorable conditions for reproduction (temperature, humidity, etc.). The activation of harmful microbes in the mash is extremely undesirable.
Inverted sugar moonshine ferments faster because we do some of the work with yeast instead, and tastes better than its regular counterpart. Although the inversion step is considered optional and most moonshine recipes only suggest dissolving sugar in warm water, I still recommend boiling the syrup.
To invert sugar for mash you need to do the following:
1. Heat 3 liters of water to a temperature of 70-80°C in a large saucepan.
2. Add sugar (6 kg) and mix slowly until a homogeneous mass is formed.
3. Bring the syrup to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Gradually add citric acid (25 grams), reduce the heat on the stove to a minimum.
5. Close the pan with a lid and boil for 60 minutes.
3. Water preparation. A very important stage, during which the taste of the finished product is largely formed. Water for mash must meet all hygienic standards and have no color, taste, or smell.
Before preparing sugar moonshine, I recommend letting tap water sit for 1-2 days. Thanks to this, its hardness is reduced, and harmful impurities settle at the bottom. Then the water is drained from the sediment through a thin tube.
4. Mixing ingredients. The syrup prepared at the 2nd stage should be poured into a fermentation container, and cold water (18 liters) should be added there. If you have not inverted the sugar, then you need to dissolve it in warm water, stirring vigorously. In both cases, the optimal temperature of the finished mixture is 27-30°C.
The container cannot be filled to more than ¾ of the volume, otherwise during active foaming the mash may overflow over the edges and you will have to collect it all over the floor.
5. Adding yeast. To do this, just strictly follow the instructions on the bag. In most cases, boiled water is cooled to 32-36°C, the required amount of dry yeast is added, covered with a lid, and the container itself is wrapped in thick cloth or placed in a warm place to maintain a stable temperature. After 20-40 minutes, a uniform foam cap will appear on the surface. This means that diluted dry yeast can be added to the wort.
When using baker's yeast, active foaming sometimes begins, which extends beyond the container. As a defoamer for mash, I recommend using a crumbled half of dry store-bought cookies or 10-20 ml of vegetable oil. Adding these products will not affect the quality of moonshine in any way.
6. Fermentation. A water seal is installed on the bottle with mash and transferred to a room with a stable temperature of 26-31°C (very important for the normal development of yeast). Braga made with inverted sugar has a pleasant caramel smell that does not spoil the air.
To maintain the temperature regime, the container is covered with blankets or fur coats, insulated with building thermal insulation materials, or aquarium heaters with a thermoregulation system are installed. Fermentation lasts from 3 to 10 days (usually 4-5). Every 12-16 hours I recommend shaking the mash for 45-60 seconds without removing the water seal. Thanks to this, you will remove excess carbon dioxide that interferes with the normal functioning of the yeast.
Signs that sugar mash is ready for distillation:
bitter taste (all sugar has been converted into alcohol);
the release of carbon dioxide has stopped (the water seal does not gurgle);
the upper layers of the mash became lightened, and sediment appeared at the bottom;
the hissing stopped;
there is an alcohol smell;
a match brought to the mash continues to burn.
All these signs are used in combination; it is necessary that at least 2-3 of them appear simultaneously, otherwise it is easy to make a mistake. For example, an excess of sugar leads to the fact that the yeast dies before it has time to process everything. They cannot live at alcohol concentrations higher than 12%, so even ready-made mash will be sweet.
7. Degassing and clarification of mash. Making the right moonshine is unthinkable without this stage. First, the mash is removed from the yeast sediment by pouring it into a large saucepan through a straw. Next, the mash is heated to 50°C. High temperature kills the remaining yeast and promotes the release of carbon dioxide from the liquid, which we do not need at all.
The degassed mash is poured back into the bottle and clarified with bentonite, a natural white clay. It is sold in bags.
To clarify 20 liters of mash, 2-3 tablespoons of bentonite are ground in a coffee grinder and dissolved in 250 ml of warm water. Then mix and wait until the clay turns into a thick mass, reminiscent of rich sour cream. This takes 10-15 minutes.
Bentonite is added to the mash, the container is tightly closed and shaken vigorously for several minutes. Next, the mash is left alone for 15-30 hours, after which it is ready for distillation. The sediment should not be poured into the sewer, where it can create cement plugs, which are then difficult to eliminate.
The use of bentonite removes foreign impurities that did not precipitate during fermentation. As a result, the unpleasant yeast smell disappears from the mash, and the distilled moonshine is much easier to clean, since most of the harmful substances will be removed by the clay and will not get into it.
How to distill moonshine.
8. First distillation. The mash clarified with bentonite is poured from the sediment into a distillation cube. The purpose of the first distillation is to separate the alcohol from other substances. Many novice and lazy moonshiners stop there, never having tasted the taste of real homemade moonshine made according to all the rules.
Distillation is performed over low heat. We will immediately divide the entire output into factions: “heads”, “body” and “tails”. The first 50 ml of yield per 1 kg of sugar is collected in a separate container. According to our proportions, this is 300 ml of “pervak” - the head fraction, which can only be used for technical needs (ignition for a fire, glass washer...). It is so harmful that drinking it is dangerous to your health.
After this, the “body” is selected - the useful middle fraction, called raw alcohol, for which we prepare moonshine from sugar. Selection is stopped when the distillate strength drops below 40 degrees. It is better to determine the strength with an alcohol meter (necessarily at a temperature of 20°C), but you can also use the traditional method - while the distillate is burning in a spoon, we continue sampling.
The last to be collected in a separate container are the “tails” - the third fraction containing a lot of fusel oils. This distillate can be poured into the next mash to make it stronger, or not collected at all.
9. Cleaning. Before the second distillation, the middle fraction (raw alcohol) needs additional purification from harmful impurities. There is no single and universally accepted method, so you can use any one you like.
Purifying sugar moonshine with charcoal is considered natural and environmentally friendly, but with the right approach, for example, potassium permanganate with baking soda also gives good results. The main thing is to dilute the distillate with water to 20-30 degrees before cleaning.
10. Second distillation. The diluted raw alcohol is poured into the distillation cube and the distiller is turned on at minimum heat. As in the first case, especially if you are brewing moonshine for yourself, I advise you to select the “heads” - the first 50 ml for each kilogram of added sugar.
Immediately after selecting the first (head) fraction, I advise you to replace the steam chamber, if it is provided for by the design of your moonshine still. Then, until the strength drops below 40 degrees, the main distillate is selected.
11. Dilution and settling. At the last stage, homemade moonshine is diluted with water to the desired strength. To make the taste of the drink softer and more balanced, I advise you to pour it into bottles, cap it, let it brew for 3-4 days in a cool, dark place, and only then start tasting it with relatives and friends.
