What should be done if the mash is sweet? How to start a brew that has stopped fermenting, but still sweet.

The most important detail in home brewing is a properly prepared mash. You can determine its status with special tools. But any moonshiner with experience can determine its readiness by external and taste characteristics. For people who first decide to start moonshine, it can be difficult to determine whether the mash is ready for distillation or not.

Folk ways to determine readiness

The quality of moonshine depends on the readiness of the mash for distillation. It is very important not to miss this moment and learn how to determine it correctly. If the mash is overexposed, it will become sour and the taste of moonshine will deteriorate. And with early distillation, there is a smaller yield, which is why some of the sugar disappears. To find out that the mash is ready for distillation, there are several proven folk methods. To make the result more accurate, use all methods at once:

• By time. You can determine how much mash for moonshine should cost by time, but you should not completely rely on this method, since it is not too accurate. For fermentation of a simple sugar mash, which includes water, sugar and yeast, it takes from 4 to 14 days. It depends on the temperature and humidity of the room, as well as on the quality of the raw materials used. (with starch content) about 3-7 days is sufficient. The longest period of 20 to 60 days is required for grape mash without yeast.
• By type. If the foam ceases to stand out, the hissing stops and no bubbles appear on the surface, the mash is ready. In this case, the remains of the yeast will settle to the bottom, and the top layer of the mash will become light.
• Taste. The most accurate way to determine the quality and readiness of mash is the taste. The sweet taste suggests that little time has passed and the yeast did not have time to process all the sugar into alcohol. Taste with bitterness - mash is ready for distillation.
• With a match. Carbon dioxide, released during fermentation in large quantities, displaces oxygen from the bottle. This allows you to determine the readiness of the mash. A lit match is brought to the surface. If it is damp, then the fermentation process is still going on. If the match continues to burn, then, therefore, the fermentation is over and you can start distillation.

Professional verification method

Two devices will help to accurately verify the quality of the final product: a hydrometer and an alcoholometer. Even experienced moonshiners prefer to use these devices, which are the most accurate, instead of folk methods. But since during such a check the mash will have to be drained, they are used for fermentation tanks with faucets. Ways to determine the readiness of mash for distillation using instruments:

Need to know! The resulting mash is needed immediately, as it is not stored for a long time.

Inventory for must be clean, otherwise any contamination can spoil the taste of the product. Therefore, the container is thoroughly washed in hot water and dried. As an inventory you can use:

It is important to know! Do not use galvanized dishes for fermentation. With prolonged contact of the liquid with zinc, the metal is oxidized, and for a person this threatens with serious diseases. Experts recommend using 25-38-liter plastic milk cans. Stainless, enameled, porcelain and aluminum containers are suitable.

Raw material preparation

For the preparation of raw materials, it is recommended to take 3-4 liters of water and 100 g of live yeast per 1 kg of sugar. You can spoil the mash imperceptibly if you shift the extra yeast. To ferment the wort faster, add mineral top dressing. Top dressing is not needed if berries or juice are added to the composition. From 1 kg of sugar, 1 liter of moonshine is obtained. Cooking takes place in stages:

1. To obtain 5 liters of forty-degree moonshine, 6 kg of sugar, 120 g of dry yeast and about 27 liters of water are required.
2. First of all, prepare the water. Distilled and boiled water is not suitable. It is better to use spring water or draw from a tap and let it stand for several days. Then yeast is added to the water and put in a warm place for half an hour. If foam appears, then a small amount of ground crackers or dry cookies is poured into the composition. This will help stop the fermentation.
3. Then prepare the sugar syrup. Stir 6 kg of sugar with 3.12 liters of water, bring to a boil and add 4.8 citric acid. The syrup is boiled at 100-degree temperature from 1.5 to 2 hours.
4. Ready syrup is poured with water. Rye bread is crushed and added to the wort. For every 50 liters of wort, there is half a loaf. Thiamine can be added if desired.
5. To keep the yeast from dying, you need to monitor the temperature of the finished wort. It should be at the level of 30 degrees, but not exceed 35 degrees. Warming the container with a blanket or fur coat will help to avoid temperature fluctuations.
6. In a lid that is put on a jar, make holes. A water dispenser with a tube brought out to the outside will help get rid of the unpleasant odor released during fermentation.
7. The wort is stirred every 12 hours for a minute.

If the raw materials were prepared correctly, then the mash will be ready in 2-4 days.

There are a few little tricks that will help speed up the maturation of the mash. This is the conversion of sugar into syrup, compliance with the thermal regime and top dressing. Professional moonshiners have been using them for a long time and apply them with great success. It takes little time to prepare, and the result is of high quality and on time.

1. sugar processing. In order for yeast microorganisms to multiply several times faster and better process sugar into alcohol, they produce. Sugar inversion is the preparation of a simple syrup where sucrose is converted to glucose. In this form, the sugar becomes more accessible to the yeast. Sugar 3 kg is diluted in 1.5 liters of warm water. Then bring to a boil and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, removing the foam that appears from the surface. Then citric acid is slowly added to the mixture - 12 g. At this point, large amounts of foam will begin to form from the acid. The fire is set to a minimum, and the container is covered with a lid. Continue to cook for 1 hour. Before use, the finished syrup is cooled.
2. Compliance with the thermal regime. Subject to the correct thermal regime, the mash will be ready at the appointed time. It is very difficult to constantly maintain a room temperature of 28 degrees. Therefore, it is possible to keep the heat released inside the bottle during hydrolysis by covering it with a warm blanket or an old coat (fur coat). You can also maintain the temperature in the room with the help of an aquarium heater, while not being afraid of excessive overheating. A stove or heating equipment helps a lot. It is enough to put a bottle next to them.
3. Top dressing. yeast mushrooms are simple unicellular microorganisms. Their nutrition requires not only sugar, but also minerals that experienced moonshiners add to the water. Half a loaf of crumbled brown bread is added to a 15-liter bottle. Instead of bread, you can use about 10 crushed berries or replace them with 100 g of freshly squeezed juice. You can mix 150 g of tomato paste with water and add it to the mash. Fermentation will pass quickly, and moonshine will be soft when sprouted and dried grains are added. Very rarely, nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers or rotted chicken manure are used as top dressing. Moonshiners who prepare moonshine for themselves do not use this top dressing.

Do not forget about mixing the mash. If you shake the bottle with a closed water seal twice a day, the carbon dioxide released by the yeast will evaporate, and the fermentation process will be more active.

Fermentation problems and their elimination

If you find that the mash is not good, you need to establish the cause and try to eliminate it. The reason may be hidden in slow fermentation, excess sugar or poor raw materials:

• extra sugar. When, according to all indications, it is clear that the fermentation has stopped, but the taste of the mash remains sweet, it means that the components were added in the wrong ratio. Fermentation stopped when the alcohol content reached a critical state. Therefore, yeast microorganisms did not have time to process excess sugar. To fix the problem, you need to reduce the strength of the mash by adding water to it.
• Fermentation has become slow. If all signs show that fermentation continues, but the set period has expired, then unfavorable temperature conditions have been created in the room. At a temperature of +26 to +28 degrees, the vital activity of yeast microorganisms passes quickly, and at a temperature of +18-30 degrees - medium, which is also acceptable. At lower temperatures, fermentation does not stop, but becomes much slower. To fix the problem, the container is transferred to a warm place or carefully insulated.
• Poor quality raw materials. Sometimes fermentation does not start, although all the temperature and prescription conditions were observed. This is due to not very good raw materials. You can check how good the quality of the purchased yeast is by dropping it for 30 minutes in a glass of warm water, to which 2 tablespoons of sugar are added. The formation of foam on the surface indicates that the yeast is suitable for use.

Attention, only TODAY!

The quality of the resulting moonshine and the speed of its preparation from the initial ingredients worries many moonshiners. Every question that even remotely concerns the possibility of improving these parameters is discussed on the forums with a large number of arguments for and against, and disputes sometimes reach conflicts. The same applies to stirring the mash, namely, is it necessary to stir the mash during fermentation?

Mixing mash

Since this issue is being discussed quite vigorously, on the forums of moonshiners you can find a lot of examples given when mixing the mash is still necessary. If you do not consider the process of elementary acceleration of fermentation, then you can hear the following arguments:

• In the manufacture of mash from fruit raw materials, mixing leads to greater fermentation, especially the dense part. When using flour (not cereals) for the manufacture of mash, it can also settle to the bottom, and then the yeast does not reach the lower layers. Sometimes you can solve this problem by simply shaking the container, but you will have to do this several times a day, which is quite difficult.
• Some moonshiners note the souring of yeast in the foam.
• In some cases agitation is required if, for example, pulp is floating on top of the foam.
• Another opinion regarding this is due to the fact that a certain amount of solid surfaces is necessary for the formation of gas bubbles, and if they are not enough, then the liquid can be oversaturated with CO2, which will inhibit the fermentation process.

The main problem in mixing the mash is the fact that it must be done without air access. Therefore, such a method as simply using a wooden spoon or stick for this when removing the water seal is not suitable.

1) Many use a magnetic stirrer for this purpose. Then, at the cooking stage, a magnetic stirrer anchor is placed in the wash, which looks like a small capsule. After the container is closed, it is placed on the stirrer platform and the mixing process is started. The advantage of such a stirrer is that you can adjust how long the process takes; as a rule, it is not too noisy and compact.

There are heated magnetic stirrers, this will be a very useful attribute when preparing mash, since at a temperature of 28-30 degrees the fermentation process is more efficient. But it will need to be regulated, and this requires additional installation of a thermometer. When using a magnetic stirrer, you should be very careful, as many of them are compact in size. This imposes certain restrictions on the weight that can be placed on them, because their main purpose is to mix reagents in small containers in a chemical laboratory.

In extreme cases, a magnetic stirrer can be made independently. But for this you need to have some knowledge in electronics.

2) Another quite affordable option is to buy a special water seal, which is designed in such a way that it allows you to mix the mash. The main disadvantage is that you have to do it manually.

3) The other is an aquarium pump. You need to use a more powerful one. She dives into herself. But there is an opinion that the aquarium pump cannot cope with mixing the mash, since it is designed for clean water.

As the experience of many moonshiners shows, this is not so. True, in this case, it is hardly suitable for pumping mash from container to container, but for this, many adapt the pump from the washing machine. The main problem of the aquarium pump is that if the solution is heated in parallel, and the pump suddenly turns on, then the mash can boil. To do this, you need to have a very powerful water seal.

4) Vibration unit for mixing mash. The principle of such an installation is similar to special machines that are used to shrink tiles or concrete. The principle of their work is that they make the bubbles move up. One of the options for such a stirrer is a design that mixes the mash in a small container, while rotating the entire container. But it is suitable only if the mash is in bottles or jars of no more than two liters, which is not always convenient.

Ultrasonic washing machines are also adapted for this purpose, special mixers are made with blades at the bottom of the fermentation vessel, and so on. Everyone chooses for himself the most successful design.

The main disadvantages of mixing mash

The question of whether it is necessary to interfere with the mash during fermentation is often asked by novice moonshiners. There are several arguments that are given as an argument "for", in particular, that the mixing process significantly speeds up the fermentation. Without additional devices, the mash is unlikely to stand for more than two weeks.

Most often, even with them, the gain will be insignificant - a day or two. Another thing is that some moonshiners on the Internet promise to speed up this process to a day or so. But think about it, will such a mash be done correctly? Wouldn't the output from it be too small? Many moonshiners come to the conclusion that moonshine is a process that does not tolerate haste.

Yeast, which are living microorganisms, takes part in the fermentation process. So they still need some time to do their job. Many moonshiners prove from their own experience that the process of mixing the mash in total does not affect the time of its readiness.

Why is it not necessary to interfere with the mash?

What happens in mash during fermentation:

1) The most favorable conditions are created, first of all, this means the absence of oxygen. And also the temperature regime and the presence of sucrose are very important. After all conditions are met, the process of processing sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide begins.

2) Next, the yeast is distributed evenly throughout the container through a process similar to boiling. Small bubbles of carbon dioxide rise from the bottom and walls, similar to a bottle of champagne or other carbonated drink. The same process includes mixing: together with gas bubbles, yeast particles move from the lower level to the upper one.

3) Gradually, the yeast descends, and the upper part is deposited. This is because alcohol accumulates on top, and a sufficient amount of it leads to the fact that the yeast falls into suspended animation.

Why does alcohol get to the top of the vessel? From the school physics course, we know that its density is less than the density of water, the more sugary liquid that settles to the bottom of the tank. Next, the yeast is deposited naturally. Therefore, a natural thing happens, which is necessary, otherwise the yeast will then burn in the distillation vessel, thereby worsening the taste and smell of the product. It turns out the following: by lifting a sugary liquid from the bottom of the mash and mixing it with alcohol, we, on the contrary, slow down the fermentation process.

The process of degassing mash

Degassing is the process of mixing the mash at the end of the fermentation process. More precisely, this is a whole range of measures aimed at removing carbon dioxide from the mash before distillation.

Why is this needed? In the process of fermentation, yeast, as already mentioned, process sugar. Moreover, one molecule of glucose is converted into two molecules of ethanol and two molecules of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide creates excess pressure in the tank, and it must be removed. For this purpose, there is a water seal. It is a special water lock that releases carbon dioxide and prevents oxygen from getting inside.

As the process progresses, fermentation weakens, and the gas does not come out so much. At the very end, some of it remains in the inner layers of the liquid. Depending on the type of raw material, temperature and duration, some amount of carbon dioxide remains.

When making a carbonated alcoholic beverage, some carbon dioxide is a must. Sometimes, in order for gas to be present there, the fermentation process is restarted for a while. But usually in mash, gas is specially artificially removed.

They do this so that during the distillation there is no increased foaming, which in turn leads to flooding of the moonshine still and splashing. In the first case, the distillate goes into the receiving container with spitting, in the second it becomes cloudy due to the fact that part of the mash enters the coil.

Theoretically, if you leave the fermentation tank open for a few days, the gas will come out on its own. But with the access of air, the conversion of mash and alcohol into vinegar is activated, and the quality of the moonshine will deteriorate at the output and its quantity will decrease.

How is mash degassed?

After the end of fermentation, the mash must be drained from the sediment - its liquid part is poured through a tube into another container.

Next, the actual bubbles are removed. This can be done in two main ways: heating and stirring. In the first case, the mash is poured into a saucepan or into a bucket with a wide neck diameter. It is desirable that the container be made of stainless steel, but enameled is also suitable. Next, the mash is heated to 50 degrees at maximum heating power and periodically mixed. They wait until bubbles begin to rise from the bottom of the mash, and immediately remove it.

Since the process is fast, and the temperature to which the mash is heated is low, this prevents it from rotting. The disadvantage of this method is that it is rather cumbersome, since quite large batches of liquid have to be poured from vessel to vessel several times.

Mixing is usually done using a hammer drill, drill or aquarium pump. The first method is more reliable, as it is done faster. In order to mix the mash with a drill, you must have a construction nozzle, which is mainly intended for diluting plaster mixes. It, of course, must be new, since it is problematic to completely clean it.

We lower the drill into a container with mash and turn it on for five to seven minutes until the smell of carbon dioxide released from the vessel disappears. Important: to mix the mash with a drill, you must use only plastic barrels.

After degassing, you can use bentonite, gelatin or tea to clarify the mash. The distillation technique does not change when the mash is degassed, but in this case, 10% more raw materials can be poured into the distillation cube.

How else to speed up the fermentation process?

As you can see, there are arguments both for and against mixing mash. In any case, if you do not know how best to proceed, then you should not touch it. More experienced moonshiners can be advised: carefully monitor the technology of the mixing process and in no case allow the mash to be saturated with oxygen.

Some are trying to experiment: will the mash be ready earlier. To do this, it is worth recalling that the fermentation process depends on a large number of factors, only with the simultaneous observance of which it can be said that the mixing itself somehow affected.

If you still decide to resort to methods that speed up the fermentation process, then follow these basic recommendations that will help make the alcohol yield optimal:

• It is necessary to ensure the complete tightness of the container under the water seal.
• Keep the mash indoors, the temperature in which is about 25 degrees. In this case, it is necessary that the number of vibrations be minimal.
• Use only high-quality yeast, best tested in practice or recommended by friends. Try not to experiment with proportions.
• Do not drain the mash ahead of time, let it stand longer. It is optimal that this period exceeds a week.

And most importantly, do not interfere with Braga calmly “play”: it has been proven by many that she herself will ripen without your participation. Sometimes, if necessary, you can shake it up. As a last resort, if you need to get moonshine as soon as possible and at the same time you are ready to sacrifice its quantity, remove the mash earlier. But it is recommended to do this only as a last resort.

As you can see, the question of the need to mix the mash is quite difficult. Before making a decision, it is worth weighing all the pros and cons, it would also be useful to try this method on a small amount of raw materials. In most cases, mixing the mash is not required and can affect it for the worse. But in principle, mixing is not always superfluous, at least in situations in which it becomes necessary. But you need to do this wisely and prevent oxygen from entering the container with mash, violating its tightness.

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

Why mash wanders for a long time

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

Temperature regime

Braga can ferment poorly if the temperature in the room with the fermentation tank drops below 20 degrees. In the same way, too high temperatures harm the process, but overheating it is somewhat more difficult than overcooling it, because yeast can die only at temperatures above 35 degrees.

Read also:

Perhaps the proportions were not observed when laying the products

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

Poor quality products

Boiled, chlorinated or mineral water should not be used when preparing mash. You also need to check if the yeast has expired, do not use yeast that has been stored in unsuitable conditions. They must be diluted strictly in accordance with the instructions on the package. Fermentation is improved by special alcohol or wine yeast.

With a prolonged fermentation process, the mash can be fed

From natural products, a little rye bread, a handful of raisins or a couple of tablespoons of any jam will do. If there is an opportunity to get malt, it can be an excellent top dressing. Garden fertilizers are also often used - urea or superphosphates. You can add special yeast with additives. This will improve the process of yeast reproduction and fermentation will accelerate.

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

Why does the mash not roam

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

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What other factors can affect the cessation of fermentation?

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

How long does the mash wander

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

Many people are engaged in moonshine in our time. Beginning moonshiners often ask themselves the question: what to do if the mash is sweet? If you calculate the proportions correctly and use selected ingredients, you should end up with an excellent product.

Alcohol is always present in human life. Whether it's a holiday, just meeting up with old friends, or preparing a medicinal tincture, moonshine has been and is the best product to consume. The cheapness of the drink, high quality - these are only two reasons that contribute to the popularity of home brewing. The process is very simple: mix sugar, water and yeast. But in any technology there is always something difficult. Making mash is only the first step towards the end result. Driving moonshine with a modern apparatus is not so difficult. The main thing is to create all the conditions for the brew to turn out.

Fermentation conditions

To understand why Braga stopped playing, you need to know the intricacies of the technology. The fermentation process is quite simple: yeast bacteria actively process sugar into liquid, while the product of their vital activity, alcohol, is released. When its concentration begins to exceed 12%, yeast bacteria die and fermentation stops. In the active phase of the process, foam forms on the surface of the mash, so experts often advise not to fill the vessel to the top, but only by a third. Then the foam leaves, and carbon dioxide begins to be released from the liquid, which extinguishes the flame brought to the surface of the solution.

At the final stage, after increasing the concentration of alcohol, the bacteria die, the mash becomes transparent, and a sediment can be observed at the bottom.

Temperature plays an important role in the fermentation process. Everyone knows that yeast loves heat, "fall asleep" at low temperatures and die at high enough. Therefore, anyone who wants to bring the fermentation process to its logical conclusion needs to know exactly what temperature conditions need to be created for the active life of yeast. All about the process of mash fermentation, see this video:

It is possible to almost completely stop the work of yeast bacteria if the temperature of the mash drops below 18ºС. And when heated above 32ºС, bacteria die. Therefore, the conclusion is as follows: the optimal temperature for the active processing of sugar by yeast is from 20 to 25ºС. When kneading the mash, warm water is used, which immediately starts the fermentation process. But if you do not wrap the container, or do not put it in a warm place, over time it will cool down and the yeast will “hibernate”.

One of the reasons for stopping fermentation is non-compliance with the necessary proportions. Too much sugar in the water can act as a preservative. Another problem in this case can be a high concentration of alcohol, which will lead to the death of yeast bacteria, and they will not have time to process all the sugar.

What to do with unfermented mash

Before sounding the alarm, you need to think about whether it’s too early to want a result. Do not wait for the appearance of foam on the surface of the liquid immediately. Depending on the kneading process and the quality of the products used, fermentation can start even after 8 hours.

If the diagnosis of “freezing” is made, then in order to begin the process of resuscitation of fermentation, you need to understand the reasons for what happened.

If there were violations of the temperature regime, you should simply put the container in a warm place. In case of overheating, only a new portion of fresh yeast can save the situation.

Perhaps the problem lies in an overdose of sugar. At the initial stage, its concentration should not exceed 15-20%. After analyzing the amount of added sugar, we draw conclusions. If it is too large and led to the death of bacteria, you need to add water and, of course, live yeast. Otherwise, you need to give them more raw materials for processing, that is, add sugar.

Also, the use of low-quality yeast can be a problem. Partially or completely dead bacteria in this product may either not start the fermentation process at all, or not bring it to the end. In this case, you need to buy a new, better product, and add it to the sweet liquid. Live alcohol yeast is best, not dry.

The quality of the water is of great importance. Chlorinated water can stop the fermentation process and even kill yeast bacteria. It is better to use oxygen-rich filtered, spring, well or bottled drinking water.

A few last words

It happens that all measures for the resuscitation of the mash did not lead to a positive result. What to do in this case? You can just pour out the liquid and give up trying to become a successful moonshiner forever. However, let's not forget that in the case of busting with the amount of sugar, the alcohol in the mash has already reached the required level. In this case, the product should be distilled, although the yield of vodka will be much less than originally planned. But this does not matter either: unprocessed sugar remains in the stillage. To this residue, you just need to add water, yeast and half of the amount of sugar that was originally introduced. See the recipe for a proper marriage in this video:

Experienced moonshiners even believe that such a mash can produce more of the final product, and the fermentation time in this case will be several days less.

It is impossible to ignore such a question as unusual raw materials for home brewing. After all, you can use not only sugar, but also products containing it. The well-known Buryachanka is made from sugar beet cake, available to almost everyone who lives in the provinces. Due to the rawness of the beets, vodka can turn out with an unpleasant smell and taste, but this is unlikely to stop anyone. When mixing mash, sour jam, honey, ripe or rotten fruits are often used. In such cases, the correct proportions must be observed, however, for experienced moonshiners this is not a particular problem, and vodka will turn out with the taste of the raw materials used.

What is a braga?

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

How to make mash from sugar?

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

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

What should be the temperature for successful fermentation?

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

How long does the mash take to cook?

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

How to determine if the mash is ready?

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

How much moonshine should be made from my mash?

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

What to do mash for moonshine?

You can make mash in any container intended for food products. The lid, it is better not to close tightly or have holes so that carbon dioxide can freely escape. Usually fermentation is very vigorous and no additional protection against foreign bacteria is required.

What is moonshine made of?

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

Why is moonshine obtained from mash when distilled?

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

How to drive moonshine?

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

COOKING AND PREPARING MASH

No. 1 Water for mash is of great importance?

The main requirement is that the water must be drinkable. Boiled or distilled water should not be used, as it may be too soft, lack the necessary micronutrients, and lack sufficient oxygen to ensure good yeast fermentation.

№2 What is better to take yeast?

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

№3 Why mash does not ferment well?

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

No. 4 Yeast loves heat, should you insulate a container with mash?

Yes, the yeast should be warm, but whether to insulate them additionally depends on the temperature in the room. And it is worth remembering that during fermentation, heat is also released. Well, in a cool room, it’s still worth wrapping up a barrel of mash, but constantly monitoring the temperature.

#5 Braga stopped fermenting, but still a little sweet, why?

Most likely, the yeast has already released so much alcohol that it is no longer able to develop normally. Apparently, the proportions were violated when preparing the mash - a lot of sugar was added or unsuitable yeast was taken.

№6 Can you make moonshine from fruit?

Of course you can. Moreover, such moonshine will be of better quality than sugar. But most likely, sugar will still have to be added, since fruits often do not have sufficient sugar content.

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

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

№8 How to store yeast?

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

№9 How to close the container with mash?

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

DISTILLATION (DISTILLATION)

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

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

№2 How fast to drive moonshine?

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

#3 Why does the distillation rate drop and do I have to turn up the heat?

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

№4 Why did my moonshine suddenly go cloudy? And what to do?

Most often, cloudy moonshine is obtained if mash is thrown into the refrigerator (earlier this phenomenon was called “shoulder strap”). Braga with a strong boil "runs away" like milk, and the foam goes into the tube. The heat needs to be reduced. This cloudy moonshine can be poured into the next portion of the mash for distillation.

#5 The distillation had to be abruptly interrupted. Then you can continue, and how?

You can just heat up and continue distillation. At the same time, it is no longer necessary to select the “heads” - they have already left for the first time.

CLEANING, IMPROVING

№1 Why clean moonshine?

During the fermentation of yeast, harmful substances are released that enter the moonshine. They need to be removed by cleaning. Many moonshiners are also prompted to additional cleaning by the unpleasant smell and turbidity of the drink. But still, the main argument in favor of cleaning is considered to be a large amount of harmful impurities, which sometimes even have a very pleasant smell.

#2 What cleaning methods are available at home?

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

№3 How to overtake moonshine 50% a second time, just pour it into the machine, and the process has begun!?

Before the second run, moonshine must be diluted to at least 40, and preferably up to 10%. Repeated moonshine is carried out not only to increase the strength, but also for additional purification from harmful and foul-smelling impurities. Distillation of strong moonshine makes it very difficult to separate impurities.

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

Yeast- For the best result, it is best to use ready-made pressed yeast, alcohol or beer, but you should not use yeast for baking, you will not succeed, but the yield of the final product will be much less.

Sugar- What can be said about ordinary store-bought sugar, “it is sugar and sugar in Africa”, the only thing that can distinguish it is what it is packaged in. it is more convenient to measure sugar in bags of 1 or 5 kg than from a bag of 50 kg.

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

Process

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

Wort

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

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

Add yeast diluted in water to a container. It is convenient to use measuring utensils for this.

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

Initial fermentation

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

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

Main fermentation

The main fermentation is also accompanied by a copious release of foam. In order not to use various defoamers (for example, crushed biscuits), they simply leave free space in the fermentation tanks. With foam, you need to be more careful, because it can climb out, clog the shutter, and most of the wort will simply disappear.

Fermentation

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

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