Making malt whiskey at home. How to make whiskey at home step by step

Whiskey is a noble drink, which is known for its exquisite taste throughout the world. Real gourmets prefer to enjoy this drink in its purest form. But that doesn't mean that whiskey-based cocktails are bad.

Despite all its prestige and sophistication, whiskey has a special cooking technology, implemented in life at home. Of course, this will take a lot of time and effort, but believe me, the result will be amazing.

Whiskey (whisky or whiskey) is an alcoholic drink, the production of which is based on any grain-based distillate.

Depending on the recipe, this may be:

barley;
corn;
buckwheat;
wheat.

The rest of the options will no longer have anything to do with this type of alcohol. For example:

Brandy- Produced from grape distillate.
Vodka- it is based on well-purified ethyl alcohol and water.
Cognac, like brandy, is made from distillates of grape origin with aging in oak barrels.
Rum- the result of the distillation of mash from molasses - a by-product of sugar cane processing.

The conclusion that can be drawn from this description is: only whiskey has a grain base (in the same caste bourbon and scotch).

Unlike most alcoholic beverages, whiskey strength is not regulated. On sale you can find varieties with a strength of 65-70%. For vodka and cognac, for example, the upper threshold of the fortress does not rise above 45%.

Note! Endurance also plays an important role. Whiskey is one of the few drinks that can (and, according to many connoisseurs, should) be aged for more than 5-7 years.

If the "aging" of whiskey goes on for decades, this does not add quality to alcohol, but, on the contrary, makes it less suitable for consumption. The drink becomes too strong. Justified exposure up to 12-15 years. Further, the quality and taste of it do not change or become "an amateur".

The best cooking recipes with the right proportions

So, it's time to consider the most popular ways to prepare this exquisite drink. Below are a few whiskey options. The technology of their manufacture resembles the standard moonshine brewing scheme, but here oak barrels also “come into play”.

Remember, you won't get a good homemade drink if you decide to infuse it for less than 5-6 months.

Single Malt Scotch

Scotch single malt whiskey - a drink that appeared in the country of the same name. The main value of this product is a long exposure, the terms of which vary from 8 to 20 years! In fact, this is a high-purity malt moonshine. The difference is only in the period and conditions of exposure. Below is a list of required ingredients and items for cooking:

grain malt (barley);
yeast;
burnt oak barrel;
fermentation tank;
saucepan (for boiling wort);
blender (or coffee grinder);
alcohol mashine;
thermometer.

The technology of its preparation is divided into several successive stages:

Soaking and germinating barley (the process lasts several days).
Drying and grinding of malt.
Wort preparation.
Sludge drain.
Braga preparation.
Distillation of moonshine.
Whiskey maturation.

More about cooking:

The first step in the manufacture of single malt whiskey according to this recipe is the boiling of the mash for mash:
- Grind the finished malt with a blender (a coffee grinder or food processor is also suitable) so that small grains are obtained at the output.
- Next, you need to mix water and malt (4:1). For example, 40 liters of water are required for 10 kg of product.
- Heat to a controlled temperature and stir so that the saccharification occurs evenly.
- First, heat the water (up to about 60-65 degrees) and only then add the malt.
- Cook at this temperature for 60-80 minutes, then start increasing. First, up to 70-72 degrees (maintain the temperature at this stage for about 10-15 minutes), then up to 78-80 degrees (literally 3-5 minutes).
- And the final stage of cooking will be a temperature of 100 degrees (cooking time takes 25-35 minutes).
- After going through all the steps, cool the wort to 20 degrees.
The next step is to prepare the dough. Take 100 ml. warm wort and add yeast. The fermentation process lasts approximately 3-4 days.
And finally, the final stages - distillation and infusion. Whiskey is driven in the same way as sugar or fruit mash. And of course, at the end of the process - aging in an oak barrel. The final color and aroma of the drink depends on the duration of the infusion.

Follow the preparation technology, and you will get an excellent single malt whiskey that is no different from store versions.

We offer you to watch a video with a good example of making whiskey from malt:

Irish

If you have a product such as green malt on hand, making whiskey from it at home is also not difficult. The only difference from the previous recipe is that first, the main ingredient must be passed through a meat grinder(and the grains are not dried during the preparation of the drink).

American rye

The main producers of rye whiskey are the USA and Canada.. The cooking method is also quite simple. So, let's consider everything in order, you will need:

7.5 liters of water;
1.5 kg of crushed rye;
450 g dry rye malt;
450 g green rye malt;
100 g of yeast;
1 tsp. amylans (enzyme A);
sourdough for yogurt (3-4 tsp).

Preparation is divided into several stages:

Pour malt and grain into water preheated to 70 degrees.
Maintain a temperature of 65-68 degrees for an hour.
Add enzyme A and maintain the temperature at 65 degrees while stirring the contents of the pot.
Cool to 30 degrees and add yeast and sourdough.
Leave for 3 days warm in an airtight container (creating mash).
Strain and distill to a fortress of 30%.
Dilute the distillate to 25-30° and distill with separation into fractions.
Infuse in oak barrels or on toasted oak chips.

Among the varieties of drinks, Jack Daniels whiskey, which is prepared according to a special recipe, is especially famous. Ready whiskey for 80% consists of corn distillate. The filtration process gives it a special taste - the drink is driven repeatedly through the coals of maple trees.

From vodka (moonshine, alcohol) on oak chips

To begin with, I would like to note that whiskey prepared in this way will be far from the original in terms of taste. In the process you will need:

saucepan (volume 3 liters);
alcohol (moonshine, vodka);
oak bark (3-4 large spoons);
50 g of charcoal;
a little prunes (dried apricots can serve as an alternative).

Prepare a container and fill it with oak bark, prunes and charcoal.
Fill it with water brought to a boil.
Pour alcohol (vodka, moonshine) into the container, stirring the contents thoroughly.
Close the lid tightly and leave for 4-6 months (if you have enough patience, increase the period to 10-12 months).
At the end of the exposure period, filter the drink (2 times is possible).

Advice! Before cooking, wrap oak chips in foil and roast them in the oven for 3 hours.

From concentrate

The recipe for making mash based on malt extract and dextrose is quite simple.

Ingredients for mash:

18 liters of water;
2.5 kg of malt concentrate for whiskey;
3 kg of dextrose;
65 g whiskey yeast

Pour 12 liters of water into the fermentation tank.
Heat another 3 liters to a temperature of 60 degrees, dissolve the concentrate and add to the fermentation tank.
Send dextrose there, it will instantly dissolve.
Heat the remaining 3 liters of water and add a container to end up with a temperature of 28-32 degrees.
Add yeast and mix everything thoroughly.
Close the container with a lid with a water seal and put it in a warm place, waiting for the mash to be ready (try to wait at least 10 days).
Ready mash must be distilled twice.
At the end of the distillation, dilute the distillate to 40-42 degrees and send it to infuse in oak barrels.

Can it be made with wheat or corn?

The answer to this question is obvious - of course, you can! Corn makes great bourbon. And wheat, in turn, is the same grain product as rye, so you can make excellent grain whiskey from it.

How to make a product with your own hands?

Be careful with your choice of yeast. Lager and ale yeasts are great.
Water. Before starting cooking, the water must be defended for a day.
A good and high-quality moonshine will help in approaching the original taste.

There are a lot of subtleties and nuances that will make the final drink taste better and softer. Familiarize yourself with them and put them into practice.

Malt selection

For that to brew whiskey at home, they use both caramel (caramel malt) and melanoidin malt. You can also use both pure light barley brewing malt, such as "Pilsen", and combined bills.

What's more, you can make your own malt. Use clean grain, no debris, sifted.

Place the required amount in a container and fill with water.
Leave everything for 6-7 hours, then drain the water and rinse the grain well again.
Spread the whole mass on pallets with a layer of no more than 3-4 cm.
Stir the grains every 2-3 hours during the day.
After that, cover with a damp cotton cloth and leave in a room with a temperature of 15-20 degrees. Moisten the cloth daily.
On the third day of germination, increase the temperature to 23-25 degrees.
Turn the grain regularly so that the process of stagnation and sweating does not begin.
The finished sprout should exceed the size of the grain itself by one and a half times.

Mashing

Malt production technology necessarily includes mashing. The main criterion is the temperature regime.

Heat water to 70-71 degrees and add malt.
After adding the temperature should drop to 66-68 degrees.
It is necessary to maintain this temperature for an hour and stir the contents of the container.
Then hold the mash on pause for another 30 minutes.
Use hot water for rinsing.
- the first stage - 71-72 degrees;
- the second - 81-82 degrees.
Cool the wort to 33 degrees.

Braga fermentation

Fermentation must take place at high temperatures. You should start at 33 degrees and, in the future, maintain in the range of 28-29 degrees. The objective of this process is to obtain a wort with an alcohol content of 7-10 percent.

lacto fermentation

Lactobacilli allow you to supplement the drink with pleasant and unexpected tastes. Add them to the must at the end of the fermentation process (15-20 hours). As a result, a characteristic sour-milk smell should appear.

Distillation

You already know that this process takes place in two stages.

First distillation carried out until the alcohol content in the stream is 25-30%.
During second distillation select 3 factions: heads, heart and tails.
- Heads: 1 tablespoon from each 1 liter of mash - this part is discarded.
- At the next stage, the heart is sampled in the range of 52-72% alcohol in the stream.
- Basically, the selection stops at 60%, after which the receiving tank changes and the selection of tailings begins. The tail fraction is squeezed dry, almost to 1% alcohol in the jet - it is in the next first stage.

Aging and refinement

Whiskey aging is a whole science. There is an unwritten rule that Real Scotch whiskey must be aged for at least 3 years. Malt whiskey, which is not planned to be used for blending, is aged for 5–20 years.

The most common terms are 5-6 and 10-12 years (depending on the variety).

Each type of oak has unique properties that should be studied before use. All oak barrels intended for the storage and aging of alcohol must undergo fire treatment. The taste of the drink largely depends on the degree of roasting.

If the firing is weak, then notes of coconut, vanilla, walnut will be transferred to the drink.
Medium firing will allow you to get a spicy drink with a coffee aroma even when using the most common recipes.
A strong firing will add notes of smoke, nutmeg and dried fruits.

Reference! Having a 15-50-liter barrel on hand, you can get a very high-quality product in six months - a year

Blending

Blending is a blending of two types of whiskey.: malt and grain. The resulting drink is called Blended whiskey (mixed whiskey).

Barley or grain alcohol must be aged for at least 3 years. It takes 10-12 years to age such alcohol. The composition is bottled only after the drink is completely mixed and gets a uniform taste.

Mix everything in a barrel and put away for 6-12 months (the period can vary both up and down, depending on your preferences).

How to drink in pure form and in cocktails?

Many connoisseurs of this drink prefer to drink it in its pure form. There are a few unspoken rules:

Before drinking, whiskey should be cooled to 18-20 degrees. No more, no less, otherwise you risk losing the whole flavor range.
Whiskey is drunk in small sips. First, the aroma is evaluated, then the drink is held in the mouth for several seconds, this enhances the aftertaste.
The process of drinking should bring pleasure and contribute to the spiritual atmosphere in the company.
This drink is not a snack. It is customary to combine it, for example, with a cigar.

Don't forget that whiskey is at the heart of many great cocktails.

Dry Manhattan

To prepare it, you will need:

Juices and whiskey are mixed in a shaker.
The finished drink is poured into a glass and decorated with cherries.

apple whiskey

There is another option for an excellent refreshing cocktail - apple whiskey.

Ice is poured into the glass, alcohol and juice are poured.
Everything is mixed with a spoon.
A cinnamon stick and fan-shaped fruit slices are used for decoration.

product in cosmetology

Surely you have repeatedly heard about the term "Whisky swaddling". This is a cosmetic procedure that involves swaddling the body with sheets soaked in oils. Due to the special temperature regime during the session, metabolic processes are launched in the body. This procedure:

eliminates cosmetic defects on the skin;
removes excess moisture from tissues;
promotes weight loss.

Despite its name, this procedure has nothing to do with a strong drink. The term "whisky" in cosmetology refers to the process of swaddling sheets, which are impregnated with special agents (lotions and oils).

This article contains practical advice and knowledge regarding the preparation of whiskey at home. The material will be useful to you, and the results will warm not only the body, but also the soul!

Whiskey making at home is not so difficult. Moreover, even centuries ago it was driven in almost every house in Scotland and Ireland. Yes, and still this elite drink is called aged moonshine.

What is needed to get alcohol of the same quality and taste at home? First of all, you need malt for whiskey from cereal crops of your choice. Without this component, you will not be able to create a worthwhile drink.

The traditional, classic recipe calls for the preparation of this alcohol from barley. This is the single malt, the most popular whiskey in the world. But in industrial conditions, whiskey is not prepared from one base.

It necessarily undergoes blending: mixing barley spirits on malt of various degrees of roasting, unequal aging and other nuances. This is how elite varieties are created that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a bottle.

At home, this is not required, although enthusiasts can experiment by creating their own blends.

Whiskey is also made from other grains. In addition, the blend may contain grain spirits (without malt) aged in oak barrels. But this applies only to inexpensive varieties entering the shelves. In elite brands, only malt alcohol is present.

Reference. Various types and grades of malt and grain alcohol are infused in separate barrels.

They are mixed only after aging in the proportions determined by the recipe.

Grain base

In the homeland of whiskey - in Ireland and Scotland, it is not in vain that they make it from barley. The climatic conditions of these regions make it possible to obtain high yields of barley.

Note. For whiskey, not any barley is used, but only special varieties.

Previously the most popular variety bere, in the spikelet of which the grains are arranged in six rows. Today, a two-row variety is used optical introduced at the end of the last century. But it is also supplanted by a new one - Concerto.

In the future, this variety will also be replaced by another one that is more resistant to climate change and disease.

The second most popular (in Canada and the US) whiskey cereal is corn, which, before the discovery of America, grew only on this continent. So the colonialists adapted it to their needs. In corn whiskey, this cereal should be the leader (at least 51%). The rest can be occupied by barley, wheat, rye.

Reference. Corn malt as such is almost never used - there are difficulties in working with it.

Manufacturers use malting of cornmeal with barley malt.

Third cereal (most popular) - rye. This malt is more often used by alcohol producers in the USA and Canada and in the blend is from 51%. Then whiskey has the right to be called rye. In Europe, it is not released, because there are their own requirements. It has a heavy pungent taste, not everyone likes it.

But true connoisseurs who understand malt alcohol consider wheat whiskey to be too soft, sweetish.

There are limited varieties of whiskey made from buckwheat, rice, designed for lovers.

Type of malt

In addition to the distribution by “cereal affiliation”, malt is also divided into types with subtypes:

The base, which accounts for up to 99.9% of all used for the production of whiskey. Divided into subtypes. The most famous:

pilsner - light malt, invented in Prague;
Viennese - Austrian, slightly more intensely fried than pilsner;
pale ale - English, darker than Viennese. Gives rich color to must.

It doesn't matter where the malt is produced, we're talking about where it was "invented".

Attention. All types of malt intended for are suitable for whiskey. The difference is only in technology: hops are added to beer and not distilled - for whiskey, you must first create a wort, then distill.

Special types. They are intended to be added to the main (base malt) mash in small quantities. These include:

Munich;
caramel;
burnt;
diafarin (highly fermentative);
red, he is stewed - rye.

There are other types. For example, when roasting, peat is added for a specific smoky note.

But when choosing, it is better for a beginner to focus on the basic varieties, since in order to achieve a good result, to get a balanced taste, considerable practice is required with the number of additives of special types.

If you really want to start experimenting right away, try combinations:

80% - basic, 10% Munich and caramel;
85% base, 15% caramel, 5% fermented rye;
basic and Munich (60 x 40%);
80% - base, 10% melanoidin and Munich;
95% base; 5% fermented rye;
a good result is obtained on one Munich language (needed with chromaticity from 12 to 15 EBC).

How to make malt yourself?

Making malt at home is not that difficult. However, this requires scrupulousness and precise implementation of the rules of germination.

Important. Properly selected raw materials for malt are the basis of tasty and high-quality whiskey.

Selection of grains and their preparation

To create homemade malt for whiskey, grains are most often used:

wheat and rye in a ratio of 1 to 1;
barley 100%;
barley - 60%, and 40% - either one rye (wheat), or a mixture of these cereals.

Attention. All the mentioned cereals have different grain germination times until the malt is ready: for wheat - 5 days, for rye - 7, for barley - 10.

Therefore, start germination on different days, if necessary.

Before proceeding with the germination of the entire mass of grain, it is necessary to check the germination. To do this, select 100 grains, wet them, remove the pop-ups. Arrange on a saucer in a wet napkin.

If after a couple of days at least 90 grains have hatched, start working with all the grain:

flushing. Fill the grain with clean water with a margin so that floating grains and light particles can be easily removed. Leave for 5 minutes, mix, collect everything that has surfaced, drain the water and fill it with new water, repeating this three times.
Soak. After washing, soak the grain in cold clean water for 2 hours.
Disinfection for 2 hours. There are two ways:

dissolve soda in warm water (spoon per liter);
make a solution of potassium permanganate (2 g per bucket of water).

soaking. After disinfection, rinse the grain 2-3 times and soak for a day. To do this, place the dishes in a cool room, fill the grain with clean cold water. Leave for 6 hours and drain the water. The next 6 hours the grain lies without water. Pour again for 6 hours, drain.
Germination. When the minutes of the day, spread the grain on a baking sheet with a ball of 3-5 cm. Cover with a damp cloth or gauze. Germination takes place at 12-15°C. A higher temperature is undesirable, if a couple of degrees lower, it is better that the layer be 5-7 cm, so the grain warms itself. Stir gently 2-3 times a day, while sprinkling with water from a spray bottle, but do not overmoisten - this will not do any good.
Definition of readiness. Watch your sprouts. When most of them have reached the length of a grain, finish malting. Readiness is evidenced by the “cucumber” smell emanating from the grain, and the bitten grain is soft and gives off malt.

Carefully. Avoid overgrowing if the leaf has already “hatched”, such malt has given up too many sugars for the development of the sprout, and you will not get enough alcohol.

Drying green malt

The resulting germinated grain is called green malt. They also use it, but the disadvantage is that its shelf life is three days. So if you don't plan to wort immediately, or if you've sprouted too much grain, dry it, separate the sprouts, and then roast to the desired condition.

Place the germinated grain in a thin layer in a metal sieve, and then - according to the circumstances:

In the summer, expose the malt to the sun, stirring several times a day. Take it indoors at night. Natural drying lasts 3-4 days.
In winter, dry by the battery or directly on it, also turning over.
If conditions are unfavorable for natural drying, do so with an electric oven or an electric fruit/vegetable dryer. In the first case, spread the malt on a baking sheet, in the second, cover the dryer grates with gauze so that the grains do not fall through. Dry during the day (with stirring every 3 hours) at a temperature of 40-50°C.

Ready dry malt first separate from the sprouts. Convenient - with the help of a construction mixer. Blow in the breeze or with a household fan. And store dry grain (it is already malt) in a dry place for up to a year.

Making whiskey from malt concentrate

On sale there is a special malt concentrate for whiskey (it is unhopped, as opposed to intended for beer). It is a natural product produced under industrial conditions.

You will need:

water - 18 liters;
unhopped malt concentrate - 2.6 kg;
dextrose - 3 kg;
dry yeast for whiskey - 66 g.

Pour 12 liters of water into the fermentation tank. Heat another 3 liters to 60°C and dissolve the malt concentrate in it. Add to container with water.

Dissolve the dextrose here, it won't take much time. Heat the remaining 3 liters of water to 40°C and add to the fermentation tank. Get a wort with a temperature of about 30°C. Add yeast (according to instructions) and place under a water seal in a warm place. In 10 days, the mash will ripen.

Whiskey made with malt concentrate and dextrose has an excellent organoleptic quality, and after maturation in an oak barrel, it even surpasses inexpensive ones available on the market.

In the same way, as well as produced from purchased or personally created malt. And which path will you follow - a complex, but completely controlled, or a simpler one, trusting the manufacturer? Share it and don't forget to like it.

How to make whiskey mash at home, and will the final product even remotely resemble a classic Scottish drink?

Strong malt alcohol, no matter how exalted by the producers, is nothing more than ordinary grain moonshine, which has undergone multi-level purification and matured in oak barrels for several years.

After such refinement, the drink acquires its characteristic sunny, amber color and excellent aroma, thanks to which it is highly valued among lovers of high-quality strong alcohol.

It is quite difficult to reproduce the conditions of Scottish distilleries without special equipment, however, it is quite possible to make a drink that will warm you on cold winter evenings, reminding you of the past summer with its aroma, just make a little effort, and they will definitely pay off handsomely.

The history of the origin of whiskey

The first reliable references to malt distillate date back to the beginning of the 15th century and are associated with Irish monks. Studying such records, the researchers determined that a century later, the technology of making whiskey became known in Scotland, although the methods for obtaining strong alcohol were known in Europe at least 200 - 300 years before that moment and were probably transferred to the representatives of the Old World from the inhabitants of the ancient Persia, Babylon and Egypt.

The history of whiskey has at least 200-300 years

Given the available information regarding alcohol production technologies in the Middle Ages, it can be safely assumed that strong drinks, which were the predecessors of whiskey, were distinguished by a relatively low content of ethyl alcohol (up to 30 - 35%), a low level of purification, and were used mainly for medical purposes - obtaining therapeutic herbal infusions and extracts.

Later, with the active development of distillation technology, it was possible to gradually improve the quality of the product.

The monks involved in the preparation of whiskey poured it into barrels from the only wood suitable for this ─ oak, which, in addition to purely practical properties, has the ability to prevent the development of mold fungi and bacteria. In addition, tannins actively color the drink in amber color and give it a special taste. Whiskey in oak barrels could be stored for several years, while the drink not only did not deteriorate, but every year it became tastier and more aromatic, which was one of the reasons for its popularity.

The cold and fairly humid climate of Scotland did not allow for the drying of malt under normal conditions, because from harvest to the first cold weather, the monks had to germinate the grain, ferment it and prepare it for distillation. In order to somehow speed up the process, distillery workers began to use hot smoke, which was supplied from stoves with smoldering peat, which was mined in sufficient quantities in the vicinity.

Thanks to this recipe, malt drinks made in Scotland have received an additional difference in the form of a slightly smoky taste.

In contrast, Irish producers opted for smokeless drying and began to add not only barley, but also rye to the initial grain mixture. This combination of technology and special components made it possible to obtain a soft, light, slightly sweet drink. This difference has persisted to this day.

Scotch whiskey has a smoky taste

In the 18th century, representatives of the American continent joined the vast camp of grain distillate producers: given the small distribution of barley in new colonies, local distilleries were forced to master the source material, unconventional for Europe - corn, as a result of which the world-famous bourbon appeared.

Why is whiskey made from barley malt? The fact is that barley is one of the few grain crops that can produce a high yield even in the cold and humid climate that the regions of foggy Albion are famous for.

In addition, barley is characterized by a high content of starch, which, when fermented during saccharification, turns into fermentable carbohydrates.

The low content of gluten, which complicates the process of grain cooking, is also important.

The choice of barley for grain mash

Barley, being the main component of the amber drink, determines the taste of whiskey with its quality, so the choice of grain should be treated with special attention. Any classic recipe involves the use of not barley itself, but its germinated grains ─ malt, a material rich in enzymes that can break down starch into simple carbohydrates ─ maltose, sucrose and glucose.

Barley needs to be sprouted

You can buy barley in agricultural markets and in stores selling seeds and fertilizers. It is important to pay attention to the fact that barley was not intended for the production of feed ─ the so-called fodder varieties of grain undergo heat treatment to ensure long-term storage and become unsuitable for home brewing.

How to determine quality grain? The easiest way is to crack open one or more seeds and look at the resulting cut: fresh, germinable and saccharified barley will have a white, highly starchy interior, while forage has an almost completely glazed core.

What components for mash are better for a beginner moonshiner to use? Given some of the difficulties of working with natural malt, special requirements for equipment and observing temperature pauses, it is recommended to start acquaintance with whiskey with enzymes ─ such a technology is easier to control, and the result is practically the same as a classic drink.

From a financial point of view, a recipe for purely grain whiskey, prepared according to classical technology, is more profitable. At the same time, it is not at all a mandatory step to purchase malt, because such source material can be prepared independently in just a few days. In addition, the production of grain distillate is quite an interesting hobby, which allows you to learn a lot about the process and see how a few kg of ordinary grain gradually turn into a fragrant amber drink.

Enzymes or malt?

To save time, you can not germinate barley yourself, but buy ready-made malt, however, given its high cost and inaccessibility, this method is not suitable for everyone. In addition, the modern chemical industry offers ready-made artificial enzymes that speed up the process of starch breakdown.

Don't be afraid to use enzymes for whiskey

Despite all possible prejudices, such enzymes are completely safe, relatively affordable and easy to use. In home moonshine brewing, only 2 types of enzymes are most often used:

amylosubtilin ─ helps to break down starch chains into simple components, as a result of which the grain mash becomes liquid and is more efficiently processed further;
glucavamorin is designed to convert starch into fermentable carbohydrates.

In addition, in industrial conditions, mixtures of enzymes such as cellulase and xylanase are often used, which are designed to process complex vegetable carbohydrates, but their use is not justified for home-brewing.

Germination of malt

Preparing malt for mash does not require much effort, because healthy grain can quickly give the desired result. About 750 - 800 g of malt comes out of 1 kg of barley, which must be taken into account in the recipe of the future drink. For more information about the process, see this video:

The acquired grain remains suitable for germination for 2-3 years, however, the best results are shown by fresh material collected a few months before the preparation of the mash.

Grain soaking

The required amount of barley is soaked for several hours in water, in which 1-2 g of potassium permanganate must first be dissolved.

Water must completely cover the grain, not giving access to air, because otherwise the growth processes of wild yeast cultures and pathogenic bacteria come into force, which can completely destroy the valuable material.

All foreign debris, weed seeds and grains floating to the surface are completely removed from the total mass, after which the water is drained and replaced with a fresh portion of the liquid. It is most convenient to leave the container with future malt overnight, and in the morning continue the germination process.

After soaking, the barley will noticeably increase in volume, and individual grains will become soft and will be easily squeezed by your fingers. The material is placed in flat baking sheets, leveling with a layer of 4-5 cm, after which it is covered with a clean natural cloth.

As the fermentation processes take place in the seeds, the overall temperature of the entire layer increases by several degrees, which is easy to verify with a household thermometer.

To avoid undesirable consequences, the malt is carefully turned over every 3-4 hours with a kitchen spatula or a rectangular metal trowel, trying not to damage individual grains.

Every 3-4 hours the malt is stirred

After about a day, small sprouts will begin to peck at one of the tips of each grain, which will look like white dots. By carefully observing the process, you can see that the embryos of future plants increase literally before our eyes, and by the second or third day they reach a length of 4-5 mm.

It is important not to miss the moment when the second sprout appears, which subsequently develops into leaves: the formation of green mass takes a significant amount of useful substances from the malt, so germination is stopped when the leaves reach 2-3 mm.

The readiness of malt is determined by the appearance of a special smell, reminiscent of the aroma of fresh cucumbers, and a sweetish taste. In addition, the following method can be used as a reliable guide: if you try to lift one grain from the pan, and it turns out that it has grown together with 4-5 neighboring ones, then the process can be considered complete.

Drying of raw material

The next important step is drying the malt. It should be borne in mind that the enzymes contained in the starting material are very sensitive to high temperatures, so grain dehydration is carried out in a sparing mode, gradually increasing the heat supply.

To begin with, the malt is scattered in a thin layer on a flat surface in a heated, well-ventilated area.

Every 10 - 12 hours, the barley is stirred, carefully monitoring the condition of the sprouts: after a few days, the roots become dry and brittle, which is a sign of cessation of growth.

The malt is dried, scattering in a thin layer

The so-called green malt is quite suitable for home brewing without additional heat treatment, however, high-quality drying allows you to increase the yield of the final drink, improve its aroma and taste properties. In addition, dry malt can be stored for a long time without noticeable changes, which becomes an additional argument in favor of such processing.

The classic recipe for grain preparation involves its interaction with hot smoke, but at home this technology is almost impossible to recreate.

The malt is slowly dried in the oven at a temperature of about 40 - 50 ° C, after which the grain is ground in the hands, separating the roots and sprouts. Ready material can be stored in cloth bags in dark, well-ventilated areas.

Preparation of grain mash

Almost every classic whiskey recipe involves the use of not pure malt, but its mixture with barley, rye, wheat, corn and other cereals. The reason for such manipulations is that the malt contains in excess all the necessary enzymes that can saccharify a sufficiently large amount of unmalted material. From this point of view, it does not make much sense to use only malt for the manufacture of mash, since 80 - 85% of active enzymes will be wasted. Read more about barley mash in this video:

Is there even a classic whiskey recipe? Given the wide geographical distribution of the drink, each manufacturer introduced something new into its recipe, so it is impossible to sum up the technology for making an amber drink under a common denominator. The most acceptable recipe for home brewing includes the following components:

crushed barley malt ─ 1.5 kg;
barley groats ─ 8.5 kg;
water ─ 40 l;
yeast ─ 200 g.

Barley groats are poured with water, the temperature of which is 50 - 55 ° C, while the mixture is thoroughly mixed to avoid the formation of large lumps. Gradually, the temperature is raised to 60 ° C, after which the container is left alone for 15 - 20 minutes. During this time, the starch dissolves, which subsequently facilitates its processing.

The mixture is brought to a boil, being careful not to burn the barley porridge to the bottom.

It is recommended to use a water bath or steam heating for cooking - such solutions guarantee a smooth increase in temperature without the risk of charring the bottom of the mass. When the barley becomes thick enough, the cooking is stopped, after which the container is cooled to 65 ° C.

In small portions with constant stirring, crushed malt is added to the wort. After a few minutes, it will become noticeable that the thick mass begins to liquefy, and its color becomes darker. For complete saccharification, it is necessary to wrap the brewing container with thick blankets or a cover made of dense fabric with insulation. The optimal temperature regime for the process is considered to be 62 - 64 ° C.

The contents should be stirred periodically, and after 4-5 hours the liquid mass is cooled and the yeast previously activated in a weak sugar solution is added to it.

The wort is poured into a fermentation tank and a water seal is installed. On average, fermentation takes from 10 to 15 days, after which the finished mash is filtered and distilled in the standard mode. If necessary, the final product is distilled again, and the drink purified in this way is insisted on oak chips, which are first slightly charred in the oven. Homemade whiskey will be ready to drink in just a few weeks, however, by increasing the ripening period, you can reveal its unique flavor and aroma notes.

At home, making whiskey from malt is not only possible, but recommended by many avid party-goers: by the way, these same alcohol experts are happy to share some interesting secret ingredients that will help brew an excellent drink. Among these tricks is the use of oak bark and barley malt. What to do with them, you will learn a little later.

Moreover, it is no secret that you can make whiskey from any malt - even wheat, even rye. However, experts advise nevertheless to opt for barley. Another thing to keep in mind is that the malt should not be fermented. A similar ingredient is used to make all kinds of bakery products and brewing.

To create a noble drink, we need one of the most inexpensive types of this product - white or light malt. For example, thanks to him, you can easily make whiskey from Belarusian malt, which, according to connoisseurs, does not differ from its imported counterpart. If you have green malt at hand, it will also not be difficult to make whiskey from it at home: you only need to carefully pass the key ingredient through a meat grinder before starting the cooking process.

You can make whiskey from malt without leaving your cozy apartment or private house, firstly, with the help of high-quality ingredients, and secondly, by following the process of proper distillation and aging of the drink in an oak barrel. You will definitely not need a container whose volume will exceed 20 liters. It is thanks to this volume that you can, without hesitation and fear of losing taste, in just a couple of months, prepare a real Scottish drink.

So, to create a single malt whiskey from green malt (this product differs only in that the grains are not dried during the preparation of the drink), you should stock up on an oak barrel or chips from the same material.

In addition, you need to immediately arm yourself with the following ingredients and tools in order to calmly get to work:

of course, whiskey cannot be made without barley malt and yeast;
you will grind grains with a blender or coffee grinder;
you should not forget about the vat for the fermentation process;
you will also need a separate pan where you will boil the wort;
the distillation apparatus is a key element of any whiskey recipe;
a thermometer will also come in handy for you to control and maintain the required temperature of the drink;
for aging whiskey from malt according to a home recipe, as we have already said, you will certainly need either a burnt oak barrel or an appropriate container for spirits with wood chips.

To make whiskey from malt, you must first soak the barley thoroughly. Keep it in this form - germinate - should be within 5-7 days. After that, it is necessary to dry the malt (this step is skipped if you are making whiskey from green grains) and gently grind. This is followed by the process of boiling the wort - so to speak, the creation of malt broth.

In order to properly carry out this procedure, follow the instructions below:

When you dry and grind the grains using a blender or food processor, you will get a very fine powder.

Now you need to mix water and the resulting powder in a 4: 1 ratio. Remember that if you mix 10 kg of ground grain with 40 liters of water, you will get the most concentrated alcohol broth.

To do this, fill the pan with water and, controlling the temperature, gradually heat up. Malt should be added to the pot when the water temperature reaches 65°C. In this state, the broth is cooked for 80 minutes.

After this period of time, the temperature must be increased by 10°C. You need to boil the wort for 15 minutes, and then raise the water temperature again to 78 ° C. This stage lasts no more than 2 minutes.

The fourth phase of cooking will drag on for about 30 minutes. During these half an hour, the water should reach the boiling point of 100°C.

Remember that while boiling the wort, care should be taken to stir the broth regularly. This will ensure that the saccharification process will proceed evenly.

When the 30 minutes of the fourth phase are up, immediately cool the wort to 20°C.

When the malt broth is cooled, there is a mandatory drain from the sediment - this way you can get rid of the grains.

Recipe for making whiskey from malt with grains

Some connoisseurs do not attach much importance to this stage, since they follow the recipe for making whiskey from malt with grains. Instead of immediately throwing out the grounds, experienced craftsmen first extract the remaining sugar from it: the water in the mash is heated to 70 ° C, the brewing waste - grains - is poured in and stirred periodically. Then a pause is made, during which all the necessary substances for preparing the drink have time to go into the water: the container with the substance is wrapped in an old blanket for about half an hour. After that, the thick is filtered and squeezed a second time, and only then is it thrown away.

After the drain has been made, it is necessary to introduce yeast into the resulting broth. Now you should have a vat on hand, where the future drink will undergo the fermentation procedure for a couple of days.

After 2-3 days, you can safely take up the double distillation of the fermented substance. Through this step, you implement the final distillation procedure.

Making whiskey from barley malt concentrate

The longest stage in the preparation of whiskey from barley malt concentrate is the aging of the drink in an oak barrel or using wood chips. If you poured the future Scotch whiskey into a 10-liter container, then it will be enough for you to wait about a month until the drink acquires the desired color and aroma. In the event that you had to use oak chips, whiskey can be considered ready in about two months.

It should be noted that you can make your life easier and make barley malt whiskey according to this recipe if you buy ready-made malt on the Internet or on the market. One has only to make sure that this key ingredient is thoroughly dried and ground, as we mentioned earlier.

And about one more secret element - about oak bark or those very oak chips. You don't need much bark: just make sure the bottom of your aging container is covered. To heighten the effect - to give the future drink a unique smoky flavor - gently burn the wood chips.

How to make whiskey from rye malt

From rye malt whiskey turns out really excellent - so to speak, in the best American traditions. To serve the well-known bourbon to guests, you should remember the recipe for making whiskey from malt at home:

To cook 30 liters of American alcohol, you need to prepare in advance 8 kg of corn grits and 1 kg of flour - wheat or rye. In addition, you will need 100 g of yeast and 7 kg of barley malt.

The container in which the future bourbon will be brewed must be at least 50 liters in volume.

After you prepare all the necessary ingredients and accessories, proceed to the cooking process itself. To do this, mix flour and corn grits.

Then you should pour this mixture with boiling water (you will need three buckets of water) and cook for 4 hours over low heat. As a result, a liquid mass must necessarily be obtained, which will be mushy.

The resulting mixture should be cooled to 60°C. This temperature indicator must be maintained for two hours (to do this, wrap a metal vat in an old blanket) while you add barley malt to the broth.

When the temperature of the substance reaches room temperature, it will be necessary to add yeast to the mixture. In this state, you leave the future whiskey from beer malt for at least five days. After this period of time, the mixture should acquire a bitter taste.

If you carefully followed the instructions, you will only have to proceed with the distillation procedure: after it, with the help of a carbon filter, all that remains is to purify the resulting alcohol, and then pour the substance into oak barrels.

You will be able to give American bourbon to your guests only after a year, because after aging the drink will still need to be filtered and diluted again. But if you still stock up on patience, you will get an excellent homemade whiskey with rich color and divine aroma.

An elite drink that has won the hearts of many connoisseurs of good alcohol can now be contemplated not only on the shelves of expensive stores, but also at home. Thanks to proven recipes and advice from experienced craftsmen, we will learn how to create the most authentic Scotch whiskey. By the way, there are other varieties of this drink - Canadian, American - well-known to you bourbon, Irish and others, depending on the region of origin and the subtleties of production.

Barley whiskey - or Scotch whiskey - can be made at home if you follow the instructions below.

To create the desired drink, you will need to soak barley groats. This is necessary for the seeds to germinate. This will take about a week. After you have collected the grains, you should dry them thoroughly: if possible, it is permissible to use the traditional method of drying - using the heat generated by burning peat.

However, the procedure for making homemade barley whiskey can be simplified: you will still need barley grains without a shell - pearl barley - and wheat or rye grains (they will make up 40% of the total mass).

This two-kilogram mixture must be soaked and kept in this state for at least a day. Please note that periodically - after every 12 hours - you should change the water.

After the soaking stage, the moment of grinding the grain comes. To do this, you can use either a meat grinder or a blender.

Then you must add water (necessarily warm) so that the volume of the mash is 10-12 liters. Do not forget that you should have enzymes A and G on hand, which are needed to prepare the wort. Add 2 small spoonfuls of each enzyme to the mash and mix well.

Now you need to lower the bubbler - a device that allows bubbles and gases to pass through - into the tank and gradually begin to heat the mash using the steam generator.

At this stage, it is very important to monitor the temperature and stir the "slurry": when the temperature rises to 60°C, you must reduce the power of the steam generator and keep the temperature in the mash at about 65°C for an hour. During this period of time, the wort will acquire a sweetish aftertaste and brown color.

After an hour, the wort will need to be heated to about 75°C. Next, you should remove the bubbler, leaving the future Scottish drink to cool. However, this should happen gradually, so do not forget to close the tank tightly with a lid and wrap it, for example, with an old blanket.

When using a barley whiskey recipe to create a delicious drink, it is very important to adhere to certain temperature indicators. So, after a few hours later the wort has cooled to a temperature of 30 ° C, it will be possible to add pressed yeast to it, which you soaked in sweet (with sugar) water for an hour. If the yeast is pressed, then you will need 100 g of this ingredient to make whiskey, if dry, then at least 25 g.

When you have added the yeast to the wort, put the lid back on and let it sit in a warm place. Make sure that the temperature of the mash does not fall below 23°C and does not rise above 30°C. Be sure to check that there is enough free space in the tank - about 30% of the total volume of the tank. This measure is necessary, since a foam cap will form on the first day of fermentation.

The fermentation stage in the process of making whiskey from barley at home will be completed in a few days. But this is provided that you followed the instructions and used good yeast.

After that, it is the turn of a thorough distillation of the future drink. The first distillation assumes that in the end you will get about one and a half liters of raw alcohol, the strength of which will be 40%. Please note that at this stage you are not separating the "heads" and "tails" - harmful elements. Next, you need to dilute the substance with water so that the strength of the mash becomes no more than 20%. The second distillation is carried out using a distiller and allows you to get rid of the "heads". Then you increase the power, get rid of the "body" and increase the strength of the mash to 40%. After that, you will only need to separate the "tails". The third distillation is carried out after you once again dilute the previously obtained substance with water.

To purify the future drink, a carbon filter is used: you can purchase activated carbon at any pharmacy, put it on a layer of gauze and cotton wool in the most ordinary watering can, and then pass homemade whiskey through it.

The final stage of making whiskey with your own hands from barley involves aging it in an oak barrel or glass container, on the bottom of which oak chips are first laid out. Duration of exposure - from several months to 1 year.

Please note that the factory Scotch whiskey is aged in oak barrels for 3 years. We told you a recipe on how to prepare a high-quality analogue at home. Therefore, stock up on all the necessary ingredients, follow the instructions, be sure to let the drink brew, and then boldly pour it into beautiful bottles and serve it to the table.