How to cook mash or the right temperature for fermentation. Alcoholic fermentation - the magic of turning sugar into ethyl alcohol

The quality of all beverages is more than half dependent on water. It seems to many beginners that there is nothing difficult in choosing water, it is enough to pour in any available one.

But experienced distillers approach this process with full responsibility, paying attention not only to temperature, but also to the quality of the water itself. Otherwise, the mash may not ferment or the taste of the finished drink will unpleasantly surprise you.

Water requirements for mash:

1. Hygienic standards. Water for alcohol must be clear, without foreign smell (taste) and comply with the standards for drinking water. This is a standard, but at the same time the most important requirement.

2. Rigidity. The hardness of water is the totality of its physical and chemical properties associated with the content of alkaline earth metal salts (mainly potassium and magnesium). Too high hardness of water inhibits fermentation, low hardness prevents yeast from developing normally, since soft water does not contain enough trace elements.

Unfortunately, it is not easy to know the degree of water hardness, since this indicator is measured in the laboratory. For mash, water of medium hardness is needed - 2-10 ° F according to the national standard of the Russian Federation (GOST R 52029-2003).

At first, yeast bacteria actively multiply, and after oxygen is pumped in, they begin to process sugar into alcohol. In turn, distillation removes almost all the necessary trace elements from the water, which, in addition to sugar, feed on useful microorganisms.

Water for mash should be spring (from a well) or tap water. Before preparing moonshine, I recommend to defend the selected water for 12-24 hours so that all harmful impurities (primarily chlorine and heavy metals) sink to the bottom. Also, water can be purified by passing it through special filters. Tap water is fine too.

Water temperature for mash

Yeast is added to water heated to 20-30°C. The optimum temperature for mash is considered to be 23-28 ° C, which should be constantly maintained. At lower values, fermentation slows down, and when it drops to 18 ° C and below, it may stop altogether. Therefore, in the cold season, it is often necessary to heat the mash with aquarium heaters or other devices.

In too hot water (above 30°C), most yeast bacteria die before they can be useful. During active fermentation, the temperature of the mash itself rises by several degrees (relevant for containers with a volume of 20 liters or more), so sometimes distillers have to cool the mash.

All of the above tips are relevant for any mash recipes, regardless of the raw materials and cooking technology. Poor quality water impairs the taste and reduces the yield of the product.

Making alcohol with your own hands has always been a fascinating experience, especially since the result is a proven and excellent product.

When fermenting raw materials from sugar and yeast, for tasty and high-quality moonshine, it is not enough just to strictly observe the proportions in the composition of a good “mash recipe”. Here, one of the most important points will be carefully maintaining the optimum fermentation temperature.

In order not to be mistaken with the temperature for comfortable fermentation of sugar and yeast mash, it is necessary to understand all the intricacies of its maturation.
The most important fermentation catalyst is, of course, yeast.

After all, it is thanks to their vital activity that carbon dioxide is formed in the process of absorbing sugar, the wort is heated and alcohol is necessarily produced.

But the Braga contains a lot of other microorganisms that can begin to actively multiply as soon as the vital activity of the yeast weakens as a result of sharp jumps in temperature conditions. It is generally accepted that it must be maintained in the range from 24 to 30 ° C.

• Lowering the temperature regime entails braking and a complete stop of the process. It is also fraught with an increase in the level of “the acidity of the mash,” which adversely affects its taste and strength. It usually takes no more than a week for the normal maturation of the wort from sugar and yeast, while hypothermia extends this period to several months. But if such passive fermentation is welcome in winemaking, then it is unacceptable in the manufacture of distillate. Therefore, if after a drop in temperature - the mash does not roam -, the situation will have to be urgently saved by moving to a more comfortable and warm place.
• But if the hypothermia of the wort from sugar and yeast can really be corrected, then after overheating the yeast fungi can no longer be revived. Therefore, it is so important to prevent the temperature regime from reaching a dangerous temperature mark of more than 40 ° C. At the same time, it must be remembered that the process of converting sugar into alcohol with the help of yeast is accompanied by an active release of heat and threatens with a sharp heating of the yeast raw materials. And in order not to disrupt the distillation process as a whole, it will be necessary to correct the mistake made only by preparing a new mixture for fermentation. Therefore, compliance with temperature conditions in the range from 24 to 30 degrees is considered the most optimal.
  

  It is desirable to maintain a temperature that is even and without sudden jumps, as this will adversely affect the quality of the raw materials and the finished drink. To reduce the level of fusel oils in the composition of a high-quality distillate, fermentation is allowed up to a maximum of 32 degrees, but no more.

Do I need to stir the mash during fermentation

Considering that the wort heats up more during fermentation in the upper part, it is logical to assume that it is possible to ensure uniform heating by periodically stirring it. Especially inexperienced moonshiners suffer from this, who at first are very concerned only with the speed of its maturation.

But they also often ask a counter question - is it necessary to mix the mash during fermentation. And since this is the result of a self-sufficient vital activity of yeast and sugar, it is worth listening to weighty arguments in favor of calmer fermentation conditions. The yeast fungus dies in a saturated alcohol environment, therefore, after working, it gradually sinks down and precipitates, giving way to the released less dense ethanol.

By moving live yeast to a more aggressive alcoholic environment, you only slow down the fermentation, and not vice versa. There is another important reason not to disturb the natural course of fermentation. After all, such an intervention primarily involves a violation of the tightness of the fermentation tank, and this is fraught with excessive souring of the raw materials.

That is, by accelerating fermentation in this way, you can turn a good wort into a mixture of acetic acid and ethanol. Therefore, you should not disturb natural fermentation by stirring in order to avoid negative consequences for the quality of the drink.

At what temperature is it right to drive moonshine

To prepare home-made moonshine, it is necessary to bring the finished mixture to the boiling point of alcohol vapors, in order to then condense them into a liquid.
But the evaporation itself is divided into several stages with different temperature conditions for the water, alcohol and fusel oils included in it. And in order to timely separate a quality product from harmful impurities, it is important to know at what temperature moonshine is driven at each stage. Basically, the physical processes during distillation are very similar and are within the power of any model of a standard moonshine still.

The distillation of mash into moonshine with or without a steamer is guided by strict adherence to the temperature indicated for a certain period.

• First, the wort is heated to a maximum of 60-63 ° C and a sharp decrease in heating is maintained with a smooth transition to the selection of the head fraction at 64-68 degrees. It is under such conditions that alcohol with fusel oils begins to evaporate. If this is not done, then part of the boiled liquid will enter the system, and the moonshine will be cloudy and with a sharp fusel smell. Due to the high content of harmful impurities in pervak, it is definitely not worth drinking it, because after a quick intoxication, severe intoxication of the body occurs. Experienced moonshiners recommend cutting off the initial 8-10% of the distillate from the total volume and using it only for household needs.
• Next, they proceed to the selection of the main, so-called body of the product after heating it to 78 ° C. To do this, continue to maintain the degree at the same level, trying not to exceed it above 83-85 ° C. The timely transition to the isolation of the qualitative component of the distillate is accompanied by a characteristic alcohol smell without unpleasant shades.
• Toward the end of distillation, the temperature at which moonshine is driven rises to 85 degrees, and the remnants of the alcohol base are expelled along with the fusel. This negatively affects the quality of the product, therefore, at this key point, the collection of the body is urgently stopped and the selection of the tail part of the alcoholic beverage is started. As soon as its strength during distillation decreases to 20 ° C, this fraction is also stopped and moonshining is considered complete.

Boiling point table of alcohol in Braga

Only after understanding the nuances of preparing wort from yeast and sugar, it becomes clear how important it is to maintain a comfortable fermentation temperature. Therefore, in order to end up with high-quality and soft alcohol, when preparing raw materials, it is necessary to be able to constantly monitor and regulate the temperature regime.

Millions of people prefer to make alcohol at home. Of course, cooking mash is an incredibly exciting thing. But before starting the process, you need to find out all the nuances: what to make it from, what should be the temperature during fermentation, what recipe will be the best, how moonshine is distilled and much more. All this is important if you want to get an excellent result.

source products. What do we need

However, many lovers of homemade alcohol adhere to the classic recipe. To implement it, you need to follow all the steps and nuances:

• First, let's prepare the yeast. To do this, take half a liter of warm water (about 30-40 degrees, no more). 100 grams of sugar is added to it. Yeast is already mixed into the resulting solution, based on the method of application. The resulting mixture is left for 2 hours in a warm place where the temperature is not less than 30 degrees. Periodically, the product should be stirred. As soon as the foam began to actively form, it's time to continue cooking the mash.
• The wort needs to be prepared. To do this, you need to dissolve a kilogram of sugar in 4 liters of water. The temperature should be room temperature or slightly higher.
• The yeast is poured into the wort. The ideal situation is for both the yeast solution and the prepared wort to be at the same temperature. In extreme cases, it can differ only by 1-2 degrees. Everything is thoroughly mixed and left for fermentation. The optimum temperature for this is 20-35 degrees.

The temperature regime must be followed strictly. On average, it is about 24-30 degrees. However, each yeast has its own needs. Therefore, it is worth specifying at what temperature they begin to actively “work”. Only in this case, the yeast will release heat, which is important for mash. After all, in this case, she will be able to warm herself up.

It is important to prevent overheating. Therefore, during fermentation, the temperature should not exceed 40 degrees. Then the yeast will simply die, and no moonshine will result. The process will simply stop. When is everything ready?

The readiness of the mash is evidenced by such signs as:

• No release of carbon dioxide, fermentation stops;
• From above, the product becomes light, transparent, because. "spent" yeast begin to go to the bottom;
• If you try Braga, it will be sour-bitter. There is no sweetness in it, but alcohol is present;
• When measuring the level of sugar with a special device, the indicator will be at level 0.

It is the key moment of home brewing. In the process of preparing mash, it is necessary to take into account the ratio of components, aging conditions, temperature conditions, time and other factors that directly affect the quality of the product and its yield during distillation.

In this article, we will talk about how to better and correctly prepare the mash for pasture and speed up the fermentation process, having examined in detail the steps and ways to eliminate the main mistakes.

More about fermentation

By understanding the processes that begin to take place at the moment of mixing the components and until they are ready for distillation along the way, it immediately becomes possible to correct errors. After mixing yeast, water, carbohydrate source in the fermentation tank, the following biochemical reactions and biological processes begin:

The riot of such reactions manifests itself outwardly as follows:

• The emitted carbon dioxide, rising to the surface, foams the liquid.
• Bubbles begin to rise from the water seal tube, and if a punctured rubber glove worn on the neck is used as it, it inflates.

Factors on which the duration of the process depends

Many factors influence the duration of fermentation, although some of them can be adjusted, which is what experienced moonshiners do to reduce cooking times:

How much mash should roam for moonshine

At the optimum fermentation temperature mash can be counted on the following terms of its readiness for pasture:

• Fermentation on sugar - 5-14 days.
• Starch-containing recipes (on starch, potatoes or grains) - 4-7 days.
• Yeast-free recipes (plum, grape) - 30-40 days.

If mistakes are made in maintaining the temperature, proportions or recipe, fermentation will continue even after the above periods have elapsed, yeast microorganisms may die, and the mash will not be preserved and deteriorate.

If you use baker's yeast, the main purpose of which is to release carbon dioxide in large quantities to raise the dough, excessive foaming can cause you a lot of trouble. To avoid this, you need to add 1 tbsp to the fermentation tank. l. vegetable oil or crumble one cookie. Ice cubes can also be used to extinguish the foam, but when cooled, the fermentation will slow down accordingly.

Ways to speed up the process

By reducing the cooking time of the mash, the goal is not only to quickly develop the fermentation process and obtain the finished product, but also to improve its quality, since a large amount of harmful impurities are formed during long fermentation. In addition, prolonged fermentation will contribute to the souring of the mash, and at the end, ethanol will begin to turn into acetic acid. The following ways to speed up fermentation will help to avoid this.

Sugar inversion

This procedure in a short time will "make" from sucrose - glucose monosaccharide, which is quickly absorbed by yeast fungi. This invert syrup will speed up fermentation and enhance the flavor of the final product.

To prepare it, you need to mix 3 liters of heated water and 6 kg of granulated sugar and mix until smooth. Boil the syrup over medium heat, removing the foam and gradually adding citric acid (25 gr.).

Then reduce the heat to a minimum, cover with a lid and cook for an hour, stirring occasionally.

The above quantity of ingredients implies mixing with a volume of 24 liters of water. In the case of other volumes, change the amount of invert syrup proportionally.

top dressing

It doesn’t take much effort to apply top dressing, but thanks to this, sugar-based mash will ferment much faster, and fruit and grain recipes do not need additional components. Source of additional minerals may include the following ingredients:

Fermentation temperature of mash for moonshine

One of the main tasks of home brewing is to ensure the optimal fermentation temperature (26−28 degrees). If the room temperature is below 24 degrees, then additional insulation of the fermentation tank will be required. To do this, use the following tips:

1. Wrap the container with old outerwear, a sleeping bag or a blanket.
2. You can use building thermal insulation materials.
3. Place a container with mash near the heating radiator.
4. Use an aquarium heater.

It is also necessary to monitor overheating and take into account the fact that the temperature of the mash during fermentation will increase due to its own heat production. In order to prevent overheating of large containers and the death of yeast cells, they sometimes have to be cooled. In the hot summer period, you need to constantly monitor the temperature of the mash, in order to avoid overheating. If it has reached 30 degrees, you need to overlay the waste container with bottles filled with ice.

Devices for maintaining the temperature regime

The optimum temperature during the preparation of mash can be maintained using the following devices:

Preparation of mash according to classical technology

To obtain a mash of this technology, you must adhere to the following sequence of actions:

1. Yeast preparation. For good fermentation, you need to ferment the yeast in advance: 100 gr. sugar is diluted in water with a temperature of 26-28 degrees, after which yeast is added there.
2. Introduction of yeast mass into the wort. When introducing yeast into the wort, you must observe the temperature difference between them. The difference between the temperature of the wort and yeast should be no more than 5-10 degrees, and the temperature of the wort itself should be 20-25⁰С.
3. The temperature of the mash during fermentation. After adding the yeast, it is necessary to leave the mash in a dark room with an optimal temperature for fermentation of 26-28 degrees. In case of force majeure, heating or cooling should be done.

What to do at low temperature

If the temperature drops below 15 degrees, it is necessary to use a thermostat, which will help to avoid hypothermia of the mash. It must be placed in a fermentation tank and set to the optimum temperature. In its absence, an ordinary aquarium heater, which performs the same functions, can easily cope with this task.

Actions at high temperature

If the temperature rises above 30 degrees, urgent cooling is necessary. To do this, a container with mash can be placed in cold water or overlaid with plastic bottles with ice. But this is only a temporary measure. If the temperature increase is influenced by the environment, it is necessary to isolate the container with the mash in the cellar or basement.

The reason for the long fermentation of the mash may be the lack of yeast in the solution. You can fix it like this:

Do I need to stir the mash during fermentation? This question interests many beginners. Agitation saturates the liquid with oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from it, thereby reducing fermentation. To speed up gas exchange, it is enough to do this 2 times a day in a container with mash, without removing the water seal.

Batch addition of sugar

In the process of fermentation, yeasts absorb minerals and carbohydrates, and remove carbon dioxide and ethanol to the outside. These reactions proceed faster if the density of the extracellular and internal fluid is the same. Sugar increases the density of the mash consistency, and the liquid from the cell tends to get out, thereby making it difficult for the yeast to feed. To avoid this, sugar must be added in several steps:

• ½ of the total amount of granulated sugar is added when mixing the wort, and the second half in a day.
• The liquid is stirred until the sugar dissolves.

Although forgetful moonshiners have their own tricks. They mix the first half of the sugar with the wort until dissolved, and then immediately lay the second part, which sinks to the bottom, where it will dissolve gradually. This will keep you safe in case you forget to add the other half of the sugar.

If the mash consistency does not ferment, then you made a mistake. The main reason for the termination of fermentation is excess sugar. After all, it is not in vain that the ratio of water and sugar (hydraulic ratio) is calculated for various types of yeast. This allows the microorganisms to use up the carbohydrates completely before the alcohol degree kills them. If the beer consistency does not ferment, although it is sweet, you need to add water, thereby reducing its strength and allowing the yeast to complete its work.

Non-compliance with the temperature regime. Measure the temperature and, if necessary, insulate the container with mash. If the mash has not cooled down much before (below +5), then the process will resume with renewed vigor, since the yeast has not yet died.

If the mash has not fermented since the first day, you will have to replace the yeast. And to prevent this from happening, you need to initially check the purchased yeast raw materials for viability. This will require:

• Water - 100 ml.
• Sugar - ½ tbsp. l.

Yeast is added to a glass of water and sugar, after which the glass must stand in a warm place for 20 minutes so that carbon dioxide begins to be released, and, accordingly, the fermentation process begins.

Experienced moonshiners recommend speeding up the fermentation process in order to avoid the formation of a large amount of "fuel" or souring of the mash. Although, with the correct preparation technology and the use of high-quality raw materials, there are practically no problems with fermentation delay.

Attention, only TODAY!

The process of home brewing has a number of features, without the knowledge of which a good distillate cannot be obtained. Compliance with the temperature regime is one of the nuances that should not be neglected. In this article, we will talk about this in more detail.

Fermentation temperature

The principle of producing moonshine at home is based on the natural properties of yeast. Yeast is a fungus that in the process of life is able to produce heat, carbon dioxide and alcohol. Compliance with certain temperatures in the preparation of mash is aimed precisely at activating the vital activity of yeast.

If it is not warm enough, the yeast stops working and fermentation stops. Overheating of the wort is also dangerous, at a temperature of 40 ° C, the yeast simply dies. The most commonly used for home brewing is ordinary baker's yeast. The yield of alcohol when using them is 10%. Special alcohol yeast is able to give a moonshine yield of 23%. Wine yeast is suitable for fruit and berry mash. Moonshine from grapes can be made without using yeast, fermentation will occur due to the natural wild yeast contained on the skin of the grapes.

Initially, the water temperature for the mash should be 25-30 ° C. Yeast is introduced into the warm wort and their work begins immediately. This level of heat should be maintained for about two hours. This time will be enough for the fermentation process to start in full force.

Then the wort is removed to a warm place, you can put it near the battery. The temperature of the mash should be at least 18 ° C, but preferably 25 ° C. This will be enough for a full fermentation. After all, the yeast will already begin to emit carbon dioxide and the wort will warm itself on its own.

Important! Braga is heated from above, to ensure a uniform temperature, it must be mixed daily.

Thermometers and thermostats

Temperature measurement will need to be carried out at all stages of making home-made moonshine, so you can’t do without measuring instruments.

You can use a mercury thermometer, the scale of which reaches 120 °. Such a measuring device is glass, so using it, you need to be extremely careful.

In the presence of material resources, it is more advisable to use a bimetallic thermometer or multimeter.

Today, there are many moonshine stills with a built-in thermometer. However, the accuracy of such built-in devices is not accurate enough, so you still need to use a conventional thermometer.

Thermoregulators allow you to maintain the required temperature in the fermentation tank. Temperature controllers come in various capacities, which one to choose depends on the volume of the container. So, for a barrel of 50 liters, a device with a power of 50W to 100W is suitable. The device works cyclically, so the cost of electricity will be negligible.

An aquarium thermostat is perfect for constantly maintaining the required temperature, it is not expensive and you can buy it in almost any pet store. It is worth buying at the rate of 1W of power per 1 liter of liquid. You should not take a very powerful one, since the heating will not occur evenly and the yeast in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe thermostat can burn and die.

If it is not possible to use a thermostat, and the temperature of the mash is insufficient, it can be heated in warm water. To do this, water is drawn into the bath and a container with mash is placed there. It should be kept in water until the required temperature is established.

The temperature of the mash during distillation

To produce a distillate from the mash, it is necessary to create conditions for the evaporation of alcohol. Already when the mash is heated to 65 ° C, the evaporation of the first fractions begins. In the people this alcohol is called "pervak". Experts say that the first and last fractions contain many harmful substances and such moonshine can only be used for technical purposes.

Braga is heated over high heat until the temperature reaches 63 ° C. Further, the heating of the mash to 78 ° C is carried out over low heat. If the fire is not turned on in time, the tobraga will flow into the cold part of the unit, and the distillation will need to be done again. At 78 ° C, the release of the product we need begins.

Gradually, the temperature of the mash will rise and reach 85 ° C. When this happens, the distillation process stops. At such a high temperature, fusel oils begin to evaporate, which affect the quality of the finished moonshine, it will be cloudy and with an unpleasant odor. "Tails" are also collected. Such moonshine can be used to increase the strength for the next portion of mash.

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