Calculation of water and sugar for mash. A detailed recipe for mash for sugar moonshine

It is difficult to overestimate the popularity of home-made moonshine from sugar mash - it is driven by everyone who has a factory or home-made unit. There is a completely logical explanation for this - sugar is available, easily and quickly fermented, the finished product is pure. The whole process takes no more than 2 weeks. Most of the recipes differ only in the proportions of the main ingredients, so we will give a classic on inverted sugar, according to which both experienced luminaries and novice distillers can prepare a drink.

Preparatory process

We note right away that the recipe for moonshine from sugar and odorless yeast implies the use of only clean dishes, from the mash container to the unit itself.

Ideally, all containers, bottles and pots should be rinsed with hot water (over 60°C) and wiped dry. Only in this case it is possible to guarantee that there will be no smell of third-party impurities in the finished product, and the mash will not turn sour even before it is time to distill it.

For fermentation, you need a transparent bottle with a volume of 15-20 liters with a wide neck.

You will need an aquarium heater - with its help, the fermentation temperature is maintained at around 27-30 ° C.

You will also need:

gauze for filtering;
coal column for filtering moonshine at home from a plastic container and charcoal;
cork bottles for the finished drink.

Ingredients

Calmly and without haste, you can cook a quality product only when all the necessary items and products are at hand.

Granulated sugar - 6 kg

Sugar - for the preparation of the classic moonshine recipe, the most common granulated sugar is used

Regular, which can be bought at any store. It is not advisable to make mash for moonshine from cane, brown and other analogues, since the result in all cases will be the same in taste, smell and strength. But at the fermentation stage, problems can arise.

Water - 24 liters

Fermentation of mushrooms depends on the quality of water, so its choice should be taken very carefully. Depending on the origin, you can use (in descending order of usefulness):

artesian;
spring;
purified;
bottled;
tap water settled for 2-3 days.

Pressed yeast - 600 gr. or dry 120 gr.

The amount of dry yeast may vary depending on the degree of dehydration. The packaging usually contains information about the proportions relative to pressed and recommendations for volume.

foam less;
fermentation is faster - 3-6 days instead of 10-12;
do not die at a high concentration of alcohol (live up to 18 °);
when the shell is broken (heated), less fusel oils are released.

You will learn more about the selection rules in the article ""

Citric acid - 25g.

This product is needed for the preparation of inverted sugar. It is not necessary to replace lemon juice, it is enough to use dry powder.

Bentonite - 4 tablespoons

This is a natural product made from white clay. Needed for absorption and clarification of mash immediately before cooking. Classic moonshine from sugar and yeast will not work if the mash is not clarified first - this will affect the taste and aroma in the future.

On the Internet, you can find recommendations for the use of cat litter (bentonite is also used for their production). But from experience, we say that it is better to buy one that is designed for winemaking - it does not contain third-party flavors.

Technology for the preparation of inverted syrup

It has long been proven that it is better to make mash from invert sugar, and not ordinary sand. The fact is that the speed and quality of fermentation depend on the time spent on the splitting of this product. If the mushrooms consume the invert syrup, the splitting into simple monosaccharides - glucose with fructose - occurs faster, respectively, it takes less time to ferment. In addition, when heated, harmful microorganisms are killed, which can lead to souring of the wort.

It is not necessary to make invert syrup to make mash, but if we want to get an odorless moonshine recipe from sugar and yeast, it is better not to ignore this process.

What do we have to do:

On the stove, heat 3 liters of water almost to a boil - white smoke will leave the surface.
Pour 6 kg of sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Try not to stop stirring so that the mass does not burn.
Bring the syrup to a boil and reduce the heat to a minimum, removing the foam from the surface all the time.
The syrup should boil for 10 minutes, after which citric acid is very carefully poured. Be careful - there will be a lot of foam.
Cover the pot and cook for an hour. Cool in a bowl of cold water.

How to prepare mash for distillation

We proceed to this stage after the syrup has completely cooled down - it will not be too thick, it is more like honey in consistency.

Of those products that we indicated according to the recipe for odorless moonshine from sugar and yeast, a total of about 30 liters of mash will be obtained. If there is not one large container for fermentation, mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and carefully pour into the bottles that you have.

First, dilute the invert syrup with a little warm water so that it dissolves.
At this time, we make yeast starter, for which we dissolve 0.5 kg of sugar and all yeast in a liter of water. You need to wait until fermentation starts and a foam cap appears on the surface.
We heat the rest of the water to 26-28 ° C, dissolve in it the pre-diluted inverted syrup and yeast starter. All this is well mixed and poured into eggplants or left in the same container.
The bottles are covered with a lid with a water seal or a rubber glove, in one or two fingers of which small holes are made. This is necessary to remove carbon dioxide formed during the activity of fungi.

There should be room in the bottles for the reaction - the mash is poured only ¾ of its volume.

They transfer the entire container to a warm, dark room and turn on the aquarium heaters at around 26-31 ° C - this is the optimal mode for the growth and development of fungi. It usually takes 4-12 days to prepare mash for moonshine, depending on the type of yeast.
During this period, the mash is stirred twice a day to remove excess carbon dioxide and connect all products, including those settling to the bottom.

VIDEO: Braga from sugar, yeast and water - a recipe for sugar moonshine

Readiness check

With experience, you will already learn to determine “by eye” when the mash has already prepared for distillation, but first you will need to correlate it with the following signs:

bitter taste - if the yeast worked well, there will be no sugar left in the mass, and the liquid will acquire a bitter taste without sweetness;
no carbon dioxide smell is emitted - the glove has fallen off or the water seal has stopped gurgling;
noticeably clear separation into layers - the upper one is very light and you can see the precipitate;
no slight hiss is heard even when stirring;
if you light a match directly above the surface, it will not go out;
alcoholic aroma is clearly perceptible.

The coincidence of 1-2 signs is not enough, they must all match so that you can confidently proceed to the next stage.

VIDEO: A classic recipe for moonshine made from sugar and yeast without odor

Degassing and clarification

At this stage, you need to remove as much carbon dioxide as possible - its concentration greatly affects the organoleptic properties of the finished drink. Degassing is carried out very simply - by heating and stirring.

First you need to carefully drain the fermented composition without affecting the sediment. It is best to use a thin hose for this - lower it into a container, suck it from the other side and wait for the clean layers to merge.

Next, put the pan on the fire and heat it up to 50 ° C - not higher, so that the release of alcohol-containing vapors does not begin. When heated, CO2 begins to actively exit, and by stirring this process can be accelerated. After 10 minutes, you can remove the pan from the heat and start clarification.

To do this, first grind bentonite and it in very hot water until you get a dense mass resembling rustic sour cream in consistency.

For 1 liter of mash use 15 gr. bentonite.

Pour bentonite into the mash, shake vigorously or mix and leave for a day and a half. After that, it is also carefully poured into a distillation cube, and the sediment is thrown into the trash.

Do not pour the mass with bentonite into the sewer - reacting with itself, it collects in cement pieces that clog pipes.

VIDEO: Description of the classic way to lighten mash

The first distillation of moonshine

At this stage, the task is to separate the moonshine body as carefully as possible from the head and tails, where fusel and other toxic impurities are concentrated.

We have repeatedly told what heads and tails are, and how to cut them off correctly (read ""), so now let's move on to practice.

We make classic moonshine from sugar and yeast, so we carry out a double distillation with intermediate purification.

At the first distillation, we heat the cube to 86 ° - in the first 15 minutes on high heat we bring it to 65-68 °, then we reduce the fire to a minimum and raise it to 86-88 ° С. The slower the heating is in the second stage, the more impurities will leave.

The first liquid that comes out of the refrigerator is heads. We take them in the amount of 180-200 ml (30 ml for each kilogram of sugar), but periodically we take droplets and rub them on the wrist. The heads are cut off until the sharp smell of acetone is felt.

After cutting off the heads, the sukhoparnik is washed out and the receiving container is changed.

The next is raw alcohol - the body or heart of moonshine. We collect it already in the fortress. On average, one kilogram of sugar produces 0.9-1.0 liters of alcohol, respectively, we should get about 6 liters of the body. Periodically measure its strength with an alcohol meter. As soon as it fell to 40 °, we proceed to cutting off the tails. We also collect them in a separate jar. There are not as many tails as there are heads, but it is important to select them before proceeding with the re-distillation.

Cleaning between distillations

Moonshine at home involves several stages of cleaning:

cooked mash;
between the first and second distillation;
after the end of distillation.

In this case, we are talking about intermediate cleaning to eliminate third-party elements. An ordinary coal column is suitable for this, when the bottom is cut off in a bottle, pieces of charcoal are poured tightly, this funnel is inserted into another container and alcohol is passed through it. Fast, convenient and very efficient. If you know and use other cleaning recipes, you can do as you please.

Re-distillation

Before pouring raw alcohol into the distillation cube, it is diluted with water to 20 ° - all this is done to maximize the removal of fusel oils and impurities.

Further, the whole process is completely identical - the liquid is gradually heated, the heads, body and tails are collected. The volume of heads is exactly the same - 200 ml of tails are collected from 6 kilograms of sugar, from which the mash was prepared.

The volume of the body is about 6 liters, depending on the intensity of the refrigerator (the colder the water in it, the higher the productivity).

Tail pruning is an optional step. You can simply stop the distillation as soon as the strength of the body drops to 40 °.

At the second distillation, aromatic herbs and spices can be added to the steamer to give the drink a light aftertaste.

Refinement of the drink

Each moonshiner has his own arsenal of recipes for cleaning moonshine. We practice good old carbon filtration. As an option - activated carbon, but it is better to use wood. This is fast enough and very effective, but you can also use potassium permanganate, milk, vegetable oil, etc.

Breeding moonshine with water

This is needed for:

reducing the strength of the finished drink from 80-88 °, obtained during distillation, to 40 °, perceived by the body;
rupture of molecular bonds and more complete purification from harmful impurities.

Dilute with water according to the formula:

(A / B) x C - C \u003d D

A - the strength of the finished drink;
B - required strength after breeding;
C is the volume of the product obtained;
V - the required volume of water

If we got 6 liters of moonshine with a strength of 75 °, then for dilution to 40 ° we need 5.25 liters of purified or artesian water.

This is the final stage of moonshine. After which the drink is simply bottled, closed and allowed to brew for a week.

After that, you can make different derivatives - the legendary Italian or strong - or just enjoy the pleasant moonshine without the characteristic fusel smell.

VIDEO: How to cook moonshine from sugar and yeast

Moonshine made on the basis of beet sugar is a classic recipe that has been tested over the years. In its preparation, the slightest nuances are important, including the proportional ratio of ingredients and the choice of dishes for mash. Only by observing the technology to the smallest detail, you can get a high-quality alcoholic drink that will not be ashamed to be served to guests at home. We propose to study in more detail all the intricacies of preparing mash from sugar and yeast, to analyze the proportions of the components in the manufacture of moonshine based on it.

Moonshine, made correctly, is an environmentally friendly product, the cost of which is lower than store-bought alcohol. A liter of drink is learned from one kilogram of sugar at a price of about 50 rubles. Ready alcohol can be ennobled, giving it a pleasant color and aroma. The production cycle begins with the manufacture of mash. For this you need to prepare:

glass bottle or can of suitable volume;
a heater used to maintain the temperature in an aquarium;
products for making mash (water, yeast, sugar);
water seal;
a device for measuring the concentration of sugar.

The water seal allows the free exit of carbon dioxide, which is formed during fermentation, but at the same time prevents oxygen from entering the tank. Some amateur distillers successfully replace it with a regular rubber glove. A heater is also needed only in cases where it is not possible to place the mash for maturation in a warm place. A saccharometer is an optional device, but it greatly facilitates the organization of the process.

Before you put the wort for fermentation, you need to thoroughly wash the dishes in which it will ferment. Clean dishes are a guarantee that excess acid will not appear in the wash, which will spoil the organoleptic properties of the finished product. Before pouring, the fermentation container is raised about half a meter above the floor, so that it is more convenient to drain the fermented mash.

How to choose a container?

For the manufacture of mash, sealed dishes made of glass, aluminum or plastic are used. As a rule, bottles or cans with a volume of 25-30 liters are used, but the distiller can choose other containers. It all depends on the scale of home production. The main rule that must be observed: only three-quarters of the volume is filled with mash. It is most convenient to use flasks equipped with a tap located slightly above the bottom. With its help, it will be easy to drain the clarified mash without affecting the sediment.

If we talk about the most suitable material, then glass is considered the best in this regard. However, other utensils suitable for food contact can be used without concern. This will not affect the taste of the finished moonshine. In home production, aluminum milk cans, pots and vats with enamel coating are used. Suitable for keeping mash and utensils made of food-grade plastic.

How to calculate the amount of ingredients for a bookmark?

To make moonshine, three main components are used: water, yeast and sugar. The last two ingredients ensure the fermentation process, as a result of which alcohol is formed. It is preferable to use alcoholic yeast for preparation, they provide improved organoleptic properties of the finished product. The wort during their use is stronger, which means that the time for distillation is reduced.

When calculating the required amount of products, keep in mind that the liquid should fill the dishes by ¾ so that the fermented mash does not break the water seal. Sugar is taken in a ratio of 1:4 to water. A kilogram of "sand" will require 100 g of pressed or 20 g of dry yeast.

The average proportions are calculated for yeast of Russian or Belarusian production. Foreign analogues may differ slightly. Carefully read the instructions, which contain information about the required ratio of sugar and yeast. If you put them more than they should, the mash will ferment, and there will be too much fusel oil in the moonshine. And with a lack of yeast, the process will go too slowly.

Classic recipe

Using the above proportions, we calculate the required amount of products. For a 30 liter container you will need:

beet sugar - 5 kg 600 grams;
purified water - 22.5 liters;
alcohol yeast - 120/560 (dry / pressed) grams.

This is how the classic version of the mash recipe made from beet sugar and yeast looks like.

Water, bottled or filtered, is heated to 30 degrees and poured with sugar, previously poured into a container for making mash. If you are not sure about the quality of sugar or use fermented jam instead, for example, use an alcohol meter. For mash, density indicators should be in the range of 18–22%.

Yeast is pre-bred in a liter of syrup, left warm for ten minutes. This process is called rehydration or activation. Diluted yeast is added to sugar syrup. In order for the fermentation process to proceed more intensively, 20 pieces of grapes (raisins) or half a glass of strawberries and raspberries are placed in the must. In winter, the berries are replaced with half a loaf of rye bread.

The neck is wrapped with several layers of gauze or a water seal is installed and the container with the mash is placed in a warm place, wrapped with an opaque cloth. Please note that the temperature should be constant and not exceed 25-30 degrees, at a higher temperature yeast may die. An aquarium heater helps to maintain the set conditions.

How long is the fermentation period?

Once in suitable conditions, yeast fungi begin to multiply intensively. The result of their vital activity is the release of carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol. As sugar is consumed, the intensity of the process decreases, and then stops altogether. Depending on the characteristics of the yeast strains and the temperature of the wort, the process takes from two days to two weeks, most often it is enough to withstand the brew for five to seven days.

How to determine the readiness of the wort?

Ripe mash ceases to emit carbon dioxide, bubbles and foam on the surface disappear. The liquid brightens, and a dense yeast sediment forms at the bottom. It has a strong alcoholic smell. The ripened mash should have a bitter taste, if the sweetness is still felt and foam forms on the surface, you can stand the wort for an additional two days. If the fermentation process is over, but the taste of the wort remains sweet, then there is excess sugar. This will not affect the taste of the final product, so you can safely proceed to the next step.

Preparation for distillation

Preparation of mash for processing into raw alcohol consists of two parts. First, the yeast sediment is separated from the wort. This can be done by simple filtering. To remove even the smallest particles, first a teaspoon of citric acid is added to the wort, then after a few minutes the same amount of soda. Each time the liquid is thoroughly mixed. After the sediment has been removed, degassing must be carried out to remove excess carbon dioxide. For this purpose, the mash is heated to 60 degrees, stirring vigorously. Preparation can be carried out in the reverse order, the essence of the process will not change from this.

When lightening mash, natural clay is often used. Concrete is preliminarily diluted in warm water (300 ml tablespoon) and allowed to swell. Then the mixture is added to the mash, stand for a day and the clarified liquid is carefully drained, and the sediment remains at the bottom of the dish.

Making moonshine

After degassing and clarification of the wort, it is poured into a still. The first preliminary processing does not involve the selection of fractions. "Pervach" is subjected to repeated fractional distillation, and before that it is additionally cleaned of excess fusel oils and other harmful components. To ennoble the taste of strong alcohol, activated charcoal (birch or coconut) is used, at the rate of 10 grams per liter of drink. Several layers of gauze are placed in a large funnel, coal is poured in and the expelled moonshine is filtered through it.

After preliminary cleaning proceed to. Raw alcohol is diluted to 20% concentration, again poured into the working container and slowly heated. At this stage, “heads” are taken drop by drop in the amount of 50 ml per kilogram of sugar. The next fraction of moonshine, the "body", is collected to a strength of 45⁰ in a jet. Use new dishes for this purpose. "Tails" may not be collected, but the waste will also be useful in further production. They are added to mash in order to increase its strength.

The resulting drink contains 65% alcohol, you should not drink such alcohol inside, it is better to dilute it with water to the desired proportions. To soften the taste of moonshine, it can be heated to 70 degrees on the stove, while the remaining fusel oils will evaporate. Fragrant herbs, citrus zest are added to the still hot drink.

In the case of sugar mash, as in all others, it is important to follow the instructions and the proportions of the ingredients. And then everything will work out!

As a fermentation tank, you can use any container designed for storing food products. It is desirable that it can be tightly closed with a lid, but at the same time be equipped with ventilation holes. The latter successfully replace rubber gloves or more modern water seals.

Many novice moonshiners neglect the cleanliness of containers for moonshine and brew. The flask must be thoroughly washed and wiped with a dry cloth. If the slightest foreign smell remains in it, it will be transferred to sugar and water, which will affect the taste of the final product.

It is not necessary to wash everything clean between distillations, but after finishing and until the next time the still, all hoses and refrigerator should be clean and dry.

As a guide, consider the traditional set of components that will be required for mash and subsequent distillation of 5 liters of moonshine with a strength of 40 °.

The composition of the mash:

pressed ("wet") yeast - 600 gr. or 120 gr. granulated dry;
drinking water - 24 l;
citric acid - 25 gr.;
granulated sugar - 6 kilograms.

This recipe for sugar and yeast mash allows you to get classic moonshine without any frills and specific flavors.

Correctly calculate products

To understand what proportions of sugar and yeast mash should be used, first of all, you need to decide how much moonshine you need to get as a result. Subject to the rules of preparation, approximately 1100 ml of an alcoholic beverage with a strength of 48-50 ° will come out of 1 kg of granulated sugar. But the following factors still influence the volume of the finished product:

quality of raw materials;
temperature regime of aging mash on sugar;
additional components, etc.

Theoretical calculations will always be 5-15% more than the real output.

For 1 kg of granulated sugar, 4 liters of purified water are used, in addition another 500 ml, if inversion is required, 20 gr. granulated yeast or 100 gr. "wet".

Invert sugar

The complex term refers to a fairly simple process of mixing sugar and lemon to make syrup. This is one of the main theses on how to properly put mash on moonshine. Pre-mixing the components will improve the taste of the product and speed up the fermentation process.

To make syrup, follow these steps:

pour 3 liters of clean water into the pan, put on fire and bring to a temperature of 70-80 ° C;
add granulated sugar, the proportions of sugar and liquid should be 2: 1;
stirring the contents, boil it for 10 minutes, while regularly removing the foam “cap”;
when a large amount of foam is formed, gradually pour out 25 gr. lemons and reduce the intensity of the fire to a minimum;
close the lid and cook for 1 hour.

As a result, you should get a viscous dark amber-colored syrup that looks like honey (by the way, unscrupulous sellers often sell invert sugar under the guise of honey).

VIDEO: How to properly invert sugar

We prepare water

Water is an important ingredient in the preparation of mash from sugar and yeast. It forms the taste of alcohol. The correct mash is prepared on a liquid that does not have a shade or taste, it must fully comply with hygienic standards.

Water for moonshine should be soft, purified - most of all, melt, spring and bottled water meet these requirements.

Before preparing the mash, it is recommended to stand the water for two days, this is if tap water is used. Due to long exposure, the composition loses its rigidity, all harmful components settle in the form of a precipitate. Next, you only need to carefully drain or pass through the filter.

Do not use boiled or distilled water. Both of them do not contain the air necessary for the growth of fungi and the active release of waste products - the very ones that make up the organoleptic of moonshine.

Which yeast to choose

Without going into too much detail, we note that the range as a whole is limited to two product groups:

bakery;
alcohol (wine, beer).

You can use both of them, but with some adjustments for the features of fermentation.

Bakery is less suitable than alcohol for the following reasons:

the maximum concentration of alcohol will not exceed 12 ° - anything higher is detrimental to the strain;
in the process of fermentation, a large foam cap will form - when pouring the wort into a container, one third of the volume must be left free;
the finished product will have a specific taste - on the one hand, such an authentic organoleptic is characteristic of moonshine, on the other hand, if you make drinks or tinctures from moonshine, a sharp aroma will be superfluous.

Bakers also have advantages:

price and availability - can be purchased at any grocery department;
fast fermentation - in general, the whole process takes from 8 to 12 days, depending on the composition of the must, while wine can take up to 3 weeks;
the same aroma and taste - for many moonshiners this is a fundamental point.

Spirits, as the name implies, are designed specifically for the preparation of alcoholic beverages. They ferment better - there is practically no residue, they survive even at high concentrations of alcohol, they give a milder taste to the finished drink, there is very little foam. At the same time, they are much more expensive than bakery ones - 100 gr. will cost an average of 140-170 rubles. - and they are sold only in specialized stores.

Mixing components

The second step in the manufacture of mash is to mix the ingredients. The syrup is placed in a fermentation tank, the required volume of water is added to it, in our case it is 24 liters. If a yeast mash recipe with inverted sugar was chosen, then it should first be dissolved. But in any case, you need to use a sweet liquid with a temperature of 26-30 °.

The tank is filled no more than ¾ of its dimensions. This eliminates the possibility of leakage of wort during the action of yeast and syrup. This factor should be taken into account before putting the must on fermentation.

When using bakery, you can only pour 2/3 of the mash into the container - the remaining volume will be filled with a foam cap

The pressed product is added directly to the wort container, but it is preliminarily crushed by hand. Experienced moonshiners dissolve the briquettes in sugar water before adding, after which they cover the consistency with a lid and wait for the formation of a “cap”. As a rule, this process takes 7-9 minutes, after which the mixture is added to the common tank.
Dry products are pre-activated according to the instructions. They are mixed with water 33-35 ° and put in a warm place to form a uniform foam. Next, the contents are mixed into the mash.

fermentation stage

You need to put the mash on sugar and yeast in a dark place with a constant temperature regime of 27-30 ° C. But before that, the container is hermetically sealed with a water seal. To speed up the fermentation, the wort is wrapped in heat-insulating material or an ordinary blanket.

Fermentation can last from 3 to 10 days. Throughout the entire time, you need to mix the mash daily without removing the water seal. Thus, excess carbon dioxide will be released from the mixture.

How to determine the readiness of mash from sugar and yeast:

the smell of alcohol;
bitter aftertaste;
cessation of carbon dioxide formation, hissing;
a lit match continues to burn when brought to the wort.

One match will not be enough, it is best that 2-3 signs are detected at the same time.

Clarification and degassing

Making moonshine from sugar and yeast without this step will be meaningless. Before you put the mash for distillation, you need to remove it from the yeast sediment. This is done with a hose. Next, the composition is heated to 50 ° to remove residual carbon dioxide.

The degassed mash is poured into a clean bottle and clarified. In this case, concrete will be required. It is difficult to find this ingredient in its pure form. But it is contained in the composition of cat litter. Moonshiners have identified several proven brands:

Kotyara;
PiPi Bent;
Closet WC Cat.

When buying a filler, it is important to study the composition, it should not include aromatic substances and dyes.

To lighten 20 liters of sugar and yeast mash, you need 3 tbsp. l. ground bentonite and previously dissolved in heated water with a volume of 0.25 liters. The composition is mixed with the mash and left until the powder settles at the bottom in the form of liquid sour cream. As a rule, it takes up to 20 minutes.

Stages of clarification:

betonite is ground, diluted in water;
the mixture is added to the mash, thoroughly mixed;
the container is closed with an airtight lid and left for 20 minutes;
the purified liquid is drained, and the sediment is disposed of.

Draining sedimentary components into the sewer is strictly prohibited. They form strong plugs in pipes, which are difficult to even mechanically clean.

This is the final stage in the preparation of sugar mash and its purification, followed by the distillation process.

The most popular question among novice distillers is how many times to distill. From experience, we will answer - 2 times, in order to get rid of fusel oils and other harmful components (isoamyl, formic and methyl alcohol, acetic acid, etc.), while correctly selecting heads and tails at each stage. Only in this case, the moonshine will really turn out to be clean and moderately picky.

VIDEO: The easiest and most correct sugar mash recipe

Sugar moonshine is a classic of Russian moonshine. She has won love among many lovers of homemade alcohol. There are a huge number of recipes for making sugar mash at home, in which the proportions sometimes differ, but the moonshine yield is always almost the same. Making homemade alcohol is justified for several reasons. The first is the environmental friendliness of raw materials, sugar is a pure product and properly prepared moonshine does not cause poisoning and a strong hangover. The second is the cost of the product, making moonshine at home is much cheaper than buying store-bought alcohol.

Approximately 1.1 liters come out of 1 kg of granulated sugar. ready drink with a strength of 40 degrees.

As a result, you will get a decent drink, and if it is improved by various methods, then it will not be inferior to expensive elite drinks. The easiest way for a beginner is to make mash from sugar and then distillate. How to prepare a drink correctly, what proportions to use, what dishes and how many ingredients to take, the entire cycle of obtaining moonshine is described in detail in this article.

To make mash you will need: fermentation utensils, water, sugar, yeast, water seal, saccharometer, aquarium heater. The last three devices are optional, it is quite possible to do without them.

Container for mash. The main indicators when choosing dishes for fermentation are: volume, material of manufacture, tightness. For some types of mash, a water seal is also needed, which performs two functions: it ensures the release of carbon dioxide and prevents oxygen from entering the mash.

The volume of the fermentation tank depends entirely on your needs. Be sure to take into account that the mash should fill no more than ¾ of the volume of the fermentation tank. Otherwise, there is a risk of foam being thrown out during fermentation.

Material. The most preferred material for fermentation is glass. Various bottles, glass jars. You can also use food grade stainless steel. Currently, plastic containers of various sizes are sold, the main thing is to make sure that it is suitable for food products. Often at home, aluminum dishes, milk flasks, and pots are used. It is very convenient if the container has a drain valve, which will greatly facilitate the work.

1. Be sure to thoroughly rinse all dishes with hot water and detergent before use, and then dry well with a clean towel. The cleaner the dishes, the less the risk of souring the mash, which can lead to an unpleasant taste of moonshine.

2. Before pouring water, place the fermentation tank on a stand 0.5 meters high. Firstly, this will improve heat exchange, and secondly, it will be easier to drain the fermented mash in the future.

Which yeast to choose. For the preparation of moonshine, it is advisable to take special alcohol yeast. The use of alcohol yeast gives a higher yield of alcohol during fermentation, better organoleptic. The instructions always say how much sugar a pack is designed for. The only disadvantage of alcoholic yeast is that it is difficult to find them and the price is quite high. But instead of alcohol, available dry or pressed ones are suitable. Dry yeast is taken at the rate of 20 grams per kilogram of sugar. Proportions for pressed: 100 grams per 1 kg of sugar.

When using dry yeast, the mash turns out to be no worse in quality, and sometimes even better. Raw pressed ones give the drink too fusel flavor, and the use of dry ones gives rapid fermentation and abundant foaming. Another plus of dry and alcoholic yeast is a long shelf life.

What kind of water to use. Good proper water is the basis of the taste of the final product. For the preparation of sugar mash, well-purified water, odorless, tasteless and without additives, should be used. The most suitable water is spring or bottled. If tap water is used, it is recommended to stand for 1-2 days before use, and then carefully drain it with a hose. Hydromodule: per 1 kg. sugar - 4 liters of water.

Classic sugar moonshine recipe

According to this recipe, mash is prepared from sugar and yeast. The yield of purified moonshine is approximately 5.5 liters after the second fractional distillation, the alcohol content of the drink is 45 °.

Sugar - 5 kg;
Dry yeast - 100 gr;
Spring water - 20 liters.

Pour warm water at 25-30 ° into the container where fermentation will take place, add sugar. Stir the mixture thoroughly until the sugar is completely dissolved. Recently, complaints about sugar have often been received - it does not ferment well, it is not sweet, etc. To avoid embarrassment, you can use the device - saccharometer. The saccharometer shows the density of sugar in the wort. For normal mash, the saccharometer should show a density of 18-22%.
In a separate bowl, ferment the yeast. Pour in 300 ml of water at 28°C, add a tablespoon of sugar, stir, add dry yeast, stir, after about 10-15 minutes, when the yeast has risen, add it to the fermentation tank. To reduce foaming during fermentation, it is recommended to add Saf-moment yeast - 11 gr. If you use pressed yeast in the recipe, then you need to take them 500 gr.
For normal operation, yeast, in addition to sugar and water, requires top dressing. This is not a mandatory moment, but it is desirable, it allows you to speed up the process. There are chemical special top dressings with phosphorus and nitrogen, there are ordinary household methods of top dressing mash. First of all, this is black bread, for 20 liters of mash, half a loaf will be enough. Also, as a top dressing, it is recommended to use grapes, raspberries, strawberries at the rate of 15-20 pieces per 20 liters.
It is not necessary to use a water seal for sugar mash, it is enough to loosely close the lid, and if the neck is small, then cover it with several layers of gauze.

Fermentation. In order for the wort to ferment well, it needs to provide a favorable temperature regime. The ideal temperature for fermentation is 28-31 °C. It can be slightly lower, but in no case higher than 35 °, at this temperature the yeast will die and the mash will not ferment.

A warm room or the use of an aquarium heater allows this mode to be provided. Heaters come in various capacities from 50 watts and more powerful. For 40 liters of mash, 100 watts of power is enough, provided that it is indoors. The convenience of the heater is that it maintains a stable temperature with the built-in thermostat. Set on the regulator 28 ° and lower into the fermentation tank, connect to the power supply.

With proper temperature maintenance, the presence of top dressing, fermentation lasts 7-14 days. Once or twice a day, the sugar mash must be stirred well to remove carbon dioxide.

How to determine the readiness of the mash:

Carbon dioxide stopped emitting, the water seal calmed down, stopped gurgling. There are no rising bubbles on the surface. Light a match over the mash, if it burns, then no gas is released.
Stratification is present in the mash, the top layer has become light, the yeast has partially precipitated.
The taste of mash has become bitter, no sweetness is felt.
The smell and taste of mash has the smell of alcohol.
The most accurate method is to use a sugar meter. If the wort has fermented, then the saccharometer will show “0”.

Clarification and cleaning of mash

Clarification and degassing should be done in order to improve the final taste of moonshine. Degassing is the process of removing residual carbon dioxide. To do this, the wort must be heated to 55 ° C, live yeast dies at this temperature. One of the easiest ways to lighten the mash with cold, if the temperature allows. Take Braga for a day or two in the cold -5 ° or + 5 ° and it will naturally lighten. The yeast will settle, after which the mash must be decanted, that is, carefully drained from the sediment using a thin silicone or PVC hose.

You can also speed up the process and lighten the mash in other faster ways using bentonite, gelatin or protein. For sugar mash, it is most often preferred to use bentonite for clarification. Bentonite is a natural product, natural white clay. The Pi-Pi-Bent brand is suitable for cleaning, the main thing is that there are no flavors in it. For 20 liters of mash, 2-3 tablespoons of clay are enough. Before use, it must be dissolved in a glass of warm water and stirred thoroughly. Then pour the mixture into the mash and mix. After 12-24 hours, the mash becomes transparent, it remains only to drain it from the sediment.

Getting moonshine from mash

First race. Pour the clarified, purified mash into the cube of the moonshine still. And overtake at high power. Heads and tails do not need to be removed during the first distillation. The first time the raw material is taken almost to the water, so that there would be 5-7 degrees in the stream.

Intermediate cleaning. The resulting moonshine before the second fractional distillation must be cleaned of harmful impurities. There are many proven ways to do this. The most popular method among distillers is charcoal cleaning. There is a way to clean with oil and others.

Purification of moonshine with coal. You can clean raw charcoal using a charcoal filter or pour charcoal with raw coal. For the first method, you need to make a filter from a plastic bottle. Cut off the bottom of the bottle a, drill a few holes in the cork. Put a layer of cotton wool tightly into the cork, screw it onto the bottle. Pour BAU or KAU coal at the rate of 10-12 grams of coal per 1 liter of moonshine. Pass moonshine through the filter. In the second method, pour coal directly into raw alcohol. Grind coal beforehand, add 50 g per liter. Stir thoroughly, insist overnight. Then filter the moonshine. Coal absorbs up to 80% of fusel oil and various esters.
Purification of moonshine with sunflower oil. For cleaning, you need to take refined sunflower oil. Dilute moonshine to 15-20 degrees of strength, add 20 grams of oil per liter of raw alcohol. Stir well three times at intervals of 1-3 minutes. Leave for a day to settle, drain with a tube without touching the upper oily layer. Strain through a cotton filter. For cleaning efficiency, these two methods can be combined. First oil, then charcoal.

Fractional distillation. Purified, diluted moonshine from sugar up to 20 degrees, pour into the distillation cube of the moonshine still and proceed with the distillation with the selection of fractions. Select the head fraction at low power. The heads are selected drop by drop, the selection rate is 1-2 drops per second, such a slow selection allows you to qualitatively get rid of the poisonous first fractions. The number of heads is taken 50 ml from each kilogram of sugar.

Then change the receiving container and select the drinking fraction "body". The body is taken up to 45-50 degrees in the jet. Then the tails will go, it's up to you to select them or not. Usually, the tail fraction is added to the mash before distillation in order to increase the yield of moonshine.

Refinement and refinement of moonshine

As a result, you will get moonshine from sugar with a strength of about 65 degrees. For drinking, such a fortress is too high, so it must be diluted with clean bottled water to 40-45 degrees. A special calculator will help to do this correctly. To soften the taste, moonshine can be heated on the stove to 70 degrees, while unnecessary substances will evaporate from it. Pour the diluted distillate into bottles, let it “rest in the glass” for 2-3 days, and preferably a week, and you can start tasting.

Sugar moonshine has a more neutral taste compared to grain and fruit distillates. Therefore, at home, it is more used for preparing various tinctures and liqueurs and making other home-made alcohol.

6 liters of water
1.5 kg sugar
3 packs of Saf Moment
Water from the tap into a plastic bottle for a day for settling.
In the morning I got up, made syrup (5 liters of water and sugar, a little citric acid - half a teaspoon) - 1 hour over low heat.
I put it in a bowl of cold water and add the remaining liter of water to cool faster.
When it became less than 30 gr. pour a little into a bowl, dilute the yeast and back into the container. We mix and forget for a week under a water seal.
There is no foam, although for reinsurance I put the bottle in the basin.
I clean it with bentonite (wee-wee-bent), yes, I take it from the cat.
A day later - like a tear.
I ship and receive

700 ml 80 gr. moonshine is without heads and tails

Is it necessary to select the head and tails? Or is it very dangerous?

A strong home-made alcoholic drink called moonshine is distilled from a special alcohol-containing raw material. The classic version of the product for distillation is sugar mash. When using mash for moonshine made from sugar and yeast, you can completely get rid of the unpleasant smell and taste. A good color and lack of turbidity is also provided by sugar-based mash. The cooking technology is simple and accessible to everyone, and will greatly simplify and diversify moonshine brewing at home.

Container and ingredients

Braga from sugar does not require a special container, ordinary ones, regularly used for fermentation, will do. When choosing a container, there are several main factors to consider:

Size;

The container is selected according to the amount of wort, which should fill no more than ¾ of the total volume. The remaining space will be filled with foam formed from fermentation. "Extra" air in too large a container adversely affects the quality of the finished product.

Material;

Special containers made of food-grade plastic are popular. It is very convenient to use a lid with a water seal, but you can loosely close an ordinary one for the passage of carbon dioxide.

In second place are stainless steel containers that do not react with fermentation products. They are more expensive than plastic, but durable and do not lose their valuable qualities.

Under no circumstances should aluminum containers be used. Braga infused with yeast has an acidic environment and easily reacts with active aluminum.

The most common containers are glass. Large selection of sizes (5-15 liters). The disadvantage is the high light transmission, because of this, the bottles with mash are stored in the dark, and to maintain the temperature they are wrapped in a blanket. Short-lived, breakable material.

Preparation of mash from sugar and yeast for moonshine requires a careful choice of ingredients.

Dry quality sugar.
"Alcoholic" yeast.

The package contains clear instructions for use. They are somewhat more expensive, you can buy them only in specialized outlets or order online. In the absence of the possibility of purchase, ordinary baker's yeast is used. Dry give little foam. But the degree of fortress from their use is reduced.

Purified/filtered water.

The right amount of products guarantees the quality of the drink produced.

How much yeast is needed for 20 liters of mash

To obtain 20 liters, use the available yeast in the prescribed proportions:

If alcohol yeast, then 65 gr;
If dry bakery, then 250 gr;
If pressed ½ kg.

Sugar mash with dry yeast takes longer to ferment. If alcohol brew for moonshine from sugar is not available, it is better to do it with pressed yeast.

The best yeast for mash is alcohol.

The most common is the classic recipe with alcoholic yeast:

20 liters of purified / filtered water;

Tap chlorinated water will not work. Also do not use boiled, it has an insufficient amount of salts and minerals.

6 kg of sugar;
65 gr alcohol yeast;

This amount of yeast provides a high degree of strength of the mash and the moonshine obtained from it.

Correctly calculate products

Moonshine from sugar does not require the addition of additional components. Braga from sugar and yeast loves strict observance of proportions. Three liters of water are consumed per kilogram of sugar (hydraulic ratio 1:3). When using alcohol yeast, the water ratio becomes 1:4/1:3.5. With this proportion, the strength of the mash is from 11 to 16 percent of the revolutions.

The sugar and yeast mash recipe contains classic and easy-to-calculate proportions:

One measure of sugar;
0.1-0.4 measures of yeast;
Four measures of water.

Observing this ratio, it is impossible to make a mistake when calculating for any number of ingredients. You should not save on sugar, as this will reduce the strength of the mash, and hence the distillate. Proper dosage is the key to good quality.

Mixing components

Moonshine from sugar will turn out to be of high quality, provided that the ingredients for home brew are properly mixed.

First you need to activate the yeast: in two liters of water heated to 35 °, dissolve 100 g of sugar, stir 65 g of yeast. Leave to "ferment" for 2 hours. It is better to activate the yeast in a deep dish so that the resulting foam cap does not get out of the dish.

During the standing time, sugar is diluted in water. The main secret is the correct addition to warm water. It is not added immediately, but in portions (in several steps), stirring well. It is good to check the density of sugar in the wort with a saccharometer, which, with a sufficient amount, shows from 18% to 20%. After fermentation, the yeast is added to the wort. Set aside in a warm place for one to two weeks for ripening (temperature 28 ° -32 °). At the same time, the mash withstands a slight decrease in temperature, but not an increase. If the temperature exceeds 35°, the yeast will die and the fermentation will stop. Stir once or twice daily to release carbon dioxide.

Readiness is determined by the unsweetened bitter taste, the smell of alcohol that has appeared and the absence of carbon dioxide bubbles. The most accurate information is determined by the saccharometer, which, when fully "played out", will show zero.