How much mash should roam and how to influence the process? What to add for better fermentation. Why sour mash is obtained and how to save it

Put a braga? What could be easier! Take the right raw materials, pour water, add yeast, sugar and you're done. It remains only to put the container with the wort in a warm place and wait for maturation. It's like that. But why does mash sometimes turn sour? And if the mash turned sour, what should be done? Distill it in the hope that the sour taste will go away during the distillation process? Throw out the spoiled product? Try to somehow fix the situation?

In fact, it is necessary to initially take care of preparing a quality product for drinking or subsequent distillation into a distillate. Firstly, to select the correct proportions of ingredients and high-quality raw materials. Secondly, adhere to the order of the stages of the technological process. Thirdly, strictly observe the conditions of fermentation. And that's not it.

Why does the mash turn sour?

In addition to alcoholic fermentation, there are many other reactions in the must that are not always necessary for winemaking or home brewing. Millions of bacteria and a variety of microorganisms live in the feedstock, water, yeast used, air, and on the walls of the dishes in which the wort matures. All of them are somehow involved in chemical reactions. Sometimes, under certain conditions, the result of their presence is the appearance of an unpleasant odor, souring, the transformation of the must into jelly with an indigestible taste, infection of the mash.

What can cause an increase in the acidity of the wort? Among the main adverse factors:

• Excess oxygen. Fermentation is an anaerobic process. If the solution is stirred frequently, the oxygen content of the wort will increase. Oxygen does not prevent fermentation, but at the same time it contributes to the onset of other, completely unnecessary oxidation reactions. In particular, an excess of oxygen leads to the synthesis of acetic acid, as a result of which the mash acquires a characteristic sour taste. The concentration of ethyl alcohol is automatically reduced sharply.
• Lactic acid bacteria. If infection occurs, the mash will quickly turn sour, fermentation will stop. Doing anything to "reanimate" such a product is useless. The wort will have to be poured into the toilet.
• Temperature violation. So that the mash does not turn sour, it is necessary to maintain a constant temperature in the room, to prevent its drops. The optimal conditions for normal fermentation are 25-28°C.
• No water seal. A water seal (an alternative is a rubber medical glove with a hole in the finger) is needed to release carbon dioxide. It also prevents oxygen from entering the fermentation tank. In some mash recipes, but you need to carefully monitor the acidity of the wort.

Separately, it must be said about infection with fungi and bacteria. Wild yeast is a fungus, a microorganism, one of the waste products of which are alcohol compounds. But not all types of these microorganisms are suitable for proper fermentation of the wort. If the mash is infected with pathogenic fungi of the species Saccharomyces, Candida, Hansenula, Pichia, it is impossible to obtain a high-quality distillate. The concentration of harmful compounds and unnecessary impurities in raw alcohol will be too high.

The presence in the must of bacteria Klebsiella, Megasphaera, Obessumbacterium proteus and some others causes the formation of dimethyl sulfide. A sign of bacterial contamination is the smell of boiled corn. If the smell of rotten eggs (sulphurous compounds) comes from the mash, too much hydrogen sulfide has formed in it. At the same time, the acidity of the solution may remain within acceptable limits, but it is not recommended to distill such a wort, since the distillate will also smell unpleasant.

What to do if the mash turned sour?

You can neutralize the acidic environment with alkali. The vinegar taste of the wort is removed by adding baking soda or chalk to it. This must be done before distillation. recommended at least 2-3 times. Before each subsequent distillation sort the distillate to 25%. Head and tail fractions should be taken in larger quantities.

1. Preparation (activation) of yeast. Dissolve some sugar in warm water (30-35°C). Add the right amount of yeast. Standard proportions: pressed yeast - 100 g per 1 kg of sugar; dry baker's yeast - 100 g per 6 kg of sugar. The yeast solution is left for 45-90 minutes in a warm place. The appearance of abundant foam indicates the readiness of the yeast to be added to the wort.
2. Wort preparation. Sugar is dissolved in warm water at the rate of 1 kg of dry raw materials per 4 liters of liquid.
3. Braga. The sugar solution is combined with activated yeast. Stir. Pour into a fermentation container. Transferred for fermentation in a warm room with a constant temperature (23-30°C).

During fermentation, the mash heats up, so you need to carefully monitor that the total temperature in the room and in the must does not exceed 40 ° C. Otherwise, the yeast will die, the mash will turn sour. If the temperature in the room is not high enough, the fermentation tank must be insulated by wrapping it with a blanket, heat-insulating material.

Ripening time - 3-14 days, depending on the feedstock, fermentation conditions. The readiness of the product for distillation is determined by the absence of carbon dioxide emissions, appearance (transparent upper layers), smell (characteristic alcohol), taste of mash (bitter and sour, without sweetness). Signs of readiness must be present in the complex. Only in this case, proceed to the next step in the preparation of strong alcoholic beverages.

Moonshine is a creative process that requires time and quality resources. Simple (we recommend choosing a device with a distillation column of the brand or with a dry steamer of the brand) - this is half the battle, it is important to properly prepare the mash so that there is something to distill on this device. And there is nothing worse than wasted effort and ruined raw materials. You can understand that the mash has turned sour almost immediately: usually even a day is enough for signs of souring to appear. There may be several reasons for this, but the main one is the access of oxygen to the surface of the mash. That is why tightness and a properly installed water seal are important.

Determining sour mash is quite simple:

• the most striking sign is the pungent smell of vinegar. Even in small concentrations, it is felt quite clearly;
• the taste of mash is very sour, it can even reduce cheekbones;
• suddenly stopped fermentation may also indicate souring;
• the absence of a water seal or its incorrect installation will also most likely lead to the fact that the mash will turn sour.

Attention! The light sourness of the mash is a variant of the norm, since various organic acids are released during the fermentation process. Plus, the raw material itself may contain acids (especially acidic fruits and berries). Do not panic if the above signs of souring are absent, and a slight sourness is present.

And if there are several of the above signs and a white coating (film) appears on the surface of the mash, then it is completely infected with bacteria. It would be better to just pour such a mash.

But what to do after they found out that the mash turned sour? Everything will depend on the degree of souring: if you managed to “catch” this process at the initial stage, then the mash must be clarified and distilled into raw alcohol, after which the strength and content of “absolute alcohol” should be determined, the raw alcohol should be diluted to a strength of 20 degrees, and baking soda at the rate of 25 grams for each liter of "absolute alcohol". Leave for 2-4 hours under the lid, then overtake again.

If you are planning, then make sure that all materials used (except copper) are inert to alcohol and will not oxidize at high temperatures: this will also lead to acidification of the final product and an unpleasant "metallic" taste and smell.

It will be easier to pour out the sour mash of medium degree, since there is already little alcohol in it (bacteria have processed alcohol into acetic acid), and it will be much more difficult to get rid of the sour taste and smell.

At the beginning of my modest work, I treated her reverently and with some apprehension. Yes, and she behaved accordingly. She was nervous and even hysterical at times. She had seizures like epileptic seizures - with foam and the expulsion of waste products from herself. I fed her, supplemented her with vitamins, and gave her medication for seizures. It helped a little. She wandered for a long, long time, not wanting to reach the condition. I had to listen to her for two weeks, worrying "whether she caught a cold." In general, such a peculiar thing, almost a “family story”. And then I met THEM...

Well, seriously, it really didn't work at first. It seems that I do everything according to the recipe, I ferment the yeast, weigh according to the recommendations, add nitrogen fertilizer. I get strong foaming in the first 24 hours, and then a long and sluggish fermentation. I fought with foaming by adding biscuits crushed into small crumbs, interfered. It helped, but not for long. The “experienced” warned against souring the mash, so they put the bag under the elastic. Wandered for 10 days and 2 weeks. Focused on taste - sweet or not. A couple of times I distilled the still sweetish one with obvious strong losses in output. All this bodyaga happened on dry yeast. I tried both SafLevur and Pakmaya, followed the expiration date - I took it no older than two months from the date of manufacture. Nothing has changed drastically. Then I bought a pack of fresh pressed yeast from the Kursk plant weighing 1 kg.

In the next "sourdough" I sloshed 700g (for 7kg of sugar) and got ready for the next entertainment with foam and the rest. Yeast did not ferment. I wait half an hour - nothing happens, after another fifteen minutes the flask (50 liter white plastic) buzzed. In the literal sense of the word. Such a kind of mid-range rumble from myriads of small bubbles, which I used to observe after the completion of foam fermentation and on a much more modest scale. No foam. None at all. Only these small bubbles and rumble. And so two days. Then everything was quiet, the package fell off. Well, I think, now again to wait a week, but I decided to try the taste. It was bitter and at the same time slightly sour taste like dry wine and strong! Now it’s funny to me, but then it was something - 2 days and a completely ready-made mash and without foam. I waited two more days, the mash began to delaminate, then decanting (I didn’t immediately start using bentonite) and that’s it. And happiness came to me.

Now I put 500g on the same 7kg of sugar, pour warm water from the tap (no higher than 30º), knead the yeast in my hand, then rinse my hand in a container. No water seal is needed, but I put the bag as a signaling device. I don't add any fertilizer. It buzzes with remarkable repeatability for 2-3 days (the period depends on the freshness of the yeast), the day stratifies (this is the most reliable indicator of readiness - the yeast gobbled up all the sugar and go to bed), bentonite at night and in the morning we have a container of transparent mash and a layer of dense sediment at the bottom. Decant into a cube and you can work.

Yes, in the process of active fermentation, the yeast smell is stronger than from dry ones (it is also present there), but the readiness dates speak for themselves. By the way, if you reduce the weight (not 100g per 1kg of sugar, but 70g, as I do now), then the smell becomes less. In general, I no longer work with dry yeast - this is the time. And two - in all mashes, including fruit and cereals, I also add pressed yeast (of course, much more modest weights compared to sugar mash) to speed up the process and prevent souring and other misfortunes. While alcohol yeast is working, the rest (lactic acid, acetic acid and other dirty tricks) do not shine, so when the alcohol yeast gets tired, and the alcohol content is low, there is a risk of developing these fermentation processes that go with the destruction of alcohol and the formation of all sorts of foreign compounds. Of course, there are times when these fermentation processes are appropriate. For example, in the preparation of viscose wort, after the completion of alcoholic fermentation, lactic acid fermentation is specially launched by adding special cultures (bifidobacterin or lactobacterin or something similar) to obtain “especially tasty whiskey”. I haven't practiced this yet, but a pack of Lactobacterin is in the fridge. Or when preparing rum, combined fermentation is used, but already with cultures of acetic acid bacteria. In general, there is no limit to perfection.

You ask, why is this rich woman in the illustration? Well, firstly, her name is Ana Braga, and secondly, there must be at least one interesting picture on the blog. 🙂

A small FAQ on Braga . Will be compiled according to search queries that bring visitors to this blog.

1. What to do if the mash is not good?

As experienced drivers used to say: there is a spark, there is gasoline - it should start. There are no special tricks with mash, especially with sugar: there is sugar, there is yeast - it must ferment. If many days have passed, and the mash is still sweet, then there is a lack of goodness (not all sugar is processed by yeast into alcohol). There may be several options here:
- alcohol content is low - the process is going on, but very slowly, due to a lack of yeast or low temperature of the mash (yeast does not work well at temperatures below 18ºС and can completely "fall asleep", except for wine ones - on the contrary, they prefer low temperatures). Measure the temperature, if it is above 20º - add yeast (the original yeast could be expired or stale, you could pour it into too hot water and some of it died, well, etc.), if the temperature is low, first try raising it to 24- 26º wrap;
- alcohol content is high - the process does not go. When a certain concentration of alcohol in the mash is reached, the yeast stops working. You could shift the sugar and the yeast just can't process all of it. In such a situation, you need to dilute the mash with water to reduce its strength and the fermentation process will resume.

2. How to increase the alcohol content of mash?

Sugar needs to be added in one form or another. At the same time, it must be remembered that a certain yeast culture is designed for a certain limiting degree, upon reaching which they stop working. So a reasonable balance is needed. In addition, with a low alcohol content of the mash, less fermentation of unnecessary components occurs. There is a technology for using "clean" mash, it does not allow alcohol content above 5%, which is ensured by a high hydromodulus.

3. What to do if the mash is sour?

Just sour or bitter sour? In the second case, this means that the mash has completely won back and needs to be distilled. In the first case, it is very likely that the mash was contaminated and turned sour, i.e. the fermentation process went according to the acetic acid or lactic acid version. In this case, alcohol is no longer fermented, but rather is processed into other compounds. You can try to overtake (it happens that they didn’t put enough yeast or fermented it on wild ones, they worked for a while, then other yeast “sat down” and overpowered alcohol), you can immediately pour it out.

Sour moonshine is a problem that novice distillers often face, who make mash using the peasant method - without a water seal. If you take action in time, you can try to save the drink using improvised means. Separately, we will consider the causes and measures to prevent souring of the mash.

During fermentation, the yeast produces organic acids, so do not panic ahead of time - there should be a slight sourness in the mash (the intensity depends on the raw materials). The main thing is to prevent acetic souring, which is easy to recognize by the characteristic features indicated below. In turn, the finished moonshine should not be sour, this indicates a violation of the technology.

Signs of sour mash:

• missing or incorrectly installed water seal;
• sudden cessation of fermentation;
• sharp, "beating in the nose", vinegar smell;
• burning sour taste, sometimes even reduces the cheekbones.

Why sour mash. It's all about acetic bacteria, which, when air enters the wash and a temperature of 6-45 ° C, begin to process the resulting alcohol into acid and water. At the beginning of fermentation, carbon dioxide pushes oxygen out of the tank, preventing souring. But when the rate of fermentation drops, there is not enough carbon dioxide, resulting in free oxygen contact with the surface. That is why the mash without a water seal turns sour only at the end or after the cessation of fermentation.

Depending on the raw material and temperature, complete souring takes from 3-4 days to several weeks. When the fortress falls below 0.2%, acetic bacteria fall into suspended animation. But even a slight souring (less than 24 hours) is enough for the distillate to have a sour taste, which will have to be eliminated, and not always successfully.

Prevention of sour moonshine. After laying the ingredients and yeast, it is enough to install a water seal of any design on the fermentation tank, for example, a medical glove with a hole in the finger (pierce with a needle).

Then be sure to check the tightness - blow in through the outlet pipe, with proper installation, the gas should not leave the tank.

The water seal releases carbon dioxide, releasing excess pressure, but prevents oxygen from entering the tank. Thanks to this, the mash does not sour even a couple of weeks after the complete stop of fermentation.

Two more rare reasons for the appearance of a sour taste in moonshine are the selection of distillate during distillation almost to water (minimum strength in the stream) and the wrong choice of moonshine still materials.

In the first case, a lot of organic acids released during the fermentation process get into the moonshine, which have a high boiling point (more typical for grain or fruit mash). In the second, the material is in contact with alcohol, as a result of these chemical reactions, various acids can appear.

Prevention - do not be greedy, finishing the distillation on time, and choose moonshine stills (including containers and connecting tubes) from materials inert to alcohol: copper, stainless steel, glass, etc.

How to fix sour moonshine

The effectiveness of the proposed method depends on the degree of souring of the mash. If there is too much acetic acid (a pungent smell, a burning taste and strength are not felt), it is easier to pour out the mash, since the yield of moonshine will be minimal - the bacteria have processed almost all the alcohol into acid and water. In other cases, you can try to improve the taste, but you will definitely need to re-distill.

Acid quenching technology:

1. Overtake the wash for the first time, finish the selection when the strength in the jet drops below 45%. Measure the total strength of moonshine, determine the amount of pure alcohol. For example, 2 liters of 55% contains 1.1 liters of pure alcohol (2 * 0.55 = 1.1).

2. Dilute the distillate with water up to 20%.

3. Add baking soda or chalk to the moonshine at the rate of 25 grams of the substance per 1 liter of pure alcohol.

3. Stir. Close hermetically. Leave for at least 3-4 hours.

4. Overtake again. During distillation, collect the first 15% of the yield from the amount of pure alcohol separately, pour it out or use it for technical needs. Stop product selection when yield drops below 45%.

5. Dilute moonshine with water to the desired strength, seal tightly and leave for 3 days to stabilize the taste.

It happens that moonshine suddenly becomes sour. This problem is most often encountered by beginners who do not take any measures in order to prevent oxygen from entering the mash. But it turns out that there are other reasons why wheat mash sometimes turns sour.

Is mash sour? Having tasted the mash obtained from grain under normal conditions, you can feel a bitter taste with a noticeable aroma of the feedstock, without sourness. Souring of the mash is a phenomenon that does not occur under normal conditions. What to do to prevent this?

It is necessary to choose only high-quality products as raw materials. In addition, you need to observe their proportions and follow the instructions described in the recipe as accurately as possible.

What are the reasons for sour mash?

In Braga, in addition to the process of alcohol fermentation, naturally, other processes take place that have nothing to do with home brewing. Microorganisms and various bacteria live on dishes, in raw materials, in the air. They will, under certain conditions, be involved in the ongoing reactions. These reactions and processes can often cause such undesirable phenomena as the souring of the mash, the appearance of an unpleasant odor, or even the cessation of fermentation.

Some reasons why mash turns sour:

Too much oxygen. Fermentation must take place anaerobically, which means that for the yeast to convert sugar into alcohol, the absence of oxygen is a necessary condition. If a water seal is not installed or is constantly removed, for mixing or other purposes, the amount of oxygen increases. In principle, it does not interfere with fermentation, but promotes another process - the synthesis of acetic acid. For this reason, the mash becomes sour, and also, the concentration of ethyl alcohol is significantly reduced.
Lactic acid bacteria. Fermentation will stop when infected with them and the mash will deteriorate. It is useless to reanimate such a product, it will simply have to be poured.

Violation is another reason for sour mash, you need to maintain a stable temperature in the room. The optimum temperature for fermentation should be around 25-28 degrees.

As noted above, the reason for the souring of the mash may be the lack of a water seal. It is designed to release carbon dioxide, at the same time it blocks the access of oxygen. Often an alternative solution is a glove with a hole in the finger. If a water seal is not specifically installed in the recipe, then the level of acidity must be controlled.

About infection with fungi and bacteria should be discussed separately. Quite often, instead of ordinary yeast, wild yeast is used, and they can also get into the wort from raw materials. The product of the vital activity of these yeasts, as a rule, is compounds of alcohols. Not all types of microorganisms are suitable for this. It happens that the mash is infected with other pathogenic fungi, in this case it is impossible to get a quality product. Harmful impurities in the mash will be very high, so high that it is pointless to distill it in the future.

A sign of dimethyl sulfide infection is a strong smell of corn. If the mash exudes the smell of rotten eggs, it means that too much hydrogen sulfide has formed. Acidity at the same time, can be quite within the normal range. It is not recommended to distill such mash, moonshine will acquire the same taste.

Sour mash is not only of poor quality and gives a small exhaust, but also very dangerous. You need to know the true signs of spoiled and sour mash. What to look for:

• The water seal is incorrect, for example, skewed.
• The fermentation suddenly stopped.
• There was a strong smell of vinegar.
• The taste became sour, burning.

The following will also help protect against souring: the use of a water seal, the correct selection of the components of the mash, the tightness and neutrality of the container for the mash. It is good to protect the mash, you can use some drugs, antibiotics:

Tetracycline antibiotics , to protect against souring, mash is widely used in home brewing. Popular, for example, is a drug such as Doxycycline. It is stable in an acidic environment, does not affect the taste of moonshine, is inexpensive and quite affordable.
They also use a safe food supplement - nisin. It is problematic to buy, and some types of bacteria are immune to it. The advantages are low cost, good solubility, fairly good productivity, and safety.
Antibiotics of the penicillin group also often used in the manufacture of moonshine. The most common is Amoxicillin. This antibiotic is quite effective, but it has a significant drawback. The components of amoxicillin can cause allergic reactions. For this reason, it is recommended to use it only in cases where the mash will undergo distillation, during heat treatment it completely disintegrates.
Most often, antibiotics are used in combination, bacteria develop resistance to certain species. Therefore, more than one type of antibiotic is often required. They are introduced before the yeast is added, and if suddenly, the acid still appears, then after 3–5 days the procedure must be repeated.

Sour moonshine, how to fix?

A popular method is to add chalk and soda. But the effectiveness of this will depend on the amount of acetic acid in the wash. If, with a sharp vinegar smell, the taste of alcohol is not felt, you just need to pour the mash, the yield of a useful product will be small. In a more positive version, when in addition to the vinegar smell there is also the taste of alcohol, it can be saved using the following technology:

1. Overtake the mash, finishing the selection of the product at a strength below 45%.
2. Measure the total strength and determine the amount of alcohol.
3. Dilute to 20% and add chalk and soda, 25 g of the substance per liter of pure alcohol.
4. Mix and seal tightly. Leave for 4-5 hours.
5. Then re-distill, collect 15% separately and pour. Finish the selection of moonshine at a strength level below 45%. Dilute moonshine to the required strength and leave for 2-3 days until completely stabilized.

There is another way to save sour mash. As soon as fermentation has stopped add sugar, 2 tablespoons per liter. After a couple of hours, signs of fermentation will appear. Also, sourdough from grains, fruits or berries can save the day. If fermentation still has not started, you can try pouring rice into the mash, for 10 liters of wort, half a glass of rice. After two days, the taste returns to normal.

How to cook mash so that it does not turn sour?

When preparing wheat mash, you need to remember that grains do not contain sugar. They are rich in starch, starch is a polysaccharide, for fermentation it must be broken down.

For splitting, enzymes or malt, which contains natural enzymes, are used. For its preparation, the grain is germinated. You can use artificial enzymes or ready-made malt.

The so-called wild yeast does not require preparation, but their quantity may not be enough if the grain is not properly processed. For beginners, it is better to use artificial yeast, they need preparation. Dissolve a little sugar in warm water, add yeast in the right proportion. Infuse the yeast solution for about one and a half to two hours. After abundant foam has appeared, transfer to mash.

When the mash was set to ferment, it is important to observe the temperature regime and observe complete tightness. Also, do not mix the mash, this will lead to sourness of the mash. The fermentation process usually takes up to 2 weeks, depending on the raw material.

Sour mash is not normal. If the mash is still sour, you can try to save it or you just have to pour it out, but you should not distill it in this form. The presence of acetic acid is not harmful. If the souring of the mash was due to other bacteria, infection occurred, further use is not recommended.