Cooking sugar moonshine can be called a classic of domestic moonshine. In terms of love and prevalence among Russians, this alcohol is the undisputed leader. There are many recipes for sugar mash and distillation methods, but not all methods give a good result. So that beginners do not waste precious raw materials for nothing, I will tell you how to brew moonshine at home. Subject to technology, the drink will turn out better than most store-bought vodkas. We will consider in detail all the nuances of the process.

First, I advise you to take care of the cleanliness of the containers used. The container needs to be washed hot water and dry with a clean cloth. The cleaner the bottles and pans, the higher the quality. Many novice moonshiners make the mistake of neglecting sterility, and then complain about a third-party smell or taste.

As an example, I will give the exact amount of ingredients that are needed to prepare a little more than 5 liters of forty-degree moonshine according to classical technology:

• sugar - 6 kg;
• water - 24 liters;
• dry yeast - 120 grams (or 600 grams pressed);
• citric acid - 25 grams.

Sugar mash recipe

1. Calculation of proportions. First, let's determine the amount of moonshine that is needed at the exit. At home, from 1 kg of sugar, 1.1-1.2 liters of moonshine with a strength of 40 degrees is obtained. But when calculating, I advise you to increase the amount of ingredients by 10-15%, since for various reasons (temperature, quality of raw materials, improper distillation), the real yield is always less than the theoretical one by this value.

For 1 kg of sugar add: 4 liters of water (plus another 0.5 liters if inverted) and 100 grams of pressed yeast or 20 grams of dry.

2. Invert sugar. A very complex name refers to the preparation of the usual sugar syrup with citric acid. The fact is that during fermentation, yeast first breaks down sugar into simple monosaccharides - glucose with fructose, and only then processes these substances into alcohol. Heating also kills pathogens on the surface of the sugar, which are waiting for more favorable conditions (temperature and humidity) to thrive. Activation of harmful microbes in the wash is undesirable, as it can adversely affect the smell.

Moonshine made from inverted sugar ferments faster and tastes better. Although the invert step is considered optional, and most recipes only suggest dissolving the sugar in warm water, I still recommend boiling the syrup.

To invert sugar for mash, you need to do the following:

1. Heat 3 liters of water to 70-80°C in a large saucepan.
2. Pour sugar (6 kg) and mix slowly until a homogeneous mass is formed.
3. Bring the syrup to a boil, boil for 10 minutes, removing the foam from the surface.
4. So slow(a lot of foam will appear) pour in citric acid (25 grams), reduce the heat on the stove to a minimum.
5. Close the pan with a lid, boil for 60 minutes.

Ready syrup

3. Water preparation. A very important stage, during which the taste of the finished product is largely formed. Water for mash must comply with hygienic standards, have no color, no taste, no smell.

Attention! Moonshine water should not be boiled or distilled as this will deplete the oxygen the yeast needs to ferment.

4. Mixing ingredients. Pour the syrup prepared in the 2nd stage into a fermentation container, add cold water(24 liters). If non-inverted sugar is used, dissolve it in warm water, stirring vigorously. In both cases, the optimum temperature of the finished mixture is 27-30°C.

The container must not be filled more than ¾ of the volume, otherwise, during active foaming, the mash may overflow over the edges and it will be necessary to collect the product with a specific smell on the floor.

5. Introduction of yeast. Pressed yeast can be added directly to the container, after kneading with clean hands. But still, it is better to first dissolve the briquette in a small amount of cooked wort (water and sugar), cover with a lid and wait until foam appears. Usually it takes 5-10 minutes.

Before adding to the wort, dry yeast needs to be pre-activated. All you need to do is follow the instructions on the package. In most cases, boiled water is cooled to 32-36 ° C, the right amount of dry yeast is poured in, covered with a lid, and the container itself is wrapped in a dense cloth or placed in a warm place to maintain a stable temperature. After 20-40 minutes, a uniform foam cap will appear on the surface. This means that diluted dry yeast can be added to the wort.

When using baker's yeast, active foaming sometimes begins, which goes beyond the capacity. As a defoamer for mash, I recommend using a crumbled half of dry store-bought cookies or 10-20 ml vegetable oil. The addition of these products will not affect the quality of moonshine in any way.

The video shows the method of setting the mash without inverting sugar with a 1: 4 water ratio.

6. Fermentation. Install a water seal on the bottle with mash and transfer to a room with a stable temperature of 26-31 ° C (very important for the normal development of yeast). Braga on inverted sugar has a pleasant caramel smell that does not spoil the air.

For supporting temperature regime cover the container with blankets or fur coats, insulate it with building thermal insulation materials, or install aquarium heaters with a thermoregulation system. Fermentation lasts from 3 to 10 days (usually 4-7). Every 12-16 hours I recommend shaking the mash for 45-60 seconds without removing the water seal. Shaking will remove excess carbon dioxide that interferes with the normal functioning of the yeast.

signs of readiness sugar mash to race:

• bitter taste (all sugar is processed by yeast into alcohol);
• the release of carbon dioxide has stopped (the water seal does not gurgle);
• the upper layers of the mash became lighter, and a sediment appeared at the bottom;
• the hissing stopped;
• alcohol smell is felt;
• a match brought to Braga continues to burn.

Use the signs in a complex way, you need at least 2-3 to appear at the same time, otherwise it is easy to make a mistake. For example, an excess of sugar leads to the fact that the yeast dies before they have time to process everything. Most yeast fungi "fall asleep" at an alcohol concentration above 12%, so even ready-made mash will remain sweet.

7. Degassing and clarification. Making the right moonshine is unthinkable without this stage. It's time to remove the sugar wash from the yeast sediment, pouring into large saucepan through a straw, then heat to 50°C. The high temperature kills the yeast residue and promotes the release of carbon dioxide from the liquid.

Pour the degassed mash back into the bottle and clarify with bentonite (preferably) - natural white clay, which is sold in bags and as part of cat litter. Verified brands (at the time of publication): Pi-Pi-Bent, WC Closet Cat, Kotyara.

Bentonite

Attention! When choosing white clay, make sure that the composition does not contain aromatic additives that will irrevocably spoil homemade moonshine. Also, before clarification, fermentation must be completely over, otherwise the method will not work.

To clarify 20 liters of mash, you need to grind 2-3 tablespoons of bentonite in a coffee grinder and dissolve in 250 ml of warm water. Then mix and wait until the clay turns into a thick mass, reminiscent of fatty sour cream. This takes 10-15 minutes.

Add bentonite to the mash, close the container tightly and shake vigorously for several minutes. Next, leave the mash alone for 15-30 hours, after which you can start distillation.

The sediment cannot be poured into the sewer, cement plugs may appear there, which are then difficult to eliminate.

The use of bentonite removes third-party impurities that have not precipitated during fermentation. As a result, the unpleasant yeasty smell disappears from the mash, and the expelled moonshine is much easier to clean, since the clay removes most of the harmful substances.

Clarified Braga

How to drive moonshine

8. First distillation. Drain the mash clarified with bentonite from the sediment into alembic. The purpose of the first distillation is to separate alcohol from other substances. Many novice and lazy moonshiners stop at this, never having tasted real homemade moonshine, made according to all the rules.

The distillation is done over low heat. I propose to immediately divide the output into fractions: "heads", "body" and "tails". Collect the first 50 ml per 1 kg of sugar in a separate container. According to our proportions, this is 300 ml of "pervak" - the head fraction, which can only be used for technical needs, due to harmful impurities this distillate is hazardous to health.

Then select the "body" - a useful middle fraction, called raw alcohol. The selection should be stopped when the strength of the distillate (in the stream) falls below 40 degrees. It is better to determine the strength with an alcohol meter (necessarily at a temperature of 20 ° C), but you can also use the folk method - while the distillate is burning in a spoon, continue the selection.

The last to collect the “tails” in a separate container is the third fraction containing a lot of fusel oils. This distillate can be poured into the next mash (after removal from the sediment) to increase the strength or not collected at all by turning off the moonshine after collecting the “body”.

9. Cleaning. Before the second distillation, the middle fraction (raw alcohol) needs additional purification from harmful impurities. There is no single universally recognized method, you can use any.

Cleaning sugar moonshine with coal is considered natural and environmentally friendly, but with the right approach, for example, potassium permanganate with baking soda, they also give a good result. The main thing before cleaning is to dilute the distillate with water to 15-20 degrees so that the molecular bonds become weaker.

10. Second distillation. Pour diluted (required for fire safety purposes) raw alcohol into a distillation cube, start distillation at minimum heat. As for the first time, especially if you make moonshine for yourself, cut off the “heads” - the first 50 ml for each kilogram of added sugar.

Immediately after the selection of the first (head) fraction, it is advisable to replace the dry steamer, if the module is provided for by the design moonshine still. Further, until the fortress in the jet falls below 40 degrees, select the main product.

11. Dilution and settling. At the last stage, dilute home-brew with water to the desired strength (usually 40-45%). To make the taste of the drink softer and more balanced, pour the finished product into bottles, close with corks, let it brew for 3-4 days in a cool, dark place. This time is enough to complete the chemical reactions that occur when the liquids are mixed.

Stanislav shared the secrets of diluting alcohol with water especially for Alkofan.

Homemade moonshine does not need additional advertising. Ease of production and availability, low cost of the necessary components - all this contributes to the fact that all large quantity Russians are interested in ways and recipes to make at home tasty and suitable for a feast with friends.

Making moonshine with your own hands is quite simple:

• sugary or starchy foods filled with warm water th in a certain ratio;
• added yeast to convert the components of the mash into alcohol;
• ready mash is distilled through moonshine for separating an alcoholic beverage;
• homemade alcohol clear, give practically any flavor and aroma.

Knowing the basic patterns of how to brew moonshine, you can easily prepare a high-quality alcoholic drink.

For the moonshine distillation process the following equipment is required:

1. under running or bulk water, the design of which differs significantly. The trading network presents various models of units for almost every taste and budget client.
2. alembic, which can be used as double boilers, cans, pots, buckets, equipped with a lid, in which it is necessary to drill a hole for a tube that discharges alcohol vapor into the coil. The material is preferable - stainless steel, but you can enamelware. The container must withstand heat and not oxidize.
3. Connecting tubes preferably copper or stainless.
4. When distilling moonshine with (prikubnik), it is provided cleaning and flavoring finished product.
5. Container for sealing mash(glass bottles, plastic or metal containers are used).
6. Water seal impervious to oxygen. You can use a simple rubber glove that fits over the neck of the bottle.
7. Wooden spoon to stir the mash.

Also needed tools:

1. alcoholometer to measure the strength of the resulting product;
2. thermometer to regulate temperature requirements;
3. saccharometer to control the amount of sweet product in the mash.

note! Properly expelled homemade moonshine not inferior in quality, and sometimes surpasses factory alcoholic drinks.

Composition - what ingredients are used in moonshine brewing?

At home, moonshine can be brewed from products containing starch or sugar. During fermentation, these components are converted into alcohol. The distillation of alcohol and the yield of the final product depends on the amount of processed components and the strength of the drink.

Fermentation is provided by yeast of natural or artificial origin. "Wild" yeast fungi are found on the surface of unwashed fruits and berries picked in sunny weather. They provide a slow fermentation of the product. You can also use malt produced from sprouted grains, hops.

• a saturated sugar solution is being prepared (2 kg of sweetness per 1 liter of water);
• boils down with slow heating to half the volume of the liquid;
• citric acid is added to prevent crystallization.

The method contributes cleansing the mash from living microorganisms, the activity of which can impair the taste alcoholic drink. In addition, yeast reacts faster with sugar prepared in this way.

How to cook mash for moonshine?

It is believed that it is better for a person to drink a drink containing alcohol. 38-42% , but often the prescription calls for much higher:

• Georgian (chacha) from 70°;
• tinctures - from 45 °;
• – from 70°;
• – up to 75°.

Important! To obtain such a high-quality drink, double or triple distillation (distillation) of the mash is required.

There are a lot of recipes for how to cook moonshine properly, but every craftsman, changing the ingredients or the procedure slightly, gets a new flavor bouquet every time.

Water required medium hardness, it is better to use bottled, which is sold in the distribution network. You can use spring, well.

How to put on tap water:

• collect the required amount of liquid in a clean container;
• stand, covering the neck with gauze, for at least a day at room temperature;
• heat up 35-40°C, dissolve in it the required amount of sugar according to the recipe;
• fill the bowl for mash by 3/4 so that when foaming, the liquid does not overflow;
• add yeast;
• put a water seal, cover the container with a thick cloth that retains heat.

The drink is checked for the following features:

• the liquid became transparent, a sediment gathered at the bottom of the container;
• a clear alcoholic aroma appeared, a match lit above the surface does not go out;
• the mash became bitter, gas bubbles ceased to stand out.

The liquid should be carefully drained from the residue and poured into a still.

How to make moonshine?

When the mash is ready, the problem arises of how to properly distill the liquid in order to get the product High Quality.

Must comply following conditions:

• not used for food first 50 ml moonshine, called " head". The product is used for technical purposes;
• liquid below 40° ("tails") add to the next portion of the mash to increase the yield of the finished drink;
• the middle part is used for drinking "body", which contains fewer harmful impurities.

At what speed to drive moonshine is determined individually. Primary requirements:

• the liquid should flow in a continuous stream;
• the final product is cold;
• additional alcohol vapors do not come out of the coil;
• no loud gurgling is heard in the distillation cube.

Usually, after boiling the mash, the heating is reduced by half.

Finished product cleaning

The rules on how to overtake moonshine to make a good quality drink are supplemented by mandatory home-made alcohol. The following methods are used for this:

• liquid filtration through several layers of gauze;
• decontamination , activated ;
• protein cleansing chicken egg, kefir.

Can combine all methods in order.

It should be remembered that good moonshine is obtained only from high-quality raw materials. It is better for beginner moonshiners to adhere to generally accepted requirements when brewing homemade alcohol. As a result of constant experiments, masters of their craft create new ones, which eventually become a national treasure.

Connoisseurs of alcoholic beverages will certainly not bypass such a well-known drink as moonshine. After all, moonshine can be considered classic drink, which can be prepared independently, and its taste can be very diverse and it will meet the requirements even especially demanding gourmets. Knowing the intricacies of the process and the features of the composition will help to avoid mistakes.

Braga from sugar

Braga, made from sugar and yeast, is considered the most popular alcoholic drink among the inhabitants of Russia, and there are a great many varieties of it.

However, the process of its preparation should begin with the study of some fairly simple recommendations that will allow you to get the highest quality mash, which does not have extraneous tastes and smells, and is also characterized by absolute transparency, which should also be considered an important advantage of this drink.

Since it is often the presence of a foreign smell that is considered the main defect of home-made moonshine. it is getting rid of it that should be considered a priority before starting the moonshine brewing process.

In order for the resulting mash from sugar to be fragrant, not disappointing with its taste and not requiring secondary purification, the following rules should be observed for preparing for the main process:

• all containers that are required in the process of obtaining mash must be perfectly clean. Do not be lazy, wash all the pots, bottles and basins in which you plan to produce mash with hot water with a sufficient amount of detergent, and you will be sure that it is your moonshine that will pleasantly surprise everyone whom you decide to pamper yourself with a drink prepared by yourself;
• after thorough rinsing, the containers should be wiped with a clean cloth - this will also allow you to get rid of the resulting product of the highest quality, which does not have any foreign smell and taste;
• strict observance of the quantity of all components - this condition must also be observed as accurately as possible, since it is their ratio that makes the drink itself saturated, having a clearly defined taste and smell.

Today, the attention of lovers of moonshine is represented by many of the most different recipes, which may differ both in the constituent components, their quantity and ratio, and in the stages and their sequence in the process of making moonshine. The recipe for moonshine may vary depending on the place of its manufacture, the characteristics of the culture and even the natural conditions of the region where it is planned to start making mash.

The classic technology for making mash from sugar and yeast: the amount of initial ingredients

Moonshine at home, which is prepared according to the classical technology, is of the highest quality, does not have an unnecessary smell, and also an unpleasant taste, but it is uniquely transparent and at the same time pleasant in taste, it is made from the following components:

1. granulated sugar - 6 kg;
2. citric acid in the amount of 25 grams;
3. water preferably purified drinking - 18 liters;
4. yeast - in dry form 120 grams or pressed yeast 600 grams.

From the listed amount of ingredients, about 5 liters of surprisingly tasty moonshine will turn out, while the resulting forty-degree drink will be delicious.

Classic mash recipe at home

The classic recipe has a number of specific features that apply when using any number of ingredients and their combinations. The technology for obtaining mash made from granulated sugar, carried out at home, is quite simple.

Let's take a closer look at what steps should be followed so that your work is not in vain, and time and effort are not wasted.

Proportion calculation

To get mash at home, you must first calculate the amount you want to get.

For a more accurate calculation necessary ingredients you need to know that 1.1 liters of a drink of forty degrees will be obtained from 1 kg of sugar. However, it often happens that due to the not quite correct amount of starting ingredients, errors in the distillation technology and not strict adherence to the temperature regime. For this reason, the moonshine recipe should be changed, and all components should be taken 10 percent more than recommended.

In order for home-brew to have a pronounced taste, the following ratio of components should be observed: for 1 kg of granulated sugar, 3.5 liters of high-quality purified water are taken and preferably not tap water (half a liter is added when sugar is inverted), as well as yeast in the amount of 100 g if yeast pressed, or 20 g when the yeast is dry.

Sugar inversion process

Inversion, which is the preparation of sugar syrup, allows for more complete breakdown of glucose and destruction of pathogenic microorganisms by raising the temperature. After all, it is microbes that worsen the taste of the resulting mash and at the same time can cause it to spoil.

Also, with the help of inversion, the fermentation process is improved, which greatly facilitates the work of the yeast, and also allows for a more complete mixing of all components. And although many recipes suggest only stirring sugar in water, it is inversion that is considered the most preferred option for obtaining high-quality moonshine.

The conversion process consists of several steps:

• water heating - its temperature should be about 80 ° C;
• 6 kg of sugar is poured into three liters of heated water;
• the syrup is then quickly brought to the boiling point, and after 10 minutes 25 g of citric acid should be added to it;
• after that, the syrup is boiled again for 1 hour.

Water - quality requirements

Since it is water that is the basis of the mash, the moonshine recipe will be most successful when high quality water is used: not hard, without foreign taste and smell.

This can be achieved if the preparation of moonshine is based on purchased high quality purified water. If tap water is used, then it should be collected in large containers, preliminarily stand for several days and then carefully drained, placing the resulting sediment at the bottom.

The process of mixing the constituent components

After receiving the sugar syrup, it is poured into a container in which fermentation will take place. Water at room temperature is added to the syrup with constant active stirring. The final temperature of the mixture should be in the order of 27°C.

After mixing the syrup and water, the resulting homogeneous mixture should not occupy more than 3/4 of the maximum volume of the container used, since during subsequent fermentation the foam may overflow.

Introduction of yeast

For a more active action, yeast should first be kneaded by hand, placed in a small container with warm water, then left for a short amount of time (about 10 minutes) - this is necessary to start the fermentation process. This applies to pressed yeast.

Dry yeast should also be pre-soaked in warm boiled water, left until dissolved, and now wrapped and put in a warm time. After 40 minutes, a stable cap of foam appears on the surface - this is an indicator that the yeast is active and the fermentation process has begun.

If, when using dry baker's yeast, too active foaming occurs, a small amount of biscuits should be added to the container to activate the yeast: this will not adversely affect the quality of the mash. Moonshine at home will now retain its excellent qualities and delight with excellent taste.

fermentation process

Further, moonshine brewing at home continues by transferring filled containers to a room in which a constant temperature is observed, the most optimal for the active work of yeast is 25-30 ° C. The use of inverted sugar allows you to get mash with a pleasant taste and caramel smell.

On the containers in which fermentation takes place, you must first put on water seals. Also, containers to maintain a constant temperature are wrapped in warm clothes (blankets, fur coats, building insulation materials), and an aquarium temperature maintainer can also be used.

The duration of fermentation is about 3-11 days, most often the end of this process is already observed on the 5-8th day. Shaking containers with mash after 10-12 hours allows you to speed up the process, as well as remove excess gas from the mixture.

• stops the formation of foam;
• a lit match brought up does not go out;
• there is an alcohol smell;
• the taste of the resulting liquid is bitter, which indicates the end of the transition of sugar into alcohol.

The complex application of the listed signs can help not to make a mistake in determining the readiness of the mash.

We brighten the wash

The use of natural white clay, or bentonite, allows you to clarify the resulting mash and eliminate excess carbon dioxide.

To do this, the mash is drained from the sediment from the yeast, and then heated. The high temperature kills any remaining yeast.

Now the mash is poured back into the container, bentonite is added to it and the resulting mash is clarified. Bentonite is pre-ground with a coffee grinder, then mixed with water at a low temperature until a consistency is formed. liquid sour cream and pour the resulting mixture into the mash. Intensive mixing allows you to best clean and make the mash transparent. Next, the mash is left completely alone for 25-30 hours.

The cleaned mash is poured into a container, the sediment should not be poured into the sewer, as it can harden and turn into a hard-to-destruct cement plug, which is difficult to remove and creates serious problems in the sewer.

The process of obtaining moonshine

Moonshine at home is expelled from the obtained and purified mash, which is already ready for use. To do this, you must also follow a certain sequence of actions.

First distillation

This process is to extract alcohol as much as possible.

To do this, the clarified mash is poured into the distillation cube, a slow fire is turned on, and separate fractions are separated. The first of them, the “head”, is 50 ml and is the most harmful to health. It can be used strictly for technical purposes.

Homemade moonshine

If you still don’t know how to make homemade delicious and high-quality moonshine, it’s time to master this process. Everything is easier than it seems. It is easy to understand why homemade moonshine and drinks based on it are so popular in our country and among our closest neighbors. Here, the unwillingness to pay five times more than alcohol really costs, the low quality of store products, the joy of doing it yourself, and just the spirit of contradiction mixed up here. So, despite the growing store assortment and state quality control, there are more and more home distilleries.

Everything is easier than it seems

To make moonshine in your kitchen or garage does not require any special equipment, nor any skills or knowledge. You only need a little:

1. Utensils for cooking mash.
2. Factory or home-made moonshine still (at first, you can get by with improvised means).
3. Recipe knowledge.
4. The simplest ingredients.
5. Technology compliance.
6. Some free time.

If you have everything in stock, and there is a desire to make moonshine in homemade penates, it's time to start studying the theory.

Equipment and utensils for home distillery

To produce homemade moonshine, first you need a container for the production of mash. It can be a regular saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, but a glass bottle is best. Through the glass you will see how the fermentation is going on, the transparency of the wort, the precipitation. If you don't have one at home, you can easily order it. The optimal volume is 20-30 liters.

After the mash is ready, the most interesting thing comes - making moonshine at home. This is done through distillation (rectification) in the apparatus, the simplest scheme of which you see below.

Distillers, who constantly make moonshine at home and fight for quality, are acquiring more sophisticated equipment with a steamer, pressure and temperature meters. But at first, for cooking, you can get by with this. Moreover: you can build a distillation plant from a pot and a basin (metal bowl) that can be found at home.

In addition to dishes and apparatus, it is worth acquiring an alcohol meter: moonshine brewing at home involves the removal of fractions with a high content of harmful impurities. And here it will be difficult to do without a fortress degree meter.

Cooking mash

Before we prepare moonshine, we need to get an alcohol-containing product - mash. There are dozens or even hundreds of recipes on the net on how to make a good brew from the most different products, but the simplest one looks like this.

Would need:

• sugar - 5 kg;
• water - 22 liters;
• pressed yeast - 200 gr (or 70 gr dry inactive).

If you do not yet know how to make moonshine at home, and not in a laboratory or factory, this option will be the easiest for you. The output will be good workpiece to get strong homemade moonshine - from 4.5 to 6 liters with a strength of at least 45 °. The technology is also not difficult:

• Dilute sugar in 0.5 liters of warm (+25°–+30°С) water until completely dissolved, after which we crumble the yeast there. We put it in a warm (+30°С, but not higher!) place for about 30–60 minutes. During this time, active foaming should begin.
• We also heat the remaining water to + 25 ° C, pour the yeast preparation into it. We mix everything well and leave at t + 25 ° - + 27 ° С. We put on a rubber glove with several punctures on the neck of the bottle - carbon dioxide will be removed through them. Braga is made from the must for about a week.

The end of fermentation is defined as follows:

• foaming has stopped;
• no separation of carbon dioxide - glove opal;
• sugar does not taste, alcohol is felt.

the water should be settled, but not boiled or distilled, the wort in the bottle should be approximately 1/3, since the process involves active foaming.

Making a distillate

Now the most important phase has come - making moonshine at home. Pour the mash into the distillation cube and start heating. Since according to our recipe there will be no sediment (if there is, it must be drained through cotton pads), the tank can be immediately heated to a high temperature. The distillate output should be approximately 350–400 ml/hour.

For those who do not yet know how to make moonshine in accordance with all the rules, it is necessary to clarify that not everything will go “in business”. The extruded product is usually divided into three fractions:

1. "Head" - the product that is first obtained during distillation. It has a strength of 75 ° or more and contains a huge amount of fusel oils. It will be difficult to separate them, so we “cut off” this portion. It is 50 ml for every kilo of sugar that we threw into the wash. In our case - 250 ml.
2. "Body". When moonshine is distilled at home, it is this part that is taken for further processing (you can immediately consume it). The minimum strength should be 40°. We check with an alcohol meter or see if the expelled liquid burns or not (less than 40 ° does not burn).
3. "Tail". This fraction also contains many harmful impurities. However, the "tails" can be used in the preparation of the next batch of mash.

Now that we have received a good product- faction "body", you can bring it to mind.

Purification of moonshine

Even on very high-quality equipment, during the primary distillation of the mash, completely get rid of components harmful to health will not succeed. So the manufacture of moonshine at home implies the mandatory purification of the resulting alcohol.

Here are the most simple ways impurity removal:

1. Filtration through activated or regular carbon. It can be thrown into a jar, allowed to react throughout the day and drained. You can install a funnel at the outlet of the moonshine still with a home-made (cotton layer, coal layer, again a layer of cotton wool) or a purchased carbon filter.
2. Planting sediment with potassium permanganate. The maximum amount is 2 grams per 3 liters. After 2-3 days of settling, you need to filter the liquid, add baking soda, defend and clean again. Connoisseurs of the process recommend distilling moonshine after this.
3. Adding milk, settling and removing flakes through a filter.

So you get a fairly high-quality moonshine, which will contain a small amount of harmful substances.

Softening the taste

If you decide to make moonshine at home in accordance with the best recipes, then

it is optimal to make a secondary distillation and one more stage of purification from harmful impurities. Your drink will be many times cleaner than what is offered in stores. However, even after that, it may have a purely moonshine flavor and excessive rigidity.

To improve the characteristics of the drink, various additives can be used. There can be a lot of options here, but it's best to add:

• lemon;
• citrus skins;
• unpeeled pine nuts;
• partitions of walnuts;
• burnt sugar.

Before cleaning and softening the finished moonshine, it should be diluted to a strength of no more than 40 °. At a higher degree, the removal of impurities is less effective.

There is no limit to perfection

Now the preparation of moonshine has ceased to be something unknown and incomprehensible to you. At first, you should hone your skills and ensure that the product turns out to be really tasty and free of impurities. Well, when things go well, you can try out new recipes and even come up with your own. Surely friends and acquaintances will repeatedly remember with gratitude your branded tinctures, homemade cognac and calvados.

Hello friends! Since you have looked at my blog, it means you are interested in making homemade alcohol. And I'm just sure that at least once you have had the question of how to make moonshine at home. That's what we'll talk about today.

Now I will quickly describe the entire sequence of the process, and then we will talk in more detail about each stage. So, how is moonshine prepared?

1. First, prepare a special solution consisting of water and sugar. Sugar can be used either in its pure form, or any sugar-containing raw material (berries, fruits, etc.) can be used. This solution is called wort.

1. Then the wort is processed with the help of yeast into mash. During fermentation, yeast eat sugar and produce ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.

1. Braga already has alcohol, but the percentage of its content there is very low. Typically 8-12%. To isolate alcohol from the mash, it is distilled into moonshine still.

There is nothing complicated in this process. The whole point is that the mash is heated to a boil, and the steam evaporating at the same time is cooled to a liquid state and poured into a separate container. This condensed liquid is our moonshine.

1. Then follows the purification of the moonshine. In the process of fermentation, in addition to ethyl alcohol, side products are also formed. yeast waste products. It is necessary to get rid of these impurities, because. they are harmful to health. Some even very. And these impurities greatly spoil taste qualities drink. We will talk about the types and methods of cleaning in the section below.

1. The final and completely optional step is the aromatization and tinting of moonshine. Moonshine is insisted on various herbs and spices, which give it a rich color and smell.

I have listed the main stages of making moonshine. Nothing complicated, right? Now let's look at each point in more detail.

But before that, I want to note that all the stages mentioned are equally important. If the technology is not followed or low-quality raw materials are used, we can get a foul-smelling and even hazardous liquid at the output.

Raw material selection

As already mentioned, sugar is used to make the wort. You can use sugar either in its pure form (granulated sugar), or use products containing sugar (berries, fruits, sugar beets, etc.). Delicious moonshine turns out from old jam.

Also, starch-containing products (wheat, rice, rye, corn) in various types (for example, flour). Starch itself is not subject to fermentation, but it is easily processed into sugar under the influence of enzymes that are contained in malt (sprouted grain). Or you can use industrial enzymes.

The quality of moonshine also depends on the quality of the raw materials used. good drink from g…. will not work.

At home, the most accessible raw material for the preparation of wort is sugar. And the recipe is also simple.

I will bring classical:

1. Dissolve 1 kg of sugar in 5 liters of water
2. Dissolve yeast (20 g dry or 100 g pressed) in a small amount of water at 30°C
3. The yeast is mixed in a sugar solution and allowed to ferment for several days.

Agree that it is very simple? But the quality of such moonshine ... no, with skillful manufacture, it is not bad, it is only inferior to drinks made from other raw materials.

Much more delicious drink obtained from mash made on fruit or berry raw materials. Even if you have to add sugar to the fruit must to increase the sugar content, it will still taste better.

A very good result comes out of mash on cereals. It is not for nothing that GOST prescribes the production of alpha alcohol (the highest quality alcohol) only from grain raw materials. But cooking mash from cereals is much more difficult.

The amount of alcohol obtained per kilogram of the product used also depends on the type of raw material. Below is a table that clearly demonstrates this. These figures are indicative, they are already obtained from experienced moonshiners.

I also want to note that you need to approach the choice of raw materials from the point of view of what kind of drink you want to get. So, to get whiskey, you need to use grain, to get cognac or Georgian chacha, grape mash is used, and to make calvados, apple mash is used.

Fermentation

After we have prepared the wort, it must be fermented, during which the yeast will process the sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol. The quality and quantity of the resulting moonshine also greatly depends on the correct fermentation process.

Compliance with technology at this stage is very important. In the room where the fermentation tank is located, it is necessary to maintain a certain temperature. Don't let it slip. It is also necessary to monitor the temperature of the mash, because. during the fermentation process, it tends to heat up.

The optimum temperature for fermentation is considered to be 30-32 ° C (more on this here). At a lower temperature, the fermentation process will slow down, and at temperatures below 18 ° C it will stop altogether (yeast will fall asleep). Also, do not allow the mash to overheat above 40 ° C. This is much more dangerous than cooling, because. at this temperature, the yeast will begin to die.

Depending on the selected raw material, yeast and temperature, the fermentation process can last from 1 to 14 days or more.

A little about yeast

In principle, any commercially available yeast is suitable for making mash. Pressed bakery products are very popular. You can also use dry yeast. But the best option are special alcohol and wine (cultural) yeast, which are sold in specialized stores for winemakers and moonshiners.

If you are preparing fruit or berry mash, then you can do without adding yeast at all. Wild yeasts already live on the surface of the fruits, which will take care of the process we need.

The fermentation period and the possible strength of the resulting mash depend on the type of yeast chosen. So bakery and wild brew 7-12% alcohol, wine (cultural) and alcohol up to 12%. There are also special varieties of alcohol yeast, through which you can get mash with 18% alcohol.

The topic of yeast selection and the fermentation process itself is quite extensive and it is beyond the scope of this article to cover it all. Read more in these separate articles:

1. What yeast to use
2. Hydromodule for mash. What is it and how should it be
3. How to feed yeast
4. Sugar mash recipe with dry yeast
5. The classic recipe for sugar mash with pressed yeast
6. jam recipe
7. Wild Sam - mash recipe with wild yeast cereals
8. A simple recipe for moonshine from flour (XOS technology + enzymes)
9. Clarification of the mash with bentonite
10. How much moonshine should be obtained from mash

Distillation

As I already wrote, in order to isolate alcohol from mash, i.e. to get moonshine, you need to overtake this very mash. Also, the distillation process is called distillation, and the resulting product (moonshine) is called distillate. Braga is heated, and the steam released during this is condensed and drained into a separate container.

Distillation is carried out by means of a moonshine still. The classical design of such a device is quite simple. I present its schematic diagram below:

The principle of distillation is based on the fact that the boiling point of alcohol is lower than the temperature of water, which mainly consists of mash. Therefore, when the mash is heated, alcohol evaporates first (in fact, everything evaporates together, but in different quantities). In vapor form, it enters the coil, where it is cooled to a liquid state and flows into the collection tank.

Now I will describe the classical method of distillation. There are others, but don't bother with them just yet.

The first drops leaving the apparatus contain a high concentration of harmful substances. This liquid is called “pervach” or “heads” and is not eaten. “Heads” must be cut off, i.e. separate from moonshine. The number of heads is approximately 50 ml per 1 kg of sugar in Braga.

After “cutting off the heads”, the distillation process is continued until the liquid leaving the distiller stops burning. This means that the strength of the outgoing moonshine has fallen below 40 degrees and then there are “tails” - a non-food part containing harmful and very smelly impurities. The tails are also cut off. Their number is approximately 100 ml per 1 kg of sugar used to make mash.

After distillation, moonshine with a strength of 30-50% is obtained. It can and should be distilled again to get a stronger and better drink. But pure alcohol by distillation still does not work; for these purposes, rectification is carried out. This is a topic for a separate discussion.