Moonshine is a strong home-made liquor. There are many recipes for making moonshine. Some craftsmen add the most unexpected products to the composition. Nevertheless, the cooking technology remains always the same. To make a quality drink, you should adhere to some rules and recommendations.
Equipment and tools
Many beginners are interested in: how to make moonshine? Most often, novice manufacturers purchase a ready-made moonshine in a specialized store. To date, there are no problems with his choice and purchase. It consists of two main parts: a condenser and an evaporator. The first one is needed so that the formed alcohol does not evaporate, but remains, falling onto the walls in the form of drops.
The evaporator is a device in which the evaporation of alcohol directly takes place. All moonshine still can be conditionally divided into distillation columns and distiller. Home moonshine consists of the following components: a coil, a cooling unit, a distillation cube, hoses and connecting tubes. Also, for the production of home-made moonshine, you will need to purchase containers of various sizes, thermometers and gaskets.
Essential Products
Moonshine is usually made from sugar, water and yeast. These are the three main and necessary products for the production of mash. It got its name because of the fermentation process, which is ensured by the presence of yeast and sugar in water. Both components create the necessary environment for the propagation of yeast fungi. Sugar in this case is a breeding ground for microorganisms.
Vegetables or fruits that contain large amounts of starch or sucrose are also an excellent “food” for fungi. For example, very often moonshine is made from potatoes, grains, beets or grapes. Despite the painstaking production, such moonshine is very popular in rural areas.
Component Preparation
First of all, attention should be paid to the quality of the “solvent”. You can not use ordinary tap water directly from the tap. It is too harsh, in addition, it contains chlorine, which can kill microorganisms that will produce alcohol. Ideal option is well, defended water. In urban conditions, it is not possible to obtain such water. Therefore, they use ordinary boiled or distilled, mixed with a settled tap. The ratio will be one to three. Only in warm water can sugar and yeast be dissolved well. Therefore, the liquid is preheated.
Sugar is used, as a rule, plain white. If vegetables or fruits are indicated in the recipe, then they are previously peeled, and also rotted and spoiled places are removed. Leaves and stalks are also removed. The water temperature should be about thirty degrees. After the yeast and sugar have dissolved, the container is set aside. The room temperature should also be comfortable and warm.
Yeast selection
As a rule, two types of yeast are used: dry or wet. For the preparation of moonshine, it is advisable to purchase special alcoholic yeast instead of baking yeast. The fact is that after the bakery there remains an unpleasant sour smell and a cloudy color. While alcohol give a fairly quick result without pronounced copious foaming.
In addition, there are still wine and brewer's yeast. The first option, as a rule, is quite expensive and does not have sufficiently good properties. Brewer's yeast is a specific product of artificial origin, which is highly not recommended for the preparation of home-made moonshine.
Alcohol has good durability and does not die in braga even at eighteen degrees. The best moonshine is prepared, as a rule, from this type of fungus. In addition, the use of alcoholic yeast gives a chance to get a lot of moonshine in five days. This is a fairly quick and convenient way to make a drink.
How to make yeast
Sometimes moonshiners make yeast on their own. To do this, you need flour, beer, water and sugar. Flour and water are taken in one glass, sugar will need one tablespoon, and beer - two glasses. The best option would be dark beer with a short shelf life. The mixture is slightly heated and infused for a day in a warm place.
For the second method, you will need hops, which are brewed with boiling water in a ratio of two tablespoons per two hundred milliliters of liquid. After the broth is infused, it is filtered and combined with sugar and rye flour. All components are thoroughly mixed and left to infuse in a warm place for 24 hours.
It should be borne in mind that yeast is perhaps one of the most important components in the preparation of moonshine. The quality of this product should be given special attention. Do not use expired yeast, as the mixture may not ferment.
Cooking mash
For seventeen and a half liters of warm pure water, four kilograms of granulated sugar and 150 grams of yeast will be needed. Once the components have dissolved, the mixture is left to infuse in a warm place for seven days. After this period, the mash is distilled in the apparatus. If for some reason there is no apparatus, then you can use home-made devices. To do this, you need one large pot of mash with a tight lid and a small container for collecting alcoholic vapors.
Instead of the lid, you can use a basin, the size of which will correspond to the diameter of the pan. Very cold water is poured into it and constantly monitored so that it does not heat up. The first distillation of mash is a very important stage. It is heated to a temperature of 65 to 80 degrees. As a result, the mash is divided into three fractions:
- The first is the "head", which has a lot of harmful substances.
- The second fraction is considered the main. It is otherwise called the "body" of moonshine and is used for further filtering.
- The third is the sediment that is disposed of. It contains a lot of fusel oils, so it is not recommended to consume the third fraction. However, many moonshiners use sediment to add to the subsequent mash.
The "body" is collected until the alcohol content is kept within 40%. Thus, simple moonshine is made at home.
Cleaning mash
It is recommended to clarify it before distillation. That is, to get rid of acids, fusel oils and the smell of yeast. To do this, moonshine is passed through a tampon made of a piece of gauze folded in half. Cotton wool is laid between the layers. Further, the following methods are used:
- Lightening with the help of cold has proved to be quite good. This fairly simple method can be used in the winter months. The principle of its action is as follows: only water and fusel oils freeze in a container with a brag. As soon as ice appears, the drink is carefully drained. Due to the cold, bacteria die and precipitate. It is recommended to mix the mash during freezing so that carbon dioxide escapes from the liquid. The precipitate is drained, and the liquid is passed through a filter.
- Often, bentonite is used as a cleaning material. It is bred in the following proportion: half a liter of pure water will need one tablespoon of the substance. After swelling (after 3-4 hours), it is added to the mash.
- Moonshine recipes just from Hibiscus tea have proven themselves perfectly. In addition to good brightening properties, hibiscus has a lot of useful substances. It saturates moonshine with vitamins, minerals and organic acids. The composition is prepared as follows: two tablespoons of dried leaves are brewed in one glass of boiling water. As soon as the mixture settles, the liquid is added to the moonshine. For ten liters of mash, one hundred milliliters of brewed hibiscus will be needed.
- Many experienced moonshiners claim that before the first distillation, moonshine can be simply and easily cleaned with potassium permanganate. Thus, it is possible to partially get rid of harmful impurities in the form of various acids. From fusel oils and toxins, as a rule, eliminates the second distillation. The ratio of potassium permanganate powder to liquid should be two grams per liter. The powder is not added immediately to the mash, but previously dissolved in a small amount of clean water.
For clarification, you can use milk, soda, activated carbon and other products. After the procedure, moonshine is distilled one more time. There are many recipes for moonshine. At home, preparing this product is not so difficult.
Moonshine without yeast
Instead of yeast, wheat can be used, and sugar can be replaced with honey. Fourteen liters of water will require three kilograms of honey and two - selected wheat. All components are mixed and left to infuse for 10 days. This period is quite enough to completely end the fermentation process.
Moonshine at home, prepared on sweets with filling, is also made without yeast. For 20 liters of liquid, you will need at least 5 kilograms of sweets, which should be carefully dissolved in warm water. The process of insisting takes five days.
Moonshine
It is often called in the Georgian manner "chacha". This is one of the most popular recipes for moonshine at home. For cooking, you need 10 liters of grape marc, 30 liters of pure water, about five kilograms of sugar and 100 g of yeast. If the pomace is fermented (as after red wine), then they will need at least 20 liters. Non-fermented pomace (after making white wine) requires much less - 10 liters. Yeast can be taken baking, or completely abandon this product. Grapes already have a sufficient amount of fungus, which copes well without yeast. A mixture for making moonshine from grapes is sent to a warm place. Check the capacity daily and stir if necessary. After the fermentation process is completed, the “tail” and “head” are cut off and the liquid is distilled through the apparatus. Usually the yield is seven liters of pure moonshine.
From cherry
Bones are taken from the fruits, then the fruits are put in a separate container and left for fermentation. After 48 hours, a sufficient amount of juice will be released from the pulp. Then it is mixed with pre-purified moonshine and distilled again. If the drink remains cloudy, then it is distilled for the second time. Cherry pits can be crushed and added already at the end of cooking. Usually, a quality drink has a transparent color and a pleasant almond flavor, which goes to the moonshine from the seeds.
Home-made moonshine made from fruits has several advantages. It has all the beneficial substances inherent in fruits. He also retains the taste and aroma of natural fruit juice. The cooking technology is simple, but has some features. Fruits, as a rule, do not wash, so as not to remove the "wild" fungi. Only if there is clear dirt or a thick layer of dust can they be slightly rinsed. Berries and fruits are pre-crushed and sent to a fermentation tank. Usually two days in a warm place is enough for the process to begin. After that, water and sugar are added. The amount of granulated sugar will depend on the type of fruit. For example, to drain, you will need one and a half kilograms of sugar per ten liters of plum pulp along with juice.
Oak moonshine
Its taste will resemble cognac. This moonshine is made on the basis of an already prepared product after double distillation. You will need chopped oak bark, several pieces of clove spices, four tablespoons of sugar (dissolved in water), nutmegs and coriander. All ingredients are added to three liters of moonshine having a strength of 50 degrees. The composition will be infused for 20 days, after which it is filtered through double gauze. The finished product will have a pleasant oak flavor and brown color.
If some fragrant herbs are added to this drink, then the infusion of moonshine will acquire an additional aroma and taste. Most often, St. John's wort or oregano is used for these purposes. Instead of sugar, you can use liquid honey. Then proceed in a similar way. After 20 days, the composition is filtered and bottled.
Oak bark can be purchased at the pharmacy or collected by yourself. It should be borne in mind that the raw material must be necessarily dry, for which it is pre-crushed, boiled in water for one hour and dried. Experts advise the bark to dry slightly over a fire after drying.
Moonshine from potatoes
For 40 liters of liquid, you need at least 10 kg of potatoes and four kilograms of oats. Yeast is taken in the amount of 600 grams. The potatoes twisted through a meat grinder are combined with ground oats and mixed thoroughly. The mixture should be infused for four hours. Then it is added to warm water along with yeast. The composition is insisted in a warm place until bubbles appear and a precipitate forms.
From hops and apples
This is a simple recipe for moonshine. At home, the drink is made from malt. It is obtained using germinated grain. Commonly used are wheat, rye or barley. After the seeds sprout, they are twisted through a meat grinder. Hop cones are brewed in boiling water in a ratio of 1:10. In order for the hops to ferment, a small amount of flour is added to it. Usually 2-3 hours is enough for the broth to be infused. The apples are ground through a meat grinder and combined with malt and a decoction of hops. Then they are added to warm water. Braga is infused for 7 days and then sent for distillation.
Moonshine in three days
This is a fairly quick way to make an alcoholic home-made drink. As a rule, quick mash is prepared using special alcohol yeast. For 30 liters of clean, prepared water you will need 6 kg of sugar and 600 g of moist yeast. If dry yeast is used, then they will need no more than 60 g. After the water is heated, sugar is poured into it and the mixture is stirred until the sweet sand is completely dissolved. Next, diluted yeast is added and the container with the braga is set aside. The temperature should be constantly maintained at 25 degrees. To do this, very often use a lamp or a room heater. In winter, the container can be placed near a hot battery. Three days later, the composition is distilled.
Also this moonshine can be prepared with the help of peas. In addition to legumes, the composition of the drink includes a glass of sour cream, seven kilograms of sugar, 35 liters of water and 60 g of dry yeast. Peas should be taken peeled and not more than 2 kg. In a pre-prepared container, water is heated to a temperature of 35 degrees. Next, pour peas, mix it and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Then add sugar, yeast and sour cream. Thanks to the fermented milk product, the amount of foam will be moderate. The mixture is covered with a lid and insulated. After three days, you can proceed to the next stage.