The mash recipe is one of the most ancient, because this drink appeared long before the production of moonshine or vodka. A long time ago, people began to notice that any sweet juice that remains in the vessel for a long time, gradually turns into a cloudy and frothy drink, in which alcohol is formed. Cooking mash began at random. However, after repeated experiments and improvements in manufacturing processes, it was possible to create a tasty and pleasant drink.
The basis of alcohol
Moonshine is a hop drink that has a high strength. Braga for moonshine is the basis, because the drink appears precisely as a result of distillation of this alcohol-containing raw material.
What do you need for cooking?
A key ingredient for mash is sugar. It is on its quality that the result of the product will depend. Using bad raw materials, you can get an unpleasant aroma and aftertaste from the drink. Nevertheless, different varieties of sugar make it possible to experiment with what will result in moonshine.
Water plays a big role too, which should be potable and crystal clear. It does not need to be boiled, because then all the oxygen necessary for fermentation processes will leave it.
Next, go to the choice of yeast, they also help to produce a high quality product. There are a large number of different yeast, each of which has its own advantages:
- Bakery. Most often, they are necessary to obtain a high-quality drink. Nevertheless, it must be borne in mind that as a result, the product will contain no more than 10% alcohol.
- For whiskey. They are contained in the mixtures necessary for the manufacture of grain wort.
- Alcohol They give a drink with 18% alcohol, but various impurities go along with them.
- Wine. They are used to make fruit wort. As a result, it is possible to obtain a high percentage of alcohol content, and also the drink does not contain a large amount of third-party impurities.
Together with yeast wort, other mineral components can also be used, such as dried brown bread, as well as carefully boiled grain. To get up to 10 liters of mash, you need to take from 1 kilogram of additional components. It is important to observe all proportions of sugar and yeast mash in order to get the highest quality product.
It is also very important to monitor the release of carbon dioxide that is formed during fermentation. For these purposes, you need to get a water trap for mash.
Start preparing a drink
Almost any recipe for mash and moonshine will contain the steps presented:
- A wort containing water and sugar is being prepared. Sugar can be either in pure form, or be part of a variety of raw materials, such as fruits, berries and so on.
- The resulting mixture must be mixed with yeast, which will create a mash.
- During fermentation, the yeast will absorb sugar, which will lead to the active production of carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol.
- Ready mash contains alcohol, but it is relatively small: 8-12 degrees. If you want to significantly increase the degree, then a moonshine still will come to your aid.
How to choose raw materials?
Braga needs high-quality sugar at home . You can choose classic sand for yourself or you can take such components that contain sugar. You can use a variety of berries, fruits, sugar beets and much more. Very often, ingredients that contain starch are used as raw materials: rice, corn, rye, wheat and more. Despite the fact that starch does not have fermentation qualities, due to the effects of enzymes that are included in malt, it is extremely quickly transformed into sugar. Do not forget that the quality of the finished product is greatly affected by the quality of the raw materials used.
How does fermentation happen?
Once you have finished making the wort, the fermentation process begins. At this time, sugar is processed and converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which must be removed using a water trap for mash. Depending on how well the fermentation process goes, it will be known how high-quality the drink turned out. At each stage of preparation of moonshine or mash, great attention must be paid to this stage.
The container for mash should be left in a room where the correct temperature is present, which will not change significantly. It is also very important to monitor the temperature of the drink itself, because the fermentation processes are accompanied by heat. The optimum temperature for mash varies from 25 to 28 ° C. A cooler temperature affects the slowdown of the fermentation process or a complete stop (if the thermometer shows less than 20 ° C). The drink should not be hotter than 40 ° C, otherwise the yeast will begin to die. The duration of fermentation depends on the quality of the used raw materials, yeast, and on the room temperature. Thus, the mash is prepared from 1 to 14 days.
Sugar mash
The sugar mash recipe is the simplest and easiest to execute, and the resulting drink can be used in the future for a variety of purposes. To cook it, we need:
- water - 5 liters;
- sugar - 1 kilogram;
- pressed yeast - 100 grams.
The proportions of sugar and yeast mash must be measured accurately to get a really high-quality product. First, sugar must be dissolved in warm water and then add yeast. If you use pressed ones, then they must be diluted with a small amount of sugar solution in advance and wait until they are activated. This takes no more than 5 minutes. Dry yeast can be immediately poured into syrup. The container for the mash is closed with a lid with a water lock, and the seven-day waiting process begins. As soon as time passes, all liquid without yeast sediment must be drained and distilled using a moonshine still.
If you want to refine the classic moonshine, then in the mash you can initially add various berries or fruits, such as blackthorn, plum or grapes. This will not only help improve the taste of the drink, but also give it a pleasant aroma. Moreover, such additional components will help improve the fermentation process, because they contain wild yeast on their surface.
Starch-based Braga
Moonshine based on grain is distinguished by its unique aroma and taste, due to which it is deservedly a noble drink. The procedure for its manufacture requires more effort and labor than the classical process of producing mash for moonshine, but all this will certainly pay off as a result. As a basis, you can choose flour, cereal or grain. It is the latter component that is distinguished by the presence of a large amount of starch containing sugar molecules. The latter has always been and will be the main component that starts the fermentation process.
Starch turns into sugar due to the action of enzymes that are part of the malt. First you need to sprout the grain (up to 1 kilogram), grind it thoroughly and mix with crushed (not sprouted) grain, cereals or flour. Starch in these ingredients is contained inside the cells, so it is recommended to sift the cereal to start. This softens the casing and simplifies the release of starch. The resulting solution is called a must.
The main difficulty in making starch-based mash is the density of the wort after fermentation. This complicates the process of distillation of the drink through the apparatus: it can burn to the walls, and this will ruin the whole taste of moonshine.
Distillation of grain wort is due to steam. You can also use a water or glycerin bath.
Alternative Mash Recipes
There are a large number of other recipes for the desired drink. For example, you can get mash on wheat without yeast or use components other than sugar or starch. Experienced craftsmen can experiment with various components to prepare the most pleasant product for themselves.
Jam mash
To prepare this drink, you must use the following components:
- warm water - about 30 liters;
- fermented jam - 6 liters;
- yeast - 200 grams;
- granulated sugar - 3 kilograms.
Water for mash should be warm, not very heated. First, jam is added to it, then yeast, and after stirring - sugar. The resulting mixture is infused for five days. The result is a tasty and pleasant mash, which will be an excellent raw material for the production of no less high-quality moonshine.
Apple-based drink
The presented mash recipe requires the following components:
- 20 liters of warm water;
- 100 grams of dry yeast;
- 30 kilograms of whole apples or 10 kilograms of crushed apples;
- 4 kilograms of granulated sugar.
Carefully washed and peeled fruits should be cut into small pieces, removing rotten or damaged elements. After the apple is required to grind even harder, but do not bring to a state of mashed potatoes. You can use a grinder, blender or regular grater for this. As a result, you get about 10 liters of apple mixture.
The ratio of water to sugar used should always be exactly 5 to 1, regardless of the amount of ingredients used to make the drink. For such a mash, it is best to take dry yeast, so you can avoid souring the drink. However, if their unique aroma is not to your liking, then you can always replace them with wine.
First you need to prepare sugar syrup, where the finished apple wort is then poured. The resulting mixture is mixed slowly and thoroughly. Yeast needs to be prepared in advance. Dilute them in warm water and wait 20 minutes to activate. After that, you can safely add the last ingredient to the total mass.
With baker's yeast, the fermentation process lasts up to 10 days, dry ones allow fermentation to be successfully completed only after 21 days.
Braga on wheat without yeast
Many homemade liquor lovers may be surprised at the desire to make wheat-based mash without yeast. It is worth noting that it was such a must in ancient times that was used to produce bread wine or half a bar. So returning to the roots will be not only exciting, but also delicious.
With such a braga, you can get no less worthy moonshine. It is characterized by excellent aroma, mild taste and almost does not make you suffer from a hangover in the morning.
What is included in the classic recipe?
To get the right mash we need:
- 2 kilograms of wheat;
- 2 kilograms of sugar;
- 15 liters of clean unboiled water.
It is worth paying attention to the tanks in which the fermentation process will take place: they must be perfectly clean. Otherwise, all your efforts and expenses will go nowhere.
What do we have to do?
- Take the glass fermentation container. Pour in about 500 grams of wheat, smooth the grains and fill them with water. The liquid should rise above them no higher than 2 centimeters. The container must be tightly covered with a lid and put in a cool room where sunlight does not get. It is necessary that the wheat sprout a little. This process takes about two days. It is very important to wait for the sprouts to appear before proceeding with any further actions.
- As soon as the wheat sprouts, it is worth adding about 300 grams of granulated sugar to it. Mix all the contents thoroughly by hand. Metal or plastic spoons are strictly forbidden to do this. If necessary, dilute the mass with water. The throat of the container is covered with a clean layer of gauze, and the container is transferred inside the warm room for 12 days. This time will be more than enough to make the leaven, which will replace the yeast.
- Pour the finished sourdough into a glass container where the mash will roam. Fill the grain with sugar and pour warm water.
- The neck closes with a water seal. The fermentation process will be accompanied by characteristic gurgling and bubbles. In time, all this takes from 1 to 3 weeks.
- It is very important to try the mash first, it should have an original bitter taste.
- It remains only to strain the liquid and distill the drink through the moonshine.
Little secret
From fermented wheat grains, it will be possible to cook from 2 to 3 servings of mash. To do this, you need to periodically add about two kilograms of sugar and add the missing volume of water.