Braga as an independent drink has long been familiar to mankind. It is not known who was the first to invent products in this way. Most likely, the very idea of the possibility of fermentation was prompted by nature, and people only spied and used to make a drink. So, probably, the first recipe for mash appeared. Then they began to use it in order to make stronger alcohol. About how to make home brew in different variations, read in this article.
From the word "wander"
The name of the product obtained determines the name of the cooking process. Mash at home involves a short fermentation process and the same aging. Such a drink is obtained of small strength: from three to eight degrees (sometimes up to fifteen). Of the "relatives" of the drink, you can specify keel - Finnish mash. This drink is made from yeast, sugar and water with the addition of orange juice (to improve aroma). English pruno is also popular - a drink popular in prisons. In Russia (among the peasants) were previously popular: bravanda - a bread drink with various additives and mead - a hop drink based on honey.
Manufacturing mechanism
How is mash made at home? Alcohol (along with carbon dioxide) is produced as a result of the activity of ordinary bread yeast. They need sugar and water for this. “Well-being” of yeast is an important point in the preparation of mash. The optimum temperature should be maintained - from 25 to 40 degrees, because at lower they “fall asleep”, and at higher they can die! If the yeast “falls asleep”, the solution should be put in a warm place - this should help resume the process. And when the temperature rises above 40 - put in a cooler place and add another portion of yeast. By periodically mixing the mass, fermentation can be accelerated. They say that in the washer of the old model, brew for moonshine is prepared in a few hours! Some also add catalysts: tomato paste, potatoes, hops, peas (one thing).
Sugar
Much depends on the concentration of sugar in the solution. The more of it, the faster the fermentation process. But if you go too far, then when the fortress reaches more than 14 degrees, the yeast begins to die from the alcohol they produce. Sugar must be fully processed. At the end of the process, try the mash to taste. It should be bitter, without a sweet aftertaste. A little advice: if you are thinking about how to put a mash in order to drink it later as an independent drink, then put less yeast, but more sugar. So you can get rid of the yeast aftertaste.
Capacity
An important role in how to make the mash is played by the dishes in which you will cook it. A large plastic barrel for storing food liquids (20 liters or even 30) is suitable for these purposes. You can use a glass bottle of the same volume. Disadvantages: it beats easily enough, and it has a very narrow neck. If you do not plan to produce drinks on an industrial scale, then a three-liter glass jar and a five-liter plastic bottle from purified water may suit you.
Gate
During the preparation of the drink, ethyl alcohol can react with oxygen and form acetic acid. Therefore, the mash should be protected from penetration of oxygen into the tank at all stages. For this, a water shutter is used. Excessive carbon dioxide from the bottle moves through it, coming from the tube into a jar of water. By the way, by the intensity of the formation of bubbles, you can control the fermentation process (this method is also used in the manufacture of wine).
What else can be done to get a good mash at home? Put a medical rubber glove on the throat of the can . In the area of the fingers, pierce the glove with a pin. Excess carbon dioxide will escape through the hole. During the entire fermentation process, the glove will stand. As soon as fermentation is over, it will fall off. This means that the mash, made at home, is ready for use or for further processing. After all, it is also the basis of moonshine. And the better the raw materials, the better moonshine is obtained.
Mash at home: the main recipe
The optimal ratio of products: for three liters of warm boiled water - one kilogram of sugar and one hundred grams of yeast. If the capacity is large, proportionally increase the number of starting products.
Malt
In principle, mash can be made from any organic matter containing starch or sugar. The main criteria are the price of raw materials and their availability. How to make a mash using starch? To convert it to sugar, malt is needed, which is in the grain (seeds). The grain begins to germinate, the enzyme activates and converts starch into sugar, which the embryo feeds on. To get the enzyme, you need to sprout wheat, for example. Soak it for several days in water. When the sprouts appear, dry, separate them from the grains, and grind the latter into powder.
From grain
You need to take: 1 kilogram of grain, 3 liters of water, 50 grams of yeast, a pound of sugar, 200 grams of malt. Mix everything and hold for about two weeks in a warm place, stirring and monitoring the temperature (until the fermentation process stops - we look at the shutter reaction).
From potato
How to put a tuber mash? You need to take: 8 pounds of potatoes, 10 liters of water, 200 grams of malt, a pound of sugar, 150 grams of yeast. Potatoes need to be peeled and chopped. Next you need to mix it with other ingredients, add yeast from the yeast. Insist for two weeks. Such raw materials are mainly used for further addition to moonshine.
Jam mash
Ingredients: 6 pounds of any sweet jam, 30 liters of water, 200 grams of yeast. Jam from large fruits should be freed from the seeds and grind in a meat grinder or in a blender until smooth. Dissolve jam in water and add prepared yeast. We put on fermentation for about a week. This mash of jam is well drunk as a standalone drink. If you intend to distill, you can add another 3 kilos of sugar to the substrate before fermentation. In this case, the yield of moonshine will be increased.
From sweets
Ingredients: 5 kilograms of caramel, 200 grams of yeast, 20 liters of water. First, grind the sweets and dissolve them in hot water. Cool a bit. We dissolve yeast in warm water and mix. We leave to wander for five days in a warm place, controlling the temperature. You can drink such a drink, or you can leave it for moonshine.
Mead
Ingredients: 3 kilos of honey, 1 kilogram of sugar, 300 grams of yeast, 25 liters of water. Dissolve honey and sugar in hot water (temperature not higher than 60 degrees, otherwise some of the beneficial properties of honey will be lost). We dissolve the yeast in a small amount of warm water (temperature is not higher than 40 degrees, otherwise the culture may die). We mix. We set out to roam in a warm place for a week. Delicious mead is ready! It can be used with pleasure chilled as a light alcoholic drink. For this application, mead can only be made with honey. And for distillation add another kilogram of sugar.
From juice
10 liters of any sweet juice (preferably without preservatives), 300 grams of yeast. We dissolve yeast in warm juice. We insist a couple of weeks (before the end of the fermentation process).
With dill and currant
Take 6 pounds of sugar, 30 liters of water, 200 grams of yeast, a glass of blackcurrant, a bunch of dry dill. Mix everything, add diluted yeast. Insist up to a week, then overtake.
With milk and peas
Ingredients: 1 liter of milk, 5 kilos of sugar, 15 liters of water, a kilo of peeled peas, a pound of yeast. Mix everything with water, add the prepared yeast, insist in a warm place for a couple of days. Then - overtake.
With bread, milk and potatoes
Ingredients: 25 liters of water, 5 kilos of sugar, a liter of milk, 4 loaves of black bread, 5 kilos of potatoes. Finely chop the bread. Grind the potatoes. All mix and insist a few days. Then - overtake.
From apricots
You need to take 10 pounds of apricots without seeds, 10 pounds of sugar, 100 grams of yeast, 3 liters of water. Sugar is bred in warm water. Apricots are passed through a meat grinder and mixed with syrup in a large capacity. Add yeast. We set out to roam in a warm place until the end of the process.
From grapes
We take 10 pounds of grape meal, 5 kg of sugar, 30 liters of water, 100 grams of yeast. Wandering a week.
As you can see, mash at home can be prepared from almost any product containing sugar and starch. Feel free to experiment, come up with new recipes. The main thing is to observe the basic proportions and cooking technology.