Preparation of brew for moonshine

Various starch and sugar-containing products can serve as the basis for making brag. The list of similar products is truly endless and even strange. It contains not only various vegetables, fruits and berries (from sugar beets and potatoes to cherries and mountain ash), but also caramel (with or without filling) and even ice cream. However, the best option in this case is the most sugar-containing substance, i.e. sugar itself.

Preparatory work

Preparation of brew for moonshine based on sugar, in addition to the above product, requires ingredients such as water and yeast (at the rate of: for 5 kilograms of sugar, 20 liters of water and 100 grams of dry or kilogram of ordinary yeast). You also need to get a sufficiently large container for fermentation. It can be glass, porcelain, enamel, aluminum, and also made of stainless steel. In no case should you put the brew in galvanized dishes or suspicious plastic products of Chinese origin.

First of all, you should take care of the water quality. Ideally, you should take spring water or bottled water of proven brands. It is in this water that the yeast will feel most comfortable. In principle, you can use filtered water taken from the tap, having previously settled it or boiled it. But it should be borne in mind that in the first case, the yeast can still suffer from salts remaining in the water and chemicals, and in the second, it may not receive the necessary amount of oxygen.

Next, buy granulated sugar and yeast. It is recommended to take sugar packaged in relatively small cellophane bags. As for the yeast, along with the usual alcohol or bread varieties, professionals in the field of moonshine making strongly recommend dry French yeast "Saf levure". At the same time, to reduce the active foaming "activity" of the latter, it is worth adding a sachet of other dry yeast, called "Saf-Moment", to three packages of "Sourdough". However, if you don't have them at hand, you can get by with regular, heavily crushed cookies.

The process of making brew

Making brew - first, you should prepare a kind of seedling. Т.е., Dilute the yeast with water at room temperature in a large enamel bowl or small tank. At the same time, the container should remain half empty for easy stirring. If you are using regular yeast, you should add a little sugar to it, at the rate of 100 grams per kilogram; if you are using dry yeast, you should not forget to add the aforementioned "foaming agent". The yeast should stay in this state for about an hour.

While they are reaching the condition, it is worth preparing the sugar syrup, doing it directly in the fermentation container. The container is filled with water heated to the optimal temperature for yeast: 25-30°С. Next, add sugar to the water in relatively small portions. Each subsequent portion is poured in only after the previous one has been stirred and dissolved.

When the yeast in the basin swells, it must be mixed very thoroughly so that it is completely dissolved in water, and then the resulting substance is poured into sugar syrup. Then, if it does not deviate from the above proportions, you can add water almost to the brim; then close the fermentation vessel with a tight-fitting lid equipped with a so-called water seal. The water seal must release carbon dioxide produced during fermentation and, at the same time, prevent contact of the wort with air. A specially made device mounted in the lid, equipped with a corresponding valve, or, in the case of a smaller container, a classic rubber glove worn around its neck with pierced fingers, can act as a water seal...

After about 10-12 days, the maturation of the brew comes to an end. This can be recognized by the cessation of carbon dioxide emission (this is especially noticeable when using the aforementioned rubber glove, which at this point begins to deflate). If you use any other water seal, focus on stopping the noise coming from the tank during active fermentation.

Some practical tips

There are several folk tricks to speed up the maturation of brag. The simplest of them is daily stirring of the substance, which helps to sink to the bottom of the fermentation tank the so-called yeast cap.

In addition, the yeast can be "fed" by adding an improvised stimulant to the future brew. Such stimulants can be: rye bread or tomato paste (100 grams per 10 liters), as well as corn or peas (2-3 mugs for the same volume of liquid).

And, finally, to activate the life of the yeast, you can constantly maintain the temperature of the brew at 25-28°C. This is done with the help of a glass thermostat designed for aquariums, which is sold in any pet store.

Update: 06.09.2015

Category: Vodka an Moonshine