Braga

Braga is an alcoholic drink that serves as the basis for the preparation of more complex and strong alcohol. What exactly comes out of the mash is determined by the manufacturing process, the ingredients used and the concentration of ethyl alcohol. ^[1].

From the base you can make beer. To do this, the fluid can withstand from 3 to 5 days. During fermentation, beer acquires a characteristic taste, smell and level of alcohol in the border from 3 to 8%. Also, mash is used as an alcohol-containing mass for the distillation of moonshine.

How is braga being prepared, what is its historical fate and is there a place for liquids in the modern alcoholic picture of the world?

What you need to know about the basis for alcohol

According to the Great Encyclopedia of Culinary Arts, mash has several meanings. One of them is a Scandinavian homemade beer based on rye flour, rye or barley malt and hops. The northern drink has been known since the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries.

Over time, the word began to be associated with Russia and its alcohol industry. But the term “braga” appeared in Russia quite late, in the 1610th century. This fact was recorded by historians during the Swedish intervention in Novgorod (1612-XNUMX). Braga received mass distribution much later. ^[2].

For the population, the term “braga” has replaced the common name for home-brewed beer. Until the XNUMXth century, a beer drink was prepared on Russian lands. Its distinguishing feature is semi-preparedness. Oats, rye, millet or barley, as the main components of beer, were not specially brewed. With each new preparation, the drink received a different taste, quality, aroma and alcohol concentration. In each region, a specific name for the drink has taken root, so many synonyms for the word “braga” have been preserved in the language to this day. Among them: beer, buza, brew, drink, perevara, klyga, half-beer, crappy beer, ale, halakha and other specific territorial names ^[3].

It is important to understand that wheat, oatmeal, raspberry, thick, honey, sweet, hoppy mash are different drinks that are united only by the technology of preparation ^[4]. Taste, food raw materials, the degree of impact on the human body will be different. There is still no exact description of mash that would point to one particular alcoholic drink. This is a huge group of liquids, some of which have remained in history, and some are used to this day.

Varieties of alcohol product

There are 3 main varieties of mash: brawanda, keel and pruno. They differ in component composition, specific aspects of preparation, alcohol content and effects on the human body.

Bravanda

Vladimir Ivanovich Dal in the “Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language” gives only one kind of mash – bravanda. The drink is described as a homemade peasant tavern beer. Bread liquid is prepared according to a new recipe each time or special spices are added. Sometimes the drink becomes like alcoholic kvass.

The author identifies the following types of drink:

• simple;
• barley;
• yeast;
• without the use of hops / with hops;
• drunk / drunk;
• pivzo / polpivtso;
• thick
• wort or sweet;
• oatmeal;
• raspberry

Dahl describes how to prepare some varieties of home brew. For example, oatmeal is brewed from steamed, dried and ground oats and oat malt. Boiled or fermented millet is added to millet. To enhance the taste, honey and hops are added to the liquid. Especially tasty is the mash, which was insisted on raspberries and rye flour, as it combines the bitterness of rye and bright sweetish berry accents.

Kilyu

Alternative name – Finnish Braga ^[5]. The components of the drink are water, sugar and yeast. ^[6]. Keel is considered the cheapest and easiest in terms of cooking. Each of the available products can prepare an intoxicating liquid, so the keel was called the ubiquitous drink among alcoholics and youths.

To dilute the strong taste of mash, fruit or berry juices were mixed with it. Orange was especially popular. He made the structure of the liquid more saturated, and the taste and aroma were holistic with additional bright notes.

Keel can be distilled into moonshine. This is a strong alcoholic drink that is prepared at home. The preparation method consists in the distillation of liquids through a home-made or industrially produced apparatus. The basis for the preparation of moonshine is alcohol-containing mash. The essence of the method is the fermentation of an alcohol base and sugar syrup or other sugar-containing components (starch, cereals, beets, fruits, potatoes). In fact, moonshine is a product of the distillation of mash. The liquid is called bread / plain / three-trial / hot wine, polugar, tavern or pennik.

Pruno

This is an English liquor. Pruno hides a combination of apples and / or oranges, compote based on berries and some fruits, specific tomato sauce, sugar and any additional ingredients to the taste of the consumer ^[7].

The drink originated in prison and military barracks. Until today, it does not leave its primary habitat and does not enter the global alcohol market due to the specific taste and historical overtones. ^[8][9]. The military and prisoners could easily, quickly and discreetly prepare pruno. It was speed and quick intoxication that were in priority, not flavors and aromas.

Initially, the drink was prepared using the following set:

• plastic bag;
• purified hot water;
• a towel to cover the homemade apparatus during fermentation ^[10].

The taste of such a drink is succinctly described as “wine with the taste of vomiting.” Given the fact that the main purpose of the drink is to cause intoxication, and not aesthetic pleasure, then pruno had a right to exist.

The concentration of alcohol in pruno depended on the period of fermentation, the amount of sugar, the quality of the ingredients and the particular preparation. The level of alcohol can be both extremely low and quite high. Pruno with 2% alcohol concentration was equated to a weak beer, but it was possible to create stronger versions – 14% liquid, which is equivalent to wine.

How to cook a classic Braga

There are 2 classic ways to make mash. The first recipe is suitable for further distillation into moonshine, the second can be used as an independent strong alcoholic drink.

Recipe No.1

Bring 12 liters of running water to a temperature of 37-38°C. This amount of liquid will require 3 kilograms of sugar and 100 grams of pressed yeast. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly in a convenient container and cover with an airtight lid.

If there is no airtight lid in the kitchen arsenal, then use a water seal.

Put the prepared mass in a warm place for 5-7 days. After a week, the alcohol-containing liquid will be ready for distillation.

Recipe No.2

This recipe provides for the preparation of 5 liters of home brew, which is immediately ready for use. This requires 1 kilograms of sugar and 100 grams of yeast. Dissolve the yeast in a small amount of warm water, the temperature of which is equal to 30 ° C.

Do not put the yeast in boiling water, otherwise it will boil and not give the desired effect.

Prepare the sugar syrup in a separate container. Dissolve 1 kilogram of sugar in boiled warm liquid. Then mix both solutions (sugar and yeast) in a deep container and pour 5 liters of filtered water. Put the finished mixture in a warm place, having previously built a water seal.

The lack of a water seal can be fraught with an explosion of the container due to excessive pressure or oxygen ingress inside the mash. If the solution reacts with oxygen, acetic acid and a variety of toxic substances will start to be released.

The fermentation period is from 5 to 10 days. At the end of the term, carefully pour the finished product into a clean container. In the process of transfusion, it is important not to touch the sediment. Pour the finished mash into bottles and cork them tightly to increase the shelf life of the drink.

How to determine the readiness of the drink

The only accurate way to check the readiness of the mash is to taste it. If the liquid is too sweet, then the sugar breakdown process has not yet been completed. The finished mash should be a little bitter, have a bright sweet-sour aromatic palette.

Another sign of readiness is the absence of foam. This means that there is no more carbon dioxide left in the liquid and the main fermentation process has come to an end. To finally make sure that there is no carbon dioxide, conduct an experiment. Bring a burning match to the neck of the vessel with mash. If the light goes out, then there is still gas in the container and the mass continues to ferment. If the mash did not affect the fire in any way, then the fermentation is complete.

To finally make sure that the drink is ready, you need to check the malnutrition. Filter 1 cup of mash with a thick piece of cloth. Dip the hydrometer into the resulting liquid. If the device shows a gravity level of up to 1.002, then the concentration of sugar in the mash is minimal and fermentation is complete. If the device indicates a large number, then you need to give the drink a little more time.

If all the methods described do not inspire confidence, then try to overtake the mash. The concentration of ethyl alcohol in the finished drink should not be less than 10%. Take an equal amount of filtered mash and regular liquid. Distill them using a moonshine, and bring the finished solution to a temperature of 20 ° C and lower the alcoholometer into it.

Additional filtration and distillation will help not only determine the readiness of the mash, but also remove harmful impurities from the drink.

Fluid Testing Equipment

To facilitate and secure the distillation process, you will need a single device – an alcohol meter.

Alcoholmeter – a device for determining the concentration of aqueous solutions of ethyl alcohol, based on its density. This is one of the varieties of hydrometer.

Hydrometer – a device for measuring the degree of density of liquids and solids. The principle of operation of the device is based on the law of Archimedes. The device is a glass tube. The lower part of the tube is studded with calibration, and the upper part is dotted with a scale on which the gradation of density and concentration is applied. There are 2 types of hydrometer: for measuring constant volume and constant mass.

Is it safe to drink beer and its products?

Drinking mash is a mixture of fermented food, which contains an abundance of glucose. The drink is prepared both for pure consumption and further processing into moonshine, liquor, cider and other alcohol-containing liquids. If you strictly follow the recipe and take care of the health of the moonshine still, then the dangers are minimized. The exception is people with individual intolerance to alcoholic beverages: they are forbidden to use mash and any other liquids with ethyl alcohol ^[11].

Home preparation of alcoholic beverages can indeed be dangerous. When the mash is heated during distillation, thermal splitting (cracking) of heavy organic substances – sugar, protein and others – occurs. The result of splitting is light volatile organic compounds, which also include methyl alcohol and other toxic substances. To completely remove toxic elements, distillation technology must be strictly followed. At home, this requires double care and responsibility.

It is imperative to get rid of the liquid obtained after the first phase of distillation. The so-called “pervak” is up to 8% of the total volume of alcohol. It is in the first portion that the maximum methanol content is concentrated. For safety reasons, it is disposed of.

Another danger is evaporation. The boiling point of substances is set by moonshine, but active evaporation can occur at much lower temperatures. Even constant maintenance of the temperature of the mash will not save essential oils and, for example, fusel substances from evaporating. To completely purify the liquid, re-distillation / rectification is necessary. Multi-stage distillation partially eliminates these problems, but the best option is to buy quality alcohol that has passed the full production cycle and safety checks.

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