Due to the low sugar content, raspberries are not a traditional raw material for home brewing. But still, from these berries you can make a normal mash. We will consider the correct technology for making raspberry moonshine further. You will get a soft distillate with subtle notes of ripe fruit.
Raspberries contain only 5-11% fructose. This means that from 5 kg of sugar-free berries, at best, you will get about 0,5 liters of moonshine with a strength of 40 degrees. Adding 1 kg of sugar increases the yield by 1,1-1,2 liters (40%). At the same time, the light raspberry flavor is slightly lost.
Braga plays with wild yeast for about a month. The introduction of artificial yeast reduces the fermentation time to 5-10 days, but negatively affects the smell and sometimes taste. If possible (if time is not running out), I advise you to abandon dry or pressed baker’s and alcohol yeast.
Ingredients:
- raspberries – 5 kg;
- sugar – 1-3 kg (optional);
- water – 2 liters and another 4 liters for each kilogram of sugar;
- yeast – 20 grams dry or 100 grams pressed (optional).
Raspberry brew recipe
1. Unwashed berries are crushed by hand or in any other way.
2. Pour the resulting mass into a fermentation container, add sugar, water, yeast (optional). Mix well.
3. Install a water seal or a medical glove with a hole in the finger on the neck of the container. Transfer the mash to a warm (18-28°C), dark place. Depending on the choice of yeast and temperature, after 5-35 days, the raspberry mash will brighten, become bitter in taste without sweetness, and a layer of sediment will appear at the bottom. It’s time for the race.
Getting raspberry moonshine
4. Pour the mash through several layers of gauze into a distillation cube, squeeze the cake well. It is very important that the sediment does not get into the moonshine, otherwise the particles can burn, spoiling the taste.
5. Distill raspberry mash without fractionation. Stop sampling when the strength of the exit (in the jet) falls below 35%.
6. Measure the total strength of the exit. Determine the amount of absolute alcohol (multiply the strength by the volume and divide by 100). Dilute the entire distillate by half with water (up to 18-20 degrees), do not purify with charcoal or other methods so that the aroma remains.
7. Make a second distillation. The first 12-15% of the yield from the amount of absolute alcohol is collected separately and poured out, this is a harmful fraction, which is dangerous to drink. Finish collecting raspberry moonshine when the distillate strength in the stream falls below 45%.
8. Dilute the resulting raspberry moonshine with water to the desired strength (usually 40-45%) and stand for 1-2 days before use in a dark, cool place in glass, hermetically sealed containers.
