Properly made moonshine from shadberry is remembered for the well-perceptible smell of the feedstock and a mild taste with fruity notes. With a sufficient number of berries, I advise you to use this recipe. We will consider all the nuances of making mash and the technology of double distillation, which significantly improves the quality of the drink.
For mash from shadberry, ripe and overripe berries without rot and mold are required, the sweeter the better. To increase the sugar content, the fruits can be slightly dried by holding 1-2 days in the sun after harvesting.
Ingredients:
- berries of irgi – 10 kg;
- sugar – 1-2 kg (undesirable);
- water – 10 liters (and another 3 liters for each kilogram of sugar).
The sugar content of ripe shadberry is 9-12%, which means that from 1 kg of berries you can get 85-110 ml of moonshine with a strength of 40%. The addition of 1 kg of sugar increases the yield by about 1 liter (40%), but slightly impairs the aroma and taste. We have to find a compromise between quantity and quality. If there are a lot of irgi (10 kg or more), I advise you to make mash without sugar, with a smaller amount of raw materials it is better to add beet sugar, otherwise the yield of the finished product will be scanty – less than 0,5 liters.
It is advisable to do without alcohol or baker’s yeast, which worsen the aroma. For successful fermentation, you can add wine strains or rely on wild yeasts that live on the surface of the fruit. In the second case, it is important to harvest in dry weather and not wash the irgu, so as not to accidentally remove wild yeast from the surface. If the irga is still washed, for reinsurance it is better to make raisin or berry sourdough.
Irish brew recipe
1. Grind unwashed berries in any way until a homogeneous mass. Transfer to a wide-mouthed container.
2. Pour in water. If desired, add sugar and wine yeast (sourdough). Mix. Tie with gauze or cover with a cloth to protect against insects. Leave for 3 days in a dark room at room temperature. After 8-20 hours, foam should appear on the surface, a slight smell of fermentation and hiss.
3. Pour the wort into a fermentation tank, fill up to a maximum of 80% of the volume to leave room for foam. Install a water seal (you can use a medical glove with a hole pierced by a needle in one of the fingers). Leave in a dark place with a temperature of 18-28°C.
Depending on the sugar content of the fruits, the activity of the yeast and the temperature, the fermentation of the mash from the shadberry on wild or wine yeast lasts 15-45 days. Then the water seal stops emitting gas (the glove deflates), a layer of sediment appears at the bottom, the mash itself becomes unsweetened and bitter in taste. When these signs appear, you can proceed to the next step.
Getting moonshine from irgi
4. Strain the mash that has won back through cheesecloth, squeeze the pulp well. It is important to get rid of particles of pulp that can burn during heating.
5. Distill the filtered mash for the first time without separation into fractions. Select moonshine before the fall of the yield strength (in the stream) below 35%.
6. Measure the strength of the resulting distillate. Determine the amount of pure alcohol.
7. Dilute moonshine with water up to 20%, then overtake again. The first 10-12% of the amount of pure alcohol (as long as there is an unpleasant odor) is collected separately and used only for technical purposes. This harmful fraction is called “heads”, contains dangerous substances and is not suitable for consumption.
Select the main product (“body”) until the strength in the jet falls below 45%. Next come the “tails”, it is not necessary to collect this faction.
8. Dilute the finished moonshine from the shadberry to the desired strength (40-45%). Pour into glass containers, seal tightly. Before tasting, leave the drink for 2-3 days in a dark, cool place. During this time, the chemical reactions of mixing with water will end, which will improve the aroma and taste.
