Corn brew

American moonshine, for which corn mash is used, has a specific taste and aftertaste. There are a large number of recipes that differ not only in cooking time, but also in the ingredients used. For the first time, you should choose the simplest method, which will not take much time, after which you can move on to more complex recipes.

A bit of history

Corn-based moonshine is what most Americans call moonshine. The official birthplace of bourbon is Kentucky. This drink is considered the most favorite among the majority of the population of the United States and surrounding areas.

Corn malt is used as a basis in the preparation process. If we take into account traditional production technologies, then only germinated grain is used to make moonshine, which is then dried and ground.

Finished products are boiled, and then saccharified for the onset of the fermentation process. If necessary, all components can be purchased at the store, this will require: corn flour or chopped, malt, or enzymes.

Stages of preparation of corn moonshine

Cooking corn mash with or without yeast at home is not so difficult if you follow the recipe, but you should approach this matter responsibly. If we consider the main stages of the preparation of mash, then it is worth noting the following:

• select high-quality raw materials and prepare them properly;
• follow the fermentation process;
• carry out the distillation of mash;
• purify the resulting drink;
• give taste.

If the drink turned out to be cloudy, then this indicates the presence of significant errors and deviations from the recipe.

Preparation of raw materials

As a rule, it is mainly corn that needs pre-treatment. It must either be germinated or ground to a state of flour. For these purposes, you can use a meat grinder with a large nozzle or a special crusher.

To prepare the mash, you can boil the grains or use raw materials. Boiled corn can significantly reduce the time to get a drink.

Fermentation and distillation

The fermentation of the drink is an important stage, because the quality of the finished product depends on this process. It is important to consider that a certain temperature must be observed for fermentation – from + 18 ° С to + 24 ° С. If the temperature is below the acceptable level, then the yeast simply will not be able to work.

For the distillation of mash, special moonshine stills are used, which can be found in specialized stores or prepared independently.

Exposure

In order to make real bourbon, most recipes for making corn-based home brew involve aging in oak barrels. That is why it is recommended to purchase all the necessary ingredients and equipment in advance.

If you plan to use oak chips, then it is worth adding up to 2,5 bars for every 5 liters, which are pre-soaked and fried. It is recommended to insist from 3 to 6 months. Bourbon, prepared at home, is not inferior in taste to a quality drink from the store.

Making moonshine from corn at home

Before you start cooking corn mash at home, you should first choose the right recipe and purchase the necessary ingredients. Moonshine can be obtained from whole grains or flour. The strength and saturation of the finished drink will depend on the components used and their quality. To prepare mash from corn, you can use the following methods:

• use corn grits;
• corn flour is also excellent for mash;
• recipe without the use of yeast;
• use peas, granulated sugar, corn;
• simple recipe using yeast.

Once the recipe is selected, you can start purchasing the ingredients.

Malt-based corn moonshine

To make malt-based corn moonshine, you will need the following ingredients:

• flour or corn grits – 1,5 kg;
• malt – 300 g;
• water with a minimum content of salts and minerals – 7 l;
• yeast – 5 g dry or 25 g pressed.

Algorithm cooking:

1. They put a large pot on the fire, fill it with water, heat it up to + 50 ° C. After that, a smaller pan is placed on top and, according to the water bath method, water is heated in it to a similar temperature.
2. Flour or cereal is poured into the upper pan and porridge is prepared.
3. Pour the grits into the container slowly and cook for 15 minutes, stirring constantly and without reducing the heat.
4. Then the temperature is increased from +50°C to +65°C and boiled for about 15 minutes more.
5. Pour 1 liter of water, raise the temperature to + 75 ° C and cook for 20 minutes.
6. Grind the malt.
7. Pour into porridge, which is cooled to + 65 ° C. The pan is covered with a blanket and left warm for 7 hours.
8. While the porridge is coming up, you can start reviving the yeast using the instructions on the package.
9. Cool the porridge to room temperature, add yeast.
10. Mix all the ingredients and leave for further fermentation.

Braga is ready in a week, you can start distillation.

Braga from corn grits on barley malt

To prepare the mash you will need:

• cereals – 4 kg;
• wheat flour of the highest grade – 0,5 kg;
• barley malt – 3,5 kg;
• yeast – 60 g;
• water – 15 l.

The process looks like this:

1. Mix water, cereal and flour.
2. Mix thoroughly, put on a slow fire, bring to a boil.
3. After boiling, cook for 4 hours.
4. When a homogeneous mass is obtained, the container is removed from the fire, covered with a blanket and left for 6-7 hours until the temperature of the liquid drops to +40°C.
5. After the mash has fermented, you can start distilling moonshine using a special apparatus.

The finished drink is poured into glass containers and tightly closed.

Moonshine recipe from corn grains without yeast

You can get a better drink if you use whole grain corn on moonshine and do not add yeast. According to the recipe you will need:

• corn grain – 2,5 kg;
• sugar – 3,25 kg;
• water – 8,5 l.

The step-by-step process is as follows:

1. The grain is poured into 1 liter of warm water.
2. Add 4 tbsp. Sahara.
3. Everything is mixed and left for 3 days for the corn to germinate.
4. Pour in the rest of the water and add sugar.
5. Everything is mixed, the container is covered.
6. Leave for 15 days.

The fermentation process should be controlled at all stages.

Corn moonshine with peas and sugar

In this case, you must use dry peas:

• corn grains – 2 kg;
• sugar – 4 kg;
• dried peas – 0,6 kg;
• water – 6,5 l.

Braga is prepared as follows:

1. Corn is crushed with a meat grinder.
2. Pour the resulting mixture into a container.
3. Add 0,5 kg of granulated sugar, peas, 1,5 liters of water.
4. Everything is thoroughly mixed and left for 10 days.
5. When the mixture begins to rise and come out of the container, it is worth adding the remaining ingredients.
6. Everything is thoroughly mixed and left for another week in a warm place.

Braga must be overtaken several times, and then poured into glass containers.

Corn brew with enzymes

There is a recipe for making corn mash using cold saccharification enzymes. If in a regular recipe it is necessary to add malt, then in this case it is replaced by enzymes, the rest of the cooking process is similar to the standard recipe.

There are two types of enzymes:

• amylosubtilin;
• Glucavomorin.

With these components, you can:

• reduce the fermentation time to about 20 hours;
• stabilize production technology, which affects fermentation;
• finished products will be received by 5% more;
• the efficiency of the raw materials used is significantly increased.

Enzymes are often used as a substitute for malt.

Koji Corn Braga

To prepare corn mash for moonshine based on koji, you will need:

• kodzi – 60 g;
• clean water – 20 l;
• wheat grains – 3 kg;
• barley – 2 kg;
• corn – 1 kg.

Cooking process:

1. Pour water into a large container.
2. Raise the temperature to +35°C.
3. Pour all the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

This recipe is the easiest, as it does not take much time. An hour later, the bubbling will begin. After a few weeks, when a sour smell appears, you can start distillation.

In the end, you should get 4,5 liters of finished products, which will taste like wheat porridge. If necessary, you can filter the moonshine and add oak chips, as a result of which a pleasant woody aftertaste will appear in a month.

How to drink bourbon properly

It is important to understand that each drink is consumed differently. One must be consumed diluted, using fruit juice or soda for this purpose, others should be consumed only after the drink reaches a certain temperature. Corn alcohol in this case is no exception, you also need to know how to use it correctly.

not divorced

The strength of bourbon is 40 degrees, so it is considered a drink for real men. It is necessary to drink a drink from a small glass, which is slightly expanded at the top, has a rather thick bottom. Meat, cheese, vegetable or fruit cuts are perfect as an appetizer. In this case, you can use all the same snacks as for whiskey. Many Americans believe that a cigar is a great pairing with bourbon.

Diluted

Few people prefer to drink fairly strong drinks undiluted. In this case, you can use soda, cola, still water, any fruit juice. Some add pieces of ice, only in this case the taste of the drink will be lost. As a rule, 1 part of bourbon is 2 parts of any soft drink.

Conclusion

Corn mash can be prepared at home according to any of the existing recipes. If you follow a step-by-step algorithm, then even a person without special knowledge and skills can cope with this task.