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Like all moonshiners, I am a bit of a maniac in the best sense of the word. And almost an alchemist. I am constantly improving my recipes, adding different herbs, seasonings, experimenting with wort. All my research is united by one thing – at the output to get high-quality alcohol for personal use.
A story sent by our subscriber Alan from Bashkiria.
Why I decided to make alcohol myself
For as long as I can remember, moonshine has always been made in my family. This process is quite long, it required not only labor costs, but also financial ones. What is only payments for gas, electricity, water, sugar, yeast.
But it was worth it. From 35 liters of wort, about 10 liters of the purest environmentally friendly product came out, with which they experimented later – they made various tinctures and liqueurs. Time for everything usually takes about a month. Longer with cognac.
The main reason why I make moonshine is that excise taxes on vodka are constantly being increased, it is becoming more expensive, and the quality is falling. And then there are the restrictions.
These ads have been popping up a lot lately.
Not everything immediately turned out smoothly, sometimes it was bitter, sometimes the fortress was not the same. “Heads” and “tails” fell into the bulk. Very often the wort fermented, and had to start all over again.
Then I realized that it is important to observe both the proportions and the temperature conditions in which the wort is prepared.
What ingredients are needed
There is no perfect wort recipe. I like my time-tested recipe more (calculation for an aluminum flask with a volume of 40 liters, later I began to do it in beer bottles):
- water is only spring or well, it contains the least impurities and no chlorine – 35 liters;
- sprouted wheat – 1 kg, the sprouts give a piquant wheat flavor, there is no bitterness and there is practically no fusel smell;
- pressed yeast – 1 pack of 500 grams, I don’t recognize dry ones in principle, they are too fast-acting, they ferment well, but then the must smells of chemistry;
- the most important ingredient is sugar, without which there will be no normal fermentation, it will take 1 kilogram per 4 liters of water, then the final product will be less tart and more pleasant.
Important! Very often I meet sugar from the “unsweetened” series, as well as salt from the “unsalted” series. That is, you do everything according to the recipe, but in the end everything turns out wrong. I take sugar from the manufacturer, not the distributor. In Bashkiria, these are Raevsky and Chishminsky sugar factories with their own raw materials.
I take sugar in bags, then pour it into containers.
The cooking process
It is better to germinate wheat in advance, it will take an extra 2 days, but it’s worth it. Everything is thoroughly mixed to be saturated with oxygen, then poured into a container. It remains to wait for fermentation.
I do not put on a glove, because cats love to play with it with their claws and pierce it. I have an ordinary water seal made from a dropper.
The tube is displayed in a container with water. When the bubbles stop coming out – the mash is ready, you can distill it.
Fermentation process.
Try not to fill the container to the very “I don’t want to”, gases need space, otherwise there is a danger that either the lid will be torn off or the bottle itself will break. This is fraught, first of all, with injuries if you are nearby.
Another important point is to observe the temperature regime. If it is cold in the room where the wort is standing, then the mash will not ferment as it should, you will get an ordinary sour. Moonshine from it will turn out weak, weak and will smell strongly.
The ideal temperature is 22-24 degrees. If you use wheat for the wort, then you should not add various compotes, candied jam. It is difficult to calculate the amount of sugar and yeast for quality fermentation, because they already have enzymes.
What result did I get
At the output, I have 10 liters of pure moonshine, odorless, without impurities, with a strength of about 86 degrees. I do not check with a breathalyzer, I already determine it by “eye”, or rather, by taste.
I tried many different recipes, but I like the wheat one more than others because of the ease of maintaining proportions. The main thing is to remember the nuances with sugar and not try to save money by adding jam.
Distillation.
And what proportions do you observe, do you have your own “ideal” recipe, what do you make the wort from? Share your secrets, because I’m always interested in trying something new.
*Alcohol abuse is harmful to your health!