During the preparation of wine or the extraction of juice, pulp remains – hard fruit pomace, which is thrown away or given to livestock feed. But in fresh pomace, there remains a certain amount of sugar and dry substances that can be used in home brewing. Properly made moonshine from the pulp is remembered for the characteristic aroma of raw materials and a slight fruity aftertaste. We will consider a universal mash recipe, thanks to which you can get a decent drink from apple, grape or any other fruit pulp (strawberry, raspberry, pear, currant, etc.).
Attention! Put the mash as early as possible, while the pomace is still fresh – they have lain in the open air at a temperature above 10 ° C for no more than 12-14 hours. Then the processes of souring and decay begin in the pulp. As a result, the aroma is lost, and the taste becomes worse – a rotten taste appears. Fresh pulp can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in a hermetically sealed container.
Ingredients:
- apple or grape pulp – 10 kg;
- sugar – 1-5 kg (optional);
- water – 15 liters (and 4 liters for each kilogram of sugar);
- yeast (optional) – wine according to the instructions, bakery 100 grams of dry or 500 grams of pressed.
Theory
Classic moonshine from the pulp is prepared without sugar, fermenting the fructose that remains in the pulp. But in the northern regions of Russia, where the sugar content of apples and grapes is low, this is not always possible and it is better to play it safe. 1 kg of beet sugar increases the yield by about 1,1-1,2 liters with a strength of 40%, but slightly impairs the aroma and taste. We have to look for the optimal ratio between the amount of sugar and the quality of moonshine. I advise you to add 1-2 kg for every 10 kg of pomace.
On pressed or dry baker’s yeast, the mash will win back in 4-10 days, while on wine or wild yeast (located on the peel of the fruit), fermentation lasts 30-50 days. But baker’s yeast significantly impairs the flavor of the distillate, so if time is not running out, it is better to make moonshine from pulp without yeast or use special wine strains.
Universal recipe for mash mash
1. Put the fresh pulp into a fermentation container.
2. Dissolve sugar in water (can be preheated, but not higher than 30°C).
3. Pour the pomace with syrup or clean water. If desired, add pre-diluted yeast according to the instructions on the label and mix. The fermentation tank must have at least 25% free space for foam and carbon dioxide.
4. Install a water seal on the neck or a medical glove with a hole in one of the fingers (pierce with a needle). Transfer the mash to a dark room (can be covered with a thick cloth) with a stable temperature of 18-28 ° C and leave until the end of fermentation.
Once a day, open the water seal and mix the wort, drowning the surfaced pulp in the liquid. When the pomace no longer rises to the surface (after a couple of days), you can not mix.
Depending on the yeast, the amount of sugar and the temperature, the fermentation of the mash from the pulp lasts 7-50 days, then the water seal stops releasing gas (the glove is blown off), a layer of sediment falls out, the wort brightens, becomes not sweet in taste with a slight bitterness.
5. Strain the mash that has won back through 3-4 layers of gauze so that the solid particles do not burn during heating and do not spoil the taste of the drink.
It is advisable not to throw away the pulp, but hang (at least a small part) on gauze in a distillation cube (place in a steamer) at the first distillation, then the aroma of raw materials in moonshine will be richer.
Obtaining moonshine from pulp
6. Distill the mash for the first time at maximum speed without separation into fractions, if possible, hanging gauze with pomace in a cube or filling the volume of the steamer by a third. Finish collecting the product when the strength in the stream falls below 25%.
7. Measure the strength of the resulting distillate. Calculate the amount of pure alcohol, for this the volume in liters is multiplied by the strength in percent and divided by 100.
8. Dilute moonshine with water up to 18-20% and make a second distillation. Collect the first 10-15% of the yield from the amount of pure alcohol determined at the previous stage separately. This harmful fraction is called “head”, has a bad smell and is suitable only for technical needs.
9. Collect the main product (“body”) until the strength in the jet falls below 40-45%. Then finish the distillation or select the “tails” separately (you can add it to a new portion of the mash before heating).
10. Dilute the finished moonshine from apple or grape pomace with water to the desired strength, pour into glass containers and seal tightly. To improve the taste, leave for 2-3 days in a dark, cool room to complete the reaction of mixing alcohol with water.
