Rosehip moonshine is remembered for its light spicy-berry aroma and mild taste. Great option for a light snack.
Theory
Sugar content of fresh ripe rose hips is 16-21%. This means that the theoretical yield from 1 kg of raw materials is up to 0 liters of forty-degree moonshine. In practice, the amount of distillate will be 252-10% lower, since the berries do not always gain maximum sugar content, and part of the alcohol is lost during distillation.
To increase the yield, it is desirable to add beet sugar to the mash – 1 kg additionally gives 1,1-1,2 liters of moonshine (40%). However, if you overdo it with sugar, then the aroma and taste of rose hips will be leveled. The optimal proportion is 1:3 (one part of sugar to three parts of berries).
The highest quality moonshine from rose hips can be obtained by fermenting mash with wine yeast. The disadvantage is that fermentation will last 25-40 days. Dry and pressed baking and alcohol yeast will ferment the wort in 5-10 days, but they worsen the berry aroma of moonshine with characteristic alcohol notes. If there is enough time, it is better to use wine yeast or homemade raisin starter.
Ingredients:
- rose hips – 3 kg;
- sugar – 0,5-1 kg;
- water – 9 liters and 4 liters for each kilogram of sugar;
- yeast – wine per 15 liters of wort, or 20 grams of dry or 100 grams of pressed bakery.
Rosehip mash recipe
1. Crush the berries with a wooden rolling pin, put them in an enamel pan, add sugar and 4-5 liters of water. Mix. The mass should turn out to be too thick, if necessary, add more water.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil, boil over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the stove, cover with a lid, leave for 2 hours.
Cooking allows you to reduce the acidity of the berries and release all the sugars from the pulp. You can simply pour water over the crushed berries, then add sugar and yeast, but the result will be worse.
3. Pour the cooled mixture into a fermentation tank, add the remaining water (8-9 liters), mix. Fill the container to a maximum of 75% to leave room for foam and carbon dioxide.
4. Add yeast according to package instructions. Close the fermentation tank with a water seal (you can use a medical glove with a hole in one of the fingers).
5. Move the mash to a dark room (or cover) with a stable temperature of 20-28 °C. Leave until the end of fermentation. For the first 3-4 days, once a day, open the container and knock down the cap – drown the surfaced top layer in the liquid.
Depending on the strain of yeast, the amount of sugar and temperature, the fermentation of rosehip mash lasts 5-40 days. When bubbles stop coming out of the water seal (the glove deflates), the mash becomes not sweet with hints of bitterness, and a layer of loose sediment appears at the bottom – fermentation is over and you can proceed to the next stage.
Obtaining moonshine from wild rose
6. Strain the washed mash through 2-3 layers of gauze to avoid burning solid particles when heated. Press the cake to dryness (no longer needed).
7. Overtake the mash for the first time at maximum speed without separation into fractions. Take the distillate before the drop of the strength in the jet below 20%.
8. Measure the strength of the moonshine of the first distillation. Calculate the amount of pure alcohol – multiply the strength in percent by the volume in liters and divide by 100.
9. Dilute the distillate with water to 18-20%, then redistillate. Collect the first 7-10% of the amount of pure alcohol in a separate container. This harmful fraction is called “heads”, it can only be used for technical needs.
10. Collect the main fraction “body” until the strength in the jet falls below 40%. Then stop the distillation or take the “tails” into a separate container, then pour it into a new portion of the mash before distillation.
11. Dilute the ready-made moonshine from wild rose (“body”) with water to a drinking strength – 40-45%, pour into glass containers, close tightly. Before use, leave for 2-3 days in a dark, cool place to stabilize the taste after mixing with water.
