Kitchen Equipment For many years I have experimented with different types of kitchen equipment to find the most healthy and most effective varieties. This experience was useful and beneficial for myself. I found that it is possible

In our country, the technology of moonshine has been mastered by almost the entire working-age population. And it is strange to blame the Soviet government for this, or rather personally MS Gorbachev, who invented the "dry law", since we cooked, we cook and will cook it, regardless of anything. Of course, only a few abuse the drink, the rest prefer to enjoy the quality of real moonshine and elite drinks made on its basis.

Why are we talking about quality? Because for many, moonshine is associated with a cloudy, foul-smelling liquid that is dangerous even for external use. In fact, the process of home brewing in compliance with technology gives a crystal clear strong drink with a pronounced taste. In the article we will describe the basics of home brewing and tell you what this process is all about.

Basic terms

Much of what will be listed below is known to the majority, but still, for accuracy and further understanding, you must first understand the terms.

• Moonshine - a transparent drink with a strength of 48-60 °. Initially, it has a neutral alcoholic taste, third-party aromas are added during the infusion.
• Home brewing - the technological process of obtaining an alcoholic beverage, in the process of which mash is brewed.
• Braga - a sugar-containing wort that is made from processed yeast and a selected main product. The fermentation process produces ethyl alcohol, gas and by-products.
• Alcohol mashine - a structure for obtaining an alcohol-containing liquid by cooking mash, during which the composition is divided into fractions. Consists of a distillation cube, a cooling unit, a coil and an accumulator (collector).
• Pervach - alcohol-containing liquid obtained during the first distillation of the mash. Contains toxic impurities, is characterized by a cloudy color and a pungent odor.
• "Heads" - the concentration of methanol and acetone boiling at lower temperatures than ethanol. In the process of fractional distillation, they are cut off and their number is reduced to a minimum.
• "Tails" - fusel oils, which are separated at a higher temperature than that created in the still. They are also cut off during the re-distillation process and additionally settle in a dry chamber when leaving the refrigerator.

Separately, it should be noted that the quality of the drink directly depends on the amount of distillation. The saying “Less is better” here works 100%.

The main stages of home brewing

Moonshine rules fix the 4 main stages of making this wonderful drink:

1. Preparation of raw materials.
2. Fermentation.
3. Distillation of mash.
4. Purification of the resulting drink
5. Aromatization is an optional, but recommended step for enhancing the flavor and giving it a bright aroma.

For those who are just mastering the basics of moonshine, it is advisable to have a fully equipped apparatus, where there is:

• a hydrometer for determining the strength of the finished drink;
• a thermometer to control the distillation temperature;
• manometer - a device for measuring the pressure in the distillation cube.

Classic types of raw materials and methods of their processing

As it is written in the immortal novel "The Twelve Chairs", moonshine can even be made from a stool, and it will be a stool. Modern production does not offer such extreme measures, and therefore starch and sugar-containing ingredients will be the best products for obtaining a good wort.

Depending on the time of year and financial condition, the following are used to prepare the wort:

• corn;
• potatoes;
• sugar;
• fruit and berry cake;
• berries and fruits, etc.

Starchy foods

The best quality is grain, in particular, wheat, for good reason, it is wheat vodka that has always been a priority. In second place are whole fruits and berries, from which soft drinks with a low alcohol content are made. Potatoes also have a mild flavor, but less intense aroma. The most unpleasant thing will be moonshine made from sugar beets and oilcake, but such a drink is also prepared and consumed.

Concentration of starch and sugar in grains and roots:

All of these foods contain high concentrations of starch. In order to convert starch into glucose, a gelatinization technique is used - first, the product is abundantly wetted, then it is heated to remove the starch and transfer it to a water-soluble state. Next, you need to saccharify the resulting paste, for which you use malt (the procedure itself is described below in the "Fermentation" section).

If you do not use malt or special enzymes, the wort will simply turn sour, and the drink itself will have a disgusting taste.

In order to prevent souring, do the following.

1. Raw materials are soaked so that it was possible to cook liquid porridge.
2. It is boiled to the state of "aldente" - when the grains or roots are not yet completely boiled.
3. Malt or enzyme preparations for saccharification are added.
4. Yeast is added and sent for a certain time until the wort ferments.
5. Distilled mash and get moonshine.

VIDEO: How to make mash with wild wheat yeast

These are the ingredients for making wort with a high sugar content. Mainly used are apples, grapes, raspberries, viburnum and other berries. The cake also contains a large amount of sugar, but it is not enough to obtain high-quality raw materials.

The concentration of acid inhibits the activity of acids, so sour berries and fruits are first boiled to neutralize the acid, and then baking soda is added at the rate of ≈20 gr. per liter of wort.

In order to understand exactly which raw material is better to work with, we present the tabular values \u200b\u200bof the yield of alcohol (96%) and vodka (40 °) for individual products. The data was derived by the distiller Voldemar Strieter (Germany).

Fermentation stage

The longest stage, which already precedes the actual distillation. In the process of fermentation, ethyl alcohol, water and CO2 are formed, which are divided into fractions during distillation.

The fermentation time directly depends on the amount of sugar in the prepared wort, but it should not be too much - as soon as the ethyl concentration exceeds 10 °, fermentation stops. And vice versa. If there is not enough sugar, ethyl is released extremely slowly and little, so the mixture can simply sour.

Saccharification procedure

If you work with starchy foods (grain, potatoes or pure starch), saccharification must be carried out correctly and there are certain subtleties here.

1. The starch is diluted with water to a liquid state.
2. Pre-boil water, where water and starch are slowly poured in a thin stream, stirring constantly and not allowing the paste to form.
3. When all the starch is poured in, turn off the stove, and put the cup with the solution in cold water. It must be cooled to a temperature of 68-60 ° C. Next, add malt, malt milk, or prepared enzyme products.

How to make malted milk

1. Grain (wheat, rye, barley) is pre-germinated.
2. Sprouted grain is well dried and pounded until a gruel is formed.
3. Dilute with water until creamy.

After the starch solution and malt milk have been mixed, the bowl with the liquid is left for 3-3.5 hours in a warm place. It is advisable to use a battery or wrap it up with a blanket - the temperature should remain at around 60 ° C. That's it, the process of saccharification of starch is over.

How to choose yeast

It is in the process of the vital activity of mushrooms that ethyl alcohol is released, respectively, you need:

1. Choose the right yeast
2. Use the correct concentration.

If there is a lot of yeast and a large amount of ethyl (more than 13%) begins to be released, the remaining mushrooms will die and the fermentation stage will not reach a certain final.

To prepare high-quality mash, you need "live" yeast - pressed, fresh, moist with a characteristic aroma. The color is uniform, the edges are not dry. Dry yeast is of little use - although it is also a living single-celled organism, their concentration is insufficient to obtain high-quality raw materials.

During the entire fermentation procedure, you need to maintain a certain temperature of 18-30 ° C. For this, the vat with the mash is placed in a warm place, but at the same time, control so as not to exceed the 30 ° mark, otherwise the mushrooms will die. If suddenly this happens, carefully drain the top layer and add fresh yeast.

It is possible to determine that the wort is ready for distillation by its appearance and smell:

• the taste of the mash is bitter with a slight sour aftertaste;
• there is no foam and air bubbles on the surface;
• the smell is sweetish, but rather mild.

Distillation process

The technology of home brewing is not limited only to this stage, but this is precisely the very mechanism for obtaining ethyl alcohol from fermented mash.

For this purpose, a moonshine still is used - it can be both homemade and factory-made.

The mash itself is poured into a sealed alembic, where it is heated to a certain temperature. The purity and content of the drink depends on how correctly the temperature is maintained at each stage.

The whole process can be divided into the following stages (distillation):

1. Intensive heating to a temperature of 66-68 ° C, when the first impurities begin to separate. Then the temperature is gradually brought to 78 °. It is important to do this slowly so that some of the mash does not spill out.

The drink obtained during the first distillation contains more than 50% of harmful impurities, including acetone and fusel oils. Its use is fraught with food poisoning and even death.

1. Maintaining the temperature at around 78-82 ° is the longest stage during which the bulk of the ethyl is released. After the second distillation, the product can already be consumed, but if not used, the concentration of fusel oils is still very high.

Periodically check the alcohol content in the collection with a hydrometer or the old-fashioned old-fashioned way of setting fire to a spoon. As soon as the liquid has stopped burning, turn off the heating.

1. In millet of the third distillation, the temperature is increased to 87-90 ° C to start the separation of heavy fuselage.

Throughout the entire process of home brewing, the temperature in the refrigerator (coil) is controlled - it should not rise above 30 ° C. This balance is ensured by the constant circulation of cold water.

VIDEO: How to make quality moonshine

Cleaning the finished product

Since we want to teach you how to cook a pure product, you need to learn how to clean it properly. After the second distillation, even in the presence of a dry pot, it still contains a part of foreign substances that are harmful to health and taste. Experienced masters do not recommend doing the third distillation, as it removes the very taste of moonshine.

Some organic compounds cannot be removed during the boiling process of the mash - their boiling point is much higher (see table).

To get rid of the above organic compounds, several stages are practiced:

• chemical at the first distillation;
• fractional by re-distillation;
• chemical after the second distillation;
• filtration.

1. At the first stage, a weak solution of potassium permanganate is used, for which they take 2 grams, dissolve in 50 ml of purified water and dilute to a liter with moonshine. Leave for about 10 minutes, then filter through a cotton cloth.
2. Fractional distillation means the separation of the resulting beverage into fractions again, but this does not guarantee total purification, since, for example, isomeric amyl alcohol with the highest boiling point cannot be separated.

The concentration of heavy impurities can be reduced by diluting the drink to 45 °.

1. At this stage, activated carbon or wood charcoal obtained from fruit logs is used. This is the highest quality method in which porous coal absorbs up to 85% of impurities.

Moonshine is poured into the container and coal is added at the rate of 150-180 gr. for every 3 liters. Insist for 15-20 days, periodically shaking strongly (at least 2 times a day). Filter through a cotton cloth.

Mastering the technology of home brewing is actually not difficult. The main thing is to observe the order, maintain the temperature and sequence at each stage. But the most important thing is to make high-quality wort and work with a working moonshine still.

VIDEO: How to make high-quality moonshine with minimal costs

At various stages of the technological process of preparing moonshine, there is a need to use a whole complex of special and auxiliary equipment. Special equipment includes apparatus for distilling mash, the design schemes of which are proposed for detailed consideration. Since the technological process of distillation is reduced to heating the raw material and condensation of the resulting vapors, the entire range of different designs of distillation apparatus can be represented by one schematic diagram:

To get moonshine you need:

1. Heat the container 1 so that the formed alcohol vapors rise through channel 2;

2. Cool the vapors in container 3 to a liquid state;

3. Carry out continuous or separate cleaning of the product;

4. Collect the moonshine into a container 4;

5. Observe safety precautions.

The quality of the obtained moonshine depends not only on the raw materials, the recipe and the correctness of the technological process, but also, in many respects, on the design of the apparatus for re-race. Using the general information given here, you can make a large number of the most diverse designs of moonshine stills.

The effectiveness of home brewing is to increase the yield of moonshine per unit of raw materials, reduce the energy expended, control the process and improve the purification of the resulting product. Efficiency is sometimes neglected and huge costs are incurred in order to achieve "super quality". For example, in Russia in the 18th - 19th centuries, up to 30 kg of wheat and rye were consumed to obtain 1 liter of moonshine.

Each of the design options proposed below has its own advantages and disadvantages, therefore, each design can be considered as a set of interchangeable modules; so, when choosing the final version of the moonshine still, it is advisable to take into account the available possibilities of using ready-made elements (for example, a pressure cooker or an enamelled tank is often used as an evaporator). It should be remembered that the overly complex design of the apparatus does not at all guarantee the quality and efficiency of home brewing. Below are some diagrams of the most common designs of moonshine stills. The first two designs (see fig.) Belong to the class of isothermal distillation.

The principle of operation of this design is very simple: when the mash 6 is heated, the alcohol-containing steam rises until it touches the cold bottom of the bowl 2, where it condenses and flows into the moonshine collection 3.

The design diagram shown in the next figure differs little from the previous one, but it is more effective, and the quality of the resulting product is slightly higher.

The device is easy to manufacture due to the use of ready-made elements, convenient for use in any conditions. The main disadvantage is the need to periodically remove the basin with the cooling liquid to remove the moonshine from the receiving container.

The figure (see above) shows the design of an isothermal distillation moonshine, the prototypes of which are the above-presented design schemes. The meaning of the improvement lies in the installation of an additional funnel and a branch tube, due to which it becomes possible to take the receiving container (moonshine collection) outside the evaporator. The funnel should be placed either on a wire basket or on a tripod mounted on the bottom of the container. The joint between the refrigerator and the container is coated in a circle with a layer of dough. As a result, in the event of the formation of excessive pressure, an explosion is prevented. In the process of work, the dough does not allow alcohol-bearing vapors to evaporate, therefore, the room will not have a specific smell of booze, but the aroma of fresh bread.

The distillation apparatus is made from an ordinary pressure cooker. To do this, remove the valves from the lid of pressure cooker 1, and replace them with plugs for tube 3 and thermometer 2. Tube 3 together with tap 4 is connected to a refrigerator with forced water cooling 5. The direction of water inlet and outlet is indicated on ri-sunke. The colder the water, the more efficiently the apparatus works. The refrigerator is connected to the receiving flask 7 by a glass tube 6, which has an elongated narrow legs, which should reach almost to the bottom of the flask 7, but not touch it.

3-4 cm of boiled water is poured into flask 5 and the narrow end of the glass tube of the refrigerator is immersed to obtain a water seal. The flask is then immersed in a cold water bath. Before the start of the distillation, the refrigerator 5 is connected by means of hoses to a water tap and water is released. After that, they begin to heat the mash, gradually adding fire until it boils. After the mash boils, the heating rate is reduced and a uniform intense boiling is achieved.

After filling the receiving flask 7 about half-well, it is lowered so that the ends of the refrigerator tube are not immersed in the moonshine, and the distillation is continued without a water seal. At the end of the distillation, the heater is turned off, the apparatus is disassembled and the container and channels are washed.

The design of the apparatus for the distillation of mash is distinguished by its compactness and admissibility of a complete set of individual elements, but has a low productivity. This version of the apparatus is used for distilling mash and flavored solutions in small quantities (0.2-0.5 l). On an asbestos sieve 2, fixed in a rack 1, place a flask 3 with stoppers tightly fixed in the necks.

A hole is made in the upper stopper for a thermometer 4, and in the side one for a tube 6 with a valve 5, which connects the flask with a condenser 7. Flask 3 is selected such that the liquid to be distilled occupies 2/3 of its volume.

Figure 8 shows the design of the apparatus, similar to the previous one. The apparatus uses a water bath 1, a drop catcher 3 and a special type of refrigerator with forced water cooling 6. Flask 2 is placed in a container with water 1, thereby creating a water bath. Pieces of ceramic are placed in flask 2, which ensures uniform boiling of the mash. Drop catcher 3 catches liquid droplets that enter the pipeline along with steam, as a result of which the concentration of the syrup increases. The direction of water movement in refrigerator 6 is shown in the figure.

This is the most widely used option. It is also called a distillation cube or a still with a coil.

The distillation cube consists of a large container 1, which is closed with a lid 2, where a thermometer 3 and a pipe-line 4 with a tap 5. The pipeline is connected to a coil 6 immersed in a tank 7 with cold water. In the tank 7, water is made flowing whenever possible. The productivity of such a device is 0.6-0.8 liters per hour. After a single distillation, the concentration of moonshine is obtained in the range of 32-42.

Container 1 is filled with water no more than 2/3 of its volume and brought to a boil. They often make such a mistake: they approach the boiling point (78 ° C) with an unreasonably high heating rate. As a result, the mash "spits out" into the pipeline, after which the distillation stops. To bring the device into working condition, it is necessary to flush the "soiled" pipeline.

It will be correct to conduct the process as follows: when the temperature of the wash rises to 75 ° C, the heating rate is reduced and such a stable boiling is achieved so that the heating is completely controlled.

This version of the device includes an additional container with water for cleaning and increasing the concentration of the moonshine. It consists of a container 1, two thermometers 2, a tube 3, which serves to protect against a sudden increase in pressure, a pipeline 5 with a tap 4, an additional container 6, a refrigerator 7 and a flask for the product 8.

Here, the following sequence of operations should be observed: first, water is heated in tank 6, then the raw material is heated in tank 1 and distillation begins. Alcohol-containing vapors, which are a mixture of alcohol vapor and water vapor, pass through container 6, where the water temperature is maintained at 80-82 ° C (the boiling point of alcohol is 78 ° C)

When the vapors pass through the water, the water component of the vapors condenses and remains in the tank 6, and the vapors of the moonshine, getting rid of water, are concentrated. Then alcohol vapors enter refrigerator 7 and, condensing, flow into flask 8.

Various designs of moonshine still belong to the main equipment, but for the normal provision of the entire technological process of making moonshine, a number of auxiliary equipment is required: various containers for preparing mash, connecting hoses, thermometers, filters, etc.

Dephlegmator. In industrial terms, obtaining high-quality alcohols is carried out using a rectification column. Rectification is the separation of evaporation products into separate components by boiling point. The design of the distillation column is rather complicated, it requires strict adherence to the temperature regime and forced injection of vapors released during distillation. Its use is advisable only for large-scale production. At home, a reflux condenser can be used to obtain a deliberately high-quality moonshine in terms of chemical composition.

A dephlegmator is a device for separating the vapors of the main substance (in our case, ethyl alcohol) of substances boiled at a higher temperature (bush oils). The principle of its operation is to use a temperature gradient along the entire height of the reflux condenser, and the height for each design of the moonshine still is selected in such a way that the temperature of 78 ° C is constantly maintained in the upper neck of the reflux condenser. , which corresponds to the boiling point of ethyl alcohol. Vapors with a lower boiling point are deposited at the lower levels of the reflux condenser and again enter the evaporator.

Thermometers. To control the temperature of the mixture during fermentation, you can use a regular thermometer, and during distillation, special thermometers with a scale up to 120 ° C are required.

Hydrometer. To determine the percentage of alcohol or the so-called "strength" of the drink, a special device is used - a hydrometer, which measures the specific gravity of a liquid, with a measurement range of 0.820 -1.00.

It should be remembered that moonshine obtained from various raw materials, as well as infused with various additives, with the same alcohol content, can differ significantly in specific gravity. Therefore, the readings of the areometer do not always correspond to reality.

You can make a hydrometer yourself. For this, a small heavy weight (shot, pieces of lead) is placed in a test tube 60-90 mm high and closed with a stopper. A thin wooden rod 100-150 mm long is inserted into the cork. The test tube is placed in a container with distilled water at a temperature of 20 ° C and, by changing the weight of the load, the thin rod is almost completely hidden in the water. In this position, a mark is made on the rod. To determine the upper limit of measurement, the device is placed in a calibrated alcohol solution with a concentration of 80 °. The distance between the upper and lower limits is divided into a certain number of parts (for example, 10). The device is ready.

Capacities, containers. It should be remembered that not all utensils can be used for home brewing. The best containers are an oak barrel, a glass cylinder, an enamelled cistern. The use of aluminum-mini cookware is allowed for a short time. Various plastic containers can be used only if they are labeled "for food". The use of copper and iron containers is completely unacceptable.

Connecting elements and seals. When using any design of a moonshine still, it becomes necessary to use various tubes, hoses, plugs, etc. It should be remembered that the products of fermentation and distillation belong to chemically active substances, therefore, to connect individual units of equipment, if possible, you should use stainless steel, glass or special rubber.