How to make mash from juice. Juice mash. From apple juice

Lovers homemade moonshine They know many ways to obtain this drink from fruits and vegetables growing in their garden plots. The most popular in terms of speed and ease of preparation is moonshine made from homemade juice. Best alcohol It is obtained from the juice of apples, grapes, tomatoes and even birch. A prerequisite is that the juice is natural. There are many recipes for its preparation, but the most popular among moonshine lovers is preparing Calvados from apples at home.

Juice, yeast, sugar = moonshine

Making moonshine requires skill and knowledge. Thus, the highest quality drink is obtained from apple juice. Naturally, moonshine can also be made from grape juice, but apple juice is usually the sweetest, which gives the drink its originality.

Juice mash

To make moonshine from apple juice, required:

• five liters of juice (you can use a canned drink, as well as with fermentation processes that have begun);
• one kilogram of sugar (if the juice is made from sweet varieties of apples, do not add it);
• 40 grams of yeast (you can use raisins instead).

Sugar is dissolved in the heated juice, after which yeast and the rest of the juice are added. The resulting mixture is poured into jars, and a medical glove with a slit in one of the fingers is placed on top.

As soon as the fermentation process begins in the jar, the glove will fill with gases escaping from it. At this time, it is important to prevent oxygen from entering the brew being prepared. It is for this purpose that the jar is covered with a glove.

As a replacement, you can use clamps purchased at the pharmacy, or an IV tube. The opening of the jar is clogged, one end of the tube is pressed into it, and the other is lowered into a glass of water (see the video for how to make a filter from a dropper).

From time to time, bubbles will appear in the glass, which are released gas. As soon as gas formation stops, the moonshine mash is ready for distillation.

The ingress of oxygen into the mash will turn this product into an sour, unpleasant-smelling mixture, the consumption and distillation of which will not only be undesirable, but also dangerous to health. Making delicious mash is not as easy as it seems. The mash for moonshine should, first of all, be sweet.

Fragrant mash is obtained only from natural products, therefore, if there is such a possibility, then the juice for subsequent distillation must be made independently. Sweet varieties of apples are most suitable for this purpose. You can get an aromatic drink with amazing color and taste if you make a mash based on assorted apples. In this case, mixing juice from several varieties of apples is not only desirable, but necessary.

The amount of sugar does not affect the taste of mash and moonshine, this product only speeds up fermentation, so you can do without it altogether, but provided that the juice itself is sweet enough.

Usually the mash is seasoned with dry yeast, which affects the smell of the mash and moonshine. The smell of yeast may overpower the apple aroma, which is undesirable. To prevent this, one or two months before the start of the fermentation process, buy regular raisins, wait for white marks to appear on them and add them to the mash. In this case, the fermentation period may increase from five to seven to 40 or even 45 days, but the result will differ from moonshine on grapes obtained with the addition of yeast to the mash.

Calvados in an oak barrel

From apple juice you can make not only moonshine, but also Calvados - a drink much nicer than moonshine, but not without its strength. To prepare Calvados, purchase an oak barrel of suitable size, distill the mash using a moonshine still, pour it into a container, seal it and place it in a cellar or any other dark place for a period of one year.

The absence of a barrel can be compensated for with oak bark. The bark is placed at the bottom of the moonshine container, poured over the finished drink and allowed to brew for six months. Prolonged contact of alcohol with oak bark will make moonshine from juice unique in taste, aromatic, almost indistinguishable from real Calvados.

How to distill mash from juice?

To get pure moonshine from apple and any other juice, you need:

• leaping mash;
• moonshine still;
• container for storing a drink.

To obtain moonshine from juice, at least two distillations are required. Before pouring into the moonshine still, the mash is filtered through cheesecloth. Unstrained may contain small pieces of apples, which, having burnt during the distillation process, can cause the moonshine to become bitter.

During the first distillation, the mash is selected until its strength drops below 30 degrees. In this case, the resulting drink may not have the transparency characteristic of store-bought vodka. This is considered quite normal. The finished drink is allowed to settle, after which its total strength and the amount of pure alcohol are measured. So, in four liters of a drink with a strength of 60 degrees, the amount of pure alcohol does not exceed 2.5 liters.

The resulting moonshine from the first distillation is diluted with water, bringing the strength to 20 degrees. The drink should not be purified, as this process negatively affects the apple aroma and taste.

The mash from the juice is poured into a moonshine still and re-distilled, with approximately the first 10% of the distilled liquid being separated into a separate container. Drinking it is dangerous, as it contains impurities harmful to the body, tastes unpleasant, and does not have the smell characteristic of moonshine. The liquid is used exclusively for technical purposes, for treating scratches and disinfecting surfaces.

Distillation ends as soon as the strength of the moonshine drops below 40 degrees. The drink is diluted with water, bringing the strength to 40–45 degrees. To stabilize the taste and aroma, it is poured into glass containers, sealed tightly and left in a cool, dark place for three to four days.

As soon as the allotted time for settling has expired, moonshine prepared from mash is ready for use.

The recipe for mash from juice differs from that used to prepare wort from other sugar-containing products for further distillation. The quality of the finished drink depends on the time of fermentation - if the mash is not matured enough, it will be too weak; if it is overripe, it will give off a strong alcohol smell and will taste unpleasant. A good drinking mash has a light aroma of the juice used and contains no more than 7-8% alcohol content.

Apple juice mash

To make the apple juice mash more flavorful, you can add a little lemon zest. Wash three fresh lemons, scald with boiling water, dry and grate the peel on a fine grater. Add zest to juice.

Dilute 100 grams of yeast in a glass of warm water, mix well and place in a warm place for 40 minutes. When the mixture begins to ferment, foam appears on the surface, add to the juice, stir and add 4 kilograms of sugar. It is best to add sugar in small portions so that it dissolves well. Place the apple juice mash in a warm place for 10 days - during this time it should ferment well.

Strain through several layers of gauze and pour into glass jars. Drink this aromatic drink chilled.

Birch sap mash

Birch sap mash is prepared very simply and quite quickly.

Grape juice mash

Very often, mash from grape juice is used for subsequent distillation and production of moonshine or homemade chacha. But if you want to make a light, low-alcohol drink, then try to use the most aromatic varieties. Isabella, Lydia, Muscat are best suited for the drink.

Grapes ferment very well even without adding yeast, so try to use only natural juice. Mash from store-bought juice may not work, since manufacturers usually add a large amount of preservatives. It’s easy to check the quality of a store-bought product - leave a glass of such a drink in a warm place for several days. If fermentation has not started, add yeast. If this doesn’t help, it means that you didn’t buy juice in the store, but a regular flavored drink.

Before you make mash from the juice, you should prepare a large container and clean water. For one liter natural juice you need to take 2 liters of cold water, mix well and add two glasses of sugar. If the juice is not very sweet, you can add more sugar.

For this amount of liquid you need to take 40 grams of yeast. Pour warm water into a separate glass, add a pinch of sugar and yeast. Leave the starter for 40-50 minutes until a good foam appears.

Mix yeast kvass with oka and leave the mash in a warm place for 6-7 days. It will be easier to determine the readiness of the mash if you use a container with a water seal or glass jar with a rubber glove pulled over it. During fermentation, the glove will inflate and to prevent it from flying off the jar, you will need to make a small puncture in one of the fingers with a needle. When the mash is ready, the glove is blown off and a yeast sediment forms at the bottom of the drink.

Store in the refrigerator to prevent the mash from souring.

Tomato juice mash

Many housewives who deal homemade vegetables and fruits, they know very well that tomato juice wanders great. If home canning failed, this is not a reason to throw away such a valuable product. Can be cooked delicious drink- mash made from tomato juice.

The basis for preparing this easy alcoholic drink You can take a recipe for apple juice mash. Add a little sugar to the acidified juice and put it in a warm place for 3-5 days. If you have prepared a lot of fresh juice, then for better fermentation you can add a little yeast - for this you will need to dilute it in small quantity warm water.

If tomato juice good quality, then just a little sugar will be enough to ferment it. For 30 liters of juice, it will be enough to add 1 kilogram of sugar. Infuse mash in room temperature several days.

Homemade mash from juice is prepared very simply and quickly.

You can try making a drink to suit every taste from almost any fruit or berry. vegetable juice. But don’t forget one main rule for any mash - its quality largely depends on what raw materials you use.

In the era of selling alcohol with fake excise taxes, the art of moonshine is increasingly gaining momentum. Braga is used on absolutely any product, depending on who has the imagination. One of the most interesting and affordable options is moonshine made from apple juice. In a harvest year, every housewife makes preserves, jams and compotes, so why not make homemade alcohol that tastes like Calvados.

It’s not difficult to get a high-quality alcoholic drink at home, you just need to follow the following recommendations:

Important. You can make mash without yeast. Instead, add unwashed raisins - 30 grams per 1 liter of juice. In this case, the fermentation period will increase to 45 days.

Apple juice

You will have to make juice from apples yourself, because... the use of store-bought ones is not permitted.

To obtain a tasty alcoholic drink, you should take the preparation of raw materials seriously:

1. Wash the apples thoroughly and remove any mold or rot. If you plan to make wort without adding yeast, then you should not wash the apples; just wipe them with a gauze cloth.
2. Cut the fruit and discard the seeds.
3. Pass the apples through a press or juicer.

Half of the remaining cake can also be added to the mash to enhance the taste and aroma. Then it is worth considering that you will have to stir it periodically so that the hat does not sour.

After the juice is ready, you can put in the mash.

Apple juice mash

The recipe for apple juice wort is quite simple.

Usage following ingredients will allow you to obtain high-quality raw materials for homemade moonshine:

1. 5 liters of freshly squeezed juice
2. 1 kg sugar.
3. Water - 300 ml per 1 liter of juice and 3 liters per 1 kg of sugar.
4. 30 grams of unwashed raisins or 10 grams of dry yeast.

Advice. If the apples are sweet and juicy, the amount of sugar can be reduced.

Having prepared all the products, we begin to put in the mash:

1. Pour the juice into a fermentation container and dissolve all the sugar well in it.
2. Dissolve the yeast according to the instructions and add to the syrup. If you don't plan to use yeast, add raisins.
3. Pour in purified water and mix thoroughly.

Place a water seal on the container and put it in a dark place with a temperature of 18 to 27 degrees Celsius. The ripening time depends on the use of yeast cultures: mash with dry yeast is ready in 5-12 days, mash with raisins - no earlier than 45 days.

You can check whether the mash is ready using a hydrometer.

If you don’t have a device, pay attention to the general signs that the wort is ready:

• Color: the brew gradually becomes lighter.
• Sediment: yeast and cake completely settle to the bottom.
• Signs of fermentation: The release of carbon dioxide stops, no hissing is heard, no bubbles.
• Taste: the mash becomes bitter. If you feel sweetness, then it has not brewed yet.

The final stage of preparing the mash for distillation will be filtration. The liquid should be passed through cheesecloth several times.

Distillation of apple moonshine

Before distilling, check the quality of the filtration. There should not be any remains of apples in the finished mash, because... in the process they can burn and completely ruin the taste of the moonshine.

Distillation steps:

1. Pour the alcohol base into alembic and do the primary distillation without dividing into fractions.
2. Wait until the jet strength reaches 30 degrees. At this stage, the moonshine becomes cloudy due to the presence fusel oils, which repeated forcing will help remove.
3. We do the secondary distillation fractionally: we take 50-70 ml of heads from each liter of liquid and drive until the strength of the stream reaches 40 degrees. Then we take the “tails”.
4. We dilute the moonshine with water to the desired strength.

Important. To get moonshine that tastes like noble drink Calvados, the finished alcohol must be aged on oak chips or in oak barrels for 1-3 months.

The resulting moonshine can be tasted immediately, but it is better to let it brew for three to four days to stabilize the taste. Pour alcohol into dark glass bottles and store in a cool place away from sunlight.

The most appetizing moonshine made from apple juice has long won the hearts of lovers of homemade alcoholic drinks. Below I will bring to your attention great recipes of this delicious drink, which are quite simple to implement.

Making moonshine based on apple juice is extremely popular among experienced distillers. Unlike apple moonshine, the process of preparing this alcohol requires a minimum of attention and effort.

According to the proposed simple recipe moonshine, which is easy to make with your own hands in the usual home conditions, it is allowed to use both freshly squeezed, natural, and canned, heat-treated and boiled apple juice. However, it has been noted that it is from natural juice that the most aromatic distillate is obtained, which has a dense, rich taste.

Required Ingredients

Technology for preparing mash

Moonshine preparation technology

Moonshine recipe from concentrated apple juice

Mash made from concentrated apple juice is more promising because it contains most of the aromatic substances that create a rich, characteristic aroma.

Moreover, fruit concentrate greatly facilitates the work of the distiller - there is no need to fuss with fruit, squeeze and filter the juice, and strain the finished mash. Also, the concentrate does not have pulp, which significantly reduces the formation of large amounts of fusel oils, which adversely affect the taste and aroma of alcohol.

The only negative concentrated juice is its high cost, but the tasting characteristics of the finished product are practically in no way inferior to moonshine with dried fruits, which is a huge success among connoisseurs of quality alcohol.

Required Ingredients

Cooking technology

1. We heat well or bottled water on the stove to 25-30°C.
2. Add concentrated juice to warm water in small portions.
3. Stir the liquid thoroughly until a homogeneous consistency is obtained.
4. Pour the diluted concentrate into the fermentation container.
   
   
5. Add granulated sugar or dextrose there in the same amount, then stir the mixture until the crystals of the latter dissolve as much as possible.
6. Now you need to activate the alcoholic yeast. To do this, pour the powder into a deep bowl and fill it with 500 ml of warm water. Mix the ingredients for 2-3 minutes, and then leave in a warm place until foam appears on the surface of the liquid.
7. Add the prepared yeast solution to the fermentation vessel with the rest of the ingredients.
8. We install a hydraulic valve, and then transfer the wort to a warm, dark place. In order to accurately avoid getting hit sun rays, I recommend covering the bottle with a thick cloth.
9. We infuse the mash for 5-7 days, during which we carefully monitor the fermentation process and control foaming. Alcoholic yeast can behave unpredictably, and the acidity of the concentrated juice can affect the rate of fermentation and ultimately lead to sourness of the product. If the mash has turned sour, it can only be saved by additionally adding granulated sugar or dextrose.
10. After the fermentation process has stopped, carefully remove the drink from the sediment and do not subject it to additional filtration. The taste and aroma of such apple mash differs significantly from traditional, more familiar types of alcohol - it resembles strong. The approximate strength of this alcohol ranges from 18 to 20 revolutions. Do not lighten such a brew under any circumstances, as this action will completely eliminate the very pleasant, seductive aroma.
11. The first distillation is carried out at maximum speed without separation into fractions.
    
    
12. Before the second distillation, dilute the drink with bottled water to a strength of 20-25 revolutions.
13. Secondary distillation is carried out with the selection of each fraction according to the instructions described in the previous recipe.
14. We bottle the finished transparent moonshine and let it ripen in a cold place for 2-3 days. If desired, the distillate from concentrated apple juice can be infused with oak chips or stand in oak barrel, which as a result will allow you to enjoy the incomparable aroma and excellent taste of homemade Calvados.
    
    

Video recipes for making moonshine from apple juice

First of all, I want to introduce you to an interesting technique for making moonshine from canned apple juice without sugar. Professional distillers offer their own version of this drink with a step-by-step demonstration of the entire process.

In this video, the eminent moonshiner shows the step-by-step production of first-class moonshine from apple concentrate. You will learn about the tricks and subtleties of preparing this aromatic and tasty strong drink.

No less useful and informative is studying the full process of preparing moonshine from store-bought apple juice. You will find coverage of all the subtleties and nuances that you need to know to prepare a truly tasty distillate.

Useful information

• I advise you not to ignore this very interesting and easy-to-implement recipe.
• will appeal to those who appreciate the noble, refined aroma and rich, amazing taste of homemade strong drink.
• Finally, look at the simple method of cooking something unusual.

In this non-standard way, you can utilize the surplus of a rich apple harvest or enjoy the taste of good moonshine from store-bought or concentrated apple juice. Cook to your heart's content and delight your loved ones with excellent homemade alcohol made exclusively from natural ingredients. Don't forget to describe your feelings regarding alcohol made according to my recipes. All the best to you in conquering the simple and difficult business of moonshine brewing!

Many people consider juices to be one of the types of raw materials for mash. First of all, we are talking about packaged juices in tetra packs. Moonshiners - both experienced and beginners - are also interested in the possibility of creating mash from concentrated and freshly squeezed juice. In general, the topic is quite in demand and popular.

Braga from store-bought juice

The problem with making mash from store-bought juice is that store-bought juice is not really juice. It is a mixture of a large amount of water, a small part of juice concentrate, acidity regulators ( citric acid, as a rule). The sugar level is around 10-15%. As a result, mash made from store-bought juice either does not begin to ferment at all, or ferments very, very slowly. In addition, the mass content of the juice is not very high, the banal addition of sugar will certainly speed up the fermentation process, however, the resulting alcohol will be quite simple and featureless, without a characteristic fruit or vegetable taste.

Ingredients

In general, if you want to make mash from store-bought juice, it is better to use apple, pear, tomato or Orange juice. For every 10 liters of juice you need to add 2.5-3 kg of sugar. You can use 50 grams of dry or 200 grams of baker's yeast as a seed. A good solution would be to replace the yeast with 150-200 grams of raisins.

Preparation

The process of creating store-bought mash is similar to creating any other mash. First you need to mix the juice with sugar, then dissolve the yeast in the sugared juice or put the raisins in a fermentation container. It is worth remembering that approximately a third of the container should remain free for foaming. To reduce foaming, you can use a spoonful of kefir, however, the best solution is to simply use a larger container. It is better to place the container with mash in a warm place (near a radiator or just in the sun), closing it with a stopper with a water seal.

After two weeks, the mash ceases to emit carbon dioxide. The liquid itself should lighten and taste bitter. The mash must be drained from the sediment, after which the distillation process can begin. As a rule, 10 liters of store-bought juice produces about 3 liters of moonshine with a strength of 40-43 degrees. It is worth remembering that quality ready-made moonshine from store-bought juice can be significantly improved if you use charcoal purification of moonshine.

Braga from juice concentrate

Mash made from juice concentrate is more promising. It contains a large proportion of aromatic substances that will create the necessary fruity aroma. In addition, juice concentrate itself has a high level of sugar and almost never needs additional sweetening (sometimes even the opposite - the amount of sugar should be reduced, since all the sugar simply does not have time to decompose through fermentation). The disadvantage of mash made from concentrated juice is the high cost of raw materials - 3 liters of juice concentrate costs from 1000 to 2000 rubles in central Russia, and a little cheaper in the south.

On the other hand, you can make juice concentrate yourself if you have a juicer and a fairly large amount of appropriate fruits or berries. If there are quite a lot of fruit trees on your plot, and the harvest is quite plentiful each year, then in this case it would be most preferable to use your own harvest to create mash from juice.

Just in case, let us remind you that before all manipulations it is necessary to rinse the fruits, otherwise there is a possibility of simply spoiling the mash with bacteria located on the surface of the fruit.

Required Ingredients

As already mentioned, the main advantage of juice concentrate for making mash from juice is the sugar level - it is high. High sugar levels are also a disadvantage. Therefore, it is necessary to add so that the sugar level is around 15%. It is, of course, worth taking into account the sugar content of the raw materials themselves. So, sweet apples can have a sugar level of up to 20%, but black currants can easily have sugar around 3%.

You can also use baking powder or better as a seed. wine yeast. Raisins are a good substitute. Dry yeast needs about 50 grams per 10 liters, and about 150 grams of raisins with patina (white traces) are required per 10 liters wine fungus on raisins).

Making mash from juice concentrate

As in the previous case, preparing mash from juice concentrate comes down to thoroughly mixing all the ingredients, sealing with a water seal and a long, two-week soaking in a warm and, preferably, dark place. Within 2 weeks, all the sugar should disappear, and the strength level of the mash should increase to 13-14 degrees. The mash itself from the concentrated juice should become bitter. After this, distillation can begin.

Literature used

Artisan Distilling (A Guide for Small Distilleries), Kris Arvid Berglund, Ph.D. (Michigan State University (MSU) and Lulea University of Technology (LTU)).