Mash made from sugar and yeast. How to make mash from sugar and yeast - recipes and exact proportions

I will tell you a detailed, simple, step-by-step recipe for mash for moonshine from sugar. You will understand the essence of making mash and make it without any problems.

To prepare an alcoholic drink, we need to get alcohol from somewhere. We will take alcohol using yeast. The yeast will eat the sugar and produce alcohol.

Yeasts are microorganisms from the family of fungi. They live in water and feed on sugar, or more precisely glucose, which makes up sugar. By eating glucose, when there is a lack of oxygen in the water, alcohol is formed, which they release into the water. Yeast also produces carbon dioxide.

To put it quite simply, to get alcohol in mash, we take a container, pour water into it and let the yeast live in it.

We feed the yeast with sugar, and they release alcohol and carbon dioxide into the mash.

Yeast can be compared to a cow that eats grass and gives us milk.

Grass > Cow > Milk

Glucose > Yeast > Alcohol

When there is a lack of oxygen in the water, the yeast does not completely consume the glucose, bites into it, and alcohol is produced. Alcohol is uneaten glucose.

The essence of getting mash. This is to feed the yeast in the water with glucose and take care of their well-being. The better the yeast feels, the faster the fermentation will be.

A sugar molecule is two glucose molecules linked into one.

Yeast has an enzyme called invertase, which cuts a sugar molecule into exactly two glucose molecules.

How to make mash.

  • Preparing the container.
  • We calculate the proportions of sugar:water:yeast.
  • Add sugar and stir.
  • Add yeast.
  • Mix everything.
  • Cover the container with a lid or gauze.

Preparing the container.

Since yeast lives in water, we will need a container into which we will pour it.

Barrels, canisters, and water bottles are suitable for containers.

It is advisable that the container be made of food-grade plastic; the container should be marked PP, food-grade plastic, or stainless steel.

The container should have a wide neck, so it is convenient to wash it later.

Calculation of the proportions of sugar and water for mash.

How much water and sugar is needed for mash.

The ratio of sugar and water among moonshiners is called the hydromodulus.

Since the alcohol released in the mash by yeast has a bad effect on their well-being.

The yeast begins to slowly eat the sugar and slowly release alcohol.

The more alcohol in the mash, the slower they eat it and eventually stop drinking it; the uneaten sugar will remain in the mash.

It is necessary to choose the optimal ratio of sugar and water so that the yeast eats the sugar completely and quickly.

For baker's yeast, the optimal ratio of sugar and water is 1:5, 1 kg of sugar and 5 liters of water.

If you add more sugar to the mash, then the yeast will eat it for a long time, and if less, then the concentration of alcohol in the mash will be small, then during distillation we will heat the excess water.

Fermentation already noticeably slows down at 9% alcohol, and at 11% it can completely stop. Baker's yeast can ferment up to 14% alcohol in mash, but this will take a long time.

It is better to make the first mash with baker's yeast, then you need to take the ratio of 1 kilogram of sugar and 5 liters of water for the container.

If you have special yeast, alcoholic, then use a hydromodulus of 1:4 or 1:3.5. On the package of yeast, the manufacturer indicates the optimal ratio of sugar and water; if it is not there, then you have baker’s yeast, your hydromodulus is 1:5.

Fill half the container with water.

Why do we fill half the container with water, because at the beginning of fermentation the yeast produces a lot of foam, and if the container is full, it can overflow.

We pour water from the tap, there is no need to boil it, we still distill the mash later.

The water should be without chlorine; if it is there, let the water sit for several hours so that the chlorine evaporates.

Chlorine in water can kill our yeast.

It is advisable that the water is warm, the yeast will eat sugar faster.

The optimal water temperature for mash is 30-35 degrees; at 50 degrees and above, the yeast will die.

Pour sugar into a container and stir.

Add yeast to the mash.

How much yeast do you need for mash?

If you use baker's yeast to produce alcohol, then add the classic dose. For 1 kg of sugar you need 100 grams of pressed or 25-30 grams of dry yeast. The mash will ripen in 4-5 days.

We take yeast not per liter of mash, but according to the amount of sugar in it, since yeast eats it and simply lives in water.

For the first time, it is better to use pressed baker's yeast, for example "Lux", they are available in any chain store, one pack of 100 grams per 1 kilogram of sugar, or pressed yeast from other manufacturers.

Pressed yeast is stable, you will understand what the fermentation process looks like correctly.

Pressed yeast can be stored in the freezer; it must be defrosted in the refrigerator so that it does not burst.

Dry yeast is ordinary pressed yeast, it’s just dried

Dry yeast does not spoil for a long time, but it is a little more expensive.

Good dry yeast Bekmaya.

Scatter dry yeast over the surface of the water.

We regulate the fermentation speed by the amount of yeast; the more sugar eaters there are, the faster the mash will ripen.

The speed of fermentation is not directly proportional to the amount of yeast. If you take twice as much yeast, the mash will not ripen twice as fast, it will take a little longer; the alcohol will interfere with the yeast.

If you have a fermentation container of 19 liters, a bottle from a cooler, then you need 3.5 kg of sugar, which means you need compressed yeast, multiply 3.5 by 100 to get 350 grams.

You need dry, multiply 3.5 by 30, we get 105 grams.

A fermentation container of 19 liters requires 350 grams of pressed or 105 grams of dry yeast.

Mix everything.

As soon as the dry yeast has swelled and settled to the bottom, and the pressed yeast has formed foam, mix everything.

After a while, your mash will hiss and carbon dioxide will begin to be released intensely. Foam may form, depending on the yeast manufacturer.

The foam can be knocked down by stirring the mash.

If foam bothers you and spills out of the container, you can extinguish it with crushed cookies or adding a few drops of an anti-bloating drug purchased at a pharmacy, such as BOBOTIK.

There is no need to specially stir the mash during ripening; it mixes itself due to the upward movement of carbon dioxide.

Fill the remaining water up to the level of the container.

If you stop forming foam, you can add the rest of the warm water so that the total temperature of the mash in the container is 30-35 degrees.

Cover the container with the mash, loosely with a lid or gauze, and leave to ferment.

We remove the container with the mash for ripening in a warm place. In a cold place, the yeast will die out.

There is no special need to cover the sugar mash with a lid with a water seal during the first three days.

Lids with a water seal are needed for making wine or mash from grains, so that lactic acid bacteria do not get there and it does not turn sour.

In the first few days, the mash undergoes strong fermentation, carbon dioxide is released, which squeezes the air out of the container.

After the fermentation has subsided, you can close the container so that air does not get in there and oxidize our alcohol into aldehyde and bacteria also do not get in, again not tight

It’s good, of course, to close the barrel with mash with a lid into which a corrugation or hose is inserted; they will release carbon dioxide into the hood or outside so that the room does not smell of mash.

In the summer, a barrel of mash can be placed in a greenhouse; carbon dioxide will increase the yield.

You can combat the smell of mash using a water seal. Insert a tube into the lid and lower it into a jar of water. Add flavoring or citrus peels to the water.

Citrus peels can also be added to the mash itself.

How to know that the mash is ready.

At first the mash will hiss, after 4 days single bubbles will appear.

The easiest and most effective way to determine the readiness of the mash is to taste it.

We have sensors in our mouths, receptors, that tell us the amount of sugar. If it doesn’t taste sweet, it means it’s ready.

It is impossible to find out the strength of the mash with an alcohol meter, since it measures the proportion of alcohol in pure water, without impurities and yeast.

Is it possible to store fermented mash?

If you don’t have time to distill the mash from sugar, then nothing will happen to it. Close it tightly so that air does not enter the container and oxidize our alcohol, there will be small losses.

It is advisable not to wait, if the mash is ripe, then immediately drive it, there will be fewer impurities, heads and tails.

Is it necessary to clarify the mash before distillation?

The mash is clarified to remove yeast.

This is done if you drink it or if you have a low-quality moonshine still that lets in odor vapors or the moonshine smells like yeast.

If this doesn’t bother you, then there is no need to specifically lighten the mash, it’s a waste of time.

The mash is clarified with bentonite clay, which is bought in special distillery stores or taken from cat litter.

The filler must be without flavorings, the composition must indicate everything on the label.

Fillers, Pi-Pi-Bent, CatSan, WC Closet Cat, Katty.

Add a tablespoon of bentonite to a glass of warm water, this is for 10 liters of mash, stir and pour everything into the finished mash and mix again.

Yeast sticks to the clay and settles to the bottom. Add more clay to the mash, everything will settle faster.

Yeast sticks to the clay and settles to the bottom. Add more clay to the mash, everything will settle faster. Do not pour bentonite with yeast down the drain. Wet clay, like cement, will clog the pipes, pour it into a bag and then into the trash.

You can lighten the mash in winter by taking it out into the cold.

Settled yeast can be reused by adding it to a new mash.

Is it possible to drink mash?

It is not advisable to drink mash; it is better to distill it, as it contains many harmful impurities.

Wine and beer are the same mash, but their manufacturers use special yeast and fermentation modes, which reduce the amount of harmful impurities.

What to do if the mash does not ferment.

If your mash does not sizzle after an hour or two after you set it, then most likely you have little yeast or it is old. Add more yeast

The second option is that your water is too cold.

If there was fermentation, but then everything stopped and a week has passed since the start of the batch, and the mash is not ready yet, then most likely it is cold in your room or the mash is too sour.

The ratio of sugar and water should be 1:5 for baker's yeast.

If the room is cold, use an aquarium heater.

If the mash tastes sour, then you need to neutralize it with soda, a teaspoon for 5-10 liters. Add soda in parts, there will be abundant foam.

The mash acidifies during the fermentation process on its own, the yeast tolerates acidity up to 3.5 Ph, if it is lower, then fermentation stops.

With a regular sugar batch, the mash does not have time to become very acidic.

Sugar and yeast mash is a classic recipe that includes only three components and is easy to make. The question of how to make such a wort and what to follow when carrying out distillation arises, as a rule, among those distillers who do not have much experience in the production of home distillate.

Sugar for mash

Sugar mash has a number of disadvantages and about the same number of advantages. You can prepare such a product using the classic recipe, without changing the proportions or adding various components to the composition. But in this case, the moonshine that you can get will have the following disadvantages:

  • A sharp, sometimes unpleasant aroma that can be called the hallmark of a home-made distillate.
  • Specific taste. You can call it not very pleasant, but it is worth considering that we are still talking about strong alcohol.

If we talk about moonshine, which is made on the basis of sugar, it is rarely used as a basis for creating noble drinks. Preference is given to the product that was made from grain or fruit. It has a pleasant aroma and mild taste, for this reason it is used when you want to turn ordinary moonshine into a noble drink.

But do not forget that raw materials based on sugar and yeast have a number of advantages:

  1. First of all, it is worth noting that the product is low cost. To prepare mash, you just need to purchase yeast and sugar. Such costs can be called minimal; they are unlikely to cause significant harm to the family budget.
  2. Availability of wort: finding the products needed for making alcohol in the store is not difficult.
  3. The yeast and sugar base ferments quickly, the product will be ready for processing in about 4–7 days, it all depends on the quality and type of yeast microorganisms.

It is worth noting that the alcohol yield is quite high: from 1 kilogram of sugar you will get about 1 liter of distillate.

Also, if we talk about sugar mash, it is worth noting that this product opens up scope for experimentation. You can supplement the drink with various substances, which will certainly improve its taste and aroma.

It is advisable to distill such alcohol twice - this will help remove the smell and significantly improve the taste of the moonshine. It is worth noting that sugar-based mash can be prepared without the use of yeast.

Some moonshiners deliberately refuse to consume sugar; they replace this component with glucose, wanting in this way to improve the quality of the distillate.

Varieties of yeast for mash

Yeast for mash is an important but optional component. The fact is that it is these microorganisms that convert sugar into alcohol. If the yeast is active, then the fermentation process goes well, the mash matures quickly, and it is possible to convert almost all the sugar into alcohol.

There are several varieties of the product, all of which, to one degree or another, affect the fermentation process and quality, as well as the taste of alcohol.

So, what yeasts exist:

  • Bakery. Perhaps this is the worst option that a moonshiner can imagine. The fact is that this type of product does not have high characteristics, but baker's yeast is still used in moonshine brewing.
  • Alcoholic yeast is a yeast that is designed specifically for the production of alcohol. They help increase the viability of the mash, and also increase its strength, which will undoubtedly affect the strength of the finished product.
  • Wine yeast - mainly used for making mash based on fruit distillates. The disadvantage of such a product can be considered the duration of the fermentation process.
  • There is also wild yeast - these are natural microorganisms that are found on the surface of berries and fruits. Braga made with wild yeast has an excellent taste and aroma, but it will ferment for about 60 days.

Yeast also comes in dry and pressed forms. Dry yeast starts working faster, but pressed yeast takes a little longer. But there is one “but” - for the first few hours, mash made with dry yeast can behave unpredictably, this is largely due to the quality of the product.

You can use any yeast, but it is advisable to activate them before sending the microorganisms into the container. This process will not take much time - you just need to fill the product with water. You must act according to the instructions on the packaging.

Preparation and selection of raw materials

Braga with dry or pressed yeast will ferment better if you know about some nuances that only experienced distillers know.

So, what will help improve the quality of alcohol:

  1. Good water. You can use spring or well water. If there is no such thing, then it is worth preparing ordinary tap water for creating moonshine. It is poured into a container (you can use a regular bucket) and the water is allowed to stand for several days. Some moonshiners recommend passing the water through a filter or purchasing a suitable liquid at the store. It is worth giving preference to the water that has the least minerals and salts.
  2. Sugar. Often, refined sugar rather than granulated sugar is used, or glucose is preferred. The sugar content of the mash affects the moonshine and helps increase the yield. But don’t delude yourself, because too-sweet mash won’t ripen: the yeast simply won’t be able to process all the sugar, and after distillation, the distillate yield may unpleasantly surprise the manufacturer. For this reason, it is important to maintain proportions, adding all the necessary ingredients to the wort without experimentation.
  3. Oxygen. To make the mash ripen faster, it is recommended to stir it from time to time - this will help saturate the microorganisms with oxygen.
  4. The quality of the mash is also influenced by the container, or rather, the material from which the container was made. It is better to give preference to stainless steel or glass, but in the latter case the base will have to be protected from contact with the rays of the sun and stored in a dark place.

I would like to dwell on sugar in more detail, since this component is one of the main ones in the classic wort recipe.

You can add beet or cane sugar to the distillate. But most often refined sugar is used. If desired, you can invert the sugar - this process is not particularly difficult, but it helps speed up the fermentation.

Syrup is prepared from sugar by mixing it with water and boiling for several minutes over low heat. During heat treatment, sugar will break down into glucose and sucrose and will be easier to process.

Inversion in moonshine is not considered a mandatory production step. It’s enough to simply dissolve sugar in warm water if you don’t have the time or desire to invert it.

It is worth noting that sugar is often replaced not only with glucose, but also with other components.

So, what moonshiners usually use to replace sugar:

  • freshly squeezed sweet juice - it helps the yeast to give proper nutrition;
  • jam is another product that can replace sugar, because jam contains this ingredient;
  • Halva and honey are used less often, but still these sweets are an excellent substitute for sugar and help give alcohol a unique aroma.

If we talk about the classic recipe, then it must certainly include sugar, but you can refuse to use yeast - in this case, the mash will have to be fermented with malt so that it ferments more actively.

Classic sugar-based mash recipe

There is another recipe that will help you prepare good quality moonshine from mash, which contains only three components: sugar, water and yeast. If desired, you can supplement the recipe with other ingredients, which will help change the quality of the product for the better.

So, what ingredients are needed:

  1. 6 kilograms of sugar.
  2. 24 liters of water that has undergone preliminary preparation.
  3. Dry yeast: 100–120 grams.

If you plan to invert sugar, then you should also take citric acid, it will help make a good sugar syrup.

This recipe can be considered a classic of the genre, but it has several nuances; however, the recipe is not particularly complex. Even a beginner can master this type of distillate, and the likelihood of spoiling the mash due to inexperience is almost zero.

So, how to make mash based on sugar and yeast, step-by-step recipe:

  • Let's start by preparing the container. It should be washed well using soda or biological dishwashing liquid. Dry the container with a towel and pour water into it.
  • If you plan to invert sugar, then pour only part of the water into the container, and use the rest to create syrup.
  • Heat the water to 50–60 degrees and add sugar. Stir the wort constantly using a wooden spoon or spatula. You will have to stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
  • When the sugar is completely dissolved, you should start activating the yeast. Pour dry yeast with a small amount of water and let it sit for a while.
  • We break the pressed yeast in the briquette into small pieces, crush it with our fingers and also add a small amount of water. Let the microorganisms come to life and begin to show “signs of life” (formation of foam).
  • Cool the water to 30 degrees and add the yeast, constantly stirring the mash with a spoon or spatula. You will need significantly more compressed yeast. The proportion will help determine exactly how much yeast you need: usually take 5 times more pressed yeast compared to dry yeast. That is, if the recipe specifies 100–120 grams of dry yeast, about 500–600 grams of pressed yeast will be required.

The mash will be ready for distillation in about 5–7 days. Before pouring it into the distiller, it is worth clarifying the wort in order to improve its quality.

Clarification is not a mandatory procedure, but it is carried out for several reasons, mainly to make the drink clear and softer, cleaner. Lightening also helps eliminate a certain amount of fusel oils.

The procedure is carried out using white clay or bentonite - this substance is found in cat litter. It is ground in a coffee grinder and sent to the mash. For 20 liters of mash you will need about 2-3 tablespoons of crushed cat litter.

You can also use the clay that is sold in the pharmacy. Just make sure that the product does not contain flavorings - they can spoil the alcohol, give it an unpleasant aroma or change the taste.

So, the technology for clarification and degassing of mash:

  • We remove the product from the sediment, carefully pouring it through the tube.
  • We heat the liquid to 50 degrees - this will help kill the remaining microorganisms and rid the product of excess carbon dioxide.
  • Then we pour the mash into a container and add the crushed filler to it (the clay is poured with warm water in advance, stirred until the product acquires the consistency of thick sour cream).
  • After adding the filler to the mash, shake it thoroughly for several minutes. Then we leave it in a room with a stable temperature for 30 hours.
  • Then the mash is sent to a distiller and distilled. Cutting off the “tails” and “heads” will help improve the quality of the product.

If you plan to remove alcohol from sugar and yeast for the first time, you can resort to another recipe; it will help produce a test portion of mash.

Test portion, ingredients:

  1. 3–4 liters of water.
  2. 1 kilogram of sugar.
  3. 50 grams of dry yeast or 150 grams of pressed yeast.

The recipe is identical to the previous one, you can follow the same scheme as given above.

When planning to master the art of moonshine brewing, you should start with the classics. Making mash from sugar is nothing simpler or cheaper, which is why distillers love this product so much. And also for the reason that 1 kilogram of sugar can be turned into 1 liter of moonshine without much effort.

It’s not difficult to make sugar if you carefully read the process technology. Any mash recipe includes water, sugar and yeast, the ratio of which may vary, but the yield of the final product is almost always the same. If the drink is prepared correctly, it does not lead to poisoning and will not cause a hangover.

The essence of the process

Preparing mash is a responsible process that does not allow for mistakes that minimize all efforts made. People with experience in this matter know many secrets to ensure that the original product turns out to be of high quality. The essence of the process is the biochemical reactions that occur during fermentation of the liquid:

  1. Yeasts reproduce in the presence of oxygen, a temperature of +23...+28°C and the presence of a nutrient medium.
  2. If there are components with complex carbohydrates, then a hydrolysis reaction occurs, breaking down these products into glucose.
  3. In the absence of oxygen, under anaerobic conditions, consuming glucose, yeast separates it into carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol. The fermentation process occurs as a result of the active release of carbon dioxide.
  4. When the nutrients run out and the alcohol content for yeast reaches critical levels, they die and the fermentation process ends. If the proportions of the components are chosen correctly, then these processes should coincide in time.

For production from sugar and yeast, the proportions are as follows:

  • 22-23 liters of purified, well, bottled or spring water;
  • sugar - 6 kg;
  • raw yeast in the amount of 500 g or alcoholic dry yeast - 100 g.

The mash for moonshine is of high quality if all proportions are met correctly.

Selection of capacity and components

The quality of the initial product directly depends on the selection of the correct container for fermentation. The most suitable containers are glass bottles and jars; food-grade stainless steel and plastic containers for food products are also suitable. Some use milk flasks, aluminum utensils, pans. The work is simplified by a tap located on the container, convenient for draining the mash.

Before adding the components, the dishes must be thoroughly washed with detergent, rinsed with hot water and dried well, which will eliminate the risk of the product turning sour. To improve heat exchange, before placing the mash, the container should be placed on a stand 0.5 m high. It is best to purchase alcoholic yeast, which during fermentation will give good organoleptic properties and high yield. The only downside is the high cost of such yeast. The use of dry and compressed yeast is allowed.

Sugar mash made from alcoholic dry yeast is much better in quality. The use of raw pressed ones results in an overly fusel taste, while dry ones contribute to the abundant formation of foam and strong fermentation. In addition, alcoholic and dry yeast are stored longer. Raw materials for mash are an important factor in obtaining a high-quality product, where proper water plays a large role. The original product will be tasty if good water is used, without impurities, odor or additives. Tap water should stand for 1-2 days, then carefully drain.

Fermentation period

Many people are concerned about the question of how to make mash so that the yield of the final product is maximum. In order for fermentation to proceed correctly, it is important to follow the recommended proportions for mash made from sugar and yeast, as well as temperature conditions. Its indicators should vary between +28...+30°C, but not higher than +35°C, otherwise the yeast will die. To maintain the temperature, you should put the mash in a warm place.

To ensure normal fermentation, in addition to water, granulated sugar and yeast, fertilizing is required, which enhances and speeds up the process. From similar means, fertilizers such as nitrogen or phosphorus are added. You can use simple black bread at the rate of half a loaf per 20 liters of mash. During the fermentation period, fruits and berries, compotes, honey, fermented jam, and vegetables are added to give additional taste to the product.

Determination of readiness

Anyone who produces alcohol at home knows how to properly add mash to moonshine and can easily determine its readiness. Beginners should know the main signs that a product is ready for further processing.

  1. Complete release of carbon dioxide, no bubbles on the surface. If the mash burns when a burning match is presented, then the gas has stopped being released.
  2. The liquid separated, some of the yeast settled into sediment, and the top layer became light.
  3. The taste went from sweet to bitter.
  4. There is a taste and smell of alcohol.

It is most reliable to use a saccharometer, which will show “0” when the wort has fermented. Before you put mash on moonshine, you should purchase this device. There are varieties of yeast such as Saf-Moment and Saf-Levur high-speed action. They are quite in demand among moonshine producers, and you can buy them in any supermarket.

Clarification and distillation

Clarification is done to improve the taste of an alcoholic drink. Degassing is carried out to remove carbon dioxide. To do this, the wort is heated to +55 °C. At this temperature, all living yeast dies. It is good to lighten mash naturally in the cold. The outdoor temperature range should be from -5 to +5 °C. As a result, the yeast settles into sediment, after which the mash is drained using a thin PVC or silicone hose.

There are other, even faster clarification methods using protein, gelatin or bentonite. If the mash is sugar, then it is best to use bentonite. This is a natural product, white clay, which you take 2-3 tbsp. l. for 20 liters of liquid. Before use, the clay is dissolved in warm water and mixed, after which it is poured into the wort. Lightening takes from several hours to a day.

An important point is the distillation of the mash. Therefore, those who have never made moonshine are interested in how to properly distill the mash and what is needed for this. If the equipment is assembled independently, then the first attempt risks failure due to non-compliance with the optimal temperature regime. It is better to purchase a ready-made unit fully equipped with all the attributes for proper distillation of mash.

The distillation process depends on the method of preparing the mash. First, the distillation cube is filled to 2/3 of the volume and heating occurs. It is necessary to constantly monitor the temperature. If it rises above 68°C, then alcohol compounds begin to be actively released along with oils, impurities and acids. Pervach concentrates a considerable amount of harmful components, so it is better to drain it.

Then it is necessary to stabilize the heating, bringing the temperature to 68-79°C. There is no need to speed up the process, otherwise the mash may get into the coil. An increase in temperature to 84°C and above will provoke the release of harmful substances. Therefore, the process should be stopped when heated to 85°C. It is not recommended to continue distillation, since the desire to obtain more alcohol will lead to the fact that the moonshine will have to be purified much longer.

Braga is an alcohol-containing liquid obtained by fermentation of any carbohydrate-containing raw material ( we have sugar) with the addition of yeast and water, for further processing into moonshine.

Criteria for obtaining high-quality sugar mash:

  • mash from sugar and yeast proportions
  • quality yeast
  • no impurities in water and sugar
  • the ability to correctly determine the moment of mash ripening

In moonshine brewing, from sugar mash, we try to get maximum alcohol for the sugar consumed!

Sugar mash proportions

*together with feeding.
Water: Sugar: Yeast
300:100:1

Theoretical alcohol yield: 0.67 liters (0.538 kg)
Proportions may vary only for yeast. The ratio of sugar and water has been tested by theory and practice, change only at your own peril and risk.

Alcohol yield

Let's dwell on chemical calculations - we will consider this to be the ideal yield of alcohol.

Simplified formula for fermenting sugar into alcohol:
1 * Sugar + 1 * Water = 2 * Glucose = 4 * Alcohol + 4 * Carbon dioxide. (molecules)
From one molecule of sugar we get four molecules of alcohol.

We substitute the atomic masses of the substance.
342 + 18 = 2 * 180 = 4 * 46 + 4 * 44. (g/mol)
With 342 g/mol sugar we get 184 g/mol alcohol.

From the formulas we obtain the ratio of the yield of alcohol from sugar: 184/342 = 0.538
Alcohol is lighter than water, to calculate in liters: divide 0.538 by the density of alcohol 0.79 kg/l, we get 0.67 liters of alcohol per 1 kg of sugar.

In practice, we will not get an ideal solution. Fermentation does not occur immediately - some of the alcohol will be lost. In practice, 0.55-0.60 liters of alcohol are obtained from one kg of sugar.

Options that may result in losses of raw materials (sugar) and a lower yield of alcohol in the mash for the raw materials consumed.

  • The proportions of the wort composition for the mash are not met.
    — Too much water:
    slowing down fermentation, increases the risk of “weedy” fermentation-rotting.
    - Too much sugar:
    the yeast will convert only part of the sugar into alcohol and die. As a rule, yeast dies at 9-12 degrees of alcohol. If there is a lot of sugar in the wort - 40 percent or higher, there will be no fermentation at all.
  • Not high quality yeast.
    — Yeast does not have enough nutrition:
    slowing down fermentation or its complete absence.
    — Presence of junk yeast and impurities in raw materials:
    The wort begins to ferment in a way other than alcoholic - rotting, lactic fermentation.
  • Failure to follow the rules for caring for mash.
    — Temperature fluctuations, incorrect mash maturation temperature.
    Overexposure, underexposure of mash.
    — Air access:
    If you didn't give air at the initial stage, the yeast won't be able to start developing.
    After the start of fermentation, do not block the access of oxygen-air - acetic fermentation will develop. When the resulting alcohol is converted into acetic acid.

Yeast for sugar mash

What yeast is best to use for mash? The short answer to this question is: ordinary, pressed, bakery.
Let's try to explain why.

The conversion of sugar into alcohol is carried out by yeast. These are living organisms, and for their life activity they require the fulfillment of a number of conditions.
In our case it is:

  • nutrient medium.
  • temperature regime.
  • necessary chemical elements for nutrition and reproduction.

- Everything is clear with the nutrient medium, sugar and water.

— Temperature conditions.
For the initial stage of reproduction, the recommended temperature is 26-32 degrees.
When reproduction begins, our mash begins to ferment (foam, bubbles), the temperature must be lowered to 22-26. At temperatures above 28 degrees, “garbage” yeast bacteria multiply well (they will greatly harm us). Below 22 degrees, the activity of the yeast we need will slow down (fermentation will slow down). Below 10 degrees, extinction will begin - fermentation will stop, the yeast will begin to die and precipitate.

— Necessary chemical elements for nutrition and reproduction.
The above described formula for converting sugar into alcohol is very simplified and in nature everything is much more complicated. We will not fill the article with all the reactions of biochemical fermentation, but we will highlight that: to convert sugar into alcohol, yeast requires phosphorus in nutritional reactions, and nitrogen for reproduction. Many novice distillers begin to get tricky with feeding; everything has already been done in compressed yeast (read GOST). Pressed baker's yeast contains the necessary microelements.

Special yeast for sugar mash

For moonshine brewing, special alcohol-wine yeast is sold. They are not very convenient for sugar mash: they are much more expensive - they are pressed, require additional feeding, and the positive qualities of yeast are not realized in the sugar mash.
Positive qualities of alcohol yeast:
- alcohol resistance - 16-18 versus 9-12 for baking. Considering that we are going to distill the resulting mash, the initial strength is not very important.
— Additional flavors that special ones give. yeast is needed for fermentation on fruits or vegetables or grains. But sugar, and even “elite yeast” will not give special tastes or aromas.

Step-by-step making of sugar mash
(tested by practice)

Below is a step-by-step description of how to prepare mash for moonshine from sugar.

1 We calculate how much moonshine we are going to get:
— 10 liters 50%.

2 For the estimated amount of moonshine, we calculate the raw materials:
— 10 liters of 50% moonshine is 5 liters of alcohol. 5 liters of alcohol require 8.5 kg of sugar. ( see section yield of alcohol from sugar)
— For sugar, we calculate (according to the proportions) the rest of the raw materials.
Total: 25.5 liters of water: 8.5 kg of sugar: 85 g of baker's yeast.

3 Select containers for raw materials:
— In terms of volume, we need 27 liters + 20% reserve for foam = 33 liters of containers.
At home (in small houses and apartments), the most convenient containers for mash are 10-5 liter glass cylinders. They are convenient to wash, they are optimal in terms of space occupied and ease of transportation, they are neutral to mash - they do not produce harmful impurities.
Total you will need: three 10 liter and one 3 liter jars.

4 Take care of the closures on the cans
Choose from two options:
- water seal: plastic lid, insert a silicone tube into the lid, seal the entrance to the lid (using plasticine) and seal the other end into a small jar of water.
- a pierced glove placed on the neck of a can.
(a water seal is preferable)

5 We purchase raw materials:
- sugar - we take refined sugar without impurities.
- yeast - baker's yeast, pressed according to GOST, we look at storage.
- water - you need clean water, no need to boil, without chlorine. An option would work: tap water, put it through a filter, let it sit for 4 hours and check for smell.

6 Prepare the wort:
— Heat the water (40 degrees, it feels like bathing water) and dissolve the sugar.
Pour over (get rid of solid sediment).
— Add the yeast to the cooled wort (30 degrees, warm to the touch) and stir.

7 Start of fermentation of the mash:
Making mash from sugar and yeast, this stage occupies a special place.
— Pour the resulting wort into clean containers, do not forget to leave an air gap (for 10 liter cans, two liters of volume).
— We cover the top with gauze (not much air access is needed, but there is no debris or insects).
— Place the mash in a warm place (optimally 26-30 degrees). Avoid direct sunlight and temperature fluctuations.
— We are keeping an eye on the mash (we need to achieve full intensive fermentation).
As a crust-film forms on top, stir the contents (every 2-6 hours)
— After about 16-48 hours, the wort begins to ferment intensively - carbon dioxide is released from the entire wort, and not from the crust or sediment. The ripening time depends on the purity of the yeast and the temperature ( the proportions were correct). Let's move on to the next stage. Do not overexpose the initial fermentation; if two days have passed and there is no intensity, this is a reason to sound the alarm.
To determine the moment of transition to the next stage, visual observation is sufficient. You can taste it – it’s bittersweet. Rotten taste, unpleasant smell - you made a mistake somewhere, don’t expect good mash.

8 Fermentation of mash:
— we block the access of air into the container, install seals (gloves, water seal).
— lower the temperature to 22-25 degrees.
- wait until the end of intensive fermentation - 5-10 days. Signs: foam settles, 1-2 bubbles are released in the water seal every 10 seconds (the glove falls off), sediment becomes noticeable at the bottom. Let's move on to the next stage.

9 End of fermentation:
- completely, hermetically close the containers with mash and transfer them to a cooler place with a temperature of 12-15 degrees.
There will be a slow fermentation and precipitation of yeast.
— we wait 2-3 days.
We get the answer to the question: how long does the mash ferment with sugar - the full fermentation cycle takes 6-14 days.

10 Preparing mash for distillation:
- carefully pour the sediment into a container without stirring it up.
It is convenient to use silicone hoses:
We put the jar on a hill and pour it through the hose into a container. We leave the top and bottom of the mash sediment.

The sugar mash for distilling into moonshine is ready!
Recipes for mash for moonshine made from sugar and yeast are not very different from each other; the container and the procedure for preparing the wort change.

Sugar-based moonshine has its own specific taste, and you will have to fight it during distillation. It is convenient to make various drinks from sugar moonshine in recipes in which the taste of the mash is clogged, for example: tinctures, liqueurs. In its pure form, moonshine made from sugar is inferior in taste to grain.

The classic moonshine recipe includes only 3 ingredients: water, sugar and yeast. Despite this, the question “How to make mash with sugar and yeast correctly?” even experienced moonshine lovers sometimes wonder. Let's consider the most popular recipe for mash made from sugar and yeast, and also pay attention to alternative methods of making mash.

Preparing mash from sugar and yeast for moonshine is a simple process, but very responsible. After all, the quality of the future drink, and therefore the health of its tasters, depends on how you treat the technology.

Particular attention should be paid to the fermentation tank. A plastic barrel or aluminum can is best. You can use glass or porcelain containers. But under no circumstances take galvanized buckets, because... During the oxidation process, toxic substances will enter the wort, which poses a health hazard.

All dishes must be washed and dried beforehand. Failure to comply with this rule can significantly spoil the taste and smell of future moonshine. If you follow all the steps strictly according to the instructions, the mash made from sugar and yeast should turn out just right. You can make mash from sugar using both dry and raw (pressed) yeast. The difference lies in the proportions of the products.

Mash made from sugar and yeast: proportions

So, how much sugar and dry yeast do you need for mash? How much moonshine will you get from such a mash? On average, 3 liters of mash produces 1 liter of moonshine. The proportions of the mash are as follows:

Mash made from sugar and dry yeast:

  • 3 l. water
  • 1 kg. Sahara
  • 50g. dry yeast
  • 10g. citric acid

Mash made from sugar and pressed yeast:

  • 3 l. water
  • 1 kg. Sahara
  • 150g. fresh compressed yeast

Most often, dry yeast is used to prepare mash. The French yeast “Saf-levure” has proven itself well in moonshine brewing. Their purpose is not limited to baking. They are also intended for preparing alcoholic beverages. Also, sourdough with dry yeast is made much faster.

Sugar and yeast mash recipe

Be patient. Home brew for moonshine from sugar and yeast is not made in a day or two. To prepare good moonshine you need to spend at least 3-5 days, and sometimes the whole week. But the result will exceed all expectations. You will soon realize that making moonshine yourself at home is much more profitable than buying strong alcohol in a store.

Another unusual one grog recipe, which can be prepared at home. Cooking does not take much time. Grog is an alcoholic drink with a strength of 15-20%, produced

Can I use it? alcohol on the Dukan diet A? At what stages is this acceptable? What to do if you violated these prohibitions and allowed yourself too much? Read:

How to make mash from sugar and yeast? Technology:

    1. Inverting sugar. Don't be afraid of the word "inversion" that you don't know. The term refers to the banal preparation of sugar syrup. This stage is not necessary in the manufacture of mash, but we strongly recommend that you do it anyway. The fermentation process will be more active, because When heated, sugar breaks down into simpler components: fructose and glucose. Take some water (a couple of liters will be enough regardless of the total volume), bring it to a low boil and dissolve all the sugar in it. Mix thoroughly until syrup forms. Boil the sugar syrup for 10 minutes, add lemon, and then immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. In this state, cook the syrup for about another hour. You can make mash from sugar and yeast without inverting. To save time, you can simply dissolve the sugar in hot water.
    2. Water preparation and mixing. To ensure that future moonshine does not have any foreign odors, you must initially take care of the quality of the water used to prepare the mash. It must be clean and not chlorinated. It is advisable to let the water sit for a couple of days so that foreign substances precipitate. But under no circumstances boil water or use distilled water, because... this will lead to a decrease in the concentration of oxygen, which actively participates in the fermentation process. In a fermentation container, mix water with the sugar syrup prepared earlier. The temperature of the liquid should be between 27-30 degrees. Do not fill the container to the top. During fermentation there will be a lot of foaming.
    3. Preparing sourdough. A very important step in preparing mash from sugar and yeast is the activation of the latter. You can use dry and compressed yeast. We'll stick to dry ones. According to the instructions on the back of the package, activate the yeast. To do this, pour them into a deep bowl and fill with warm water (27-30 degrees). Cover with a lid and wrap well with a warm cloth to maintain the required temperature. Cool water will not activate the yeast, but too hot water will kill it. Baker's yeast foams a lot. You can use crackers, stale bread or cookies as a defoamer. Before adding activated yeast to the diluted syrup, we will take care of additional feeding of the mash. For these purposes, you can use bread products, malt, wheat or barley grain, raisins, dried apricots, juices, compote or jam. Feel free to add these ingredients to the wort without fear of spoiling it. Add the yeast and stir the mash.

To make high quality moonshine, it is advisable make mash without yeast. Exists . Read more

Get ready cranberry tincture using alcohol quite quickly, in two weeks you can get a completely finished drink. .

Homemade jam can be used not only for making moonshine, but also for drinking. A detailed recipe for moonshine from jam at home:

  1. Fermentation. The longest stage in making mash from sugar and yeast is fermentation. As a result of a chemical reaction, the alcohols, water and carbon dioxide we need are formed. To start this process, you need to place the fermentation container with all the ingredients in a warm room, wrap it in clothes (we use a towel, blanket, other warm things), providing the necessary temperature regime for the functioning of the yeast (27-30 degrees). During fermentation, carbon dioxide will be intensively released. Provide an outlet for it in the form of a slightly open lid. As a rule, mash made from sugar and yeast is not equipped with a water seal. But you can use it if the smell bothers you. If the fermentation tank is located in an apartment, take the water seal tube out the window. Fermentation lasts 3-5 days. After this time, the chemical reaction will completely stop, as a result, carbon dioxide will no longer be released, and the mash will become clarified. There are several ways to determine the readiness of the mash. If you hold a burning match over the surface of the mash, it should not go out. The yeast precipitates, and the top part becomes lighter. You can also taste it. It should not be sugar, but alcohol. The taste is not sweet, but bitter with a slight sourness. If all these conditions are met, then the sugar and yeast mash for moonshine is almost ready. Why practically? Because it still needs to be drained from the sediment and, if desired, degassing and additional clarification of the mash.
  2. Degassing and clarification of mash. This stage is designed to improve the taste of the future drink. After fermentation is complete, place the mash in a cool room and use a tube to decant it from the sediment in the form of yeast. To improve the quality of the mash, we remove carbon dioxide from its composition by heating the mash to a temperature of 50 degrees. Such heat treatment will remove the remaining yeast. Clarification of the mash occurs independently over a long period of time. You can speed up the result by adding bentonite (white clay) or gelatin. We dilute a few tablespoons of crushed white clay in a small cup of warm water until a viscous mass is obtained, and then slowly pour it into the mash, stirring. The lightening process using bentonite lasts about a day. As a result, we get the purest mash without foreign odors. Such mash made from sugar and yeast is, as a rule, not used for drinking. Its purpose is exclusively to distill moonshine. You can see the recipe for making mash for drinking in another article, where jam is used as the main ingredient.

Braga without sugar and yeast

The recipe for mash made from sugar and yeast is the most popular among others. Moonshine obtained from such raw materials can be called classic. However, you can make mash without using these two products. There are many alternative recipes with other ingredients.

As a replacement for sugar, you can use fruit juices, missing jam, halva, honey, malt, etc. Store-bought yeast can be replaced with wild yeast from products used in making mash: unwashed raisins, prunes, sprouted grains,... In these cases, it is necessary to know exactly the proportions of the components.

Mash made from sugar and yeast: video

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