This is a simple recipe for fruit mash, from which berry moonshine is obtained. Be sure to run it twice and filter it through a coal column to maximize the purification of fusel oils and other harmful impurities.

Ingredients:

• apples - 10 kg;
• water - 7 l;
• sugar - 1.5 kg;
• dry yeast - 7 gr.

Dry ones can be replaced with pressed ones at the rate of 1: 5, that is, in this recipe you will need 35 grams. wet.

Procedure:

1. The fruit is washed well, pitted and chopped. You can use a grater, meat grinder, grinder - it doesn't matter, the main thing is to get a puree-like state.
2. Transferred to a glass container and pour 5 liters of water with water.
3. Heat the remaining 2 liters of water, add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add to the wort.
4. Dissolve yeast in 100 ml of warm water, leave for a quarter of an hour for bubbles to appear and add gently to the base. Mix everything, cover with a glove or a lid with a water seal.
5. The wort is fermented within 2 weeks in a dark, warm place at a temperature of 22-28 ° C. For this, it is convenient to use an aquarium heater or place a container near the battery.

Every 2-3 days, the mash is stirred so as to completely drown the pulp that accumulates on the surface. It blocks the air, and if it is not removed in time, the mushrooms will stop developing.

1. After the end of fermentation, which is determined by a deflated glove, the absence of gas formation, clarification of the liquid and a noticeable sediment, the liquid is filtered through 2 layers of gauze and sent for distillation.

1. Be sure to do double distillation. At the first, they are not divided into fractions, the heating is turned off when the strength of the jet drops to 35 °.
2. Dilute the distillate with water to 20 ° and put it again for distillation. Heads (12%), body (80%) and tails are removed after 40 °.
3. The finished apple moonshine is passed through a charcoal filter and diluted with water to the desired strength (see table).

It can be consumed neat, or aged on oak chips for 6-24 months to make homemade calvados (apple brandy).

VIDEO: How to make apple moonshine at home

How to make moonshine from juice

Often zealous housewives harvest juice from autumn - it is no less useful than the fruit itself, but it is stored longer. It is convenient to use it as a preparation for future moonshine. In terms of quality and organoleptic properties, it will be difficult for a beginner to understand where the alcohol is from apples and where is from juice. But it is best to insist this drink for six months or a year in an oak barrel or on oak chips.

Ingredients:

• apple juice - 20 l;
• dry yeast - 40 gr. (can be replaced with pressed ones - 200 gr.);
• sugar - 4 kg.

Cooking method:

1. Pour 19 liters of juice into a bottle, heat the remaining juice and dissolve sugar in it. Mix with the bulk.
2. Yeast is diluted according to the instructions in a small amount of warm water, left for 15-30 minutes to activate and added to the main composition.
3. Stir everything gently and close the bottle with a rubber glove or a lid with a water seal. Sent to a warm, dark place for 3-4 weeks until the end of fermentation. How to determine this - see above.
4. The liquid is filtered through several layers of gauze and sent to the distillation cube.
5. At the first, they are not divided into fractions, the heating is turned off when the strength of the jet drops to 35 °.
6. Dilute the distillate with water to 20 ° and do a second distillation. Heads (12%), body (80%) and tails are removed after 40 °.
7. The finished apple moonshine is passed through a charcoal filter and diluted with water to the desired strength (see the table above). Before tasting, let it brew for 3-4 days.

VIDEO: How to make cider from juice

Apple mash recipe without yeast

In this case, wild strains will be involved, which are present in abundance on the peel of the fruit. The most important thing is not to wash them before cooking, in extreme cases, wipe them with a dry cloth so as not to remove the strains. Adding raisins or wheat malt will speed up the fermentation.

It is best to use unwashed apples, freshly picked from the tree - a huge number of wild strains are present on their skins

Ingredients:

• sweet juicy - 20kg;
• water - 6 liters;
• sugar - 6 kg;
• raisins - 200 gr.

Cooking method:

1. Grind apples in a convenient way - in a meat grinder, grater or grinder to get fruit puree.
2. Put mashed potatoes in a glass or enamel container, add 2 kg of sugar and 3 liters of water. Stir, cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place for a couple of days to ferment.
3. Transfer the mass that has already begun to ferment into the bottle, add the remaining sugar, water and all the raisins. Stir, close with a glove or a lid with a water seal and send to a warm place where the temperature is stable and keeps at around 22-27 ° С.
4. After fermentation, filter the mass and send it to the still.
5. The distillation process is identical to the previously mentioned methods. At the end, the moonshine is filtered through a charcoal filter and bottled.

Cooking from apple cake

When juicing is made, there is an excess of cake left - the result of grinding the fruit in a juicer. It is usually thrown away, but we suggest using it as a base for making apple moonshine at home. If the apples have not been washed beforehand, then yeast is not added to the wort, otherwise they are added at the rate of 2-3 grams of dry or 10-12 pressed for each kilogram of cake.

For fermentation, it is desirable to use alcoholic or wine yeast.

Ingredients:

• cake - 10 kg;
• water - 30 liters;
• sugar - 1 kg;
• yeast - 20 gr.

Cooking method:

1. Pour cake, water, sugar syrup and prepared yeast into the bottle. A third of the volume should be left in the container for the foam head formed during the fermentation process. Close with a lid with a water seal or a rubber glove, at the fingertips of which holes are made with a needle.

1. Braga is sent to a warm place, where the temperature regime is observed in the range of 22 ° С ... 28 ° С. Every day, a hat is sunk with a wooden stick so that it does not obstruct the access of oxygen.
2. After 2.5-3 weeks, when carbon dioxide stops evolving, the liquid is drained, filtered through 3 layers of gauze and sent to the distillation.

Do not let the cake get into the distillation cube, so that when heated it does not burn and spoil the taste of the finished drink.

Chacha

The difference between chacha when starting apple mash for moonshine is the use of dried fruits. Basically, it is driven in winter, when fresh fruit has already "departed"

Composition:

• Dried fruits - 10 kg;
• water - 50 liters;
• sugar - 15 kg;
• pressed yeast - 1500 gr.

Cooking method:

1. Pour dried fruits with water and boil for 15-20 minutes.
2. Add sugar to hot water, stir and cool to 27-30 ° C.
3. Dissolve the yeast in warm water and mix gently into the bulk.
4. Everything is mixed, the bottle is closed with a glove or a lid with a water seal, sent to a dark place for 2-2.5 weeks and left to ferment at a temperature of 22-27 ° C.
5. It is drained from the sediment, filtered through cheesecloth, after which the mash can be distilled.

Moonshine principles

For distillation, a distiller is used - a complete moonshine still. It is desirable to have a dry greenhouse, in order to additionally select the booze in the process of work.

Be sure to run the mash twice, which helps to improve the taste of the finished drink and to completely remove impurities - methyl and isoamyl alcohol, acetic and formic acid, acetone, etc.

Between distillations, it is advisable to stand for 2-3 days, adding chopped fresh apple to the distillate. Pre-dilute raw alcohol to 20 °.

In the first distillation, the raw material is not divided into fractions. At the second stage, the heads are taken (12% of the total), the body (80%) and the tails are cut off - the drive is removed when the jet strength falls to 40 °.

The finished distillate is passed twice through a coal column, again to improve flavor and quality.

VIDEO: The secret of making homemade apple wine

The jagged truth: “Fruit must be washed before eating,” does not work in all cases. Apples for moonshine do not need to be washed so as not to kill the wild yeast that lives on the skin. It is better to wipe the dirtiest fruits with a dry cloth. Natural microorganisms will not interfere even if you are going to add yeast anyway. They will help create a breeding ground and speed up fermentation.

Purchased apples are an exception. Of course, it is understood that usually moonshine is driven from their own harvest due to its surplus. But if the stars are aligned so that you use imported apples of unknown origin, it is better to wash them well.

The next stage of preparation is cutting off the excess. For moonshine from apples at home, you do not need bones, cuttings, stalks. They hold a lot of tannins. We also cut out the rotten pulp.

Braga from apples for moonshine

This method attracts with its simplicity. Everything is quite simple even for a novice moonshiner. The amount of added sugar depends on the sweetness of the fruit. Experienced winemakers recommend taking 4 kg of sugar for 30 kg of sour apples, 3 kg for sweet and sour apples, 2-2.5 kg for sweet ones. We take water at the rate of 5 liters for each kilogram of sugar. Here is one of the recipes for moonshine from sour apples. For other varieties, the technology will not change, and the amount of ingredients can be counted independently.

Ingredient List:

• sour apples - 15 kg;
• water - 10 liters;
• granulated sugar –2 kg;
• pressed yeast - 50 grams or dry - 15 grams.

Cooking method

1. Grind the prepared apples. It is not necessary to achieve the consistency of puree. Moreover, it will be difficult to distill such a thick mash. For processing, you can use a vegetable grater, blender, food processor, or even a grinder. It all depends on the volume of processing. Apple porridge should be about 5 liters.
2. We measure out 9 liters of water and mix with apple porridge in a large container. Pick up a comfortable bottle with a wide mouth in advance. Then it will be convenient to fall asleep and apples, and stir the mash.
3. Prepare sugar syrup from the remaining liter of water and sugar. Pour sugar into warm water and cook until it is completely dissolved. Cool the finished syrup to room temperature and add to apples and water.
4. It remains to introduce yeast. To activate them, fill it with warm water in a ratio of 1:10 and wait 10-20 minutes. You can add some sugar to speed up the process. After a light foam appears, add them to the apple mixture.
5. Leave the wort to ferment for 1.5-2 weeks. To do this, remove the closed bottle in a warm place. Mix the wort every few days and knock a dense cap off the surface.
6. The readiness of the mash is determined by several criteria. The pulp will precipitate. The hiss and seething on the surface will stop. The taste of the mash will change from sweet to sour or even bitter.

Now that you know how to make mash from different varieties of apples, we will learn how to make it from apple juice.

Apple juice braga

Getting apple juice

If instead of apples you become a happy owner of natural apple juice, you can only be congratulated. Moonshine made from apple juice is even easier to make than from whole fruits. True, here you also need to be confident in the raw materials. The composition can only contain apples, sugar and a little citric acid.

The second way to get apple juice and be sure of its composition is to make it yourself. At first glance, this may seem like an unnecessary complication of the process. In fact, labor costs are not so great, and the result is justified. Braga made from fresh apple juice turns out to be more noble, and the taste and aroma are subtler. It is excellent for making fruit wines (eaux-de-vie) and cider.

There is another reason for using apple juice mash. Apple pulp is rich in pectin. It decomposes to methanol during fermentation. It is difficult to determine its quantity in a domestic environment. But those who want to play it safe, resort to cooking mash "white", that is, without pulp.

Apple mash recipe

The composition of the mash is simple: juice, sugar and yeast. But again we pay attention to the sugar content of apples and, accordingly, the sweetness of the finished juice. Depending on the type of apple, you need a different amount of sugar.

Ingredient List:

Cooking method

1. We get juice from apples in any way you can: grater, juicer, food processor. Squeeze out the pulp, filter. We defend the day. Drain clean, slightly cloudy juice from the sediment.
2. We activate the yeast in warm water for 15-20 minutes. Wine yeast can achieve optimal results. Unlike bakery or dry ones, they do not give a characteristic "brew" smell, but retain the natural one.
3. Mix juice, sugar and yeast in a glass bottle of appropriate volume.
4. After 3-4 weeks, we check the readiness of the mash according to the signs from the previous recipe. In the process of fermentation, shake the bottle periodically.

Distillation of moonshine from apples

The made wash must be removed from the sediment. Before that, it is recommended to move it from a warm room where fermentation was taking place for 1-2 days to a cool place. And only then drain. Before driving the mash, you can pass it through a cotton-gauze filter.

1. For the first distillation, slowly bring the moonshine still to 80 ° C. Braga can be distilled without separation of fractions. This is not critical at this stage. The selection of the distillate is usually carried out "dry" until the strength drops to 5 °.
2. To improve the aroma of the drink, before the second distillation, we advise you to insist the distillate on apples for several days. We dilute the flavored distillate 50 to 50 with water and proceed to the next step.
3. In the second distillation, we must separate the primary "heads" and the final "tails". From each liter of apple mash (recipe 1) we select 50-70 ml of "heads", for apple mash (recipe 2) - 80-90 ml. After the fall of the fortress below 40 °, "tails" begin. To get a stronger moonshine, you can stop a little earlier.

It is better to withstand moonshine before use for 1-2 weeks. You can do this simply in a regular bottle, or in an oak barrel. Extravaganza of taste and aroma is guaranteed.

Apple braga for moonshine is an excellent base that helps to make moonshine with a pleasant smell and taste at home. It is fair to say that you can make juice and jam from apples at home. But if it makes no sense to replenish stocks, then you can pay attention to the production of distillate. In addition, slightly spoiled fruits can be used to make moonshine, but provided that they undergo some training.

Alcoholic drink made from apple mash

Braga for moonshine can be made from almost any product. As for apples, there are at least two recipes that you can use without fear of spoiling the raw materials. In the process of making the distillate, you can use not only fruit, but also juice.

Apple home brew is a special product, the production of which should be approached with all responsibility. Fruit-based distillate has a number of disadvantages and a number of advantages. You can call these disadvantages minor, but still it is worth having an idea of \u200b\u200ball the nuances before starting to create an apple base suitable for the production of moonshine.

So, what are the disadvantages of fruit mash:

1. When using wild yeast, the mash ferments for a long time.
2. Some flavor is lost when sugar is added.
3. It will take patience and perseverance when making wort.
4. We'll have to sort the apples and separate them from the seeds and cut the core.

When making a mash based on wild yeast (that is, using only those microorganisms that are present on the surface of fruits, berries and grains), it should be borne in mind that the mash will be ready in about 30-45 days.

The apple base is sensitive to sugar. You can supplement the mash with fructose or identify individual proportions that will help maintain the quality of alcohol and at the same time speed up the fermentation process.

You will have to be patient to puree a lot of fruit. Of course, you can use a grater or blender. But it is better to purchase a special drill attachment - it will help crush fruits in large quantities.

Making moonshine from apples takes place in several stages, the first of which is the preparation of raw materials. Peel the apples, remove the seeds and the core. You can only use the pulp and peel directly. And you will also have to eliminate rot and damaged areas of the pulp. A simple cleaning method will help rid the fruit of pathogenic microflora.

Braga made from apple juice or fresh fruit also has a number of advantages, these include:

• comparative ease of manufacture;
• availability of raw materials;
• an abundance of recipes on the Internet;
• pleasant aroma and taste of the product, which remains even after repeated distillation.

The simplest recipe and the availability of raw materials are the main advantages of production. You can add various spices and seasonings to the mash - this will affect the taste and aroma of the drink. At the same time, the taste peculiar to exclusively fruit moonshine will remain unchanged.

Braga made from apple juice or fresh fruit can be drinkable. Drinking home brew has good characteristics; it can be used both for making moonshine and for consumption as an independent product.

Apple moonshine recipes

There are two recipes that will help you make a high quality drink at home. One recipe involves the use of fresh raw materials, that is, directly apples, and the other - the use of juice.

So, how to make apple mash and what ingredients are required to create a quality drink:

1. 30 kilograms of apples that have been pre-peeled and have already turned into puree.
2. 4 kilograms of sugar (it is not necessary to use sugar, especially if the apples themselves are sweet, you can add glucose to the mash, or better fructose; but if the fruits are sour, then sugar is indispensable).
3. 20 liters of water. We give preference to spring or well. You can buy water in the store, it is worth choosing the one that is intended for feeding children. If tap water is used, then it is recommended to defend it, and only then use it.
4. 20 grams of dry yeast or 100 grams of pressed yeast (yeast can be dispensed with, provided that wild yeast is used).

Algorithm of actions

When using an apple mash recipe, special attention should be paid to the wort making process and the subsequent fermentation of the mash.

So where to start and how to make the right mash:

• When the apples are processed into mashed potatoes, they should be immersed in a fermentation vessel along with the juice.
• After the mashed potatoes are sent to the container, it is necessary to dilute the sugar in warm water. You can make a syrup - this will significantly improve the quality of the distillate, or you can simply pour sugar into the container and pour it with warm water.
• Then yeast is used. They will have to be diluted, based on the instructions on the package. The yeast should be allowed to lie down for a while in warm water, and then send it to other components of the future moonshine. If wild yeast is used, skip this point.
• After that, mix the mash thoroughly to saturate it with oxygen, which is necessary for a full-fledged fermentation process.
• The final stage in the mash preparation process is to close the container with a lid equipped with a water seal. If there is no such device, then we use a glove - we make a small hole in the middle finger and put the glove on the container.

We send the container with the wash to a room with a stable temperature. After 5-10 days, it will be ready for processing, provided that the manufacturer has used wine, alcohol or baker's yeast. But the product with wild yeast will be ready in about 45 days.

Apple-based mash recipes may differ in various additions, you can use any fruit, make adjustments to the recipe. But the above recipe should be considered a classic, it will allow you to cook a quality product with a pleasant taste and aroma at home.

Mash recipe for moonshine with juice

A mash made from juice can be used as a base. It will help drive out moonshine with a bright fruit aroma.

To create a quality drink, you need the following ingredients:

1. 5 liters of good apple juice (naturally, the juice should not be packaged, but prepared by yourself).
2. 1 kilogram of sugar (you can stop using sugar if the apples were sweet or reduce its amount).
3. Water (we calculate the proportions as follows: 200 milliliters per 1 liter of juice and 3 liters per 1 kilogram of sugar).
4. 30 grams of dry yeast (if we use wild yeast in the process of making the product, then dry microorganisms can be replaced with raisins in a proportion of 30 grams per 1 liter of juice).

If wild yeast is used in the production process, then the raisins should not be washed, as well as apples before juicing. The fruits should be wiped with a dry cloth. Washing will kill all microorganisms and cause the mash to sour.

So, when all the components are ready, we proceed to create the mash. The process is not particularly complicated, it takes place in several stages:

• Add juice to the container, mix it with sugar and yeast. It is advisable to soak the yeast before sending it to the container. You can make syrup from sugar or simply dissolve it in warm water.
• Then we mix the components thoroughly and send them to a room with a stable temperature. The temperature should not exceed 28 degrees. After 5-10 days, the product will be ready for processing, provided that dry or compressed yeast was used in the production process. On the basis of wild yeast, the mash will be ready for distillation in 45-60 days. It all depends on the activity of microorganisms.

We make moonshine from mash

After the mash is ready for processing, it will have to be filtered. A gauze folded in several layers or a cotton-gauze filter is used as a filter. Filtration will help remove large apple residues and avoid spoilage of the mash during the ferrying process.

If the product burns to the walls of the still, then you can pour out the mash and put a new one. The burning taste and the corresponding aroma cannot be removed even after repeated distillation in the apparatus.

After the product has been filtered, it should be poured into the distillation cube and distilled. It is better to carry out fractional distillation with the separation of the "heads" and "tails"; it is worth taking away the "body" until the strength in the stream drops to 30 degrees.

If after the first distillation the apple moonshine is cloudy, it is recommended to distill it again, since it is highly likely that the drink is rich in fusel oils. In principle, turbidity is normal; you can simply pass alcohol through the filter several times. But if the dregs remain, the product should still be re-processed - this will affect the taste of the drink, eliminate the aroma, but will significantly increase the quality of the moonshine.

It is worth noting that apple-based recipes are incredibly popular among distillers. They allow you to create a drink at home without special costs that can compete with purchased alcohol.

Hello!

Today I offer you a simple recipe for apple moonshine. What makes it simple is that we will not process a ton of apples and squeeze juice from them. And we will do everything on sugar mash, while transferring the desired taste and aroma to the distillate.

So it would be more correct to call this drink apple-sugar moonshine, and not purely apple. And God forbid calling it Calvados. But the drink is still pretty good.

Ingredients

I quote the ratio per 1 kg of sugar, and calculate the proportions you need yourself.

• 1 kg sugar
• 5 liters of water
• 20 grams of dry yeast (or 100 grams of pressed)
• 5 strong-smelling apples (not all are needed at once)

Recipe

The recipe is based on the classic sugar mash. Therefore, if you are new to home brewing, then I suggest that you first read two short articles - braga on dry yeast and on pressed.

My impression of the recipe

As I said, this is not pure apple moonshine and certainly not Calvados. The manufacture of which requires much more time, effort and resources. I will return to these drinks in the summer, when my apples will go to the dacha. So subscribe to updates if you haven't already.

So, what does this recipe give us? The result is a drink with a pleasant apple aroma, light apple flavor and persistent aftertaste. By the way, surprisingly, the aroma brightens up the smell of even a rather mediocre moonshine well. At the same time, a minimum of ingredients and time is spent. Therefore, you can pamper yourself with apple-sugar moonshine even in winter, when apples are more expensive than bananas. At least in the store near my house.

Goodbye to everyone. Dorofeev Pavel.

Apple moonshine is a popular alcoholic beverage that is easy to make at home. For it, you can use, including not the best quality fruits, fallen or overripe fruits are suitable. Apple braga has a characteristic pleasant smell that will remain in the finished drink during distillation. Apple moonshine, if prepared correctly and following safety guidelines, can be an excellent alternative to even expensive purchased alcohol.

Braga from apples is obtained in the process of fermentation of raw materials, which occurs with the release of ethyl alcohol. In some cases, the mash can be consumed in its pure form, but it is better to overtake it to cleanse it from harmful impurities. Such a product is especially popular, since apples have a very low cost in season, and the finished drink retains its characteristic taste and smell. Apple moonshine is appreciated for its benefits:

• ease of preparation;
• low cost of raw materials;
• the presence of a large number of recipes - any varieties and parts of fruit can be used for mash;
• original taste and aroma that is not lost during the distillation of moonshine.

However, there are also disadvantages to making apple-based distillates. These include:

• the duration of the process - the fruit mash ferments longer;
• the need to sort and peel the fruit from the core;
• sensitivity of raw materials to sugar - when added, a significant portion of the aroma is lost.

Apple moonshine is a simple and affordable product. Despite some drawbacks, it is easy to make at home. It is also a great way to apply crop leftovers. Braga can also be prepared from apple peelings and cake, which is obtained after squeezing the juice.

Apple mash recipe for moonshine

The simplest homemade apple moonshine recipe requires a minimum set of ingredients. Fruits of any type and quality are suitable as the main raw material. It is better to choose sweeter varieties, but the taste can be adjusted with additional sugar. You will also need clean water and yeast - they accelerate the fermentation of the wort.

Despite the fact that moonshiners prefer to cook classic moonshine with apples and yeast, there are other variations:

• apple mash without yeast;
• a drink on pomace (cake) that remains after juicing;
• moonshine with fresh homemade juice.

Apple moonshine is prepared in several stages. First you need to prepare and combine all the components of the mash, which will undergo fermentation processes. Apples are peeled from the core and spoiled areas, chopped or chopped in a blender or juicer. The raw materials are then mixed with the rest of the components and placed in a warm room for the fermentation process. If you put the mash with yeast, it will be ready for subsequent distillation in 10-15 days. A yeast-free cooking recipe is longer - the mash will be infused for more than a month, for 40-45 days. There are no certain rules on how to properly prepare high-quality moonshine with the addition of apples - it depends on a large number of factors and personal preferences.

Making apple mash

Braga on apples for moonshine is a product of yeast fermentation of fruits. The process takes place at room temperature with the release of ethyl alcohol. The main thing is to choose high-quality components and combine them in the correct proportions. For 30 kg of apples, you will need 20 liters of water, as well as sugar (about 4 kg, its amount depends on the variety of apples) and yeast (20 g dry or 100 g compressed). Then you can start making the mash:

• peel and core fruits, cut into small slices, remove rotten or moldy areas;
• grind the raw materials to a homogeneous mass (optional) - for this, use coarse graters, blenders, meat grinders or special attachments for a drill;
• in pureed form, place the raw materials in a fermentation vessel;
• add water, if necessary, having dissolved sugar in it beforehand;
• dilute dry yeast with water (its temperature should not exceed 30 degrees), add wild yeast in its pure form;
• close the neck of the fermentation tank with a water seal, leave it at a temperature of 18-28 degrees for the required time;
• after 4-10 days, the mash is ready for further distillation, the mixture without yeast must be kept in the container for at least 45 days.

The simplest mash for moonshine can be prepared even from those apples that are not suitable for fresh consumption. Suitable for her are fruits that have fallen from the branches, spoiled or rotten apples. It is enough to cut off all such areas with a knife, otherwise they can affect the taste, smell and quality of the finished moonshine.

Fermentation of apple mash

Braga on apples for moonshine must undergo some preparation. Fermentation occurs due to the activation of yeast cultures in the absence of oxygen. When using baker's yeast, the procedure takes about a week, wine yeast will ferment for about 3 weeks. During this time, the cake will rise to the surface of the liquid, and it must be periodically knocked down so that it does not sour. When the wash is ready, the raw material will settle to the bottom, and the color of the liquid will become lighter. Before distillation, you do not need to filter the mash - it is used together with apple cake.

In home brewing, it is difficult to do without containers with a hydraulic seal. The fact is that during fermentation, carbon dioxide is formed in large quantities. For 1 liter of alcohol, approximately 4 square meters of gas is obtained. If you do not remove it in time, the container will not withstand the increasing pressure from the inside. However, when removing carbon dioxide, it is important to prevent the ingress of oxygen - in its presence, fermentation processes are impossible. It is for this task that a water seal is installed. In addition, it can serve as an indicator of stable fermentation. As soon as the release of bubbles stops, the wash is considered ready for further processing.

Distillation of apple mash

Distillation of the mash is carried out to purify it from harmful impurities. Although some people consume it in its pure form, this product contains components that can lead to serious poisoning. The distillation process takes place with steam or in a conventional still. Experienced moonshiners have several important recommendations:

• the first distillation is carried out without separation into fractions;
• during the second distillation, heads are taken (50-70 ml from each liter);
• then pure alcohol without impurities is formed;
• when its amount is reduced to 40%, tails are taken;
• heads can be used in joint rubbing, and tails can be added to a new batch of mash.

Between the primary and secondary distillations, you can additionally insist moonshine on fresh apples. This will absorb the aroma of the fruit and make it more intense. The finished drink has a strength of about 65-68 degrees. If you dilute it with water, it will not decrease in quality.

Cooking variations

Besides the usual apple moonshine recipe, there are variations. Fruit products or juice are also suitable for its preparation. Each recipe has its own characteristics.

1. Apple cake moonshine can be made if the raw materials are left over from the juice production. For this option, you will need less raw materials than when making moonshine from whole apples.
2. Moonshine from apples without yeast - this recipe is more laborious and requires a long preparation, but it also exists. The products' own yeast is called wild and also participates in the fermentation process to form ethyl alcohol. You can add raisins or cereals to the mash on apples without yeast.
3. Another variety is moonshine with apple juice. It is simply mixed with yeast and sugar and left in the fermentation vessel. Braga on apple juice turns out to be no less aromatic than a drink on whole fruits.

Moonshine from apple pomace, from juice or from chopped fresh fruits - all these recipes exist and are applied in practice. At home, to prepare this drink, you need to install special equipment, but if you have knowledge and experience, you can assemble it yourself. Self-made moonshine turns out to be of no less quality than the products presented on store shelves. In addition, it is always possible to trace the freshness of raw materials and control the process from the very beginning.