How long to keep the mash in the cold to lighten. Method for lightening mash with citric acid (juice)

Braga clarification is an optional, but very desirable stage of home brewing, which improves the quality of the finished product. But not all methods described on the Internet work well in practice. We'll take a detailed look at the top three methods you can trust.

Why brighten the mash. Getting into alembic moonshine still, the yeast burns. As a result, the taste and smell of moonshine deteriorate greatly. Under the influence of a sorbent (bentonite, gelatin or other additives), the yeast precipitates in an even layer or flakes, and the mash itself becomes light.

Attention! The first two methods are used only for sugar or grain mash, since the original smell of raw materials is removed along with the yeast. For the preparation of fruit distillates, I recommend using a more gentle third method.

The purification technology is in many ways similar, but there are several differences regarding the choice of sorbent, proportions, addition and time for building the mash before distillation.

Wash cleaning with bentonite

Bentonite is ideal for lightening mash - natural white clay, which is part of cat litter(toilets). The main thing is that the filler does not contain aromatic additives that spoil the smell. Verified (at the time of this writing) brands: Pi-Pi-Bent, WC Closet Cat and Kotyara. Perhaps there are others.

Clarification with bentonite must be started when fermentation is completely over, otherwise the method will not work.

Technology:

1. Grind bentonite (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of mash) in a coffee grinder.

2. Add hot water (0.5 liters per 1 tablespoon of white clay), then mix with a mixer or a spoon until a homogeneous mass is formed.

3. Pour the solution into the wash with a thin stream, mix, seal tightly and leave for 24 hours at room temperature.

4. Drain the mash from the sediment (preferably through a thin tube).

5. Overtake.

Purified and unpurified sugar mash

Lightening mash with hibiscus tea

Hibiscus is a tea drink made from dried flowers. sudanese roses. Due to the increased acidity, it brightens the mash no worse than bentonite.

Technology:

1. Hibiscus tea flowers (70 grams per 10 liters of mash) pour 1 liter of water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. With a different amount of mash, change the proportions.

2. Turn off the fire, cover the container with a lid and cool to 20-30°C.

3. Pour hibiscus into the mash, mix, close tightly and leave for a day (preferably at a temperature of 25-30 ° C).

4. Drain the cleaned mash from the sediment and overtake in any way possible.

After clarification, the mash will acquire a red tint. This is normal and does not affect the taste of moonshine.

Lightening mash with hibiscus tea

Comparison of bentonite and hibiscus

Purification of fruit brews with gelatin

The method is effective for fruit mash(apple, plum, pear, cherry, etc.), as it binds only the yeast sediment, leaving the taste of the feedstock in the finished moonshine.

Technology:

1. Pour gelatin (2 grams per 10 liters of mash) with cold water (200 ml per 1 gram of gelatin).

2. Infuse for a day at room temperature, changing the water every 8 hours.

3. Add warm water to the swollen gelatin in the proportion indicated in the 1st paragraph.

4. Pour the resulting mass into the mash.

5. After 2-3 days, drain the mash from the sediment and overtake.

Sediment after gelatin

Braga is the foundation of the future alcoholic drink in need of clarification. If you skip this step, the moonshine will turn out to be cloudy in color, with the smell of fusel oils. Such a drink is unfit for drinking and harmful to health. Therefore, lighting is given great attention.

Clarification of mash before distillation

During the preparation of the mash, they put sugar, yeast, fruits, etc. Everything is mixed and placed in a warm and dark place for a certain period. After 1-2 weeks, the mash becomes ready.
The next step is to clarify the mash, and get rid of yeast and fusel oils. Yeast has the ability to burn during the distillation of the product. The end result is a burnt aftertaste of moonshine, which you will not like.

To lighten the drink as much as possible, they resort to different methods:

1. defend the mash, until the sediment falls;
2. lighten with freezing;
3. clay (concrete) is used;
4. use Hibiscus tea;
5. citric acid;
6. brighten with gelatin;
7. kefir or milk;
8. soda;
9. potassium permanganate;
10. activated carbon;
11. clarified with alcohol.

Before sending the mash for distillation, the sediment is decanted through cheesecloth. This is the easiest way to lighten moonshine, but not the most effective. Fusel oils and yeast particles pass through the gauze. You can use paper filters, or cotton ones, they will better clean the drink.

Read also:

Homemade cognac from alcohol -

Braga from old jam -

Cleaning moonshine with milk -

How to clean moonshine with potassium permanganate -

Methods for cleaning moonshine with coal -

But to really get rid of harmful impurities, you should overtake 2-3 times through alcohol mashine and then apply as a brightener various ways. Which of the methods will be the most effective, practice will show.

Clarification of mash with cold or freezing

This method shortens the process of making moonshine. Braga is put in a cold place and jute when the drink freezes. It is known that alcohols do not freeze, and water and fusel oils can be cooled. When the drink turns into ice, you should carefully drain the moonshine. After such a procedure, you no longer need to distill twice, once is enough. Freezing is an economical way to get excellent moonshine.

If it is not possible to freeze, then cooling the drink is also a good idea. When the mash is ready, the yeast in it continues to work, releasing fusel oils and gases. To stop the process, it is necessary to lower the temperature to 0 degrees.

When the mash becomes cold, the yeast bacteria will die. Before straining the drink, you need to mix it. This is necessary so that the last bubbles of carbon dioxide leave the drink. When the sediment is at the bottom, strain through cheesecloth.

Lightening mash with bentonite

The mineral bentonite has been studied recently. Its name comes from the American city of Benton, where it was first seen. It turned out that it has a lot of advantages, allowing it to be used in many industries. When wet, it can increase several times, binding various harmful impurities.

It has been widely used in the following areas:

1. Agriculture;
2. in light industry;
3. in the oil refining industry;
4. in perfumery production;
5. in winemaking.

This substance is able to purify both metals from excess impurities and liquids. Alcohol is one of the directions in the purification of wines, champagnes and moonshine. For cleaning use certain proportions per 1 tbsp. spoon add 0.5 l of water, mix well and leave to swell for 4 hours.

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Then mix again and carefully pour into the mash, leaving it for 24 hours. After strain from the sediment and send for a double distillation.

Lightening hibiscus mash

Hibiscus drink is grown from hibiscus flowers. It has a lot of advantages, it is useful to drink it at high pressure, removes toxins, relieves hangover syndrome, binds heavy metals in the body. In the people it is called the cure for all diseases. AT chemical composition roses include rare types of amino acids, organic acids, pectin, vitamins, trace elements, etc.

Due to the unique natural composition, rose petals are able to cleanse both the body and drinks, like moonshine. A strong decoction of Hibiscus tea binds fusel oils and harmful substances, causing them to precipitate. At that time, giving the drink useful properties.

For 10 liters of moonshine you will need:

1. 70 gr dried hibiscus tea;
2. for every 10 g of tea, add 100 ml of water, brew;
3. cool the drink to 25 degrees;
4. pour into moonshine and leave for a day.

After a day, a cloudy precipitate will appear in the drink. Pure moonshine must be carefully decant, for best result the use of a cotton filter is recommended. This cleaning method is more suitable for grain mash. For fruit bases, gentle cleansing methods should be chosen.

Lightening mash with citric acid

Citric acid, like Hibiscus tea, is an aggressive lightening product. The citric acid stops the fermentation process and gives the finished product the smell of vinegar. To avoid such a mistake, soda is added to it, which kills the smell of acid.

1. 1 tablespoon of baking soda;
2. 1 tablespoon of citric acid.

First you should put citric acid, mix well and wait a few minutes until a precipitate appears. The next step is to add soda, also stirring in a container. 5 minutes after soda, decant pure mash through a paper filter. If you do not use a filter, then part of the moonshine will remain in the container along with the sediment.

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Many people think that citric acid comes from lemons, but this is actually not true. It is made from sugar fibers, which are artificial chemical powder. Therefore, do not replace acid with fresh lemon, there will be no effect.

Lightening mash with gelatin

Gelatin mash should be clarified only on fruit bases, since it can only stick together yeast bacteria. Fusel oils and other hazardous substances will still remain in the mash. To get rid of them, you need to do a double cleaning on a moonshine still.

For 10 liters of mash you will need:

1. 2 gr. gelatin pour 400 ml cold water, mix.
2. Change cold water every 8 hours.
3. A day later, add 400 ml of warm water to the swollen gelatin;
4. Mix warm water with gelatin and pour into mash.
5. After 3 days, a precipitate will appear, strain.

Water is added in proportion to 1 gr. gelatin 200 ml of water, both cold and warm.
Despite the fact that gelatin can only remove yeast, it has useful and dangerous qualities.

Among useful properties- contains 18 amino acids that promote active mental thinking, and gelatin is the only source of nutrition for the nervous system.

Harmful properties - increases blood clotting, which leads to blood clots. Dangerous for people suffering from high cholesterol, and gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the mash with gelatin with caution.

Clarification of mash with milk

Purify mash with milk - this is the most fast way. The fact is that milk, combining with harmful substances, precipitates in the form of flakes. The result is instant, which does not make you wait several hours.

For such clarification, you need to take store-bought milk, which is previously diluted with water. Don't need to use homemade milk, which has a high fat content, otherwise the final product will have an extra smell.

For 10 liters of mash you need 1 liter of milk. When the precipitate falls, filter the mash several times using various methods. It can be paper filters, gauze, wadded, etc. After cleaning, for better quality, overtake through a moonshine still.

Lightening mash with soda

To clean moonshine, two types of soda are used - food and soda ash. The second purifies the drink better, but on condition that the moonshine does not exceed 70 degrees in strength. Perfect option for cleaning, this is when the drink has a strength of 40 degrees. For accurate strength, you must use an alcohol meter.

No feast is complete without good wine, vodka or cognac. These are our traditions developed over the centuries. Unfortunately, the quality of alcoholic beverages sold through the distribution network in most cases leaves much to be desired. And there is nothing left but to resort to the recipe for the “housekeeper”, which was able to please Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich himself. Fortunately, home-brewing for one's own needs is not punishable by law.

Why clean the wash

The Russian people are talented in everything, and making moonshine from any improvised products is as easy as shelling pears for them: be it potatoes, rice, peas, wheat, ripe fruits, berries, old jam or compote. Kefir with curdled milk will also be used. The ideal option is sugar, moonshine roams together with it, the mash turns out to be clean with a little sediment. But anyway, to get good drink it must be cleansed. And not only from natural physical impurities, but also from some harmful chemical elements.

Why risk your health and produce moonshine of dubious quality?

• filtration;
• clarification

During the filtration process, it is cleared of large impurities: the remains of jam, potatoes, or simply sediment from unfermented yeast. Filtered mash will not burn, have a foreign smell, during distillation there is less chance of splashing and, as a result, obtaining cloudy moonshine.

Lightening the mash is a more complex and time-consuming job. It is not considered mandatory, but in order to get tasty and pure product you should still brighten up the braga.

Paper filters

Before you start cleaning through paper, you need to pour the mash into another container through several layers of gauze. This will make the subsequent process less time consuming. It is convenient to use special filter paper for these purposes, but it can also be filtered through filters for coffee makers. The filters are lined on a funnel, which, in turn, is mounted on a jar.

After applying special filter paper, the result is more noticeable - the liquid becomes transparent.

When filtering in two stages, the effect increases significantly.

The disadvantage of this method is the high consumption of paper, as it often becomes clogged and has to be changed. Yes, the process is quite lengthy.

Lightening methods

After filtration, the mash becomes cleaner, but remains cloudy due to the presence of yeast. During distillation, they burn, releasing an unpleasant odor. To prevent this from happening, absorbent substances must be added to the distillation cube of the apparatus, under the influence of which a yeast sediment is formed and the mash is clarified.

Available additives are used as absorbents, making it easy to make the liquid transparent at home.

There are many different ways clarify the mash before distillation. Here are the most accessible and common methods to make it transparent:

• active mixing;
• heating;
• cooling;
• the use of citric acid;
• cleaning with bentonite;
• hibiscus tea;
• adding edible gelatin

It is important to understand how these methods work. The first three are based on the elimination of carbon dioxide, which keeps various impurities in suspension.

Elementary intensive long-term mixing allows you to get rid of gases and after 5-10 minutes you can already remove the mash from the sediment.

Heating to a temperature of 50-60 degrees kills the remaining live yeast and stops the fermentation process.

Application of cold

Degassing of mash can be done both by heating and cooling. This is convenient if there are utility rooms that are colder than residential ones. Completely fermented mash should be transferred to a cool place for several days.

If you take it out into the cold, a freezing process will be started, based on the difference in the freezing point of alcohol and water.

It is considered obsolete and relevant only for rural areas located in cold climates.

The temperature should be around 5 or 7 degrees, but not minus. In about a week, the mash settles and a dense sediment forms. It remains to carefully drain the liquid into another container or directly into the moonshine using a tube.

The method of lightening the mash with cold is not suitable for cereals, it can turn sour, and moonshine can no longer be expelled from vinegar.

Lemon acid

The simplest and most affordable absorbent is citric acid.

One tablespoon is enough for 10 liters of mash.

Pour into bottle or flask right amount citric acid, stir. Precipitation has already formed within a few hours. To extinguish excess acid, then it is necessary to pour baking soda into the mash at the rate of: 1 tbsp. spoon for 10 liters, or you can add ordinary chalk. Drink containers should be tightly closed.

The use of bentonite

The peculiarity of the use of bentonite for clarification is that the mash must be completely fermented, otherwise the desired effect may not be achieved.

Bentonite is the same white clay. You can buy it in the form of a special preparation for the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, but it is quite possible to use cosmetic and ordinary clay.

The ratio of mash and bentonite: for 10 liters - 1 tablespoon of crushed absorbent.

Bentonite grind into powder, pour hot water, mix until smooth and leave to swell. Dilute the elastic clay mass with a small amount of mash and pour into the remaining fermentable liquid. After a day, the yeast settles to the bottom with sediment. Due to the increase in volume of bentonite during soaking, sediment is formed more than during cleaning. citric acid.

Hibiscus

The famous tea hibiscus due to its high acid content, it is perfect for lightening mash. There is a small minus - the moonshine turns pink with tea, but its taste does not suffer from this.

Method of preparation: pour a pack of tea - 70 grams with 1 liter of boiling water and bring to a boil, leave for 30 minutes. Then strain, pour the broth into a container with mash, close tightly and filter in a day.

Food grade gelatin

Food grade gelatin- 2 grams or 0.5 teaspoon must be poured with a glass of cold water. The quality of gelatin can be different: from large granules to fine powder, so the swelling period can be from 2 to 24 hours. Swollen gelatin should be diluted with 200 grams warm water and pour into the mash, mix, close and leave for 2 - 3 days. Then you can drain from the sediment.

milk protein

Very efficient method both for cleaning the mash before distillation, and finished moonshine. Preferably, and in the case of finished product Be sure to use skimmed milk. Milk protein not only relieves the mash from yeast turbidity, but also cleanses it of fusel oils.

Boil 1 liter of milk, cool, pour in a thin stream into the mash and mix vigorously. After a few hours, the product is ready for distillation, but it is better to stand for a day to form a dense precipitate.

Alcohol

Experienced moonshiners during distillation always end up with “heads” and “tails”. Something is used for rubbing and other technical purposes, but you can also use them to clean the mash. Moreover, the stronger the distillate, the faster the yeast sediment is formed.

The addition of alcohol is not required if the exact proportion of sugar and yeast is observed. Fermentation will end on its own and the yeast will settle on its own. But for this, in addition to the ideal ratio of components, optimal conditions are also necessary ( temperature regime, tightness, clean dishes).

Cleaning the mash, as already mentioned, is an optional process, moonshiners often get by with one filtration, or even without it, but when it is possible to achieve an absolutely perfect result and get a safe high-quality drink that is not inferior to expensive varieties of vodka and cognac, this should be strived for.

Attention, only TODAY!

Alcoholic products are diverse, but most people prefer moonshine. This is due to the fact that it is safer and cheaper than many drinks. Experienced moonshiners know that the first step in cooking good product is the manufacture and clarification of mash. This is done to improve the quality of moonshine and is not a prerequisite.

The process of cleaning the mash is necessary to get rid of impurities that harm the body, as well as to reduce the amount of fusel oils in it and eliminate the unpleasant odor. After clarification, high-quality and less harmful products are obtained. By ignoring the cleaning and proceeding to distillation, they get a mass burnt to the walls of the vessel, which smells unpleasant and spoils the drink.

There are several ways to clarify the mash before distillation at home. Their difference lies in the clarifiers used in this process. Since the mash is infused on different bases (grain or sugar), then it will be cleaned differently. For this purpose, most often used:

• Activated carbon;
• bentonite;
• gelatin;
• hibiscus;
• citric acid;
• milk;
• alcohol;
• soda;
• natural method.

Not all methods are equally effective. Some of them are considered useless, for example, lightening the mash with cold. However, why it is necessary to clean and filter the workpiece, as well as which method to choose for this, everyone decides for himself. The main requirement is that the product reaches the correct degrees. Its sufficient strength is considered to be 11% or more.

Activated carbon

Activated carbon

The natural absorbent helps to clarify the liquid. But fusel oils absorb only special coal, it is purchased at the points of sale of goods for home brewing.

Activated charcoal from the pharmacy removes toxins and harmful substances directly from the body. It will not work to clean the mash before distillation. If it is not possible to purchase a special absorbent, it is recommended to buy charcoal for barbecues or cook it yourself at home.

For proper use, coal is mixed with mash and allowed to stand for a day. After that, the liquid is removed from the precipitate and filtered. Then you can distill it to get strong alcohol.

The use of bentonite

The use of bentonite

Cleansing with this type of clay is considered one of the most effective. Concrete is a white substance, it is used in agriculture and construction. Get it in specialized stores for moonshine. Some manufacturers use bentonite in the manufacture of cat litter. It can also be used, but only on the condition that it does not contain flavorings and other substances harmful to health.

During the cleaning process, the exact proportions of the clarifier are observed. Too much will spoil the drink. For 10 liters of blanks for moonshine, it is recommended to use 20 g of bentonite. For proper clarification, the following algorithm must be observed:

1. Concrete is ground to a state of flour using a coffee grinder, blender or rolling pin.
2. The resulting powder is dried in an oven. To do this, lay it on a special baking paper and leave for half an hour in the oven, preheating it to 120 ° C.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of powder to 1 liter of hot water.
4. Mix well until a creamy state and complete removal of lumps.
5. Leave to swell for 10 minutes.
6. Pour the resulting mixture into the mash. To do this, stir the liquid with a spoon until a funnel appears and pour the substance into the center. If the container for the mash is used with a narrow neck, then after adding it, you need to shake it well.

After mixing, tightly close the vessel with liquid and put it in a dark place. Withstand it for about a day until complete delamination. The cleaned billet for moonshine must be filtered with a rubber tube without touching the sediment.

Concrete refers to solid waste. If you wash it down the drain, you get a blockage of the drain due to the solidification of the clay. It is recommended to dispose of the remains of this substance in a regular trash can.

natural way

natural way

The natural cleaning method is not suitable for all types of mash. It rarely happens that a mixture of residues peels off evenly. A frequent occurrence is the formation of several layers that differ in density. It is recommended to use this method with partial cooling, since it is not always possible to clarify the mash with cold.

In order for the sediment to settle evenly on the bottom of the container, the liquid is kept for 7 days in a room with a temperature of about 6 ° C. For this purpose, a cellar or refrigerator is suitable.

After a week, a precipitate forms at the bottom of the vessel, and a clear liquid remains on top. It is carefully removed, trying not to touch the dense mass. To do this correctly, the container with the mash is placed on the table, the tube is lowered into it and poured into the distillation cube.

Some recipes use additional ingredients. So that their particles do not contaminate the blank for moonshine, the top layer should be filtered. Filtration is carried out using gauze or a strainer.

Application of gelatin

Freezing, gelatin changes consistency and, drawing in pieces of sediment, falls to the bottom. The undoubted advantage of this product is the lack of taste.

To cleanse the mash for 10 liters of prepared liquid, take 2 g of gelatin. It is diluted in two glasses of water and changed three times during the day. After the time is up, the swollen gelatin is topped up with fresh water and heated until it disperses.

The comfortable dissolution temperature of the product is between 40 and 50 °C. You cannot boil it. The resulting mixture is mixed with mash and left for 48 hours to infuse. When the sediment is completely lowered, the mash is removed through the tube.

Hibiscus tea

Hibiscus tea

The acids that are included in tea help the moonshine preparation to lighten. They bind impurities to the remaining yeast and precipitate out.

For proper use, according to the instructions, 70 grams of hibiscus tea is poured into 1 liter of water. The liquid is put on the stove in a suitable container and boiled for about 10 minutes. After cooling, the flowers are squeezed and disposed of, and the infused tea is poured into the mash.

For precipitation with harmful substances, the resulting liquid is left for a day. Thanks to the tea, the mash turns pink or red, which will disappear during the distillation process. It is not recommended to use this cleansing method for grain and fruit mash. because the tea will change its taste.

Citric acid and milk

Citric acid and milk

A package of citric acid weighing 25 g must be dissolved in 150 ml of water and added to 10 liters of mash. The workpiece should be left for a day in a cool place, but not in the cold. At the end of the process, it is necessary to remove the liquid using a rubber tube.

The resulting product is sometimes sour, so soda or honey is added to restore the taste. After neutralizing the acidity, moonshine is made from the mash.

Milk for cleansing is bought with the lowest fat content. A liter of the product is poured into 10 liters of mash and infused until a flaky white precipitate appears. This process usually takes about 4 hours.

Filter the unclarified mash through gauze folded in several layers. It is possible to carry out an additional drain through the filter.

Alcohol and soda

A small amount of alcohol is added to the mash and left to infuse for a day. As with all methods, the purified mixture is drained using a tube. It is important not to touch the sediment. The advantage of the option is to increase the strength of the drink.

Instead of pure alcohol, many use leftovers from the previous distillation. The alcohol content of this mixture must be at least 25%. To clean the mash with soda before distillation, you will need:

• 10 l of finished liquid;
• 10 g of soda;
• 10 ml of water.

• 10 l of finished liquid;
• 10 g of soda;
• 10 ml of water.

Alkali diluted in water is poured into the mash. After 20 minutes, the liquid is well mixed or shaken, put in a cool place for 12 hours, avoiding freezing. The resulting product is poured without sediment into a container for distillation.

The stage of fermentation of the blank for moonshine can be completed quickly and forcibly. To do this, the mash is heated to a temperature of 60 ° C and cleaned. If heated more, the alcohol content will be insufficient for distillation.

Although not everyone considers the cleansing of the mash to be a mandatory step, you should not ignore it, because otherwise you will not be able to get good and high-quality alcohol. It is advisable to familiarize yourself with why you need to lighten the workpiece, and choose the most convenient option for yourself.