How to make moonshine from corn at home: recipes

Quite a few average Americans (according to eyewitnesses who visited them, so to speak, “over the hill”) drive moonshine in garage conditions, not at all shy about it. And basically not simple, the so-called bourbon (yes, the one that "drinks Alain Delon", according to the song "Nautilus"). It is prepared in large cubes, working with large forms, and then keeping the raw in oak barrels. American moonshine from corn at home is quite specific - it has a stable aftertaste and aftertaste. So it’s quite possible to talk about the authenticity and originality of the product. There are a lot of recipes, as you know, and the secrets of cooking are passed down from generation to generation. There are simple methods for making moonshine from corn at home, but there are quite “confusing” ones. Let's try to cover the entire spectrum in this article.

A bit of history

Moonshine from corn (and its other types) Americans are affectionately called moonshine, which can literally be translated as "moonlight." Kentucky is officially considered the birthplace of bourbon , and without exaggeration, it is a favorite drink for many US citizens and the surrounding area. The base of the drink is corn malt. Traditionally, according to the approved "popular" technology, the grain is sprouted, dried, ground. The prepared product is boiled and saccharified, then fermented. By the way, if it is not possible to cook raw materials at home, you can buy corn flour or chopped cereals and sugar them with malt or enzymes to make bourbon. And now let's start the implementation of the most popular recipes for strong authentic alcohol.

Ode to corn

But before that - a couple of words about the raw materials themselves and how to sprout corn for moonshine, if you have already decided to do everything according to the US rules. No one will dispute the fact that corn is the most valuable grain (it is not for nothing that the well-known Nikita Sergeyevich called for “occulting” the Soviet lands), and she deservedly bears the title of Queen of the Fields. In addition to delicious taste and nutrition, grain has many other advantages. The composition includes a huge amount of the vitamins we need with minerals, and eating grains is undoubtedly useful.

Germination

How to make brew for moonshine from sprouted corn? Corn grain in the quantity we selected - today it will be 5 kilograms - pour 2 liters of water (it should be warm, but not hot and in no case boiling water). Then add eight glasses of granulated sugar, mix thoroughly and leave in a warm place for germination. It is worth noting that there are various varieties of this plant, and they are very different in the content of starches and in their stiffness. So, therefore it is not necessary to take yet unverified. And best of all, let’s try the grain to taste, the corn should seem tender and soft, with a sweet aftertaste. Well-known sugar is the most suitable type for making moonshine from corn.

So, initially we check the quality of the selected grains. There is one popular way of verification: we try to sprout grains in a small amount from a batch - just fill it with water (it should cover the raw materials completely) and leave it in a warm place for several days. You can also wrap the seeds in a wet cloth and then water them as they dry. If seedlings appear during this time, then the selected raw materials can be used to make the mash. But if the grains do not hatch, then they do not fit - you need to purchase another.

Braga as Braga

The recipe for American moonshine made from corn and sugar without yeast is quite simple (except for troubles with germinating grains), the drink is more natural, and according to true connoisseurs, it has excellent taste. For cooking you will need: 5 kilograms of corn kernels, 6.5 kilograms of sugar, 17 liters of water. It’s better not to take it from a tap (you never know which additional microorganisms that can change the course of fermentation), but cleaned or at least cooled boiled water. When the corn seedlings become clearly visible, pour water, fill in the remaining sugar, mix thoroughly and put a lid with a water seal on the fermentation tank. We put the future mash in the heat for a couple of weeks. Upon the cessation of gurgling, you can clearly see when the process is complete. Braga is ready - you can distill moonshine from sprouted corn at home. Just in case, we taste it - it should not be sweet and have an alcoholic flavor and characteristic aromas of natural fermentation.

Moonshine from corn: the easiest recipe

However, many distilleries (especially newcomers to this business) are reluctant to bother with germinating grain. Well, then the simplest version of the mash for homemade bourbon is offered - with the participation of yeast and ready-made malt. You need to prepare the following ingredients: corn grits (chopped, it is sold in any supermarket) - 6 kilograms, a couple kilos of wheat, 2 kilos of barley malt (sold in special stores - dry, ready for use for the “distillery” purpose), water - 40 liters . Of course, the fermentation tank must also be of the appropriate volume so that it is about 2/3 full. Yeast can be taken fresh (small packaging), or dried (or even of the “Koji” type - half a glass for so many other components).

Cooking is easy!

To make an excellent bourbon-samogray in a garage or kitchen, first of all, you need to make the right mash. We take raw materials only of high quality, water - clean, preferably bottled, can be spring. Mash from cereal-cut is made by saccharification.

1. For congestion, take a 50-liter stainless steel or enameled container. Pour water and heat until boiling. Remove from heat.
2. Pour cereals into the pan: both corn and wheat. When introducing grain, it is necessary to continuously stir the mass in the container so that lumps do not form. It is very convenient to do, for example, with a wooden oar.
3. Cover the thoroughly mixed jam with a lid, and then wrap it with a warm blanket. Cereals should absorb water and steam properly.
4. After a few hours, when the contents of the container reach a temperature of approximately 65 degrees (measured with a thermometer), we introduce malt into the porridge. Caution: if the malt used is fresh green, it must be passed through a meat grinder.
5. A process called saccharification begins, a thick mass will gradually turn into a liquid, all this will take a couple of hours. It is advisable to maintain the temperature slightly above 60 all the time, it is possible in a steam bath, turning on / off the fire. Sugared wort has a sweet taste, has a characteristic aroma.
6. Then the wort is cooled to a temperature of approximately plus 22-26 Celsius. It is advisable to do this quickly. For example, you can add plastic ice bottles to the container or use a chiller.
7. Next, introduce yeast. They are pre-bred in a tepid little water (you can take pressed or dry).
8. Cover the container with a lid and leave to roam for about a week in the warmth. When the mash is completely fermented, it is possible to proceed to forcing. And so as not to burn when heated in a distillation cube, it is also desirable to strain and remove the cereal, squeezing it (we use gauze, a fine sieve).

How to make moonshine from corn

We’ve distilled the mash twice (we hope that the distillation technology itself is already familiar to you and you have purchased or made the appropriate equipment, so we won’t dwell on it, all according to the standard). There are nuances: for the first time to drive without dividing by fractions and use more power for heating. The second time we drive raw from mash already fractionally: separating the “heads” and “tails”. The result is up to 5-6 liters of excellent corn distillate. By the way, an authentic American recipe for moonshine from corn at home at first did not imply a double stretch (and now many local staff prefer to do this); tails, as a rule, did not separate. Accordingly, the taste and smell of such a "bourbon of Prohibition" was very specific! But we advise you to still use the second approach: the smack of corn and a cool aroma will remain, but there will be less harm to the liver at times.

Excerpt

To make real bourbon come out, many recipes for moonshine from corn are offered to be kept in oak barrels. So it is best to prepare in advance and purchase containers. In the absence of these, oak chips can also be dispensed with. To do this, for every 2.5 liters of distillate add 5 oak cubes, which should be pre-prepared: soak and fry.

Insist 3 months (and preferably up to six months) at least. And we get a great home-made corn bourbon, cooked with our own hands. Believe me, it is in no way inferior to expensive store options, even surpassing them in taste, aroma and workmanship.

Another option: on enzymes and without malt

In this recipe for moonshine from corn at home, enzymes are used instead of malt. They are engaged in the saccharification of starches in the grain. Using this fermentation, you will get an alcoholic beverage, no worse in quality, but also much cheaper in price. The cost is not too “beyond the tonsils”, and today you can buy them in numerous online stores and even with home delivery. But enzymes are different. We need to take amylosubtilin or glucavamorin. They are made from natural malt. They break down polysaccharides in the grain quickly, forming soluble carbohydrates.

Ingredients for the recipe:

• 3 kilograms of cornmeal.
• 2 kilos rye.
• 20 liters of water.
• 15 grams of amylosubtilin.
• 15 grams of glucavamorin.
• 25 grams of dry yeast.

Useful Tips

In the recipe, the flour can be replaced with a crushed cereal, it will not affect the taste and yield of the final product. We need enzymes to saccharify the mash. Yeast to take alcohol. It is very convenient to make a mash in a steam water boiler / cube, it is prepared there, and undergoes fermentation, and is chased for the first time. But the usual appropriate volume pan is quite suitable.

Cooking mash from flour

1. So, fill the water and bring it to a boil.
2. Pour rye and corn flour (or cereal) into the water, remembering to stir occasionally to avoid the formation of lumps.
3. Cover the container with a warm towel (blanket) and leave for a couple of hours. During this time, everything will fall apart and a thick mess will form.
4. At a temperature of less than 80 degrees, we introduce the amylosubtilin enzyme and slowly stir the wort. In this case, literally before your eyes, porridge from thick should turn into liquid.
5. Stirring the mash, bring the temperature to +65, then add the enzyme glucavamorin. We mix the mixture thoroughly, close the container with a lid, wrap it with a blanket, leave it for two hours to saccharify the wort. At the same time, it becomes sweet.
6. The sugared mixture is cooled to a temperature of +25 Celsius. We introduce dry or fresh yeast prepared according to the instructions.
7. We fill the fermentation tank with a mixture (if we use a steam-water boiler / cube, just close it with a lid). Corn mash will roam around us quickly, and after 5 days, it will cease to emit carbon dioxide, and its taste will become bitter and cease to be sweetish. This means that the yeast has processed all the sugar and the mash is ready for the initial distillation.

Koji Yeast Corn Mash

In Asia, special yeast called “Koji” is used to distill alcohol from starch-containing grains - they are based on fungi, mold, which sugars starches even without malt or enzymes. Recently, Koji appeared on sale with us, and it should be noted that this caused a real stir among the moonshiners. Next time we will understand the disadvantages and advantages of this product for fermentation. And now to your attention there is an alternative to traditional methods of making corn mash, which can also be used if Koji is available.

How to cook

We need: flour or chopped corn - 5 pounds, 20 liters of purified water, half a glass of “Koji”.

1. Pour flour (cereal) in a container with boiling water and mix thoroughly.
2. Cool the wort to +30 degrees.
3. Introduce the yeast. Mix and install the shutter. This must be done necessarily, since the fermentation is rather weak and the mash can sour.
4. We put the container in a dark place with a temperature of about +25.
5. Mix the wort once every five days. The fermentation process itself lasts quite a long time - about 25 days (plus or minus).