What is saccharification and what does grain mash, enzymes and malt have to do with it. Cold and hot saccharification with malt

We wrote about GOS, which means that it's time to write about cold saccharification. This process occurs without high temperatures under the action of enzymes.
In order to carry out the cold saccharification procedure, we need two enzymes: Amylosubtilin and Glukavamorin. This will replace the malt. The first enzyme partially breaks down the molecules, and the second converts starch into sugar. Cold saccharification is much simpler and cheaper than the malting process, and the result is the same.
These enzymes are added to the raw materials along with water. This happens at the stage of preparing the mash. Fermentation and conversion of starch into sugar occurs evenly and almost simultaneously.

Cold saccharification has clear advantages:

The process is very simple and good for beginners
No need to observe exact temperatures
Low labor costs.

But cold saccharification also has disadvantages:

It is required to find and buy enzymes;
Increased fermentation time;
Some people claim that enzymes leave an aftertaste.
To be honest, we would still advise you to saccharify with malt.

How does cold saccharification take place?

The feedstock (cereals, flour, etc.) is poured into a fermentation tank, warm water of 30-35 degrees (3 liters per 1 kg) is also poured into it, enzymes A and G are also poured (3-5 grams per 1 kg ) and complete the filling of the tank with yeast. The tank must not be filled more than 70%, because there is a possibility of very abundant foaming.
The entire contents of the tank must be mixed and put under a water seal.
Put in a dark place with a temperature of 20-28 degrees.
Fermentation will begin literally within the first two hours. It will be very active the first days, and then it will gradually subside. The fermentation process itself will be long: 7-25 days.
If you see a thin film on the surface, immediately distill the mash! The film is a sign of souring.
When the mash is ready, remove it from the sediment and distill. Usually, if you are doing cold saccharification, clarification with bentonite gives a low effect.

Whether to add something else to the mash is only your decision. Cold saccharification often uses ingredients such as: antibiotics (eg doxycycline), yeast nutrition, acid, defoamers. Also, the proportions of enzymes depend on the data specified by the manufacturer.
We hope this article was helpful to you. Good luck with cold saccharification!

Wheat moonshine can be made without malt, without temperature pauses thanks to the enzymes alpha amylase and gluco amylase. From experience I will say that the moonshine product in this way has excellent organoleptic characteristics. In this article, I will outline the detailed technology for making moonshine from wheat flour using enzymes using a cold saccharification method.

Wheat moonshine from flour

Ingredients:

Wheat flour, premium - 3 kg.,
Water - 12 liters.,
Enzymes A and G - a tablespoon,
Pressed baker's yeast - 100 g

Recipe for grain mash on enzymes, cold method

For cooking grain mash on enzymes first of all, you need to heat the water to the state of “warm tea”, add a tablespoon of enzymes A and G, mix well. Next, gradually add the flour, while stirring it so that lumps do not form. It is convenient to stir the flour with a construction mixer. After we fall asleep yeast, mix again. Braga can be put without a water seal, the main thing is that it would be in a warm place. During fermentation, which lasts from 4-5 days to a week, I mixed the mash several times a day with a whisk.

For the cold method of saccharification, I used dry enzymes; with liquid ones, this technology showed a lower yield of the finished product per kilogram of flour. For liquid enzymes, you need to use the method of steaming flour or cereals.

Distillation of grain mash

When the mash wins back, it must be carefully drained from the sediment, if desired, it can be clarified with bentonite or simply cooled to 3-5 degrees. Distillation of grain mash begins with the selection of raw alcohol, as usual, without separation into fractions, it is necessary to select up to 2-4%, almost to zero. As a result, I came out of 3 kg. flour - 3.3 liters of 31% raw alcohol, which is not very bad for cold saccharification.

The second distillation is fractional, the head fractions for cereals I select about 7-10% of absolute alcohol, about 90 ml. I got "heads". I usually select the middle fraction (drinking) up to 80-60% in the stream, depending on the purpose of using the distillate. Wheat moonshine is diluted to 40-45%, if necessary, it can be cleaned with activated charcoal.

Purification of moonshine with coal

To clean moonshine with coal, you need 1 tbsp. l. per 1 liter of moonshine already diluted to a strength of 40-45%. Pour coal into moonshine, mix well for 5-10 minutes, leave it alone for 6-12 hours, filter first through 4 layers of gauze, then through a dense cotton filter. Before tasting, moonshine should rest for several days. Wheat moonshine has a neutral aroma and with a slight shade of grain, it is easy to drink, after carbonization it has a slight vodka sharpness. An excellent product for tinctures, refining with oak chips. Separately, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with

It can be cooked on grain without additional expenditure of effort and energy, as well as without temperature pauses. To do this, you just need to use enzymes in the process. Grain on enzymes, the cold saccharification of which takes place quickly and efficiently, turns into a good taste and softness.

Features of the technique

Hot saccharification occurs with the help of phased preparation of malt and wort, as well as mixing them at a certain temperature and infusing the liquid. This technique is labor intensive, so most who brew with wheat or other grains use the cold saccharification process. It has a number of undeniable advantages:

the process is quite simple;
high temperatures are not needed;
filtration before fermentation is not necessary;
bacteria in such an environment multiply less or do not multiply at all due to the production of carbon dioxide in the process;
distilled by direct heating;
the technique is suitable for beginner distillers who have little equipment and little experience.

But among the minuses, the following features of the technique are distinguished:

More time is needed for fermentation - this is about 20-25 days, in some cases up to 27. But at the same time, the person who brews moonshine does nothing, he is free from constant stirring or surveillance of raw materials.
If you do not follow the technology, it will turn sour at the end of the process. Therefore, phased preparation and attentiveness of the distiller to the conditions are important.

In order to prepare mash first, and then moonshine in this way, you need ingredients and equipment:

Must have products such as:

Raw material. This item is full of variety. As raw materials, you can use flour, starch, cereals, pasta, malt of various types. It is better not to use whole grains, as the process will drag on for a long time.
Water.
Enzymes. For example, the common "Amilosubtilin" and "Glucavamorin". They can be supplemented with unfermented white malt. The first enzyme is responsible for the breakdown of molecules, and the second - for the processing of starch into sugar. The result of the action of enzymes is almost the same as with malt brewing. The technology is cheaper, therefore, enzymes are added to the raw materials with water at the stage of preparing the mash. The processes of fermentation and processing of starch into sugar occur almost simultaneously.
Yeast dry or pressed.

Additionally, an antibiotic, an acidifier (citric acid) and a defoamer (Sofaxil) may be required. As equipment you will need:

fermentation tank;
water seal;
stirrer and aquarium heater - optional, their action can be replaced by creating environmental conditions for mash;
Moonshine still for distillation of finished mash.

Selection of ingredients and proportions

According to the recipe, you need to determine the proportions of the ingredients. There is no perfect recipe, but the most popular version for one kilogram of raw materials is this:

3.5 liters of water at a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius, most importantly, not higher than this indicator.
Enzymes: fresh - 3 grams of Amilosubtilin and Gluquamorin, old ones should be taken 4-5 grams each.
Dry yeast - 20 grams or pressed - 50 grams. You can take wine yeast.
"Doxycycline", an antibiotic - one capsule per 20 liters of mash.
Defoamer ("Sofexil") - 10 milliliters per 20 liters.

The proportions are not final and may be supplemented by distillers based on personal experience. And for calculations, it is important to know that enzymes have such a parameter as activity. It is measured in units per gram of dry matter or per milliliter of liquid solution. Enzyme activity should be declared in the manufacturer's instructions. Each manufacturer has its own strains and, accordingly, its own indicators. For example, the metrics look like this:

"Amylosubtilin G3x" - 1000 units per 1 gram of powder;
"Glucavamorin G3x" - 1000 units per 1 gram;
"Cellulox-A" - 2000 units per 1 gram;
"Protosubtilin G3x" - 70 units per 1 gram.

At the same time, the instruction is not a guide to action and does not explain how much product should be put per kilogram of wheat, rice or other cereal. It specifies recommendations only for the amount of raw materials ready for processing, i.e. starch, cellulose or simple protein. Therefore, before using the product, you need to find out how much these simple substances are contained in the raw materials.

Enzymes for mash

The use of enzymes is not as common because many distillers consider them to be non-natural products. Accordingly, the drink also turns out to be unnatural and there is an aftertaste in it. The issue of the taste of enzymes is controversial, since some of the figures absolutely do not notice the taste even with a single distillation. This thesis can only be verified experimentally.

If you mess up with the amount of enzymes, then the drink can still be corrected. By putting more, the mash will saccharify faster, but the distiller will spend more money on saccharification. And if you put less enzyme, then the drink simply will not be saccharified or the process will slow down. The lack of the Gluquamorin enzyme especially slows down the fermentation process, the amount of foam decreases, and caps from cereal crops are not observed. Enzyme consumption can be halved if green malt is used.

The main choice of raw materials is made between products such as:

Flour. This is a ground raw material that is sold in any grocery store. In terms of accessibility, flour ranks first. The raw material saccharifies faster and is not too difficult to work with. Grains of flour are small, so it is easier for enzymes to interact with them. But there are also disadvantages, for example, the tendency of flour to foam and “run away”. And mash from this type of raw material must be clarified and decanted, which leads to loss of alcohol. Groats are cheaper, but it takes longer to saccharify due to large particles. Sometimes the process stretches for 3-4 weeks. To speed up fermentation, you can use a stirrer, only without opening the container with mash. The container itself can be rolled on the floor with an inclination.
Malt is a raw material that is obtained from germinated grain. Malt itself has a lot of enzymes, but powdered enzymes are also added to it. The malt also acts as a flavor enhancer, as it is very fragrant. There is green and white malt. But this ingredient is also added to the mash in ground form.
Exploded grain, or extruded in a vacuum-technical way. In appearance, these are porous grains with a small presence of enzymes in them. The technique for obtaining such raw materials is not yet popular.
Products with starch. This is most often pasta, bread. If the distiller works in places where there are many such products, then they can be used as raw materials. But for serious distillers, these ingredients are more suitable for a one-time experiment.
Regular grain.

The use of specific cereals of varying degrees of grinding will give different results. The cheapest raw material is wheat. But the yield of pure alcohol from it is relatively small. But the drink is soft and pleasant to taste. Rye, which has sharp drink characteristics, gives an even lower alcohol yield due to the fact that the cereal crop forms a lot of foam and “runs away” during fermentation.

Corn - the least capricious to the conditions and gives a large yield of alcohol. But the drink has a specific taste. Barley is another cereal that not everyone likes when it comes out. Rice is the leading cereal in terms of alcohol output.

It is rice that is used for the further preparation of tinctures. The taste is very subtle, the drink is fragrant and easy to drink. Sometimes buckwheat is also tried as a raw material, but with a large yield, the taste is also an amateur.

When choosing ingredients, if it is difficult to decide, you can use a mixture of cereals. Usage tips are:

Barley and rye can drown out the flavors of other grains. Therefore, when using a mixture, they should be added carefully, preferably up to 25%, while not focusing on these particular crops.
Rice is a culture that does not tolerate use in mixtures, since its taste will disappear, grain moonshine will turn out without features.
Bourbon mixes with corn and barley malt are not liked by all tasters because of the specific taste.

You can also experiment with different percentages in grain mixtures. The result is unique in some cases and absolutely not tasty in others. You can also try combining grind levels, although you should be aware that adding whole grains will always lengthen the fermentation process.

For other ingredients, the selection criteria are simple. Water can be taken clean, with good taste, it is not necessary to check the composition of its trace elements or other properties. Feeding is not required. Of the defoamers, Sofexil is recommended as the most effective in relation to this technique. You should not be afraid of getting an antibiotic into moonshine: usually the drug remains in the apparatus during distillation and does not enter the “body” of the drink.

The method of making mash

The technology of cold saccharification consists of the main stages, as a result of which grain mash is obtained with the addition of enzymes:

Products are added to the container, as well as water at the right temperature, along with enzymes and yeast. It should be noted that more than 70% of the volume of liquid cannot be poured into the container, since active foaming occurs and the mash can “escape”.
The sugared raw materials are mixed and closed with a water seal.
The liquid is placed in a dark place with a temperature of 24-28 degrees Celsius.
Fermentation begins after 2 hours, and after 3 days it becomes active and lasts up to 25 days. It is important to prevent the formation of a film on the surface of the mash, as this is a sign of souring. Such a braga needs to be overtaken urgently.
When ready, the drink is removed from the sediment and distilled.

Preparing a drink in this way has a number of advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, distillers should decide on their own, get rid of the influence of rumors and test the technique for themselves. The drink gets good qualities and is suitable for drinking.

Saccharification is the breakdown of starch-containing raw materials into simple sugars using natural or artificial enzymes. It is usually much cheaper to make drinks from grain than from sugar, and it tastes even better. Therefore, saccharification of raw materials is carried out. The technology of the saccharification process is hot and cold. Let's talk about them in more detail.

In order to produce alcohol, yeast must come into contact with sugar. Cereals are enriched with starch, which replaces sugar. Starch is made up of glucose, fructose and sucrose molecules. Yeast requires only one molecule from the sugar chain of molecules. That is why, before the volume of wort is combined with starch, it must be divided into individual molecules.

Hot processing

The grain is placed in a humid environment in which it germinates. Enzymes that process starch begin to activate. Sprouted grain is called malt. It comes in green and white. Green malt is used to saccharify raw materials immediately after the appearance of the desired sprouts. Its shelf life is only three days. After drying, the cereal becomes white. It can be stored longer. Both green and white malt are used for the saccharification process, as they act in the same way.

Advantages of the method

Sugaring with malt helps to get sugar very quickly, so the mash will win back faster. Artificial enzymes are much slower to cope with their task.

Cons of the method

Disadvantages of saccharification using malt:

It is important to maintain a high temperature. In this case, care should be taken that the raw material does not burn;
It is important to keep the temperature at around 60 - 72 degrees for a couple of hours. At home, such a condition is very difficult to observe;
The sugared volume of wort sours very quickly.

But, despite such shortcomings, the hot method of saccharification is often used.

Hot saccharification process

Sugaring for starch-containing raw materials in a hot way is carried out as follows:

In a slow stream, enter water at a temperature of 50 degrees into cereals or flour. It is important to stir the mixture constantly to avoid lumps. One kilogram of raw materials will absorb about four to five liters of liquid. The container should have 25 percent of free space to the top;
Heat the temperature in the container to 60 degrees and try to keep it for fifteen minutes;
When the raw material boils, boil it for an hour or two. When you get a homogeneous mushy mass, then the product is ready for further action. It is important to take into account that cereals are cooked longer than flour;
Cool the porridge to a temperature of 65 degrees. Add finely chopped malt and stir. A kilogram of porridge will require 150 grams of malt;
Cover the container with a lid and wrap tightly with warm blankets to keep warm. The first two hours, the raw materials should be mixed every half hour. Then two hours let him stand in peace;
In order for the raw materials not to sour, lower the temperature to 25 degrees and add yeast. For each kilogram of raw materials, take 5 grams of dry or 25 grams of pressed yeast. After making them, install a water seal and ferment in the dark at room temperature.

After 2 - 6 days, the mash will be ready.

Cold working

Instead of malt, enzymes such as Amylosubtilin and Glucavamorin can be used. The first enzyme of the molecule partially breaks down, and the second one completely converts starch into sugar. The cold process of saccharification is simpler and cheaper than hot. The result in both methods is almost the same. When preparing the wort, artificial enzymes are added to it, previously diluted in water. Starch turns into sugar almost simultaneously with the fermentation process.

Advantages of the method

The cold method of saccharification can be used even by those winemakers who take up the preparation of alcoholic beverages for the first time. However, it does not require high temperatures. The processing of starch-containing raw materials does not require large labor costs.

Cons of the method

To get mash, you need to buy a special enzyme. Fermentation does not last 5 - 7 days, but longer - 10 - 20. Enzymes in the finished product leave a not very pleasant aftertaste. Even if you overtake it several times, the taste will not improve. Therefore, specialists who make alcohol give their preference to natural malt, rather than artificial enzymes.

Cold saccharification process

Cold saccharification is carried out as follows:

Place the raw materials in a large container. Fill it with water at a temperature of 30 degrees. For a kilogram of cereals, flour, starch or pasta, four liters of liquid will be required;
Add for each kilogram of raw materials 4 grams of Amylosubtilin and Glucavamorin enzymes, as well as 5 grams of dry or 25 pressed yeast. Since there will be a lot of foam during the saccharification process, it is important that 30 percent of the capacity is free;
Mix everything well and close with a water seal. Place the container in a dark place at room temperature;
The duration of fermentation is from 7 to 25 days. If the wort is covered with a thin film, it should be urgently distilled, as the product has begun to sour;
When the mash is ready, remove it from the sediment and distill.

Sometimes, in order to prevent the wort from souring, antibiotics are added to it, in order to speed up fermentation - the yeast is fed, and a special acid is used to stabilize the acidity. In what quantity and what kind of enzyme you need to take can be read on the manufacturer's packaging.

Saccharifying starch

Malt mixed with water is called malted milk. Such a solution allows the saccharification of starch. Malted milk is made up of an enzyme (diastase) that reacts with the starch in the wort.

Malted milk can be obtained from barley, rye and millet malt. They are mixed in a ratio of 2:1:1. Pour the resulting mass with water at a temperature of 60 degrees. Drain the liquid after 10 minutes. Grind the mass with a coffee grinder and fill with water at a temperature of 50 degrees. Mix well until a white homogeneous mass is obtained. For one kilogram of a starchy product, you need to take 70 grams of malt and half a liter of water.

Saccharification of starch is carried out as follows:

Mix the resulting malted milk with starch-containing raw materials and water. Heat up to a temperature of 60 degrees;
If the saccharification process is carried out from flour, let the raw material stand for 8 hours, if the saccharification process comes from potatoes, it only takes a couple of hours to complete the process. It is important that the temperature of the wort does not exceed 65 degrees;
After the saccharification process is complete, it is important to check the concentration of sugars in the wort and whether there is any unsaccharified starch. The test is carried out using an iodine test;
The presence or absence of unsweetened starch is determined using a special sample. Take from the very top 10 milliliters of the finished product. Filter it well and add a couple of drops of iodine solution. It is prepared from half a gram of iodine crystals, one gram of potassium iodide and 125 milliliters of water. If the sample does not change color, then the saccharification process is completed. If the sample turns red, the process has not yet ended. The sample may turn purple. This means that the saccharification procedure is going very badly and a little more malted milk needs to be added;
The sugar concentration is checked like this. Drain the clarified mash layer, filter and pour 200 milliliters into a glass. Dip the sugar meter into it. A quality product is one that has a concentration of sugars above 16 percent and a sweetish taste.

The acidity of saccharified starch is checked with special paper test strips. When the wort is checked for saccharification and acidity, the right amount of yeast is added to it and left to ferment. Now you know how the saccharification process takes place. In what ways it is carried out and with the help of what enzymes.

During the production of mash for distillation, it is necessary to ensure that the raw materials contain a sufficient amount of sugar. In the case of fruit raw materials, there are no problems: in this case, they already contain a fairly large amount of fructose and glucose, which are easily decomposed by bacteria. However, when cereals are used as a raw material, the situation is somewhat different.

Artificial enzymes are sold in the store: they are simply added to cereals to start the fermentation process, but we will not consider this process within the framework of this article.

Natural enzymes are obtained through a process called "malt saccharification". Its meaning lies in the fact that hot malt is added to the grains, which already contains the necessary enzymes. That is, malt (sprouted grain) is added to the grain, which allows you to start the fermentation process more quickly. The higher the mass fraction of malt, the faster the fermentation will go.

It is considered a good solution to use different crops, such as raw wheat and barley malt, or oats and wheat malt. However, if you follow the technology, you can get a good result when using raw materials and malt of the same crop.

Maybe just add sugar?

Of course, you can always just add sugar to the mash; however, as practice shows, making mash from grain is simply more economically feasible if you have access to grain. In addition, the distillate obtained from a simple “water + yeast + sugar” sourdough does not have any taste qualities, not to mention a rather high price.

The grain is able to increase the amount of initial sugar up to 7-8 times of the initial sugar content in it, if the so-called hot saccharification with malt is carried out.

How to conduct hot saccharification with malt?

First of all, you need to prepare the raw materials. To do this, you need to take the cereals from which the mash will be made, pour it with water (5 liters of water are needed per 1 kilogram of grain), and then put on a slow fire until it warms up slowly. At the same time, the grain in water must be constantly mixed, achieving the most uniform composition of the resulting mixture. It is not recommended to use too small dishes: the container in which this process will take place should not be filled more than ¾ of its volume.

When the temperature of the mash rises to 60-65 degrees, the heating should be stopped and the temperature maintained within these limits for at least 10 minutes. After that, the temperature can be sharply raised and the grain can literally be cooked (the flour is cooked less, the cereal is longer). As a rule, cooking takes at least one and a half hours, as a result of which the mash becomes like a thick porridge. During cooking, the mash must be constantly stirred and not allowed to burn.

After cooking, when the finished mash turns into porridge, it is necessary to cool the mash again to 60 degrees, and then add crushed malt there. The proportion is approximately as follows - about 180-200 grams of malt is needed for one kilogram of finished mash. After adding malt, it is necessary to continue the mixing process. This stage lasts about half an hour.

Then the mash can be cooled to 25 degrees, after which it will be ready to add yeast. It is worth remembering that high temperatures can be fatal for yeast, so you need to add them only after the mash has cooled down. The optimum temperature is 23-32 degrees Celsius. For one kilogram of raw materials, about 25 grams of pressed or 5 grams of dry yeast is enough.

Braga becomes ready within one week after the installation of a water seal.

Time interval between saccharification and installation of a water seal

It should be said separately that the fermentation process cannot be delayed much, and it is better to start it as close as possible to the end of saccharification. That is, a long pause between the stages of “saccharification” and “adding yeast” cannot be done, otherwise everything will simply turn sour. It is desirable to add yeast on the day of saccharification.