Gooseberry braga for moonshine

Home-made moonshine can be made from many natural products. Often fruits or berries are used for it, which in the summer can be found in unlimited quantities. Homemade gooseberry moonshine can turn out to be both tasty and profitable drink if you manage to become the happy owner of a large number of berries.

Features of making moonshine from gooseberry berries

There are many varieties of gooseberries. And not all of them bear fruit at the same time. There are earlier and later ones. But in a fully ripe state, berries of almost any gooseberry variety contain quite a lot of sugar. However, it is determined not only by varietal characteristics, but also by the growing region, as well as by the weather conditions of the current summer season. Depending on all these conditions, the sugar content of gooseberries can be from 9 to 15%.

These figures indicate that from 1 kg of raw berries you can get from 100 to 165 ml of pure home-made moonshine with a strength of about 40%. And this is without added sugar or any additional ingredients. When using only one berries and water.

Someone may think this is not enough. But even here there is a well-known solution to the problem - to add sugar to the wash. This will help to significantly increase the yield of the finished product. After all, adding only 1 kg of sugar increases the volume of the finished 40% moonshine by 1-1.2 liters. But a significant part of the aroma inherent in a drink made from one gooseberry will definitely be lost. So there is always a choice and it remains for those who make gooseberry moonshine at home for one or another of their needs.

As already mentioned, gooseberries of any kind can be used to make moonshine. But their quality must be treated separately. Do not use spoiled or rotten berries, especially those with traces of mold. Even a few rotten berries accidentally caught in the wash can cause, at best, completely unnecessary bitterness in the finished drink. In addition, the more mature the gooseberries are, the better. They will produce a larger yield of pure homemade moonshine.

Ordinary water is necessarily involved in making moonshine at home. And it should be said especially about it, since the characteristics of the course of the fermentation process depend on its quality and temperature.

It is best to use spring or spring water, but not everyone has such an opportunity. Do not boil water or use distilled liquid. They lack the properties of "living" water and yeast bacteria will be uncomfortable to multiply in such an environment. As a result, fermentation can slow down dramatically or stop altogether.

The easiest way is to use tap water that has been standing for 24 hours and passed through a special filter to remove unwanted components. The water should also not be cold. The most favorable water temperature for fermentation is between + 23 ° C and + 28 ° C.

Various types of yeast can be used to make gooseberry mash for further distillation. Sometimes mash is made without yeast at all, while wild yeast that lives on the surface of unwashed berries is responsible for the fermentation process. The addition of artificial yeast can significantly speed up the mash-making process. But this will certainly affect the taste and aroma of ready-made homemade moonshine, and not for the better.

In general, for the manufacture of mash, there are only three types of additional yeast:

• dry bakery;
• fresh pressed;
• alcoholic or wine.

The first option is the most affordable and inexpensive. In addition, they can be stored in a regular refrigerator for quite a long time. They require activation before use, but their action is stable and predictable.

Compressed yeast usually works even faster than dry yeast and is also easy to find on the market. However, they do not last long in the refrigerator, and their effect if stored improperly can be different from what is expected.

Wine or spirits are the most suitable option for making mash, as they ferment the fastest and have a minimal effect on taste and aroma. But they are sold only in specialized stores and their cost is incomparably higher than that of ordinary yeast.

How to make gooseberry mash

To make mash from gooseberry berries you will need:

• 5 kg of gooseberries;
• 1 kg of sugar;
• 7 liters of water;
• 100 g of pressed fresh or 20 g of dry yeast.

Manufacturing:

1. Gooseberries are sorted out, removing spoiled berries, washed and chopped using any convenient device (blender, food processor, meat grinder, knife).
2. Add sugar, mix well and leave for 3-4 hours to obtain the most homogeneous mixture.
3. Then the resulting mixture is placed in a special fermentation vessel of a rather large volume so that after adding water there is still about 1/3 of free space. This could be, for example, a 10 liter glass jar.
4. Warm purified water and yeast are also added there.
5. Stir, install any suitable odor trap on the neck. You can also use a regular new medical glove with a punctured needle in one of your fingers.
   
6. Transfer the fermentation tank to a warm place (+ 20-26 ° C) without light.
7. The fermentation process with the addition of yeast usually lasts from 4 to 10 days.

The end of the process will be said:

• a deflated glove or a water seal will cease to emit bubbles;
• a noticeable sediment will appear at the bottom;
• all the sweetness will go away, and the mash will be barely noticeable bitter.

At the last stage, the finished mash is filtered through several layers of gauze or fabric so that not the slightest piece of skin or pulp is left that can burn during distillation.

The classic gooseberry moonshine recipe

In the previous chapter, the recipe for the classic homemade moonshine on gooseberries was described. After the mash has completely fermented, it remains only to overtake it through the moonshine still.

In order not to mess with additional purification, it is better to use double distillation.

1. The first time the mash is distilled, without separating the heads, until the moment when the fortress decreases to 30%.
   Comment! At the same time, moonshine may remain cloudy, this is normal.

2. Then the strength of the resulting distillate is measured to determine the amount of pure alcohol contained in the moonshine. To do this, the entire volume of moonshine obtained is multiplied by the percentage of strength, and then divided by 100.
3. Add enough water to the moonshine so that the final fortress becomes equal to 20%.
4. Do the second distillation of the resulting drink, but without fail separate the "heads" (first 8-15%) and "tails" (when the strength begins to fall below 45%).
5. The resulting moonshine is again diluted with water to a final strength of 40-45%.
6. In order for the water to mix well with the distillate, the moonshine is infused in a dark place at a cool temperature for several days before use.

Yeast gooseberry moonshine

Using all of the above technology, you can make homemade moonshine from gooseberries with yeast, but without adding sugar. Only according to this recipe it is necessary to take the most ripe and the sweetest berries.

You will need:

• 5 kg of gooseberries;
• 3 liters of water;
• 100 g fresh yeast.

The whole procedure for making mash and further distillation remains absolutely the same as described above. Only the berries after grinding do not need to be insisted, but you can immediately add yeast and water and place in a container under a water seal.

As a result, from the above ingredients, you can get about 800-900 ml of fragrant homemade moonshine, 45% strength with an interesting herbaceous flavor.

How to make gooseberry moonshine without yeast

If you want to get the most natural drink without the slightest foreign impurities in the aroma or taste, then use only:

• 5 kg of gooseberries;
• 3 liters of water.

A feature of making home brew for moonshine in this case is the use of unwashed gooseberries. This is important, since fermentation will only take place due to the wild yeast that lives on the surface of the berries. And the fermentation process itself will take at least 20-30 days, or it may take all 50. But the taste and aroma properties of the obtained moonshine can pleasantly surprise even a specialist.

Gooseberry and strawberry moonshine recipe

Adding strawberries will help give your homemade gooseberry moonshine a softness and extra berry flavor.

You will need:

• 3 kg of gooseberries;
• 2 kg of strawberries;
• 1 kg of sugar;
• 7 liters of water.

The very procedure for making mash and distillation is similar to that described in the classic recipe. The result will be about 2 liters of moonshine with a strength of 45% with a pleasant aroma.

Gooseberry moonshine with lemon

Lemon has long been famous for its flavoring and cleansing properties. If you put a gooseberry mash with the addition of lemon, it will help to give the homemade moonshine an attractive aroma and additionally cleanse it of unnecessary impurities.

You will need:

• 3 kg of ripe gooseberries;
• 2 lemons;
• 10 glasses of sugar;
• 5 liters of water.

Manufacturing:

1. The gooseberries are sorted out, chopped, mixed with 3 cups of sugar and left for a couple of hours in a warm place.
   
2. Then it is placed in a fermentation tank, water is added and placed under a water seal for about 10 days.
3. After 10 days, the lemons are poured over with boiling water, cut into slices, choosing the seeds.
4. Mix with the remaining amount of sugar in the recipe.
5. Add to the fermentation tank and re-install the water seal.
6. After the end of fermentation, which can happen in another 30-40 days, the resulting mash is poured from the sediment and, after filtering through cheesecloth, is carefully squeezed out.
7. Distilled according to the above-described technology and get about 2.5 liters of home-made fragrant moonshine with a citrus aroma.

Gooseberry moonshine with sugar syrup

You will need:

• 3 kg of gooseberries;
• 2250 ml of water;
• 750 g granulated sugar.

Manufacturing:

1. Sugar syrup is prepared first. Mix water with sugar and boil it until a completely homogeneous consistency is obtained.
2. Cool and mix with grated unwashed gooseberries.
3. The mixture is placed in a fermentation tank, a water seal is placed and placed in a warm place. The first 3-5 days, the liquid is stirred daily with a wooden spoon or with a clean hand.
4. Then filter, squeezing out all the pulp.
5. The remaining juice is again put to ferment in a warm place without light under a water seal.
6. After the end of fermentation, the juice is filtered again and distilled to obtain moonshine at home using the already known technology.

Distillation and purification of gooseberry moonshine

The entire distillation process has already been described in detail above.If everything was done according to the described technology with the separation of "heads" and "tails", then the resulting moonshine from gooseberry does not need additional purification.

Storage rules

Gooseberry moonshine should be kept in glass containers with hermetically sealed lids. The temperature can vary from + 5 ° C to + 20 ° C, but more important is the lack of light in the storage area.

Under the right conditions, homemade moonshine can be stored for 3 to 10 years.

Conclusion

Making homemade gooseberry moonshine is not too difficult with the appropriate utensils and equipment. This drink can be beneficial especially when there is a lot of ripe berries that have nowhere else to use.

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