Tuesday 26 February 2013

Making Alcohol made Easy


Producing alcohol is not difficult. It can occur naturally when yeast comes into contact with sugars. Fermentation, or alcohol production, occurs when yeast metabolizes sugars. The byproduct from the yeast is alcohol and Carbon dioxide.

In order to create alcohol one just needs to have a solution or juice that's high in sugar and add yeast. When making wine the sugars come from the grapes . Winemakers will harvest the grapes once the sugar content is just right for making wine. Beer makers make use of a combination of malted barley, cereals and grains and lots of water (mash). But bear in mind, the brewers must cook the mash in order to convert the starches into fermentable sugars. Winemakers do not have this issue because the sugars inside the grapes are readily available to be fermented. Making whiskey is much like making beer. However, the product after ferment will be distilled to make a beverage which is around 40% alcohol by volume. The mixture of various grains and cereals will in the end determine the taste, flavor profile, of the final results.

The most popular yeast put to use in wineries, breweries and distilleries is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is one of the most common species of yeast utilized to make alcoholic beverages. Having been used for thousands of years in brewing and baking it is believed that yeast was initially isolated from grapes skins. Often you can observe on the skin of grapes a white film which is partially made up of yeast. Brewers, distillers and winemakers will select specific strains of yeast to add unique flavor elements. Yeast selection can also be critical for the solution that it's going to be required to ferment. Some yeast strains thrive in high pH whereas others fare better in lower pH solution. As the yeast metabolizes the sugars the concentration of alcohol increases which inevitable kills the yeast. This is the reason it is difficult to ferment a mash to an alcohol content beyond 18 percent. To reach higher alcohol content product you must distill the fermented mash.

What might you make alcohol with? Nearly anything with sugar. This includes beet pulp, apples, grains, etc. Some individuals use animal feed like cracked corn to produce whiskey mash. As long as there are fermentable sugars it can certainly be converted to alcohol.

There are many sites on the web that have posted different recipes for producing alcohol. For example, one simple recipe is to use concentrated grape or apple juice, sugar and water. There isn't any cooking involved. Just add the yeast and allow the magic happen.

No comments:

Post a Comment