Basic Steps in the Production of Ethyl Alcohol (part 2)
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CONVERSION WITH BARLEY MALT
Instead of using commercial enzymes, it is possible to affect conversion by employing barley malt -- at the ratio of 15% by weight, or 7 pounds per bushel -- in both the pre- and post-boil. However, such a technique requires a more acidic medium (about pH 4-5) and lower temperatures -- about 145 deg F (63 deg C) is optimum -- than MOTHER's powders. Though the weights and temperatures differ, the same sequence is followed as discussed in "Conversion With MOTHER's Enzymes".
(One way to speed up the cooking process is with steam, which -- at 350 deg F, 177 deg C -- reduces the cooking time to one minute. Another commercial approach is to use extruders: machines much like meat grinders that compress, grind, and convert the grain in a one-step process.)
FERMENTATION
If you use barley malt for the conversion process -- or if you are following some alternative recipe that does not employ MOTHER's Fermentation Powder -- you will need to add your own yeast.
Mix up two ounces of distiller's or baker's yeast in a quart or two of the liquid mash, and add the concoction to the wort. Vigorous agitation will oxygenate the mixture and encourage a rapid initial growth of the yeast culture.
Yeast plants can propagate in a solution with or without air, so agitate only enough to saturate the wort with air and then let it stand still. If the mash is continually agitated, the yeast will reproduce faster and make less waste: carbon dioxide and alcohol. But if the solution becomes anaerobic (without air) the yeast slows down reproduction and makes more alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Yeast also produces enzymes of its own to convert complex sugars. Since sugar conversion and alcohol conversion can take place simultaneously, the amylase enzymes and the yeast work in cooperation to convert the dextrins to glucose and fructose and then to alcohol and C02.
Fermentation is a chemical process and produces heat. In concentrated or particularly large mashes, the temperature can actually rise to levels dangerous to yeast. Since the ideal temperature for yeast is around 85 deg F, it's best to maintain that temperature by either utilizing cooling coils or keeping the water-to-grain ratio at about 40 gallons per bushel.
Conversion of sugars to alcohol and C02 will be completed in three to five days, depending on the temperature of the mixture and the type of yeast used. You can tell when the mash is done by watching the "cap" of solids on top of the solution. During fermentation, the rising C02 keeps the solids in constant motion, but when the bubbling stops, the solids fall to the bottom. At this time, you're ready to separate the solids from the liquids and begin distillation.
KEEP IT CLEAN!
Remember, sanitation is extremely important! There are many kinds of invading bacteria, including strains which can withstand boiling temperatures. So, observe the same standards that any restaurant or kitchen follows. And keep the fermenting vat well covered: a fly in the ointment will turn your mash into something that it's best to keep upwind of.
Instead of using commercial enzymes, it is possible to affect conversion by employing barley malt -- at the ratio of 15% by weight, or 7 pounds per bushel -- in both the pre- and post-boil. However, such a technique requires a more acidic medium (about pH 4-5) and lower temperatures -- about 145 deg F (63 deg C) is optimum -- than MOTHER's powders. Though the weights and temperatures differ, the same sequence is followed as discussed in "Conversion With MOTHER's Enzymes".
(One way to speed up the cooking process is with steam, which -- at 350 deg F, 177 deg C -- reduces the cooking time to one minute. Another commercial approach is to use extruders: machines much like meat grinders that compress, grind, and convert the grain in a one-step process.)
FERMENTATION
If you use barley malt for the conversion process -- or if you are following some alternative recipe that does not employ MOTHER's Fermentation Powder -- you will need to add your own yeast.
Mix up two ounces of distiller's or baker's yeast in a quart or two of the liquid mash, and add the concoction to the wort. Vigorous agitation will oxygenate the mixture and encourage a rapid initial growth of the yeast culture.
Yeast plants can propagate in a solution with or without air, so agitate only enough to saturate the wort with air and then let it stand still. If the mash is continually agitated, the yeast will reproduce faster and make less waste: carbon dioxide and alcohol. But if the solution becomes anaerobic (without air) the yeast slows down reproduction and makes more alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Yeast also produces enzymes of its own to convert complex sugars. Since sugar conversion and alcohol conversion can take place simultaneously, the amylase enzymes and the yeast work in cooperation to convert the dextrins to glucose and fructose and then to alcohol and C02.
Fermentation is a chemical process and produces heat. In concentrated or particularly large mashes, the temperature can actually rise to levels dangerous to yeast. Since the ideal temperature for yeast is around 85 deg F, it's best to maintain that temperature by either utilizing cooling coils or keeping the water-to-grain ratio at about 40 gallons per bushel.
Conversion of sugars to alcohol and C02 will be completed in three to five days, depending on the temperature of the mixture and the type of yeast used. You can tell when the mash is done by watching the "cap" of solids on top of the solution. During fermentation, the rising C02 keeps the solids in constant motion, but when the bubbling stops, the solids fall to the bottom. At this time, you're ready to separate the solids from the liquids and begin distillation.
KEEP IT CLEAN!
Remember, sanitation is extremely important! There are many kinds of invading bacteria, including strains which can withstand boiling temperatures. So, observe the same standards that any restaurant or kitchen follows. And keep the fermenting vat well covered: a fly in the ointment will turn your mash into something that it's best to keep upwind of.
