A neutral spirit that is usually not aged and can be made from grains, potatoes, sugars, and fruits that are ferment to produce alcohol, is called vodka.Home brewers should make sure to discard the methanol during the distilling process because it can be fatal if eaten.In places like Australia and the U.S. it is illegal to distill alcohol at home.Before starting this process, be sure to check your local regulations.
Step 1: Make a list of the ingredients you want to ferment.
It is possible to make vodka from wheat, corn, or potatoes.Adding sugar and molasses to other ingredients is also possible.There is a distillery that makes an innovative vodka from red wine.It must have sugars or starches to make alcohol.The yeast spits out alcohol and carbon dioxide.When making vodka from grains and potatoes, a mash must be made that contains active enzymes that break down the starches from the grains or potatoes and make fermentable sugars.The sugars in fruit juice are already there.As with fruit juice, vodka made from store-bought sugars only need to be ferment, thus avoiding the need for a mash.Wine can be used to make a distilled medium for vodka.
Step 2: Decide if you need more enzymes.
If you decide to make your vodka out of something other than starches, you may need to add something to help convert them into sugar.If you are using grains and potatoes, you will need more enzymes.Grains and potatoes are sources of starch and need to be broken down into sugar.If you are using malted whole grains, you don't need to add more enzymes.The naturalidases that break down starches into fermentable sugars are found in malted whole grains.If you use refined sugar and molasses, you don't need to add more enzymes because the sugar is already present.
Step 3: If necessary, add more enzymes.
If you're using potatoes, you can add food-grade amylase to the mash to convert it into fermentable sugars.Use the recommended amount to break it down.There is no need to use wheat or malted barley when using the powder.To be able to break down the starches, they have to be gelatinized.Grains are often already dissolved.Un-gelatinized ingredients such as potatoes and unrolled or malted grains are heated in water to a certain temperature in order to make them more elastic.The temperature for potatoes and wheat is about 150 F.A potato mash should only need to be heated to 150 F.The potatoes should be shredded before they are added to the water.The stear-degrading enzymes only work at certain temperatures and are destroyed at high temperatures.The temperature of 150 F (66 C) is common, but it will cause the destruction of the enzymes.The maximum temperature is 74 C.
Step 4: It's possible to try a wheat mash.
In a 10 gallon metal pot, heat 6 gallons of water to 165 F (74 C).Add 2 gallons of wheat to stir.Ensure that the temperature is between 150 and 155 degrees F.Put 1 gallon of crushed wheat malt in a container.The temperature is expected to be about 149 F.Rest for 90 minutes and stir occasionally.The mixture should become fermentable sugars during this time.The mixture should be cool after 90 minutes to 2 hours.Don't let the temperature get below 80 F, just let it cool overnight.
Step 5: You can get a potato mash.
There are 20 pounds of potatoes.Without peeling, boil them in a large kettle.The potatoes should be mashed by hand or with a food processor.Add 5 to 6 gallons of tap water when you return the mashed potatoes to the kettle.Bring the mixture to just over 150 F.Stir well after adding 2 pounds of crushed, malted barley or wheat.Over the course of 2 hours, cover and stir.It should cool down to 80 to 85 F overnight.Allowing it to cool for a long period of time gives the barley malt enzymes more time to break down the potato starch.
Step 6: A corn mash can be made.
Substitute pre-gelatinized corn for the flaked wheat in the wheat mash recipe.You can make a mash from your own corn over the course of 3 days.The root should grow from each grain.The sprouted corn will containamylases, which were formed during thesprouting process.
Step 7: Prepare the area by cleaning your utensils.
In order to prevent cross-contamination, the vessels are often sealed from the air.It lasts for 3-6 days.It is possible to ferment in vessels that have not been cleaned or sanitized, but the result may be a high level of unwanted flavor compounds and higher alcohols due to the action of yeast stains andbacteria.B-Brite and iodophor are some of the oxidizers that are available at home shops.
Step 8: Pick and set up your airlock.
An airlock is a mechanism that will allow CO2 to escape.Five-gallon (19-L) batches of strained mash can be put in a food-grade bucket or carboys.When using a lid or a stopper, don't seal the vessel completely as pressure from carbon dioxide production will create explosives.Attach an airlock to the lids and rubber stoppers to stop the pressure from building.It's a good idea to keep bugs and other undesirable things out of open vessels.
Step 9: Put the mash or liquid into your vessel.
If a mash was made, strain the liquid with a fine mesh strainer from the mash into your vessel.If you can splash the liquid and pour it from a distance, it will be aerated.The yeast needs air to grow.The yeast makes cellular material from oxygen.Alcohol is produced in the absence of oxygen after the initial growth stage.At this time, you might want to add a sugar solution.The sugar solution can be aerate by pouring it into the vessel.If juice is to be used to ferment, aerate it by pouring from a height through a sieve or strainer.
Step 10: The yeast can be added to the fermentable medium.
Add the desired amount of yeast to the liquid.To evenly distribute the yeast, stir with a clean spoon.The airlock will bubble if it is used, and the bubbling will stop as the liquid becomes completely fermentable.The best place to keep the liquid is in a room that is about 80 to 85 F.In cold areas, use a heating belt.Distillers yeast can ferment cleanly, produce a high amount of alcohol, and produce relatively low amounts of unwanted compounds.The brand or type of yeast used will affect the amount used.The yeast packet may contain some vitamins and minerals.When using yeast with a medium that is low in nutrients, such as sugar solutions, they can also improve the process.
Step 11: Take the wash.
The wash can be washed into a cleaned and sanitized vessel or into the distillation apparatus.The yeast can burn when it is heated in the still.The siphoned wash can be further clarified by other means.
Step 12: If possible, use a column.
Pot stills are not as complex as column ones.They can either be purchased or built using readily available materials.Pot and column stills work the same way.The cooling water circulates through a sealed compartment in the column, causing the alcohol and other substances to evaporate.To move water from a supply into the still, it must be attached to a faucet or a mechanical pump.Thousands of gallons of water may need to be used to make a small amount of vodka if not recirculating water from a single supply.50 gallons of water can be used, but the water will become less effective if it is recirculated using a pump.
Step 13: If you can't find a column, try a pot still.
Pot stills are similar to pressure cooker that are attached to piping or tubing.They can be made quickly and cheaply.Pot stills can use bent or coiled tubing or piping that can be submerged in a vessel of cooling water.Large volumes of cooling water can be used.
Step 14: If necessary, use a reflux still.
A reflux can do multiple distillations at the same time.Vapor can trickle back down to the liquid pool from the packing between the pot and the condenser.The rising vapor is cleaned and the purity of the vodka is increased.
Step 15: Prepare for the process of distilling.
Stills heat the alcoholic wash to a temperature that is greater than the boiling point of alcohol, yet less than water.The bulk of the water does not evaporate while the alcohol does.The vaporized alcohol travels up into the column, pipe or tube of the still.Cold water applied to the column, pipe, or tubing causes the alcohol to evaporate and return to liquid.The alcoholic liquid becomes vodka.
Step 16: The wash should be hot to begin the process.
Depending on the type of still being used, gas burners, wood fires, or electric hot plates are all options.A temperature of about 173 F (78.6 C) at sea level is desirable, but the temperature must be kept below the boiling point of water.Alcohol and other substances can be seen in the water-cooled area of the still.
Step 17: Get rid of the heads.
The first distilled liquid that is recovered from the still will be full of harmful chemicals.For 5 gallons (19 L) of wash, discard the first 2 ounces (60 mL).It's important that you don't drink this distilled liquid.
Step 18: Take the body.
Some water and other compounds will be contained in the collected distillate after you discard the heads.During this time, if using a column still with flowing cold water, the water flow can be adjusted to control the output and purity of the distillate.You should aim for 2 to 3 quarts per minute.Increased output results in a decrease in purity.
Step 19: Get rid of the tails.
Other nasty chemicals are produced when the temperature goes up to 212 F (100 C).Thetails contain alcohols.The tails contain propanol and should be thrown away.The tails should not be eaten.
Step 20: The alcohol content and purity of the distillate should be checked.
An alcometer can be used to measure the percentage of alcohol in a sample.It's possible that the distillate isn't strong enough to serve as acceptable vodka or that it may be more concentrated than desired.The alcohol content of the distillate may be very high.Additional distillations or carbon filters may be required for the distillate to be too aromatic.
Step 21: If necessary, immerse the liquid.
This increases the alcohol content.It's common to redistill the distillate 3 or more times to get a high purity vodka.Each time you distill the vodka, the heads and tails need to be discarded.Premium brands of vodka go through a number of distillates before they are ready to be bottled.
Step 22: The vodka can beFILTERED through carbon.
To remove volatile flavors and aromas from the distillate, pass it through an activated carbon filter.Carbon water filters can be used to purify the water.
Step 23: If you want the strength, mix the vodka with it.
Purified water can be added to the distillate to get the desired alcohol percentage.Measure the alcohol percentage multiple times until you get the strength you want.
Step 24: It's a good idea to bottle the booze.
Use a bottle filling setup and cork or cap the bottles.If you want, label the bottles with custom labels.There is a 7.5 gallon bucket with a spigot, vinyl tubing, and a plastic bottle filling machine.A bottle of wine can be filled with multiple spouts.