Making alcohol is a snap. It can occur naturally when yeast makes contact with sugars. Fermentation, or alcohol production, takes place when yeast metabolizes sugars. The waste product from the yeast is alcohol and CO2.
To make alcohol one just needs to have a solution or juice which is 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 appropriate for producing wine. Beer makers may use a combination of malted barley, cereals and grains and lots of water (mash). However, the brewers have to cook the mash which will convert the starches into fermentable sugars. Winemakers don’t have this concern since the sugars in the grapes are readily available to be fermented. Making whiskey is a lot like making beer. However, mash after ferment will be distilled to create a beverage which will be approx . 40 percent alcohol by volume. The mixture of several grains and cereals will in the end determine the taste, flavor profile, of the end results.
The most frequently used yeast put to use in wineries, breweries and distilleries is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is the most common species of yeast utilized to make alcoholic beverages. Having been used since ancient times in brewing and baking it is believed that yeast was first isolated from grapes skins. Often you can find on the skin of grapes a white film which is partially composed of yeast. Brewers, distillers and winemakers will find specific strains of yeast to add specific flavor components. Yeast selection is also critical for the solution that it’ll be required to ferment. Some yeast strains thrive in high pH while others do better with a lower pH solution. As the yeast metabolizes the sugars the concentration of alcohol rises which kills the yeast. This is the reason it’s difficult to ferment a mash to an alcohol level over 18 percent. To obtain a higher alcohol content product you must distill the fermented mash.
To create fortified wines, port, brandy, neutral spirits like vodka, and whiskey the fermented mash has to be distilled. An in depth discussion regarding how to make whiskey can be seen at the How To Make Whiskey Headquarters. Mash recipes and information on how to distill are also offered for your continued education in this exciting industry.
