Climbing foam from the mash. Defoamers for mash. Why does mash foam during fermentation. What to do, or what to add to the mash so that it does not foam. How to calm the mash if it foams

01.04.2022

The process of preparing mash and direct distillation is inevitably associated with its foaming. Is this a natural process? during fermentation, the liquid is saturated with carbon dioxide and therefore bubbles form, without which alcohol will not be released from sugar. Sometimes the hat in the container becomes too high, and the mash is able to knock out the cork or split the dishes in which it is located. Why is this happening and what can be done to get rid of this trouble?

Why can a large amount of foam form on the surface of the mash?

At the very beginning, I would like to say that foaming can occur at two stages of making moonshine:

product fermentation;
distillation process, more specifically, boiling.

The reasons for this behavior of the liquid are different. In the first case, factors affecting the appearance of abundant foam:

a product is selected that has a high tendency to foam (peas, peaches or otherwise);
the amount of raw materials in the tank is exceeded (more than 2/3 of the available volume is poured);
high room temperature;
a large amount of yeast or unsuitable quality, etc.

During distillation, the formation of a high cap can lead to cloudiness of moonshine, which is why winemakers are afraid of this. The reason for the appearance of foam during distillation can be:

incorrectly selected container (alembic cube);
low-quality yeast that was used during fermentation can also cause profuse bubbling during distillation;
the result of using certain products that produce more foam than others, etc.

What to do if there is too much foam on the mash?

The process of cap formation in the mash is not always controllable. If you miss this moment, then you can simply lose some of the raw materials, in the case of a large amount of workpiece 30-40% ????? this is a huge financial loss. Strongly? playing? the mash will simply overflow from the container.

Inexperienced winemakers try to get rid of the foam by stirring the liquid. Under no circumstances should this be done. The alarmed mash will begin to seethe even more. What to do?

You can solve this problem of abundant foaming by making a defoamer from simple home products or by resorting to simple tricks:

The use of purchased defoamers

With the development of trade in the field of home brewing, specialized products appeared on the market,
designed to simplify the process. So, in online stores or on the shelves you can find a ready-made defoamer, which is enough to add to the workpiece and this will reduce the cap on it.

Such ready-made commercial products are convenient to use at the fermentation stage, since they effectively prevent the formation of foam. In this case, sometimes all 2-3 ml of the substance is required to obtain a result, which is why one bottle is enough for a long time.

You can also add it to the mash that is already ready for distillation. This will reduce the formation of foam during distillation.

Such defoamers will help to overtake raw materials prepared from products that themselves form a lot of carbon dioxide (peas, peaches, rye, beer mash).

Purchased defoamers are very easy to use. Before use, you can add a little water to them to make it easier to distribute over the surface of the raw material. Using such substances, it is recommended to mix the raw materials after their addition.

The inevitable formation of foam during fermentation or distillation can go into an uncontrolled process and spoil the whole result. Simple methods can solve everything. The main thing is to take action in time.

Mandatory component bugs? These are water, sugar and yeast. And, of course, a dark and warm place near the stove or radiator. And also important are the knowledge of how to properly withstand the mash, how long it can take and what are the signs by which it is determined that the raw material is ready for distillation. All this is discussed in this article.

What determines the degree and what should be the strength of the finished mash?

Braga is the source of the fermentation process, where the result of the processing of sugar by yeast is ethyl alcohol. Subject to the optimal proportions of water, sugar, yeast and the necessary temperature conditions, the workpiece is capable of containing an average of 12% of the fortress. To achieve a greater fortress in the usual way will not work. This is due to the fact that with an increase in the concentration of alcohol, yeast begins to process it. Ethyl is a poisonous product that contributes to the death of yeast microorganisms. Therefore, when a certain concentration of alcohol in the mash is reached, the fermentation process stops.

If the product has a lower degree, but by all indications the raw material is already ready for processing, then two things can be the reason for this:

there was not enough sugar in the raw materials;
temperature is not met.

Both reasons are easy to fix. It is necessary to re-add sugar and yeast in the right amount, and put the container with the mash in a warmer place.

Braga preparation technology

To prepare high-quality raw materials for distillation, you must follow simple rules:

How to increase the strength of the mash?

As already mentioned, the optimal fortress that a mash can achieve without additional tricks is 12 degrees. To increase this degree, many winemakers add the so-called "tails" to the mash. ? this is the last fraction obtained during the distillation of raw materials. This liquid usually contains about 20 revolutions, as it is obtained at the highest distillation temperatures. If you pour in? tails?, the strength of the workpiece can reach 22 degrees. But this procedure must be postponed until the distillation begins, that is, we pour it into the finished raw material, otherwise you can kill the yeast and ruin the entire product.

Also, in order to increase the degree of mash, it is necessary to use specialized alcohol or wine yeast. The numbers of the fortress of such a blank can rise to 18.

You can also artificially increase the degree of mash by adding more sugar initially. Let's add not 1 kg, but 1.2. But this method does not make it possible to increase the strength by more than 15 degrees, since it is with such readings of the amount of alcohol in the liquid that the yeast stops working and dies.

Braga itself is a product that is prone to foaming. Foam on the mash appears after 6-8 hours. The process is that during fermentation, the liquid is saturated with carbon dioxide, and bubbles form. Without them, from the point of view of chemistry, the extraction of alcohol from sugar is impossible. But sometimes the height of the cap goes off scale, and the mash splits the dishes, squeezes out the corks and simply “runs away” during the cooking process. To prevent this from happening, you need to know all the precautions.

Foam on mash

What determines the amount of foam?

Braga foams at two stages of preparing the drink:

during fermentation;
during active boiling during distillation.

The level of foaming is different, it depends on several factors:

the choice of raw materials that give a large amount of carbon dioxide (peas, fruit mash);
the amount of raw materials in the tank exceeds the limit of 70% of the volume;
high room temperature;
a large amount of yeast or their low quality.

In addition, in addition to running off the liquid, moonshine may become cloudy due to the high “cap” - this is what distillers are afraid of. Foam also appears during distillation for the following reasons:

incorrectly selected distillation cube;
low-quality yeast can play a role at this stage as well;
using products that produce more foam in the process.

What to do if the mash foams a lot?

Part of the raw material, approximately 30-40% of the liquid, can be lost during the formation of foam, which entails financial losses. Playing mash easily spills over the edges of the container, and sometimes spoils the container itself. Sometimes winemakers save themselves from foaming by stirring the liquid, but this is not a way out. Moreover, such measures are highly ineffective and undesirable. The thing is that the alarmed mash will begin to boil even more.

If the mash foams strongly, then the problem is solved with the help of defoamers. Proper use of these substances is able to control the process and does not affect the taste of the drink. You can use very simple methods and recipes without the use of chemical additives and components:

Putting cookies in the brew. You should not use fragrant sweets, cookies should be simple, without dyes, flavors or fillers in the form of jam and others. Pre-crushed cookies. Half of the biscuit is used for 10 liters of raw materials. The crumbs are scattered on top of the mash in a thin layer. They do not need to be mixed, and the cap will begin to settle under the pressure of the pieces. Thus, the cookies will get rid of the layer of foam and will allow it to form further and ferment the drink calmly. And cookies will not change the taste of mash and distillate in the future. Sometimes distillers replace cookies with rye bread or even crackers, but this method works worse. And not always the cookie itself is able to cool the ardor of the mash and affect the foam. But in any case, this method should be tested first.
It will help not to lose raw materials and such a technique as reducing the liquid in the bottle. The bottom line is not to pour a lot of mash into the container, a maximum of 70 percent of the total volume. This precaution will not reduce the foam in the mash, nor will it save the container, but it will save the liquid inside the container. You can use the rule and fill in 2/3 of the volume. If foaming has already begun, and there is more liquid in the container, then part of the drink can be poured into another bottle. But the smell of mash, which will spread around the room, will be really pungent and strong, since it is difficult to pour a neatly foaming liquid.
Dairy products are suitable in order to extinguish the foam. Sour cream or kefir is often used. Sometimes sunflower oil is taken. If it is oil that is used, then the proportion is as follows: 1 teaspoon per 5 liters of mash. The product is spread as a thin film over the surface without stirring, so that the mash does not foam anymore. Kefir and sour cream is enough to take 2 tablespoons per 10-12 liters and also distribute. The advantage of the products lies in their naturalness, and also in the fact that they do not spoil the taste of mash and distillate. They are compatible with any raw material.
Lowering the temperature will also work to reduce the activity of foam formation. The optimal indicators are 18-24 degrees. If the temperature is lower, then the yeast will reduce activity and fermentation will be slower. That is why the mash with foam should be placed in conditions with a temperature of 6 to 16 degrees - this will reduce the layer. But remember that after the raw materials return to temperatures suitable for fermentation, the foam will reappear and will again have to be fought.
Sometimes children's cosmetics are used to remove the foam. For example, hair shampoo in the amount of 1 tablespoon per glass of water. After dilution, the mixture is poured into the container and after five minutes the foam falls off. The effectiveness of the method is good, but the organoleptic of the drink will suffer. It is better not to use adult cosmetics, which contain even more harmful substances.

Purchased foam suppressants

Of course, you can use special purchased defoamers to suppress the activity of the foam. These products effectively affect the foam and speed up the process. A ready-made defoamer for mash is simply added to the liquid along with other components at the preparation stage. As a result, the volume of the cap will decrease.

This is convenient because the liquid is added during the fermentation stage, and in order to see the result, you need only 2-3 milliliters of liquid. One bottle of defoamer is enough for a long time, which allows you to save on the preparation of mash, as well as free up space for a drink. Such a liquid can also be added immediately before distillation on the apparatus. The product will help to cope with raw materials that form a lot of carbon dioxide before distillation (peaches, rye, beer mash).

And the product captivates with ease of use. Before pouring into the mash, water can be added to the defoamer, then the liquid will be easier to distribute over the surface of the raw material. The raw material itself needs to be mixed after adding the defoamer.

Remember that sometimes defoamers should be used, then the controllability of the process will improve. If all the mash escapes during preparation, it will spoil the entire drink and reduce the amount of distillate yield. The choice of products, as well as the right to use natural ingredients or defoamers, remains with each distiller. The main thing is to follow the rise of the foam in time.

The technology of making mash plays an important role in the quality of the future moonshine. But sometimes the rules are followed, the ingredients are added exactly according to the recipe, and foam begins to collect in the prepared container. Is it harmful, and why does the mash foam? Let's try to find out.

The foam on the mash is so plentiful that it can squeeze out the cork with a water seal. It is formed due to the increased activity of yeast fungi. These microorganisms feed on sugars, and in their absence they break down starches. In the course of their vital activity, they emit carbon dioxide, which appears on the surface of the wort as a foamy cap.

Pressed yeast is in a "sleeping" form. After entering a favorable environment, they are activated and begin to absorb sugar. If the conditions are not suitable, activation will not occur, or the process will be weakly expressed.

At the stage of fermentation, the appearance of foam is facilitated by:

The presence in the wort of products that are prone to foaming. These include any legumes (especially peas), grains, and sweet fruits.
Violation of the correct recipe. If you put more yeast in the drink than you need, abundant foam cannot be avoided.
The quality of the ingredients. First of all, this concerns the yeast itself - if they are stale, the wort may not ferment at all, or, conversely, give too much foam.

During the distillation process, foam may appear due to insufficient volume of the cube or the specific composition of the raw material. At this stage, foaming is undesirable - it causes a strong turbidity of the drink.

What determines the amount of foam?

The intensity of foaming is influenced by such factors:

The type of yeast used. When using pressed baker's yeast, the foam is rich and thick. If you add pressed alcohol and dry yeast to the mash, there will be much less foam. The least foaming is characteristic of wine and grain yeast fungi.

How to administer yeast. If you add them undiluted to the workpiece, there will be a lot of foam. But preliminary preparation - dissolving in a small amount of sweetened water - reduces foaming.

Working temperature. When preparing mash, two parameters are usually used - the upper and lower temperature thresholds. The closer the temperature is to the upper limit, the less foam will be, and vice versa.

Maximum foaming occurs when all these factors are combined. In this case, the foam can tear the glove off the mash and flood the kitchen floor.

What to do if the mash foams a lot?

The question of how to clean worries many novice distillers. You can reduce foaming using proven folk methods. An important point - in no case should you mix the mash, otherwise the volume of the foam will increase.

Adding cookies

A simple and effective folk way. For every 10 liters of liquid, add half of any cookie, after crushing it. The recipe, freshness and taste are not important, but it is better to choose cookies with a minimum amount of flavors.

The foam cap will begin to decrease right before your eyes, 10-15 minutes after the introduction of the supplement. After another half an hour, it will completely disappear.

Cookies can be replaced with black bread. It also needs to be crushed first. Approximate proportions - one loaf per 100 liters of liquid.

To slightly reduce the amount of foam, you can use fermented milk products - sour cream or kefir. They are administered in two tablespoons for every 10 liters of wort.

Volume reduction

According to the rules, the mash should fill the vessel by 2/3 of the volume. If this calculation was not taken into account, the liquid will foam strongly. To reduce the foam cap, part of the workpiece must be poured into another container.

This method has several drawbacks. Firstly, during transfusion, part of the wort is inevitably lost. Secondly, a fairly stable specific smell will appear in the kitchen, which will not be easy to get rid of.

Adding vegetable oil

Safe and effective method. You need very little oil, so adding it will not affect the taste of the future drink and will not disrupt the fermentation processes. It is best to use refined sunflower oil with a mild aroma.

The additive is administered at the rate of 0.5 g per liter of mash. The oil forms the thinnest film on the surface of the workpiece, which will prevent foaming.

Temperature drop

This method takes into account the characteristics of yeast fungi. At temperatures ranging from 5 to 16 degrees, their activity decreases sharply. If the temperature is sharply raised to 28-29 degrees, the microorganisms will die.

Expert opinion

Levandovsky Dmitry

moonshine expert

Taking into account these features, the mash is transferred for several hours to a cool place - for example, to the cellar. Before this, you need to control the temperature regime: it should not be higher, but not lower than the permissible one. In 2-3 hours, the foam cap settles, and the mash can be returned to the room again.

This method is convenient in that it does not require the introduction of any additional additives. However, it is not very reliable: after returning to a warm place, the foam may reappear.

Purchased defoamers

Defoamer for mash can be purchased at specialized stores. The composition of such a solution includes components that inhibit the activity of yeast fungi. They are non-toxic and safe for humans, and do not affect the taste of the final drink.

Purchased defoamers can be used at any stage of preparation - both during the maturation of the mash, and immediately before distillation. They are usually sold in concentrated form; before buying, the composition must be diluted with water and added to the wort.

Craftsmen came up with the idea of using baby shampoo instead of a purchased defoamer. It differs from the adult low content of alkali and harmful chemicals, so it can be considered a relatively harmless "additive". The shampoo is diluted with water (a tablespoon per glass) and slowly poured onto the surface of the mash. After 8-10 minutes, the foam will settle.

Video: foam on mash

Many novice moonshiners have a problem with foam in the mash, the release of which is difficult to control. In the worst case, part of the product "runs away" from the container to the floor and is irretrievably lost. You can prevent this trouble with a few simple methods that work in any situation.

Attention! Do not try to remove the foam by stirring the mash, as this will activate the fermentation, which will further aggravate the situation.
The best homemade foam extinguishing methods are:

1. Add cookies. The easiest and fastest way to combat active foaming. For quenching mash, only ordinary cookies without flavorings, fillers or dyes are suitable. First you need to crumble it (one half is enough for 10 liters), then sprinkle the crumbs in an even layer over the surface. After a few minutes, the foam will begin to subside, and then completely disappear.

Video: Chacha recipe, at home. Grape moonshine. Cognac at home

The most effective defoamer

Under the pressure of the crumbs, the foam bubbles burst more actively. As a result, the “cap” falls off quickly, and its reappearance is unlikely. Cookies do not affect the quality of the mash. Instead, you can crumble brown bread, but it helps worse.

2. Reduce volume. This is usually done with highly foaming raw materials, for example, pea mash. When there is not enough free space in the container, the foam begins to come out. Initially, it is better to fill the container with mash no more than 2/3 of the volume.

If this recommendation is not followed, during the fermentation process, you need to drain part of the mash into another container. Disadvantage: with strong foaming, it is very difficult to separate the mash without spilling at least a little liquid on the floor, and the smell in the room will not be the most pleasant.

Properly filled container

3. Add vegetable oil (sour cream, kefir). One teaspoon of sunflower oil per 5 liters of mash, poured in an even layer over the surface, well stops the release of foam. The principle of operation is the same as in the case of cookies.

Thick sour cream or kefir helps a little worse (1-2 tablespoons per 10-12 liters of mash). Adding a small amount of vegetable oil or dairy products to the mash does not affect the quality of moonshine.

4. Lower the temperature. The optimum fermentation temperature is 18-24°C. At higher values, the yeast may die; at low values, it “falls asleep” and fermentation stops. When the conditions are right again, the yeast is activated and continues to work.

To knock down the foam, it is enough to put the container with the mash in a cold place (6-16 ° C). Disadvantage: this method only allows you to buy time, since then you still need to resume fermentation, and with an increase in temperature, the foam will appear again.

5. Use baby shampoo. Dilute a tablespoon of baby shampoo in a glass of cold water. The resulting mixture is slowly poured onto the surface of the mash. After a few minutes, the foam will fall off.

Disadvantage: the ingress of third-party chemicals into the mash, even if there are not many of them in baby shampoo, is highly undesirable.

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In the process of making moonshine, many moonshiners do not know how to remove the foam from the mash, because it takes up too much space in the container, which makes it difficult to control it. If the foam still escapes, then the raw material is simply wasted. To avoid such troubles, they use developed and proven methods that work great in such situations.

Attention! Stirring, it will not be possible to bypass the problem, since this will only activate fermentation, and foaming will begin even more.

The best foam suppression methods include:

Adding cookies

This is the simplest and most affordable way, besides allowing you to do everything quickly. Cookies are taken only those that do not have any aromatic additives, dyes. It is crumbled and sprinkled over the surface in an even layer. Halves of cookies are enough for 10 liters of mash. The cookie crumbs apply pressure, causing the foam bubbles to burst and the foam not to rise. The taste of the cookies is not affected. Sometimes black bread is used instead of cookies.

Volume reduction

The container is filled from the very beginning by 75%, but if such a rule is ignored, the foam simply will not have enough space. In this case, part of the mash is poured into another dish.

Adding vegetable oil

Just 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil helps to quickly inhibit foaming. The principle of the effect of oil on the foam is the same as when using cookies.

A little worse, but still, sour cream or kefir extinguishes the foam, which take 2 tablespoons per 12 liters of mash.

Temperature drop

For active fermentation, a temperature of 18 to 24 degrees is required, when the temperature rises, the yeast freezes (dies), and when it is lowered, it “falls asleep” a little. Transferring the container to a cool room slows down the foaming process, but when you return to a warm room, the foam will begin to grow again.