Apple moonshine at home

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Get everything you need together. The main ingredient is apples. It doesn't much matter what kind — sweet or tart, green or red. What matters is that they're ripe and free of rot. I'm using fresh compressed yeast; you can swap in wine yeast or dry yeast (10 g) instead.

2. Step 2:

   

   It's better not to wash the apples; if they're really dirty, just wipe them with a cloth. The apple skins carry lots of wild microorganisms that drive fermentation — wash them and you rinse those away. Chop the apples however you like. I grated mine after removing the cores, but you can grind them in a blender or run them through a meat grinder.

3. Step 3:

   

   Put the grated apples into the fermentation vessel for the mash.

4. Step 4:

   

   Break the yeast into pieces and add a spoonful of sugar.

5. Step 5:

   

   Pour in warm water and wait for a foamy cap to form. Use raw, unfiltered water. Keep it no warmer than 104°F (40°C) — any hotter and it'll kill the yeast, and there'll be no fermentation.

6. Step 6:

   

   Pour the yeast mixture in with the grated apples.

7. Step 7:

   

   Add the sugar and the rest of the water. Stir everything gently together.

8. Step 8:

   

   Fit an airlock on top, or stretch a disposable glove over the opening. Move the vessel of mash somewhere warm. The temperature should stay at least 68°F (20°C), so ordinary room conditions work fine.

9. Step 9:

   

   Once the glove puffs up, fermentation has started. It can take anywhere from 10 to 20 days. It's finished when you see the glove deflate.

10. Step 10:

    

    Gently strain the mash through a sieve.

11. Step 11:

    

    Now it's ready for distilling.

12. Step 12:

    

    Set up your still. If your model calls for it, hook up the cold-water hoses.

13. Step 13:

    

    Carefully pour the mash into the still.

14. Step 14:

    

    Put it over the heat and watch the temperature. As soon as it hits 158°F (70°C), turn on the cold water for cooling. The moonshine will trickle out drop by drop. Collect it in a separate container. This spirit is drinkable as is, but I recommend a second distillation for a cleaner product. To do that, dilute what you've collected with water down to 20% — use 500 ml of water for every liter of moonshine. Pour it back into the still and distill again.

15. Step 15:

    

    Collect the first 100 ml and the last 100 ml of the new run in a separate container and discard them. These are the "heads" and "tails," and they aren't fit to drink. After the second distillation, the moonshine comes out without that telltale raw smell. Pour it into bottles and let it rest for 2–3 days. You can tint it with a drop of brewed tea if you like.

16. Step 16:

    

    Please drink responsibly!