AN OFFBEAT APPROACH TO ALCOHOL PRODUCTION

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Once the temperature drops to about 140°F, check the pH factor again and adjust to 4 (adding citric acid if necessary). Then put in two ounces of Diazyme (a second enzyme, also available from MOTHER), which helps break down the starch chain molecules and speeds the conversion to fermentable sugars. Now let your mash cool overnight. By the following morning the temperature should be in the 70-80°F range ... which is the correct environment for yeast feeding.

MOTHER's research staffers have gotten the best results with two ounces of moist, caked baker's yeast. Within a few hours of adding the yeast, you should begin to see the hungry plants doing their job. When the "brew" starts bubbling, cover the barrel (you can use a fermentation lock for this stage) and just let it rest quietly while the yeast "chows down".

Fermentation should be completed in four to six days. You can tell that your mash is "ripe" when active bubbling stops and the cap of "corny" material sinks. Once the yeast is spent, you must put the mash to use right away . . . before fermentation heads on to the next (undesirable) stage.

Finally, separate the solid material from the liquid mash mixture by first skimming the fluid from the top and then squeezing the solids inside a burlap bag . . . over a milking funnel and a pail. Be sure to set the leftover grains out to dry promptly, or they will turn bad. These "distiller's dried grains and solubles" (DDGS) will become a key part of the economics of home alcohol production. The cornmeal by-product is nearly 30% protein and makes excellent livestock feed.

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