Hot Knowledge|Whiskey Making Process

Do you know how the whisky you usually drink is made? Take an immersive experience today.

First of all, let's introduce the raw materials. Whiskey is slightly different due to the different raw materials of different countries and regions, but mainly comes from the two categories - wheat (barley, wheat, rye, malt) and cereals (corn).

 The brewing method is described in detail below

Step 1: Germination

First, soak the decontaminated wheat (Malt) or grain (Grain) in hot water to germinate. The time required varies depending on the variety of wheat or grain, but generally it takes about a week The germination process will take up to two weeks. After it germinates, it will be dried or smoked with peat. After cooling, it will be stored for about a month, and the germination process will be completed.

Step 2: Saccharification

Put the malted wheat or cereal after storage for one month into a special stainless steel tank, mash it and cook it into juice. The time required is about 8 to 12 hours. Usually, during the grinding process, the temperature and Time control can be said to be a very important link, too high temperature or too long time will affect the quality of wort (or cereal juice).

Step 3: Fermentation

The cooled wort is added to the yeast for fermentation. Since the yeast can convert the sugar in the wort into alcohol, a liquid with an alcohol concentration of about 5% to 6% will be produced after the fermentation process. It is called Wash" or Beer", because there are many types of yeast, and the impact on the fermentation process is not the same, so different whisky brands regard the type and quantity of yeast they use as their trade secrets, not Easy to tell outsiders.

Step 4: Distillation

Generally speaking, distillation has the effect of concentration, so when wheat or cereals are fermented to form a low-alcohol "Beer", a distillation step is required to form whisky, and the alcohol concentration of whisky at this time is about 60. % to 70% is called "new wine", and the distillation methods used for wheat and cereal materials are different. Malt whisky made from wheat is single-distilled, that is, a single distillation vessel is used for secondary distillation. Distillation process, and after the second distillation, remove the head and tail of the condensed out liquor, and only take the "heart" part in the middle to become the new whisky.

In addition, the whisky made from cereals adopts a continuous distillation method, using two distillation vessels to continuously carry out two-stage distillation process in series. Basically, each winery is screening the amount of "spirit" , There is no fixed and uniform proportion standard, and it is completely determined by the wine requirements of each winery. Generally, the proportion of "wine heart" taken by each winery is mostly between 60% and 70%. To make high-quality whisky, use the purest part of it. Such as the world-renowned Macallan (Macallan) single malt whisky is the case, that is, only 17% of the "spirit" is used as a new wine for making whiskey.

Step 5: Aging

The new wine after distillation must go through the aging process, so that it can be aged in oak barrels, absorb the natural aroma of plants, and produce a beautiful amber color, and at the same time, it can gradually reduce the strong stimulation of its high concentration of alcohol. In Scotland, there are relevant laws to regulate the age of wine, that is, the age of each wine must be true and correct, and Scotch whisky must be aged in wooden barrels for at least three years before it can be used. IPO. With such strict measures, on the one hand, the rights and interests of consumers can be protected, and the whisky produced in Scotland has established a high-quality image in the world.

Step 6: Mixing

Due to the large variety of wheat and cereal raw materials, the whisky produced also has different flavors. At this time, it depends on the experience of the master blenders of each distillery and the requirements of the brand's liquor quality. , according to a certain proportion, mix and blend their own whiskeys with unique flavors, so the mixing process and content of each brand are regarded as absolute secrets, and the quality of the mixed whisky is good or bad. It is entirely up to wine tasting experts and consumers to decide.