Chapter 66: Getting wine

Early the next morning, as soon as the city gate opened, a small figure ran out again: "What about today?"

Zhang Sheng is on duty today: "Hahaha, so that the young master can know that today's breakfast is sold out again..."

Su You couldn't help but wonder: "What's going on? So many people come to the city?"

Zhang Sheng said: "That's not true. The casserole, bean soup and rice is well kept warm and tastes good, so some guests asked us to deliver it to their relatives on the ship."

Su You took out a few eggs from his schoolbag: "Fortunately, Master, I have already prepared them. Bring the leftovers. Today we will have egg fried rice!"

Two old soldiers came over to offer their services: "Thank you, Young Master Su, for still thinking of us. We had some affairs yesterday and couldn't get through it for a while."

Su You smiled and said: "Both brothers, please don't be so polite anymore. Now that our chicken feather shop is open, it's just a matter of having two more pairs of chopsticks."

A fragrant egg-fried rice was fried in a large pan with oil. Each person took a bowl and ate it with pickles.

Su Xiaomei said: "Brother, this one is more fragrant than yesterday's."

Only then did Su You realize: "Why do you come here every day? Aren't you on shift?"

Su Xiaomei said plausibly: "Yesterday was the first day to follow me to get familiar with the situation. Today is my official departure as cashier. The situation is different."

Su You smiled and said, "You are quite smart."

A few people chatted and laughed for a while, then Chen Tian said: "Young Master, I have some news, I wonder if it will be useful to you."

Su You said: "Brother Chen, no matter what the news is, whether it is useful or not, feel free to tell it in the future. Don't worry, we won't spread it randomly, just treat it as a joke."

Chen Tian said solemnly: "I know the young master's maturity. That's how it is. The imperial court ordered Yu Jing, the magistrate of Guizhou, to control Guangnan, and changed Sun Miao, the magistrate of Qinzhou, to the pacification envoy of Jinghu South Road and Jiangnan West Road.

But just when Sun Gong arrived in Dingzhou, there was another imperial edict to appease the envoys on the east and west roads of Guangnan. It seems that the war ahead is not going well."

Guo Long said: "Yesterday, the county captain summoned us and told us to act calm outside but be prepared inside. The city gate is critical, so we must be careful. It seems that something is not good."

Zhang Zao couldn't help but worry, this good life hadn't passed for two days yet: "Young master, will it have any impact on us?"

Su You thought about it for a long time without remembering that Heng Zhigao had been to Meishan, so he said: "The rebels are far away in Guangxi, and the imperial court will send capable personnel to suppress them. There should be no serious problems. The prefectures and counties are worried about taking precautions and warning us.

To the southwest, don’t let anyone take advantage of you.”

Guo Long gave Su You a thumbs up and then changed the subject: "This fried rice tastes really good."

After breakfast, Su You went into the city. The facilities at the wine shop were ready, and there was still a lot of things to do.

Different wine brewing requires different kinds of koji, and the preparation methods are also different.

Rice wine, cooking wine, rice wine, and Xiaoqu Baijiu need to use rice koji, which is Xiaoqu;

A special variety of rice wine, red yeast wine, requires the use of a special variety of rice yeast, red yeast rice.

Distilled liquor must be brewed with Daqu or bran koji.

As far as Xiaoqu is concerned, by mixing different Chinese medicine formulas, ranging from one flavor to seventy or eighty flavors, you can get different flavors of wine. The famous Zhuye Qingjiu and Shaoxing rice wine in later generations are two completely different styles.

In distilled liquor, the cultivation method of bran koji is simple and the yield is high, but the taste is thin and dry, and it needs to be blended after it is made into liquor.

Then during the koji-making process, the temperature is different, and the ratio of high-temperature bacteria and low-temperature bacteria is different, so the taste of the wine is also different.

Generally speaking, the higher the koji-making temperature, the denser and more complex the taste of the wine, and the stronger the aroma. However, it does not necessarily mean that the more complex the wine, the more people will like it. Instead, each has its own famous wine as a representative.

The wines produced by medium-temperature koji are mainly light-flavored, and the representative one is Fenjiu. The maximum temperature of Daqu used is below 50 degrees.

High-temperature koji wines are mainly strong-flavor liquors, the representative of which is Luzhou Laojiao, with a temperature of 50 to 60 degrees.

Ultra-high temperature koji is the Daqu used in Maotai-flavor liquor, the representative of which is Moutai. When making the koji, the focus is on the accumulation of the koji, with tight coverage and heat preservation and moisture preservation. Whenever the temperature of the koji rises to above 60 degrees, it is

Start singing.

After comprehensive consideration, Su You planned to start with two kinds of distiller's yeast, one was the small yeast used for ordinary rice wine fermentation, and the other was the high-temperature Daqu used for the strong-flavor liquor commonly produced in Sichuan in later generations.

The wine steamed from the distiller's lees tastes pretty good, which means that although the wine-making process is not that good, the native bacteria of the distiller's yeast are pretty good.

All that needs to be done is to carefully cultivate the koji mother and then strictly follow the koji-making process.

As for the formal brewing, that happens after the koji is made.

However, the ready-made lees can be used. Through distillation and cellaring, a batch of wine can be produced to cope with this year and next, and there will be no problem at all.

Current methods cannot extract an absolutely single pure strain, but different bacteria grow in different suitable temperature, humidity, and oxygen content ranges. What Su You has to do now is to use the original distiller's yeast in his hand.

Configure it into various environments to continuously select the best strains of bacteria.

This is a long-term work, but you can start now.

The method he used was very simple. A divided tank was used to boil water in the middle. The temperature was over 90 degrees, and then the temperature gradually decreased toward the outside. This resulted in different temperatures.

The briquette stove can do this very well without the need for manual labor.

Humidity can be controlled through timed water spraying.

The oxygen content is determined by the different sealing degrees of the container and the tightness of the material.

Then there is a complicated table for recording various combinations.

The experimental materials were all selected from the pit mud at the bottom of the old pit.

As for the rice koji, that's simple. The quality of the rice koji produced by Cheng Jiazifang is of the highest quality. Su You can just ask Cheng Wenying to get it and cultivate it directly.

What we have to do today is this, plus the distilled lees.

After drinking a glass of Yongchun Dew given to him by Cheng Wenying, the foreman of the Cheng family's private liquor store rushed into the liquor shop without saying a word, holding his bedroll.

The condenser was designed by Su You and built by Shi Tong.

The structure is very simple. It is just a thick copper tube connected to the condensation tank. It is divided into several thin copper tubes before entering the condensation tank. After the copper tube passes through the condensation tank, it will merge into a thick tube for discharging wine.

The condensation tank can be filled with flowing cold water to cool the thin tubes.

Copper pipes are used because of their good thermal conductivity. Copper pipes can be heated and forged by wrapping iron rods with copper sheets, but the connection requires welding technology.

For this reason, Su You had to invent a blowtorch.

The blowtorch is actually a small coke stove, about the size of a wine glass, with a copper pipe connected to the bottom to blow air into it.

There is a 7-shaped copper pipe next to it, which is also blown together.

The coke in the cup reacts with the blown oxygen, and the violent combustion will produce extremely high temperatures, emitting a blue flame, and then a flame will be blown out by the copper pipe next to it. Rosin can be used as a flux to melt the copper wire for metal welding.

Such a stupid, clumsy and energy-wasting thing made Shi Da's eyes almost fall out of his eyes. He shouted that Master is the reincarnation of Ou Yezi and the resurrection of Lu Ban, that's it!

As for the distillation equipment, it is a big iron pot and a steamer, but it couldn't be simpler.

The only difference is that the lid of the pot is made of copper, and it seems to be turned upside down, forming an inverted flat cone. It is also filled with cold water. The wine steam condenses on the top of the pot, then collects at the tip of the cone, drips into the collector, and is introduced into the copper pipe.

After passing through the barrel wall and passing through the condenser, it becomes wine.

In the past, the lees were used to make wine once, but now it is different. The taste of the wine is even better.

Su You patiently pointed out to the foreman that the first wine that came out of the jar was called the "wine head". The aroma was too strong, not good to drink and very intoxicating. After being stored in the cellar, it could be used for blending.
Chapter completed!