Chapter 166 Brewing

Zhang Shi's eyes flashed, and he led the fat man to a quiet room, pulled out a chair and let him sit down.

"Don't know your name yet?"

The fat man looked flattered, then timidly replied.

"Brother Zhang Shi, my name is Mao Tai. I run a winery at home in the real world. My grandfather and father are both ancestral craftsmen and are proficient in the wine-making process. I have been exposed to these manufacturing processes since I was a child. Well known by heart.”

Zhang Shi resisted the urge to laugh out loud and put on a majestic look.

"I believe you also know that the island is building a sea station, and the construction of the bar is the time to hire people. I don't care what your past is, but as long as you do the job of brewing clearly and properly, I will not treat you badly. your."

When Mao Tai heard this, he knelt down on one knee and shouted loudly: "I am willing to die for your lord."

Zhang Shi didn't understand what he was doing. Maybe he had learned this rhetoric from being with soldiers for a long time, but he didn't say anything more and pulled him up.

"Okay, without further ado, let's get started now."

After saying that, Zhang Shi took him to find Lao Bai and obtained some raw materials according to Maotai's needs. There are many types of materials, including corn, wheat, rice and various types of berries. Seeing that Maotai had chosen so many types of materials, Zhang Shi asked curiously: "What are you trying to do? As far as I know, liquor doesn't need so many raw materials."

Mao Tai bowed his hands to Zhang Shi respectfully, and then replied calmly.

"Lord, in order to meet the needs of the bar, I plan to brew liquor, beer and fruit wine at the same time. After all, having a richer variety of drinks will attract more customers, right?"

Zhang Shi nodded and decided to follow him all the way. First, he wanted to learn the entire wine-making process from Mao Tai, so that he could try wine making by himself in the future, so as not to get stuck; second, Mao Tai was an outsider after all, and there was also a layer of entanglements between the Dragon and Tiger Alliance. He was worried that the other party was secretly doing something while drinking.

Maotai began to prepare for the brewing work. He first selected the materials for brewing liquor-peas, corn and wheat. After carefully washing the three grains, he put them into a large cooking pot, added an appropriate amount of water, and boiled them over high heat. As the steam rises, the whole room is gradually filled with the aroma of grains.

Zhang Shi watched with great interest and asked some questions from time to time, and Mao Tai patiently answered them one by one. The purpose of cooking, he explains, is to soften the grains and release their starches in preparation for subsequent fermentation.

After the cooking is completed, Maotai takes out the grains and cools them to a suitable temperature. Next, he started making jiu koji, a fermentation agent rich in microorganisms that has a crucial impact on the flavor of liquor. Maotai first grinds three types of grains on a millstone in different proportions, then adds water, stirs, puts them into a box and beats them repeatedly, and then puts them in a steamer for culture.

With the speed of the farmer module, the cultivation process that originally took several days was completed in just a few hours. Maotai spread the cultured distiller's yeast evenly on the grains and stir gently to mix thoroughly.

"The next step is the fermentation process." Mao Tai pointed to a large wooden barrel next to him and said, "We need to put these mixtures into the wooden barrel and then seal it to allow microorganisms to ferment in it. Originally, this process requires It will take nearly a month, but here, I estimate that the first batch of finished products will be produced by tomorrow morning at the latest.”

Zhang Shi nodded to express his understanding. He noticed that Maotai paid great attention to details throughout the entire process, whether it was the cleaning and cooking of grains or the addition of koji. This gave him a deeper trust in Maotai's professional abilities.

At the same time, Maotai also began to prepare materials for brewing beer. He mixed the rice and malt together and steamed them as well. However, unlike liquor, hops are also added during the brewing process to add flavor and aroma. For this reason, Zhang Shi deliberately purchased it at a high price in the trading market, and finally entrusted others to trade it from foreign divisions.

While Mao Tai was busy, Zhang Shi was not idle either. He watched every step carefully and tried to commit the entire process to memory. He knew that this was a rare learning opportunity for him.

As time goes by, both the liquor and beer in the barrel begin to emit an attractive aroma. Maotai opened the barrel from time to time to check the fermentation situation, and adjusted conditions such as temperature and humidity.

Finally, Maotai started making fruit wine again. He first removed the seeds from a bunch of grapes and heated them to air-dry them. Then he soaked the simple raisins and pure water in a bottle and sealed it. He opened the bottle every once in a while to let the air out. This process also took more than an hour. Finally succeeded in getting a serving of yeast.

After that, he selected various berries, mashed them, added an appropriate amount of sugar and yeast, and then placed them in another wooden barrel for fermentation. The fermentation time of fruit wine is similar to that of liquor. You only need to wait one night. As for beer, the fermentation time is longer. In reality, the fermentation cycle is between one and a half to three months. It is the earliest on the island. It will be done tomorrow afternoon.

At this point, the brewing work of the three types of wine was successfully completed, and it was already late at night. Zhang Shi called the soldiers on duty and told them to take good care of the wine making room. No one except him was allowed to approach at will.

After arranging the soldiers to guard, Zhang Shi did not leave the wine making room immediately, but turned to Mao Tai and said: "Thank you for your hard work today, Mao Tai. I am impressed by your professional skills. I believe that with your joining the bar, the business will be prosperous."

Mao Tai smiled modestly and said: "Lord, thank you for the compliment. It is my honor to serve you. As long as it can make the bar's business better, I am willing to do anything."

Zhang Shi patted Mao Tai on the shoulder and said: "I have asked Lao Bai to arrange a new residence for you. Have a good rest for a night. Tomorrow we will try the quality of the wine. If there is no problem, we will start mass production. When everything is on track, I plan to hand over the bar to you.

Mao Tai was stunned for a moment, and then a gleam of light flashed in his eyes. He obviously did not expect Zhang Shi to trust and respect him so much. He immediately said excitedly: "Please rest assured, Lord, I will never let you down. I will continue to work hard to make higher quality wine and contribute to the development of our island. "

Zhang Shi smiled calmly, and the whole brewing room was filled with a lively atmosphere. It was hard to tell who was making promises or who was fooling who. In short, both of them were very satisfied.