The taste and aroma of moonshine, as well as its safety for health, largely depends on third-party impurities that enter the distillate from raw materials, as a result of the vital activity of yeast or during its distillation. Modern equipment and compliance with the rules of fractional distillation solves almost 100% of the problems associated with these impurities, but often the conditions are far from ideal and the moonshine has to be cleaned of smell, unpleasant tastes and harmful compounds. In this article, we tried to systematize and analyze all the methods of cleaning moonshine at home and draw certain conclusions for each of them.
Almost all components of moonshine, except for water, are harmful to our body and are, in fact, poison. Not all of them are equally dangerous (ethanol, for obvious reasons, we immediately exclude), and some of them endow the drink with the very “bouquet” of tastes and aromas for which we are engaged in distillation (and then we will only talk about it). But these components are dangerous and their quantity must be minimized, which is what this material is dedicated to. So, from what we will clean:
- methanol(methyl alcohol) - the simplest monohydric alcohol that has the smell of ethanol. Its boiling point is only 64.7 ° C, that is, logically, it should go headlong with fractional distillation, but in practice everything is much more complicated. Fortunately, the content of matanol in sugar and grain moonshine is insignificant (for example, for sugar - no more than 0.01 mg / l), so it can be immediately ignored. It is not recommended to clean fruit distillates according to the methods described below, since organoleptics (a combination of tastes and aromas) suffer greatly.
- Acetaldehyde (acetic aldehyde) - an organic compound, aldehyde of ethanol and acetic acid. Formed during the oxidation of ethanol. Moonshine can contain quite large quantities (up to 400 mg / l and more), which can be very dangerous to health. In small concentrations, it is easily "digested" by the body to harmless acetic acid and gives the distillate a certain, familiar taste.
- Fusel oil - a mixture of higher monohydric aliphatic alcohols, ethers and other compounds. When it comes to cleaning moonshine from the smell, in most cases they mean the nauseating smell of fusel oil. The most dangerous component of sivukha is isoamyl alcohol. However, it should be understood that the taste profile of moonshine, especially grain, depends very much on the presence of certain components of fusel oil in it.
Canadian Crystal Head vodka is filtered three times through quartz crystals known as Herkimer diamonds.
I would like to note right away that when discussing cleaning methods, we are primarily talking about partially grain (for example, you can clean it) - it is not recommended to clean fruit and most grain distillates, as this can greatly worsen their organoleptic. Moreover, we are talking exclusively about the distillation of drinks, and not their rectification (haters-rectifiers do not need to read the article). Well, before you start: the most effective and expedient way to obtain a pure distillate with a pleasant organoleptic effect is the second fractional distillation with an accurate cut-off of "heads" and "tails". If you use good equipment and follow all the rules of fractional distillation, then you do not need to clean the moonshine. Strive for this first! But if the equipment or knowledge does not yet allow you to get a good product after the second distillation, then purification will be appropriate. So, how can you clean moonshine from fusel oil and other impurities? Read on!
A good start is half the battle. Properly prepared mash in compliance with the technology will provide a cleaner moonshine with a pleasant organoleptic. This has long been confirmed not only by practice, but also by scientific methods. So, laboratory analyzes show that when using a smaller amount of dry yeast in the wash, raw alcohol (hereinafter SS) is obtained with a significantly lower content of fusel oil, isoamylol, isobutanol and others like it. There is also evidence that when the mash is fermented at a higher temperature (30 ° C), a smaller amount of fusel oil is observed in the SS, but also less esters, from which we can conclude that a higher temperature is preferable for sugar mash, but for fruit mash - vice versa. As for the clarification of mash, a lot is written about this in the recipe for sugar moonshine, and the process itself, I think, is mandatory.
Local output: for the preparation of sugar mash, we use half the amount of yeast and observe a higher temperature regime. This is not a paradigm, but a certain turn in distillation, which should be taken into account and, at a minimum, be tested empirically on a small amount of distillate. Clarification of mash is a prerequisite for obtaining high-quality moonshine.
Methods for cleaning moonshine before the second distillation
After receiving the clarified mash, it should be distilled as quickly as possible, without separating the head and tail fractions, if it is a grain or fruit distillate, or with crushing, if it is sugar moonshine (not a paradigm - a recommendation). Before the obligatory second distillation, it is recommended that the obtained SS be cleaned of fusel oil and other impurities, which should have a positive effect on the finished product. For this, chemical cleaning, coagulant cleaning, physical oil cleaning and carbonization are used. Let's talk about each method in more detail and draw the appropriate conclusions.
Chemical purification of raw alcohol
Chemical purification refers to the treatment of SS with various chemical compounds in order to neutralize some of the impurities present in the distillate after the first distillation. This technology came to us directly from distilleries. The technique is based on the saponification of an alcohol solution with alkali (soda ash or caustic soda), which reacts with acids, neutralizing them, and the subsequent neutralization of the alkaline medium with potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). The result: an insoluble flake residue containing a certain proportion of the "stinky" and "harmful" impurities from the SS.
On practice! The technique was developed on the basis of the information presented in the book "Production of alcoholic beverages", Dorosh A.K., Lysenko V.S. For 1 liter of absolute alcohol in SS, you need to take 4 g of soda ash, 0.4 g of potassium permanganate and 2 g of caustic soda (from the forum: for 10 liters of 40% distillate, you need to take 2 tsp of soda ash, 1 / 3-1 / 2 tsp potassium permanganate, 1-1.5 tsp caustic soda). Cleaning method: soda ash (sodium carbonate, Na 2 CO 3) is dissolved in 200 ml of boiled water and poured with stirring into the SS, potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate, KMnO 4), also dissolved in water, is immediately poured, and after 15-20 minutes - caustic soda dissolved in a glass of water (sodium hydroxide, caustic soda, NaOH). After 15-20 hours of settling, the SS is drained from the formed precipitate and! Be sure to undergo a second fractional distillation).
Chemical cleaning from Western colleagues: for 1 liter of 50% SS, add 1 g of caustic soda dissolved in a glass of water. Wait 2 to 12 hours with occasional stirring. Do a pH test to make sure the medium is very alkaline (8-14pH). If everything is in order, add as much potassium permanganate by weight as sodium hydroxide was added (we will first dissolve potassium permanganate in water). After that, wait 15-20 hours until precipitation occurs. Then remove the SS from the sediment and distill. As an oxidizing agent, potassium permanganate can be replaced with 30% hydrogen peroxide (do not ask for proportions, I did not find an adequate manual).
Local output: chemical cleaning, of course, is an effective means of improving moonshine, and the Dorosh-Lysenko method described above has been tested by hundreds of experienced moonshiners. But recently, especially with the development of the distiller's technical equipment, more and more practitioners refuse it - it is difficult to calculate the required amount of chemicals for a particular SS without preliminary laboratory analysis. There is only one conclusion that can be drawn here: if you are looking for a ready-made recipe for the chemical purification of moonshine, then this cannot exist in nature, and blindly following the instructions is more likely to worsen the quality of the distillate than improve it and, in the end, can harm the health of drinkers.
Coagulant purification of raw alcohol
Speaking in human terms, there is a certain group of substances, coagulants, which, when they enter the solution, “stick together” various compounds, forming larger fractions that can be filtered. In this case, various compounds mean fusel oil, esters, as well as a suspension that could somehow get into the distillate. The principle of cleaning moonshine with coagulants is based on the content of proteins (casein and albumin) in some products, which coagulate in an alcohol solution of a certain strength, along the way “capturing” “stinky” impurities into the sediment, as they have adsorbing properties. Egg white and milk are usually used as such products.
Cleaning moonshine with egg white: for 1 liter of SS, take 1-2 fresh chicken eggs, carefully separate the proteins, beat, add a glass of water, beat again and add to the SS. Wait until the protein coagulates and precipitates, filter, send for distillation. The difficulty of this method lies in the fact that the protein is reluctant to fold in a weak solution of alcohol - for fast folding, the distillate strength should be more than 40%, better than 50%. After the first distillation on a simple apparatus, it usually has a much lower strength. In addition, after the second distillation of protein-purified SS, a hydrogen sulfide smell or a boiled egg smell can be traced in the final product.
For 10 liters of SS, add 1 liter of skimmed (or up to 1.5% fat) milk, wait for the formation of a precipitate (can be accelerated with citric acid or lemon juice), filter, dilute and for the second distillation. The problems are the same as with egg white: the distillate often smells of hydrogen sulfide and can remain cloudy (here you need to practice long and hard in slow distillation in order to prevent burning, etc.).
Local output: cleaning moonshine with egg white and milk before the second distillation is a rather controversial technique that is more likely to worsen the organoleptics than to improve it. Similar purification methods are also used after the second distillation, when you need to soften the distillate, and this is perhaps a more sensible approach, but with its own troubles.
Cleaning raw alcohol with oil
The method is based on the ability of some components of fusel oil to dissolve in other oils, while alcohol diluted to a certain strength does not dissolve in oil. At home, it is recommended to use refined vegetable oil without odors. The method of cleaning with oil is as follows: SS at room temperature is diluted to 15-30% (this is necessary not only to prevent the dissolution of alcohol in the oil, but also for more effective cleaning), poured into a container with filling it by no more than 2/3 of the total volume , add 20 ml of oil per 1 liter of solution and mix vigorously. You need to mix three times for a minute with breaks of one to two minutes. After 12 hours, the main amount of oil should collect on the surface of the vessel (it is better to defend in a cool place) and the SS can be drained, leaving the bulk of the oil film in the container. The SS must then be thoroughly filtered through a cotton filter and/or carbon column and then distilled a second time to separate heads and tails.
Local output: cleaning moonshine with oil is an effective and, perhaps, the most harmless way to improve the quality of SS before the second distillation. The technique itself is mentioned in the work of Dorosh-Lysenko, has some scientific justification, shows a good, stable result and is always recommended as the main method of intermediate cleaning of moonshine.
Purification of raw alcohol with activated carbon
Primitive carbon filter column of flow type
A lot has been said about cleaning moonshine with activated carbon on our website, which describes in detail the “infusion” method of carbonization. To clean the SS, it is better to use carbonization in the "column" way. There are laboratory studies confirming that after cleaning the SS in this way, the concentration of fusel oil in it is significantly reduced. This technique does not need a local conclusion, since it is considered generally recognized and effective at all stages of the preparation of high-quality distillate, including after the second distillation to give the drink a vodka taste. In the near future, material will be prepared on "column" carbonization and the manufacture of an efficient coal column.
Purification of moonshine by the second fractional distillation
It does not need to be introduced, there is, where the process of fractional distillation is described in more than detail, including with “catching easy” - a method for cleaning moonshine from isoamyl alcohol. There is only one local conclusion here: repeated fractional distillation of distillate is the most effective way to clean moonshine at home. But the degree of purification is highly dependent on the equipment available and skills in distillation. In the process of mastering this skill, without having more modern moonshine stills, before the second fractional distillation of sugar moonshine and some grain distillates, an intermediate purification is desirable.
Purification of moonshine after the second distillation
In theory, after fractional distillation, the distillate does not need to be cleaned, but in practice, especially for beginners, moonshine still may not have the most pleasant smell and taste. In such cases, I personally recommend doing another distillation with a more careful separation of moonshine into fractions, but if greed has jumped in you, then you can try some ways of additional purification of the finished product (and still lose in quantity).
Coagulant purification of distillate
The same cleaning methods are used: egg white and milk. Cleaning with egg white is carried out according to the same scheme and gives an acceptable result. Before cleaning, moonshine must be diluted to a drinking fortress, given that during the cleaning process the degree will drop by 2-3%. There are significant disadvantages: moonshine often acquires not the most pleasant egg flavor, and it is very, very difficult to filter the sediment. When cleaning the finished product with milk, which is preferable, you should reduce its amount per liter of moonshine or use powdered milk.
On practice: for 1 liter of moonshine drinking strength (42-45%, you need to take a little stronger, since cleaning with milk steals a couple of degrees) take 10 ml of fresh skimmed or low-fat milk or 0.62 g of milk powder. Powdered milk should be diluted in 10 ml (for every 0.62 g) of warm boiled water and let the flakes swell for 2-3 hours, fresh - diluted with water 1: 1. Pour the solution into the distillate, mix well and leave to stand in a cool place until a precipitate forms and the distillate is completely clarified (from 1 hour to several days, depending on the quality of the milk). If the curdling of milk has not started after 6-7 hours, you can add a little citric acid or lemon juice (lemons on the tip of a knife, repeating until the milk curdles). After complete clarification, drain from the sediment and, if necessary, filter (it is possible through a carbon column).
Local output: as a way of softening and slight cleaning of the finished product takes place, but the result is highly dependent on the quality of the milk. It is not uncommon for moonshine to remain cloudy and no filtering will help here. Also, a distinct milky flavor can be traced in the final product.
Purification of distillate with activated carbon
I will not repeat myself, the principle has not changed. After carbonation, the finished product acquires a vodka taste due to the oxidation of alcohol: ethanol -> acetaldehyde -> acetic acid -> etc. If you don’t like this taste, then carbonization is not appropriate and it is not necessary to carry out it at this stage, especially if the technology is violated, the distillate concentrates acetaldehyde, and this is an unpleasant smell and a terrible hangover in the morning. In subsequent materials, we will study in more detail the methods of cleaning moonshine with coal, but for now, be content with the previously mentioned article with "infusion" charcoal.
Charcoal filter from a Chinese pump and a container for coal, as an effective system for continuous carbonation of moonshine.
Moonshine smell masking
An ineffective technique that many mistakenly confuse with cleaning moonshine. The bottom line is to mask the unpleasant odor in the drink with various products, such as the pulp of rye bread, rice, buckwheat, pearl barley, etc. I personally don't see the point in this. If you are sure that your distillate is safe for health, but the smell did not work out, then make based on it, the recipes of which on our resource are just a huge amount. Why soak the bread crumb when you can make an amazing ""? If the smell of moonshine is simply unbearable, then the technology of its production is clearly violated - such a product is not subject to consumption, only intermediate cleaning and re-distillation.
In the order of delirium - distillate freezing
Many “respectable” resources recommend freezing it out as a way to clean moonshine, saying that water, with the transition to a crystalline form, takes with it fuselage and other abominations, which is why the distillate becomes, well, just virgin purity. Wake up! Alcohol is a solvent and the greater its concentration, the better it dissolves various impurities. During freezing, the concentration of alcohol increases, along with the ability to dissolve. Freezing will help in only one thing - increasing the strength of the distillate, while increasing the concentration of all impurities present in it. By the way, for the curious, in the USA they practice the so-called sublimation distillation, when raw materials, for example, are frozen all winter, thus obtaining a stronger drink (specifically, applejack is obtained from apple raw materials). There is no mention of any cleaning here.
Everyone goes crazy in their own way. Icelandic Reyka vodka is filtered through lava rocks from Icelandic volcanoes.
Global cleanup output
There are many ways to clean moonshine from smell and harmful impurities, but not all of them are equally effective or have a lot of nuances, while others are completely crazy or dangerous to health. Some of them I decided, out of harm's way, not to mention at all. After analyzing all the data, I have long ago deduced for myself the following algorithm for obtaining high-quality moonshine (mainly sugar and in the absence of the ability to conduct a decent level of distillation): proper preparation of mash and its thorough clarification, intermediate cleaning with oil with charcoal, fractional distillation without subsequent manipulations with the finished product (I don't like the taste of vodka). I have no complaints about intermediate chemical cleaning, but without proper knowledge and skills, I do not recommend putting it into practice. The softening of distillate with milk as a technique deserves the right to life, but before its application, a series of experiments will have to be carried out in order to find a suitable raw material for this. I cannot recommend other methods of cleaning the SS and the finished product, since I see them as untenable.
P.S. I do not claim authority. What is described in the material is only my thoughts and conclusions. To trust them or not to trust is a purely personal matter. Comments are welcome, but without swearing and any vulgarity (such as "but my grandfather ...", "and my dad, doctor of science ...", etc., etc.).
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There are a great many ways to "produce" moonshine. Particularly successful recipes for making this alcohol are passed on unchanged from generation to generation. Some "distillers" are trying to invent new technologies for the production of alcohol at home and drive it from the most inappropriate products, for example, from tomato paste or mash based on fruit caramels.
It is quite understandable that a hazy artisanal drink made from low-grade raw materials cannot boast of high taste and requires serious rectification. However, even the highest quality homemade alcohol needs additional purification, as it also contains impurities that significantly impair its taste and aroma, and besides, they also harm the body. Therefore, professional distillers have developed several effective recipes on how to clean moonshine from smell and fusel oils at home.
How to determine if there are fusel oils in homemade moonshine?
To verify the presence of impurities in the moonshine, you need to inhale its smell, or even better - dial it into a spoon and set it on fire. When the alcohol burns out, droplets of an oily liquid will remain at the bottom of the spoon.
These are the very unsafe and foul-smelling fusel oils that are present in any homemade alcohol. Of course, a drink with so many bad impurities should not be consumed.
Method for cleaning moonshine with activated carbon
- Purchase at the pharmacy the required number of packs of activated charcoal tablets, based on the proportion: 50 g of charcoal per 1 liter of hard liquor.
- To enhance the absorbent capacity of the charcoal tablets, finely grind and pour into a bottle of homemade alcohol.
- Close the container with a drink tightly with a cork and put it in a dark place.
- For 2 weeks, several times a day, take the container out of the cupboard and shake it thoroughly.
- For the third week, let the alcohol "rest" on the cabinet shelf without shaking.
- After that, drain the clarified and no longer smelling of fuselage moonshine from the bottle into another container, filtering it through 6 layers of gauze. The precipitate will remain at the bottom of the bottle.
Biological method of cleaning moonshine
- Pour 3 beaten egg whites or ½ cup unboiled cow's milk into a bottle with 1 liter of cloudy, "fragrant" moonshine.
- Stopper the bowl and shake vigorously.
- When milk or egg protein coagulates, i.e. curl up and fall to the bottom in the form of soft curdled flakes, pass the drink through a clean canvas flap folded in three.
Purification of alcohol with potassium permanganate
- Dissolve potassium permanganate crystals in a small volume of cooled boiled water.
- The dose of potassium permanganate is calculated in the ratio: 2 g of the drug per 1 liter of crude moonshine.
- Pour the concentrated purple solution into the drink bottle, shake it, and your homemade alcohol will take on a soft pink color.
- Place the drink container in the cupboard.
- Take it out the next day. You will see that the moonshine has become transparent again, and a brown precipitate has formed on the bottom of the bottle.
- Carefully drain the drink from the bowl by straining it through a thick cotton-cloth filter.
Cryogenic method for cleaning moonshine
- Pour the moonshine with impurities into a metal bowl and place it in the freezer overnight.
- In 12 hours, fusel oils will harden and freeze to the bottom and walls of the container. And pure alcohol, which solidifies at a temperature of about -60 degrees Celsius, will remain liquid.
- Remove the dishes from the freezer, pour pure alcohol into a bottle.
Purification of alcohols with vegetable oil
This rectification method is based on the ability of substances to mix only with certain types of liquids.
Due to this property, fusel oils can dissolve in a related medium - in vegetable oil, while ethanol and water will not dissolve.
When using this method of rectification, there is only one difficulty. At the end of the cleaning process, we will have to perform an additional distillation of alcohol, since in order to remove harmful substances, we will need to dilute the moonshine with clean boiled water to 20-25 degrees.
It is necessary to dilute alcohol with water in order to make it easier to “part” with harmful impurities. Strong, undiluted alcohol is much more difficult to get rid of fusel oils dissolved in it.
Cleaning technology with vegetable oil
- Pour the unrefined, foul-smelling moonshine into a large enamel container and add boiled cold water to it in small portions. Constantly stir the liquid and check its strength with a home alcohol meter. When the percentage of ethanol in the drink becomes less than 28 degrees, pour the diluted moonshine into a large glass bottle up to 2/3 of its volume.
- Pour the required amount of refined sunflower oil into a bottle of alcohol and tightly cork the dishes. Stick to the proportion: 20 g of vegetable oil per 1 liter of diluted alcohol.
- Put on mounting gloves with rubberized palm surfaces and grasp the bottle tightly with both hands. Shake it as hard as you can for 5-7 minutes. As a result, the liquid in the bottle will become cloudy, but after shaking, the whitish substance will literally begin to delaminate into fractions and lighten before our eyes.
- Leave the dish with the oil-alcohol emulsion overnight. The next day, the oil with harmful impurities dissolved in it will rise in a single layer to the surface.
- Using a long, thin hose lowered to the bottom of the bottle, drain the pure moonshine into another container.
- Pass it through a cotton-cloth filter and repeat the distillation.
In modern times, many are engaged in moonshining at home, and it's not just about saving. In order for the drink to turn out to be of high quality, you need to follow the right technology. An important step in moonshine brewing is the purification of moonshine. The process will make the drink more noble and tasty. How to clean moonshine from odors and impurities, we will describe further.
The main ways to clean moonshine from smell
The main methods of cleaning moonshinePurification of moonshine occurs after the second stage. There are many folk recipes on how to get rid of the smell of fusel oils and harmful impurities:
- Cleaning with charcoal. It is recommended to use activated charcoal sold in pharmacies or birch charcoal.
- Cleaning with potassium permanganate. Manganese powder will help get rid of the nasty smell and eliminate the effect of harmful substances in raw alcohol.
- Powdered milk. The strength of the drink before cleaning should be no more than 40 degrees.
- Egg white. More than one generation knows and uses this recipe. The protein helps bind the fusel oils and leaves a residue in which toxic substances remain.
- Salt, soda. Raw alcohol purified by this method will become an exquisite drink without foreign smell.
- Cleaning with rye bread. It is necessary to break the bread into pieces (100 grams of bread is taken per 1 liter of drink), put in a container with alcohol, mix. After a few days, the drink is filtered. On a note! Only fresh bread is used!
- Freezing. At low temperatures, only ethyl alcohol does not freeze.
- Fruit cleaning. If you apply this method before the second distillation, the drink will acquire light fruity notes.
Having decided that the drink needs purification, you should learn how to clean moonshine from impurities.
How to clean moonshine from the smell
First you need to make sure that the drink should be purified. To do this, the liquid is poured into a spoon and set on fire. If, after the alcohol has burned out, an oily liquid remains at the bottom of the spoon, the drink must be cleaned without fail. How moonshine is cleaned:
- It will take 50 grams of activated carbon per liter of raw alcohol. Coal must be ground into powder. Line the bottom of the funnel with filtered paper, with a layer of charcoal powder on top. The third layer should be paper again. Pass the drink through a carbon filter and dilute with clean water to a strength of 28 degrees.
- The second method of charcoal cleaning is the use of charcoal. The crushed powder is poured into a bottle with alcohol. The drink should be infused for 5-10 days.
- You can get rid of the nasty smell with the help of milk powder. For 10 liters of alcohol, you need to take 10 liters of water and 6 grams of milk powder. Milk is diluted in 10 liters of warm water, mixed, settled for several hours. After that, raw alcohol is mixed with diluted milk. After a week, the pure product is filtered off from the precipitate.
Dilution of moonshine before re-distillation
Repeated distillation is necessary in order to get rid of the characteristic smell of mash and purify alcohol from fusel oils. After re-distillation, the drink will be of very high quality. Previously, there was no information about the dangers of "pervach", and people used it with pleasure. Now everyone knows about the need for re-distillation.
After the first distillation, raw alcohol with a strength of about 70 degrees comes out of the mash. Purification of moonshine is done at a strength of 20-30 degrees, so alcohol is diluted with clean water. To eliminate toxic impurities and smell is possible only with a reduced strength. It is recommended to dilute raw alcohol with distilled water or water from a well. You can use tap water that has settled for several days or melted water.
Before re-distillation, it is allowed to dilute moonshine Purification of impurities before the second distillation
- The manganese powder will not only eliminate the characteristic smell, but also get rid of toxic components before the second distillation. In 6 liters of raw alcohol, a teaspoon of potassium permanganate powder is diluted, mixed. After two hours, carefully drain the moonshine from the sediment.
- Cleaning moonshine with the help of freezing will help get rid of unnecessary impurities. Moonshine is poured into a saucepan and put in the freezer for 5 hours. If it's cold outside, the pan can be taken out there. The unfrozen liquid is drained very carefully, cleaning is completed.
Effective methods for cleaning homemade moonshine with or without subsequent distillation
Cleaning method using milk or eggs:
- In a liter of raw alcohol, add three egg whites whipped into foam or 100 grams of raw milk.
- Close the bottle with a cork, shake the contents.
- When milk-curd flakes form at the bottom, the liquid can be passed through the filter.
Cleaning method with salt and soda:
- Pour one tablespoon of baking soda and salt into a liter of a 40-degree drink.
- Stir the contents, leave for half an hour.
- Stir again, put the bottle in a dark place.
- As soon as layers appear in the container, carefully pour the top layer into a clean bottle.
In the process of making alcohol at home, it is important not only to comply with the conditions and technology when brewing strong alcohol, but also the stages of its purification. The main pests of moonshine are fusel oils, which saturate the drink with a specific taste, and also provoke discomfort after drinking. The compound negatively affects the body, isoamyl alcohol is considered especially dangerous in high concentrations.
It is important to clean moonshine from fusel oils correctly so as not to spoil the already prepared product.
If you want to initially get a fairly clean moonshine at the exit, then you need to take care of the equipment in advance. It is believed that the classic design of the moonshine still does not allow you to get a drink with high purity at the output. The concentration of fusel oils is significantly reduced when re-distilled or when the system contains a distillation column. In this case, namely when using a distillation column, together with fusel oils, compounds that give a special flavor to the raw materials are also removed. With several distillation processes, alcohol will turn out to be strong (up to 96%), more reminiscent of medical alcohol than a fragrant alcoholic drink.
If preference is given to standard moonshine stills, then one should not forget about sedimentation tanks or dephlegmators. These devices help to carry out purification already at the stage of distillation. Elements can be purchased separately, connected to equipment or made independently.
Additional purification of moonshine
There are numerous methods for getting rid of impurities contained in moonshine, and the most used are:
- Freezing impurities;
- The use of egg white;
- Use of dairy products;
- Activated carbon;
- Manganese;
- Soda;
Some people prefer to combine several methods at once, which only improves the quality of cleaning.
How to freeze moonshine
The option is very simple and is based on the fact that water and impurities dissolved in it will solidify under the influence of low temperatures, but alcohol will not. You can wait until water and fusel compounds freeze to the walls of the container, and then just drain the alcohol. These ways also increase the degrees. The only thing is to ensure a sufficiently low temperature, preferably below 25 degrees. Stainless steel and glass are taken as containers. It is also convenient to use plastic bottles, but the material is susceptible to aggressive environments, which is moonshine. While the solution is freezing, a chemical reaction may begin and harmful impurities will enter the drink.
Egg white for cleaning moonshine
The principle is based on the structure of the protein, which, when exposed to alcohol and acid compounds, folds and absorbs a decent amount of fusel oils and other unnecessary elements. It is enough to add 2-3 proteins per liter of moonshine and the reaction will immediately become noticeable even visually.
After this process, it will be necessary to additionally filter the solution. First, remove large fractions, and then pass the alcohol through a layer of gauze and cotton wool, or you can use a home-made charcoal filter, which will only make the drink cleaner.
Dairy products in the fight against fusel oils
Many saw that in the villages moonshine used to be cloudy, often it was the use of cleaning using milk drinks that gave such a result. The proteins contained in milk give a similar effect to the use of an egg. Sometimes they even mix milk with egg whites and pour this mixture into moonshine.
You can clean up in several ways:
- Pour the milk immediately into the mash before distillation. The proportions are approximately equal to 1:5, that is, a liter of milk for five liters of mash. There is a chance of getting some cloudy alcohol on exit. This can be removed by re-distillation or by additionally applying another purification method, including passing through a charcoal filter;
- Finished product processing. In this case, milk or kefir is poured into moonshine at the rate of one glass per liter of solution. All liquids are thoroughly mixed, which will stimulate subsequent reactions. Flakes of curdled protein, along with fusel oils and other impurities, will precipitate after a while. When this happens, you need to carefully drain the solution, and you will have to get rid of the cloudy color in another way. Whoever is not embarrassed by the shade of the solution can drink the drink anyway, such cleaning will practically not affect the taste. With very high requirements for alcohol, you can re-distill.
Dairy products as a kind of absorbent are mainly used in combination with other cleaning methods, which is associated with a change in color. As for the concentration of impurities, their amount is greatly reduced.
Activated carbon for cleaning moonshine
Charcoal is the most well-known and frequently used method of purification of moonshine. This is due to the high efficiency and availability of the method, which is also important when alcohol is prepared at home.
Activated carbon is used as a filter base. For example, you can take crushed activated carbon, cotton wool and gauze or a bandage and pass the solution through such a home-made product. Since, just passing through the filter, moonshine does not have time to qualitatively get rid of impurities, this method is more suitable as additional purification. You can slightly improve the result with laying activated carbon in several layers, laying them with cotton wool and gauze.
Longer contact of the absorbent and liquid will result in more effective cleaning. That is why coal is placed in moonshine for 10-15 days and then the solution is filtered. For these purposes, it is desirable to use natural charcoal, but if this is not possible, then activated pharmacy is also suitable. The proportions are selected at the rate of 50 grams of crushed coal per liter of moonshine. It is not worth waiting for the absolute disappearance of the specific smell of fusel oils, since, despite the sufficient effectiveness of activated carbon, it is impossible to completely get rid of and get 100% purification only in this way.
Manganese for purification of moonshine
The tool is very popular with many moonshiners and consists in adding manganese to an already finished product. A few grams of potassium permanganate per liter of solution will suffice. You can wait 4-5 hours and strain the resulting alcohol. The use of other cleaning options is also recommended, since the use of potassium permanganate alone is not always sufficient. The principle of using potassium permanganate is similar to activated carbon, the agent absorbs oils, some other compounds, and then, together with the substances already captured, is removed from the solution.
Soda for cleaning moonshine
The method is auxiliary, and not as the main one. It is believed that soda copes well with acids, which to a certain extent form an unpleasant taste and smell. After pouring a mixture of water and soda (10g of soda + 1/2 tablespoon of water) into a liter of moonshine, you need to give time for the reactions to take place, about 10-12 hours.
The above methods of cleaning moonshine at home from impurities and related fusel oils are not the only ones. Oak bark, sawdust, violet root and other products, plants and suspensions are used as components.
High efficiency has not yet been proven, but some people practice cleaning moonshine with water filters, mainly coal structures. It is not difficult to install such a device, but such delicate cleaning may not be suitable for “pervach”, since filtering devices are still designed for a lower content of unwanted substances.
There are various ways to remove fusel oils from moonshine, but in order to achieve the best result, one should not forget about safety.
For novice cooks of alcoholic beverages at home, it is better to initially take care of the quality of drinks and initially choose models of devices that have devices that capture impurities in the kit. In this case, it will be much easier to bring alcohol to the desired taste. The presence of flavors is also affected by raw materials, as well as the technology of making mash itself.
In order not to spoil the already prepared product, you can study reviews about each of the cleaning methods or, if possible, consult with a specialist. Some experienced moonshiners combine several ways to remove fusel oils at once and get a truly “clean as a tear” product. Sometimes it is advisable to practice on your own and choose the best option for yourself.
One of the ancient crafts of man is considered to be moonshine. For centuries, by trial and error, this procedure has been improved in order to make a quality product.
Today, everyone already knows how moonshine is cleaned from fusel oils.
But if you have never done anything like this before, and now you have seriously decided to start making homemade alcohol, then it will not hurt you learn a couple of secrets of moonshine. You also need to be aware of the presence of dangerous particles, which are better to get rid of. In the article you will find interesting information that will acquaint you with the most effective moonshine methods.
- enjoy high quality moonshine.
Attention. 90% of the quality depends on the moonshine still. The best are devices with dry steamers, in which a significant amount of fusel oils remains already during the first distillation. With the secondary, with the removal of heads and tails, you will get moonshine, which is in no way inferior to industrial distillate in terms of organoleptic.
If you do not use a distiller, but, then you can get excellent moonshine from the first time.
90% of fusel oil will remain in the column, and this is even higher than the control figures for vodka.
You can hear the opinion that the rectifier deprives the traditional drink of its inherent taste.
But those who do not have such an apparatus argue like that.
Moonshine from it turns out to be excellent, but for brandy and homemade whiskey it is worth using a distiller.
How else can you clean moonshine from fusel oils?
On the Internet, it is not a problem to find a huge amount of useful tips for getting rid of homemade alcohol from fusel oils and smells, and each recipe has its own main element that serves alcohol filter.
After carefully reading the information provided, you can choose the option that you think is the only correct one. In addition, you can try all the methods one by one and decide on the one that works best for you.
The only condition for the competent use of any of the methods is strict adherence to all recommendations. I suggest that you read the recipes in more detail.
Coal
The first to help figure out how to properly clean moonshine at home from dangerous components is ordinary coal. This is the most famous and effective way, because coal is very affordable and easy to use. It perfectly adsorbs harmful substances, absorbs and removes them. It must be poured into a jar and allowed to stand for up to 2 weeks.
In more detail: Cleaning moonshine and alcohol with charcoal at home
Potassium permanganate
She magically copes with the problem of fusel oils. Diluted potassium permanganate with warm water is added to moonshine or vodka. Filtered with cotton. But this method is not recommended by experts, since the harm from potassium permanganate is no less than from the same oils.
Powdered milk
A fairly effective method, since the milk contains casein protein, and it, in turn, coagulates with impurities of unwanted particles and precipitates. In production, this option is preferred. This method should be used only after the final distillation, so that there is no unpleasant odor and taste.
