Moonshine is one of the favorite drinks of village (and not only) residents. Almost every village has long kept the secrets of making this strong intoxicating drink, passing on from generation to generation "raisins" invented by ancestors and time-tested. Among them, for example, is such a secret: how to clean moonshine from fusel oils. This is what concerns the criterion of benefit and harm of "pervach" for human health. But first, let's talk about how to clean moonshine from the smell.
Unpleasant "smell"
It should be noted that almost any neophyte moonshine business faces the problem of an unpleasant smell, even carefully, with the soul of a kicked out drink. It is caused by fusel oils formed during the primary distillation. You can’t get away from this and you shouldn’t, believe me, get very upset because of this! After all, our craftsmen have long come up with several simple and fairly effective methods to help clean moonshine at home. We will consider only the most popular, but in fact there are a great many of them, for every taste, as they say.
How to clean moonshine with potassium permanganate?
To implement this method, we take three liters of a ready-made, freshly expelled drink (but, as already indicated, with an unpleasant odor). In moonshine, add up to three grams of manganese powder (sold in pharmacies). We are waiting for the sediment to fall. This usually happens fairly quickly. To speed up the process, close the jar of moonshine with a lid and shake it several times. You can also put the dishes themselves with a cloudy liquid - not yet purified - in a water bath with a low temperature (fifteen minutes will be enough). After all the procedures, we filter the moonshine through gauze. We pour into bottles. Consume in moderation!
How to clean homemade moonshine with soda?
This is another popular way. Because it's easy and cheap! So, for one liter of drink, add ten grams of ordinary soda (sold in any grocery store), mix, insist for half an hour. After that, mix again and insist in a dark place for ten to twelve hours. Our muddy substance has stratified during this time. Now carefully merge the top layer. We also carefully remove the sediment formed at the bottom of the dish. We pour the middle part into bottles and drink. I must say that soda will perfectly remove the fusel oils themselves, which cause unpleasant odors.
orris root
It is used for purification mainly in the countryside where this flower grows. But the fact is that the healing root can now be purchased at any herbal pharmacy, so this process is significantly accelerated. So, we take one hundred grams of crushed violet root per three liters of crude moonshine and insist in a dark, warm place for twelve days. We filter. The drink is ready!
Freeze
This method is traditionally simple and fairly cheap, because it only requires a refrigerator (rather, the freezer of this household kitchen appliance). We take metal utensils (of good quality, without impurities) or glass containers. We pour our moonshine there and put it in the freezer. The effect is simple: water, along with harmful impurities, will freeze to the edges of the dishes, but the moonshine itself will not. After the water has completely frozen, the moonshine remains simply poured into another container. By the way, in some villages, historically, rather large batches of moonshine were cleaned this way all year round, using specially designed underground glaciers, where ice or snow stayed until late autumn.
carbon filter
How to clean moonshine from fusel oils using charcoal obtained from birch? To do this, grind the main ingredient into powder. We wrap the coal in several layers of gauze and pass moonshine through this filter. And we warn you: activated pharmaceutical charcoal in tablets is not suitable for high-quality cleansing. It is made from animal bones and can only absorb large molecules of harmful oils without completely cleaning the product, leaving an unpleasant odor in it.
Double distillation technology
Re-distillation of pervach significantly purifies the drink, greatly improving both quality and taste. This "clean as morning dew" product is popularly called "double". He is especially valued, since he is much more useful in terms of his qualities than the "single". However, it will take a little longer to prepare it, but the result is a pure crystal distillate without foreign odors and impurities. By the way, almost any moonshine can be distilled a second time, even regardless of the raw material and the age of its production. Note that it is possible to “ennoble” in this way a drink that has been expelled a long time ago. First, moonshine must be diluted to about thirty-five degrees (measured with an alcohol meter) with plain, clean, cool water. If you try to distill a stronger substance, then this may result in the ignition of the moonshine itself due to the high concentration of alcohol vapor. Moreover, strong moonshine has a strong enough molecular bond with fusel oils. As a result, double distillation will not give the desired result.
Secret: it is very important to pour water into moonshine, and not, on the contrary, moonshine into water. So the resulting liquid does not become cloudy. Before distillation itself, the source must be cleaned. You can choose any of the methods listed above in the article. For example, cleansing with a manganese solution, soda or charcoal. After cleaning, strain the resulting liquid through a filter made of cotton wool and gauze. The secondary distillation itself is practically no different from the initial distillation. However, it is important to separate the fractions of the resulting moonshine at the exit. "Heads", the first ten percent of the distillate, you can not drink! They are also identified by an unpleasant, fetid odor. The next part, about eighty percent, is the "body." It is collected until the fortress drops to the mark of forty-five degrees. The remaining faction is the "tails". It is also not recommended to drink, but can be used to add to the next mash in order to increase the degree. The resulting moonshine with a strength of up to seventy degrees no longer needs additional purification. It remains only to dilute it to 40-45 degrees in a consistency favorable for drinking a drink.
"Milk" cleaning method
People often ask: “How to clean moonshine from fusel oils with milk?” There are two ways, and if you use them correctly, you can get a drink of extreme purity!
First: add milk directly to the mash until it is distilled. So, you need to mix five liters of mash and one liter of milk. Start distillation. Expel slowly, with special predilection. During the first distillation, a cloudy precipitate is sometimes observed. Then the drink is distilled again.
Second: how to clean moonshine with milk? A glass of milk is added to one liter of finished moonshine. It collapses and absorbs various malicious elements. After the milk has curdled, the drink is filtered and filtered additionally with charcoal (fifty grams per liter of liquid). The process takes place within one week. Sometimes - once every two or three days - the mixture must be shaken. At the end of the period, the liquid begins to lighten, and a coal precipitate falls to the bottom. It is sucked out with a tube. The rest is filtered out. It is also recommended to carry out additional cleaning with bread (preferably black rye or grain), after which the moonshine acquires a very pleasant bread aroma. Now you know many ways to clean moonshine from fusel oils.
It's important to know
What does moonshine actually consist of? In addition to water and ethyl alcohol, it contains a variety of impurities, which, in the production of, for example, good vodka, are removed from it by various industrial methods. And in the manufacture of whiskey, cognac, tequila, on the contrary, they are cultivated to give the drink originality, style, and sound. To do this, there are industrial methods of artificial interruption of the purification process.
But in fact, these same impurities also form a hangover syndrome in a person who has slightly "overdone". Tequila, for example, contains high-molecular alcohols that are part of these impurities (up to two hundred), forming fusel oils. When drinking, they heavily load the liver, which, as it were, is “distracted” by additional information, which prolongs intoxication and makes the hangover worse at times. So those who have at least slight liver problems are not recommended to drink unrefined drinks, including moonshine.
A hangover is a terrible condition caused by intoxication of the body with fusel oils. Isoamyl, propyl and isobutyl alcohols are hidden under this name. They are the cause of the unpleasant smell of moonshine and poisoning of the body. Reducing the concentration of these harmful substances is a task that can be solved at home.
Purification of moonshine from fusel oils with potassium permanganate
- Prepare a solution at the rate of 2 g of potassium permanganate per 50 ml of water.
- Add 1 part solution to 20 parts moonshine.
- Leave the resulting mixture for 10 hours.
- Filter.
- Distill the moonshine again.
Purification of moonshine from fusel oils with coal
This method is very popular among hobbyists. home brewing. For cleaning, you will need activated charcoal or wood.
- Add 50 grams of coal per liter of moonshine.
- Shake the mixture daily for three weeks.
- Then leave to settle for a week.
- Strain through cotton.
Biological purification of moonshine from fusel oils
Coagulation is the scientific name for this type of purification of moonshine or simply curdling, as it is called in the common people.
- Pour beaten egg white, milk or kefir into moonshine.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Wait for the precipitate to fall.
- Filter.
- Do a rerun.
- Dilute to a fortress of 40 degrees.
- Add 100 g of rye bread to 1 liter of drink.
- Let stand 5 hours.
- Strain.
Freezing of fusel oils
At low temperatures, fusel oils freeze.
- Place a container of moonshine in the freezer of the refrigerator.
- Wait for the harmful impurities to freeze.
- Carefully pour clean moonshine into another bowl.
Cleaning moonshine from fusel oils with Karluk glue
Pretty expensive cleaning. The glue “Karluk” is used, made from the swim bladders of fish of the sturgeon family. Sticking fusel oils to itself, it gradually settles to the bottom.
- Dilute the glue to a gel consistency.
- Add it to the moonshine bottle.
- Wait for the sediment to settle completely.
- Filter the drink through cotton wool.
Purification of moonshine from fusel oils with soda
- Dissolve 5-10 g of soda in 10 ml of water (this proportion is calculated for 1 liter of moonshine).
- Pour the resulting solution into moonshine.
- Mix thoroughly and store in a dark place for 12 hours.
- Filter through a charcoal filter or cotton wool.
Purification of moonshine from fusel oils with tannin
Using this method, you will not only clean the moonshine from fusel oils. The drink will acquire the color of noble cognac and will resemble it in taste.
- For 1 liter of drink, take 10 grams of tannin powder or oak chips.
- For 10 days, remove the container in a dark place.
- Strain.
All these methods of cleaning fusel oils are effective and very popular. By sampling, you will find a more suitable one and you will be able to achieve a crystal drink without impurities. Just remember that excessive consumption and high-quality alcohol is harmful to your health.
Any alcoholic drink, including wine and, contains fusel oil. Experts who are well versed in alcohol call it the "soul" of the drink, since its unique organoleptic properties depend on this component.
First of all, let's figure out what it is and where it comes from? This term is called oily compounds that occur during fermentation and partially pass into the finished distillate.
Extracted from alcohol (which is possible only in laboratory conditions), they have a color from light yellow to brown-red and an oily consistency. In moonshine, they are simply dissolved. The concept of "fusel oils" includes more than 40 chemical compounds, divided into two groups:
- The boiling point of which is lower than that of ethyl alcohol (it has 78.4 ° C). The most famous of these are acetone and esters with acetaldehyde.
- The boiling point of these substances is more than 78.4°C. Among them, alcohols predominate, as well as furfural, acetyl and other toxic compounds.
The benefits of fuselage
Many consider fusel oils to be the culprit of a severe hangover. And they are very wrong! Our bodies perceive any alcohol as a poison. The liver tries to break it down and quickly remove it from the body.
But there is a "hiccup" here. It is pure poison that acts sharper and stronger! And impurities, which are fusel oils, soften the process and prevent hangover.
And the main culprits of headaches and debilitating nausea are acetic acid and acetaldehyde. It is “thanks” to them that a large amount of magnesium is washed out during the breakdown in the liver. What causes such a deplorable state of the body.
Therefore, supposedly pure vodka () has a much worse hangover, and the occurrence of alcoholism is 8 times more likely than from other drinks. Although when using, for example, whiskey, neither such a hangover nor such a frequent addiction is observed, although it contains 200-400 times more fusel oils. In cognac - 50 times.
And the whole thing - in proper cleaning. There is no need to remove all impurities, but it is important - the most harmful.
Is there any harm?
Naturally, we will not sing the praises of the sivuha, all the same, there is also a lot of harm from it. Let's start with what she gives moonshine disgusting smell, because of which it is sometimes impossible to drink it. And the taste of unrefined moonshine leaves much to be desired.
Some fusel oils, for example, the same one, which is also called technical or wood alcohol, destroys internal organs, can cause blindness, etc. And this is in small quantities!
Another type of alcohol - isoamyl, literally "burns" the digestive system, forming foci of irritation and bubbles that can turn into ulcers. Furfural affects the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, skin, causes eczema.
Concentration
We can more or less accurately indicate the amount of fusel oils in purchased types of alcohol. So, in their vodka, according to GOST, no more than 15 mg per liter. According to specifications - in wine up to 600, in cognac - up to 12000, whiskey can have up to 6000 mg per liter, that is - more than 6 grams!
It is very difficult to determine the concentration of fusel oils in moonshine, and no one seriously did this, although today in Russia there is a GOST for moonshine, according to which only distillate from grain can be considered moonshine. It prescribes the content of fusel oils within 500 to 6000 mg in terms of anhydrous alcohol.
In some types of homemade alcohol, up to 60% of the fuselage is isoamyl alcohol. The easiest way to determine the concentration is by smell and taste: the more the liquid stinks and the worse the aftertaste, the more fuselage.
How to clean moonshine from smell and fusel oils?
One way to get rid of moonshine from more fusel oils is secondary fractional distillation with separation into fractions.
But even after that, it is desirable to bring its organoleptic to perfection.
Ideally, when a light note of the product from which the mash is made is felt in home-made alcohol and there is absolutely no sivukh. To do this, many methods have been invented, with which we will introduce you.
In order to not be ashamed to put moonshine even in front of dear guests and so that it not only catches up with vodka in taste, but also surpasses it, folk cleaning methods are suitable. You can use one of them or try several.
Advice. Test different cleaning agents on small batches of homemade alcohol and compare the results.
Having chosen the best way, “use” all the moonshine.
pasteurized milk
In urban conditions, pasteurized milk of low fat content is used. At home - fat-free, after cream was extracted from it with the help of a separator.
The proportions are contradictory: from 200 ml to 2 liters per 10 liters of moonshine with a strength of 45 °. Pour milk into alcohol, stir well and put in a room in a dark place for a week. Shake daily. Do not touch the last day of insistence. At the bottom of the container, a layer of curdled milk with impurities forms.
Peculiarities. Milk contains casein and albumin. They then bind the sivuha and precipitate the oils into sediment, forming flakes.
Strain the alcohol through several layers of cheesecloth, then filter using cotton wool or cotton pads.
Egg white
For 1 liter of moonshine you need 2 egg whites. Beat them without fanaticism (foam is not needed) and mix with alcohol. White flakes will begin to fall out quickly. Filter.
activated or charcoal
You can cook charcoal yourself, or use a purchased one, such as BAU-A, specially designed for cleaning alcohol. 50 g of crushed coal are taken per liter. Shake, defend, filter.
Potassium permanganate
Perfectly cleans moonshine from fusel oils and smell, while forming other chemical compounds, the benefits of which are doubtful. Nevertheless, the method is popular.
You need to take 3-5 g of manganese per three-liter jar of moonshine. It is better to pre-dilute it with warm water, but this is not necessary, it will also dissolve in moonshine. Filter thoroughly through cotton wool.
How to get rid of fuselage by freezing?
The method was adopted from Siberians, who in this way even freeze alcohol from mash. It is enough to place a container of moonshine in the freezer overnight, and in the morning drain the alcohol that has not frozen. Then dilute it to the desired degree. Almost all the sivukh will remain in the frozen part.
Baking soda
This substance is able to neutralize the acetic acid found in crude moonshine. Pour soda at the rate of 1 g per 1 liter. Stir. After 10 minutes, strain through several layers of gauze or filter.
Vegetable oil
Although not everyone likes the method, refined oil cleans moonshine well. Pour in 100 g of oil per 3-liter jar. Shake and stand for a day.
The oil film along with impurities will rise up. Drain with a silicone tube. If necessary, filter further. This way good before the second run.
Water filter
It is popular today to use a water filter as a cleaning agent. Moonshine is poured into a filter jug and passed through a cassette. Store it then in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. But there are doubtful points here. Not everything that is intended for water is suitable for alcohol.
Although the main component of such a filter is coal, there are also impurities that with alcohol may give unknown connections. In addition, it is not recommended to use plastic with alcohol.
Rye bread
Use fresh bread by crumbling it into a jar of moonshine (10L 1kg loaf). The method is considered good, especially in addition to cleaning with milk. Soak overnight, then filter.
Many lovers of not only production, but also drinking various alcoholic beverages know that some are drunk easily and do not leave a trace in the morning, while others cause a very strong hangover. The latter is the result of poisoning with harmful impurities that are transferred from raw materials during fermentation or distillation through the apparatus. Such substances are called fusel oils.
Modern equipment largely prevents the ingress of harmful substances into alcohol. But moonshine at home in most cases is far from ideal. Therefore, after preparation, mandatory cleaning of moonshine is required. The better it is done, the safer and tastier the drink will be. There are different ways to clean moonshine that are applicable at home and do not require special equipment.
In addition to fusel oils, methanol and acetaldehyde can enter the body along with low-quality alcohol. They mostly come out with the first fraction, but they can also get into the drink itself. Therefore, it is necessary to filter moonshine prepared at home with special care.
Fusel oils in moonshine, it is a secondary product formed during the fermentation of raw materials made from starch, sugar or fruit and is contained in almost all alcohol. In its pure form, they have a yellow or brown color, an oily texture and a characteristic unpleasant odor and taste.
Fusel oil consists of more than 40 different substances. They influence the effects of alcohol consumption. Most of the composition is isoamyl alcohol. It is the most dangerous for the human body. In high concentrations, this alcohol causes alcohol poisoning and severe consequences for the body, and when it comes into contact with the skin in its pure form, it leaves burns. That is why fusel oil is so harmful to the human body.
But not everything is so clear. In some alcoholic beverages, the content of these impurities determines the organoleptic properties. Without them, wine would radically change its taste, and everyone's favorite whiskey and cognac would become just alcohol with water. Therefore, beneficial properties and harm are determined by the composition and concentration of harmful substances. All toxic impurities must be removed, leaving only useful ones.
In order for the prepared moonshine to become safe for consumption and lose its unpleasant odor, it must first be filtered to remove the harmful substances formed in it. Knowing how to clean moonshine from fusel oils, the procedure can be performed quickly enough without prior experience and special equipment. Most often, natural and inexpensive products that are constantly used in everyday life are used for this.
There are two ways to check the content of fusel oils in moonshine. The first is the presence of a characteristic unpleasant odor. To detect it, you don’t even have to carefully sniff it, it is felt immediately. If the check is made after additional cleaning and it may not be so noticeable, then you need to grind a couple of drops of moonshine between your fingers, let the alcohol evaporate and sniff.
The second and most effective is combustion. A little moonshine needs to be poured into a spoon and set on fire. If, after the complete combustion of alcohol, an oily yellow liquid remains, it means that the composition of this drink contains harmful substances and additional purification is required.
How to clean moonshine from smell and harmful impurities
After the first distillation, an unpleasant odor and taste remains. How to remove these consequences? Purification of moonshine from fusel oil is most often carried out by filtration. Alcohol is poured through a filter filled with a purifying agent, or mixed with it and settled until a precipitate forms. Since moonshine can be properly cleaned using several cleaning methods, the following can be used as a filter:
- Coal.
- Potassium permanganate.
- Milk.
- Egg white.
- Freeze.
- Fruits.
- Soda.
- Oil.
In the case of freezing, there will be no precipitation, harmful substances will simply freeze to the walls of the container. And when cleansed with fruits, they absorb all the fusel oils. They are good both as an intermediate cleaning of moonshine and as a final one. The best cleaning method is coal. This filtration has earned wide popularity, as it is the fastest and moonshine is filtered better.
Only cooled and settled moonshine is taken for cleaning. The temperature must be room temperature. The second condition is that moonshine should be of low strength 25 - 30 degrees. To do this, it is diluted with purified water. This is required due to the fact that harmful substances do not come out of strong alcohol well and the better they are separated, the lower the degree of strength
After settling in all cases, except for the use of freezing and fruit, the moonshine is filtered and re-distilled to improve the result of the drink. With the correct implementation of all stages, moonshine will turn out to be “crystal” clean and without an unpleasant odor.
When using a quality moonshine and the double distillation method, purification may not be necessary. But for beginners who have not mastered all the subtleties of distillation well enough, it is better to resort to this purification method for additional safety.
Coal
Coal purification of moonshine is the fastest and most affordable. This is due to the fact that charcoal is a powerful adsorbent. It captures and absorbs all harmful substances, passing only a pure product. For charcoal filtration you will need:
- Activated carbon.
- Funnel.
- Special filters or cotton wool.
The main component is most affordable to purchase at a pharmacy. This charcoal will clean well, but it may contain impurities such as talc or starch. Due to their impact, moonshine can acquire an unpleasant bitterness. Therefore, you can use a different coal. The one used by winemakers is very good. It is sold in narrow-profile stores and is quite cheap. Such a filter will be as effective as possible and will not affect the taste and aromatic properties of the finished product.
You can make your own charcoal. Birch, cedar or beech are suitable for them. The wood is carefully cleaned of bark and core and burned at the stake. Ready coals are completely cooled, cleaned of ash and crushed for convenient use.
Moonshine can be filtered in two ways: by pouring liquid through a cleaning device or by immersing coal directly into the drink. In the first case, you need to make the filter itself. To do this, take a funnel or cut off the top of the bottle with a neck. The narrower part is laid with cotton wool, previously wrapped in gauze, coal is poured on top. We clean the moonshine through this design, pouring it several times with the replacement of the coal layer.
This method requires preliminary preparation of the cleaning agent. Coal must be washed in advance to clean it of dust. If this is not done, then after passing through the funnel, more stringent filtration of moonshine from dirty sediment will be required.
In the second case, activated carbon is crushed and added to moonshine with the calculation of 50 grams per 1 liter of liquid. This mixture should be infused for a couple of weeks, stirring occasionally. After that, the liquid settles for a week at a temperature of about 20 - 25 degrees Celsius while not moving the container, after which it must be drained several times through a cotton filter.
After all stages of purification, the liquid is re-distilled with the separation of the first and last fractions to complete the separation of fusel oils from moonshine.
Potassium permanganate
Cleaning moonshine with manganese does not require additional costs, but is considered not the most effective. A solution of potassium permanganate is not able to take away all the harmful substances formed during the fermentation process, and some of the fusel oils will remain. At the same time, other hazardous substances harmful to the body are released from the reaction of raw alcohol.
But this method is still common. For its use, 2 grams of potassium permanganate per 1 liter of alcohol are dissolved in water. At the same time, it must be necessarily cleaned and boiled. The resulting solution is poured into moonshine and left for one night. In the process of settling, a precipitate falls out, and the drink itself brightens. After that, it must be carefully drained and re-distilled.
It has long been believed that it is quite difficult to clean moonshine at home in this way. There are other, safer methods for this. For example, using fresh rye bread. It should be just recently cooked, as the old one gives an unpleasant aftertaste. For 1 liter, you need 100 grams of bread crumb without crusts. It will need to be crushed, pour into a container with moonshine and mix. The resulting mixture is infused for a couple of days. After that, the bread is removed. Such moonshine will acquire a yellow tint and in order to remove it, you will need to filter the drink a couple more times, and then re-distill.
Milk
Purification of moonshine from fusel oils with milk is used as a finishing step. If it is used in intermediate cleaning, milk residues can burn in the still and give an unpleasant taste. For this cleaning method, you need to choose only a pasteurized product with a low percentage of fat content. For 1 liter of moonshine, 10 milliliters of milk will be required. For the process to be carried out correctly, you need:
- Mix milk with moonshine that has gone through several stages of distillation.
- Seal the container.
- Insist for a week in a dark place at room temperature.
- Stir the first 5 days.
- For the last couple of days, do not touch the container until a precipitate in the form of flakes falls out.
- Pass moonshine through a cotton filter.
Purification of moonshine in this way is also used in factory production, therefore it is the most effective tool. Only in such conditions, not pure milk, but casein is added. This is a protein that is actively involved in the cleansing process.
If, after filtering, moonshine still retains a cloudy tint, then it can be removed with lemon or orange zest. For this, one fruit per two liters of alcohol is enough. To use a product with a low fat content, you can take powdered milk. It must be prepared a couple of hours before cleansing and completely cooled. If after a week the precipitate does not fall out of the flakes, you can add a little lemon juice or dry acid.
Egg white
Another eco-friendly way to clean moonshine from fusel oils at home is egg white. According to its principle of action, it is very similar to the milk method, since the composition of the egg includes casein. All harmful impurities along with it will precipitate in the form of white flakes.
For mixing, you need to take 1 protein per liter of moonshine 50% strength. Although many believe that this volume can be cleaned and 2 liters. It must be carefully separated from the yolk and mixed with a quarter of a glass of water and beat well. It should be boiled, but not hot, but warm. After that, the mixture is poured into moonshine and clogged. The container is infused in a dark, cool place for a week. The first day the mixture is shaken twice, after which it is left alone.
After precipitation, the moonshine must be carefully drained and filtered twice from the remaining white flakes. This method, as well as milk, is used for final cleaning. If it is applied between two distillations, then at the end of the process there may be a strong deterioration in the smell of moonshine with the appearance of a characteristic aroma of sulfur. Since it will not be possible to clean moonshine from this in the future, it is better to use the protein method at the very end.
Freeze
Purification of moonshine by freezing is a very controversial method. It is believed that during strong cooling, all harmful substances formed in the process of obtaining mash freeze on the walls of the container with a frost coating. Alcohol, on the other hand, has a lower freezing point and remains pure and liquid. The container is placed in a very cool place for a period of 12 hours to a day. During this time, moonshine should not only be cleansed of such harmful fusel oils, but also increase its degree of strength.
In fact, it is unlikely that it will be possible to clean alcohol from impurities in this way. Indeed, the lower the ambient temperature drops, and as a result, the drink itself, the greater the strength of the moonshine will be. Only fusel oils will not separate. And all because the higher the degree of alcohol, the worse it is cleared of harmful impurities. Some manufacturers practice this method specifically to increase the alcohol content in the drink. Therefore, to obtain high-quality and tasty alcohol, it is better to use other more proven methods.
Fruits
No worse than other natural ingredients, fruits are cleansed of harmful impurities. For normal purification, this method is used after the first distillation. And to give the drink a more persistent fruity aroma, such cleaning can be used at the last stage. For high-quality removal of fusel oils, moonshine of the first distillation of a small fortress is used, approximately 25 - 30 degrees.
For 2 - 3 liters of alcohol, 1 apple and 1 orange are added along with pre-washed and separated zest. Fruits are cut into small pieces, apples are peeled and core. One of the fruits can be replaced with fresh peeled medium-sized carrots.
The zest is removed after a day of infusion. The remaining fruits lie for another 1 - 2 days. An indicator of the completion of the process is the peeling of fibers from the fruit. After that, all the ingredients are removed from the moonshine, and the resulting drink is filtered before re-distillation. With the final infusion, the exposure time can be increased up to 5 days. Cleaning with fruits is a very affordable method that gives moonshine a special aroma, but not the most effective, since the quality of the resulting moonshine changes with long exposure.
Soda
This product is in every home and is very popular with distillers for cleaning moonshine after the first distillation. Its advantage is that cleaning does not require a long wait of several days. For one liter of moonshine, 10 grams of soda will be required. They need to be dissolved in half a glass of purified water. The mixture is poured into alcohol and shaken thoroughly. The container should be allowed to brew at rest for half an hour to an hour. After that, the mixture is shaken again and placed in a dark, cool place for 12 hours. During this time, it forms a precipitate, into which not only soda falls, but also harmful fusel oils absorbed by it.
Cleaned moonshine must be carefully removed and additionally filtered through a cotton or ordinary kitchen filter. After that, the alcohol is re-distilled. Although this method is fast, it is not efficient enough. Since soda cannot completely separate fusel oils, additional filtration and a second high-quality distillation are required when cleaning with soda.
Oil
This method of cleaning is also not particularly difficult, but requires great dexterity to remove. Oil envelops the harmful substances contained in moonshine with a film that raises them to the surface. Thus, the sediment does not fall out, but floats up, leaving pure moonshine in the lower part of the container.
For this method, you need refined sunflower or olive oil. Others are not suitable, as they most often have a pronounced characteristic aroma that can be transferred to the drink. For 1 liter of moonshine, 20 milliliters of oil is taken. The liquids are thoroughly mixed and left in a sealed container for half an hour. After that, the jar needs to be shaken again and left to infuse for another day in a cool place. A funnel is carefully inserted into the resulting stratified mixture and a tube is lowered through it to the moonshine, through which a clean liquid is drained.
The disadvantage of this method is that the oil, like other natural additives, cannot sufficiently remove fusel oils, and after this technique additional purification, filtration and distillation will be required.
In general, each of the methods has different efficiency and required time costs. Eco-friendly methods will always be easier to use, but not of sufficient quality for such alcohol to be considered quality and safe. Some, such as a charcoal filter or oil cleaning, are a good intermediate step, but not a standalone way.
The most effective is still considered complete rectification or high-quality double distillation in compliance with all the rules and technologies. It is they who provide the highest quality and safest product to use, which does not cause a painful hangover and serious health problems.
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 coagulated 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.
