The moonshine obtained during the ferry still contains a whole mass of impurities and fusel oils hazardous to health. The higher the strength of the obtained product, the stronger the connection of impurities and fusel oils dissolved in it.
The second distillation of moonshine is necessary primarily to get rid of fusel oils. They are toxic and poisonous. When interacting with the skin in its pure form, it can leave a thermal burn, and the ingestion of fusel oils into the human body through the respiratory system can cause severe coughing or choking. However, they are used for industrial purposes.
The most correct solution to this problem would be the second distillation of moonshine. What we get at the end is called double-run moonshine, which in its taste is much superior to the original product. Therefore, spending not so much money and time on these operations, we will get a really clean and high-quality product without third-party odors and impurities.
The first thing to do is dilute the moonshine for the second distillation. This must be done by pouring moonshine into chilled, and most importantly clean water, until the fortress is 35-40%.
Before re-distillation, the moonshine should be purified with activated carbon, or any natural absorbent should be used. Activated carbon must be used in a proportion of 50 g per 1 liter of water. Making a filter? cotton wool, a layer of gauze, charcoal, gauze and again charcoal. We filter through such a filter. You can also infuse with charcoal for a week. Then, stirring occasionally, strain through a cloth or gauze bandage.
Cleaning with a filter
Also, to clean the moonshine from impurities, you can use a solution of potassium permanganate. We take 300 ml of hot water and dissolve 3 g of potassium permanganate there. We apply such calculations to 1 liter of moonshine. We mix it all in the correct proportion and leave it to brew for an hour. Then we dilute a tablespoon of baking soda or kitchen salt, mix thoroughly and leave for 2 hours. As soon as the moonshine is infused, it should be filtered through a gauze filter.
In addition, milk can be used to clean the moonshine from fusel oils. The ratio of milk to moonshine is 1: 5, 1 liter of the drink should be diluted with 200 ml of milk. Then mix thoroughly and let it brew for 30 minutes. The product is ready, and you can safely overtake it.
After carrying out these operations, you can proceed directly to the second distillation.
The usual distillation process will take place here, as well as with the mash. How to overtake correctly? We use the same moonshine still, but washed, without residues of mash, small pieces of fruit or seeds. After all, the remnants of the mash in the future can spoil the taste characteristics of the drink. Before starting the second distillation, you should turn your attention to the strength of the original product. It should be about 60-65%.
In terms of the process, the second distillation is not very different from the first. But at the exit from the refrigerator we will get more drink, because the strength of the original wort is higher. You will spend less time.
In the second distillation, the resulting moonshine should be separated and distilled into fractions. The separation will take place on the? Tail? and? head ?, as well as the most pleasant part of the drink? ?body?.
We take into account the following points:
So,? Head? we leave for household needs. Where do we apply the tails? It would be a mistake to get rid of them, they can be used to increase the strength of raw materials when added to the mash.
The resulting 80% "body", after the second distillation of moonshine, is no longer worth it
give in to additional treatments or filtration. We dilute only to a suitable strength and the drink is ready to drink.
Moonshine after the second distillation will no longer contain harmful impurities or heavy metals and will become transparent.
In order not to spoil the whole result, pay attention to the following points. When a temperature of 65-68 ° C is reached, the release of light impurities begins.
Moonshine obtained in a temperature regime from 65 ° C to 80 ° C will be poisonous and unusable, it is during this period that the "head" is released. It can be easily identified by a slight alcoholic smell and condensation on the refrigerator.
The moment of transition to strong heating will be the most crucial. Since you will need to sharply reduce the heating rate, otherwise the moonshine will simply burn out. Subsequently, the entire path traveled will be in vain.
Correct distillation means an obligatory intermediate purification, but only for sugar and grain mash. Raw from fruit and berry mash should not be peeled, organoleptic properties change too much. Fractional distillation is applicable here.
VIDEO: Fractional distillation
Objectively, this stage is not much different from the first, with the exception of the temperature regime. You also need to pay attention to whether you did the cleaning or not. If intermediate cleaning was carried out, pour the raw material into the cube, the tails and start the process again. If cleaning was not done, you need to carry out a number of manipulations:
For the convenience of dividing the raw material, you can use a "parrot". It makes it easier to control the fortress
You can determine the length of the heads by smell - essential oils and methyl smell harsh and unpleasant. As soon as this aroma disappears (somewhat reminiscent of acetone), the body begins to go, it is already collected in a clean receiving container.
If the design of the device has a dry-box, at this stage it is advisable to clean it too - drain the fuselage, rinse and return it to its place.
The strength of the body is measured after it has cooled to 20 °, if a hot hydrometer will "lie". And one more thing - do not use household alcohol meters, as a rule, they are useless in such situations. The ASP-3 hydrometer copes best with determining the strength.
As a result, we get the purest product, which in terms of transparency, aroma and concentration will not be inferior to the best drinks. On average, from each liter of home brew after double distillation, we get about 400 milliliters of 50-55 ° moonshine, which can then be diluted with water to the desired condition.
So we come to the most interesting thing - the final stage of distillation of moonshine at home. To begin with, we dilute it with water - here everyone decides for himself, for someone and 40 ° is too much, and for others, 50 ° is just that. Then we insist for at least two days in an airtight container to improve organoleptic properties. Be sure to clean it up.
Those who mainly work with grain or fruit wort do not purify, and completely in vain. Not only sugar distillate is purified, but also all others.
For cleaning, you can use the most common charcoal filter, and this is quite enough. Then you can use either a pure product or prepare a wide variety of alcoholic drinks on its basis. In the article "" there are a lot of recipes with a detailed description of how and from what to cook. On our own behalf, when moonshine becomes your second "I", do not be greedy and buy a good oak barrel - the incredible taste and aroma of the same whiskey has not yet been canceled.
VIDEO: How heads and tails are cut off and a high-quality distillate is made
Many home craftsmen who are engaged in the production of drinks for food often ask themselves the question: how to improve the quality of their products so that they would like to drink themselves and would not be ashamed to put the guests on the festive table.
The optimal solution is to distill moonshine a second time. The product obtained at the exit is much cleaner and stronger than the original, it is often called double moonshine. Of course, this will take a little more time, but the result is worth the effort - the drink will turn out to be of really good quality, without an unpleasant odor and impurities.
Double distillation is suitable for all types of moonshine, it does not matter whether the mash is made or the raw materials used. Even moonshine made a long time ago can be distilled.
There is nothing difficult in double distillation, the main thing is to observe the order of all stages.
Dilution is the first thing to do before the second distillation. The logical action would be to pour water into the moonshine, but this can make it cloudy. Therefore, it is done the other way around - moonshine is poured into the water. The strength of the drink should fall by 20-35%.
Why is it undesirable to drive without dilution? In strong moonshine, vapors contain a large amount of alcohol, from which a fire can occur and will have to (we recommend choosing an apparatus with a distillation column of the brand or with a dry steamer of the brand). Also, due to the high strength, it is more difficult to destroy the molecular bond of the drink with fusel oils, therefore, the distillation will be ineffective.
Although many people who distill the moonshine do not add water before distilling the moonshine again, they say that an unpleasant smell still remains in the diluted drink. This is quite reasonable, but when distilling such moonshine, make sure that there is no open fire nearby.
Purification. Before proceeding to the second distillation, the moonshine is purified in any way familiar to a person. Someone prefers potassium permanganate, someone - activated carbon. For example, for the first method, 3 grams of potassium permanganate dissolved in 300 ml of hot water are taken for 1 liter of moonshine. The solution is mixed and infused for 30 minutes, then a tablespoon of rock salt and the same amount of baking soda are added.
After stirring again, it is infused for another 2 hours. The settled moonshine is passed through a filter. A household water filter is great, but if you don't have one at hand, you can make an elementary cotton-gauze filter.
The final stage does not differ from the first distillation from home brew. The main thing to remember, as mentioned above, is that distilling a strong drink is more dangerous and less effective. Therefore, before starting the process, it will not be superfluous to check the degree of moonshine again.
If in the future the moonshine is no longer processed, at the output it is divided into fractions: head, body and tail.
The head is the first 10% of the received drink, it can only be used for technical needs, but not internally. This liquid has an unpleasant odor.
It is impossible to distill the heads of moonshine a second time.
Before you substitute the container for collecting the body of the moonshine, you need to make sure that the unpleasant smell is gone, then you can continue collecting.
The tail is determined by the strength of the moonshine: it drops to 40%. Most often, this liquid, to increase the strength, is added to the next wash or purified in a rectification column. It is practically useless to distill the tails of moonshine, the quality from this process will not improve.
The main part, the body of double moonshine, does not require additional processing. If desired, it can be diluted to the desired strength and used in.
All professional moonshiners at some point are faced with the issue of improving the quality of a hot drink made with their own hands. The most popular recipe in this case is the secondary distillation of moonshine. Double rectification through a moonshine still and a certain temperature during the procedure allows you to make a pure product that will be much stronger and cleaner than the original version. That is why it is recommended to devote more time to making moonshine at home and to make the drink truly high-quality, without unnecessary odors and impurities. Popularly, the recipe for cooking using this technology gave the name to the drink "double moonshine".
Re-distillation of moonshine can be carried out with any kind of mash, and neither the raw materials nor the recipe for making a hot drink affect the cleaning process. You can make a double distillation of moonshine with a drink that has been stored with you for a long period of time. Moreover, the distillate will become crystal clear and soft at the outlet. However, the temperature during distillation must change in a strictly defined sequence. To get a quality drink at home, let's figure out in detail how to distill moonshine a second time.
First, it is necessary to distill the mash in the usual way, while the temperature of the liquid during this procedure should be 100 ° C. In order to carry out the second distillation of moonshine, the drink must be diluted with clean spring water. Cold purified water must be poured into the hot liquid until the strength of the mash reaches 20-30%. In order for the drink not to become cloudy, it is recommended to pour alcohol into the water, and not vice versa. Distilling with a higher concentration of alcohol vapor is dangerous because the moonshine can catch fire. In addition, stronger moonshine has a much stronger molecular bond with fusel impurities and harmful substances, in this case the recipe for the secondary distillation of moonshine will be less effective and will not bring the desired result.
Before starting the re-distillation of grain or sugar moonshine at home, it is imperative to do cleaning. The procedure is performed using potassium permanganate, baking soda, milk, activated carbon and any other adsorbing substance convenient for you.
The most common and classic recipe for this is to do it. We need manganese powder in the amount of 3 grams per 300 ml of water, the temperature of which is over 40 ° C. The diluted solution is added in proportion to 1 liter of moonshine. The resulting mixture should be mixed well and infused for 30 minutes. Further, the recipe provides for the addition of 1 tablespoon of baking soda and table salt. Then mix the contents again and let stand for two hours. After rectification has passed, the liquid is separated using a water filter or cotton-gauze funnel.
The first thing to do before the final stage is to double-check the strength of the drink. To prevent the high temperature that occurs during distillation from causing a fire, the strength must be 20 degrees. Fractional distillation is carried out by a steam boiler, and the liquid outlet must be divided into fractions: "head", "body" and "tail". The outlet temperature of the first 8-10% of mash is 75 ° C, and this harmful fraction is prohibited for use, since it consists of fusel oils and other low-quality impurities. To obtain the second fraction, the temperature of the mash rises to 95 ° C, and the amount of the drink is 80% of the total liquid and is double moonshine, that is, the drink that we wanted to get. This part must be collected until the fortress drops to 45%. The outlet temperature of the third last fraction rises to 100 ° C, the liquid is recommended to increase the strength of the future moonshine, but you should not use it.
As a result, the second distillation at the outlet gives about 60-70% of a crystal clear drink without impurities and unpleasant odors. You just have to dilute it to a suitable strength and the drink is ready to drink.
Purification of moonshine by distillation is superior in efficiency to any other methods, since it allows you to get rid of the maximum volume of fusel oils. Double or even triple distillation allows you to get the most pure product even without intermediate purification, but it will not be superfluous either. In many ways, the quality of the final product will depend not only on the raw materials, the number of runs, but also on their correctness, and the main thing here is the ability to select the desired alcohol fractions. The problem is that, in addition to ethyl alcohol, the mash contains a lot of other alcohols and acids, other unnecessary impurities, each of which boils at a certain temperature, and it is not so easy to track the temperature of the mash and vapors during distillation.
With modern factory-made moonshine stills, the situation is simpler - they are often supplied complete with special thermometers built into the stills. In other modifications, a niche for a thermometer is provided directly in the distillation column. But what about those who distill moonshine “blindly”? Personally, for example, for ferrying I use an aluminum flask of 40 liters, a home-made steam boiler, a copper coil and a non-flow type condensation tank. To help - an alcohol meter, which can be bought at almost every step, as well as the basics of chemistry and mathematics.
So, to begin with, a few numbers - I will give them in the table for a simpler perception, and below I will explain what's what.
|
First haul |
Second leg |
Third haul |
|
|
Light faction - "pervak", "heads" |
2% of the mash volume |
5% of the yield of moonshine |
2% of the yield of moonshine |
|
Ethyl alcohol - "body" |
15% of the mash volume Harvested to a fortress of 45 degrees |
From +76 C o to +84 C o for mash (vapors) or up to 45 degrees of strength of the drink |
From +76 C o to +80 C o for mash (vapors) or up to 45 degrees of strength of the drink |
|
Heavy fraction - "tails" |
Whole remainder 45 to 25 degrees |
From +84 C o to +95 C o for mash (vapor) or up to 35-40 degrees of strength of the drink |
From +80 C o to +95 C o for mash (vapors) or up to 35-40 degrees of strength of the drink |
And now in Russian:
The table shows the numbers by which you can navigate when driving using a thermometer to measure the temperature of the mash, as well as the strength of the drink for those who, like me, use only an alcohol meter. The most difficult thing is to guess the total output of the moonshine on the second and third haul in order to clearly separate the "heads" (pervak). But there is no need to guess - we take the exit of the first haul and focus on it to be sure.
Example! I have 20 liters of mash, which I want to distill three times. Accordingly, on the first run, I drain 400 milliliters of pervak, drain the dry pot, and collect the entire remainder, along with the tails, into one container - I get about 3 liters of raw moonshine. It must be diluted with water to a strength of 20-30 degrees in order to facilitate separation into fractions during the subsequent distillation and to exclude the possibility of ignition of alcohol vapors. I get about 4-4.5 liters of workpiece. I distill it a second time, draining about 150 milligrams of "heads", draining the dry pot, and collecting the rest to the condensate strength of about 30 degrees. Should come out no more than 3 liters, and in the mind - a little less. I dilute the resulting alcohol with water to a strength of 20-30 degrees and distill the third time, separating already only 50-60 milligrams of "heads", I drain the dry pot, and then, collecting the body to a condensate strength of 45 degrees according to an alcohol meter - I collect the remaining tails up to 35 degrees separately and use it at the first ferry of the next wash. I dilute the product obtained as a result of triple distillation with clean water to a strength of 40-45 degrees. About 2.5-3 liters of pure vodka should come out, depending on the quality of the mash.
After the selection of the "heads", it is imperative to drain the dry box, since part of the light fractions remains in it, and then is transferred to the "body".
Intermediate cleaning can be carried out between distillations, although this is not necessary. To do this, add ordinary vegetable oil to the workpiece already diluted with water to a strength of 20 degrees at the rate of about 20 milligrams of oil per 1 liter of workpiece. Shake well, leave for a day, drain through a silicone tube.
Of course, doing everything that is described above is rather troublesome, but the quality of the product does increase significantly. I recommend putting lemon zest, fragrant fruits and spices into the dry pot (after the selection of the heads) before the final ferry - they give the drink a light pleasant aroma.
REMOVING THE RAW ALCOHOL AND ITS PURIFICATION
It is advisable to neutralize the clarified mash removed from the sediment (it has an acidic environment) with a saturated solution of baking soda or alkali to a neutral reaction (control with litmus paper), since the acidic environment promotes the formation of aldehydes and ethers that occur when the mash is boiled. After neutralization of these substances, there will be less in the mash.
The alcohol-containing liquid prepared in this way is poured into the distillation still by no more than 3/4 of its volume. The amount of liquid to be poured should be such that it is possible to make calculations on the amount of distillate taken. In order for the boiling to be calm, gas bubbles were released evenly and there was no liquid emission, a small amount of a boiling stone, pieces of porous porcelain, pieces of capillary tubes sealed at one end, grains of activated carbon, bread crumbs and similar materials are loaded into the cube. They turn on the heating of the cube and conduct it intensively (until it boils), adjusting it so that the distillate is withdrawn at a rate of 120-150 drops per minute. Under no circumstances should the liquid be sucked off by a jet. As the liquid decreases, its boiling point will increase, and the rate of distillate withdrawal will decrease, therefore, the heating power by the end of the withdrawal is gradually increased. The heater temperature should not exceed the boiling point of the liquid by more than 20-30 ° C. The water cooler should provide cooling of the distillate to a temperature not exceeding 30 ° C.
Extraction of alcohol from an alcohol-containing liquid (brew) and its purification from all undesirable impurities is carried out by multistage distillation and chemical methods according to the technological scheme described below.
First distillation.
With it, almost all aldehydes are converted into raw alcohol. Esters transfer in different ways, depending on their properties, both at the beginning of the distillation process, and in the middle and at the end. Ethyl acetate, for example, goes entirely into the distillate at the start of the distillation. Acetic acid - evenly throughout the cycle, but with an increase at the end. Higher alcohols (fusel oil) are abundantly distilled at first, then gradually decrease and completely disappear at a distillate strength of 20% vol. Isoamyl alcohol (the main component of fusel oil) in the ethanol concentration range of 0.1 - 18.5% v ...
Therefore, during the first distillation, 0.30-0.35 volumes of distillate are taken from the amount of liquid poured into the cube. If, before the end of the selection, cloudy drops of liquid begin to drip into the collection (this indicates a significant content of isopropyl alcohol in it), it is advisable to end the distillation at this. The liquid remaining in the cube is drained into the sewer. In the resulting distillate, the actual concentration of alcohol is measured with a hydrometer (the procedure for working with the hydrometer and alcoholmetric tables are given in Appendix 1) - it can be 25-35% vol. Subsequent distillation of alcohol from the mash is carried out in such a way that its content in the distillate was 33-35% by volume, which is corrected by the amount of condensate withdrawn. The bottled liquid contains less than 1% alcohol.
Second distillation.
The distilled raw alcohol contains many different impurities, which were described in detail in the section on the quality of alcohols. Their content will decrease with each subsequent distillation. The table shows the main impurity components of the raw alcohol and the order of their separation into fractions depending on their boiling point.
The main impurities are alcohol distillates and their boiling points.
|
Name of head impurities |
Boiling point, ° С |
Name of tailings |
Boiling point, ° С |
|
Acetaldehyde |
20,8 |
Formic acid |
100,7 |
|
Ethyl formate |
54,3 |
Acetic acid |
118,1 |
|
Acetic amyl ether |
57,1 |
Butter ethyl ether |
121,3 |
|
Methyl alcohol |
64,7 |
Amyl alcohol |
130,0 |
|
Ethyl acetate |
77,6 |
Valerian ethyl ether |
146,0 |
In the second distillation, aldehydes, esters and higher alcohols leave faster at a high alcohol concentration. Isoamyl and isobutyl alcohols are released in the head fraction, which has a pungent and unpleasant odor.
All the crude alcohol obtained from the first distillation is averaged by mixing and poured into the cube of the distiller by 3/4 of its volume. Loading, heating and withdrawal are performed in the same way as in the first distillation. But starting from this distillation, it will be necessary to select a separate head fraction. The head fraction (0.25-0.35% of the loading volume) is taken from the raw alcohol loaded into the cube. After that, proceed to the selection of the main fraction in the amount of 0.5 of the volume of the load. The distilled distillate contains 50-60% of ethyl alcohol. The head fraction and still bottoms are discharged into the sewerage system.
Chemical cleaning of alcohol. After the second distillation, it is advisable to carry out chemical treatment according to the technology worked out now. Before subsequent distillations, it is important, since there are a number of impurities in alcohol, which are very difficult to separate during distillation. These substances include acetaldehyde and methyl alcohol, which do not leave with the head strap, but are distilled for a long time and "smeared" the alcohol, since they have the ability to dissolve in ethyl alcohol and its vapors. Aldehydes and unsaturated compounds, which are also difficult to separate during distillation, are easily oxidized and can be converted into substances that cannot be distilled under the influence of a weak solution of potassium permanganate, to which they are exposed in a weak alkaline medium of a water-alcohol solution. After oxidation with potassium permanganate alcohol of the second distillation, it should be treated with alkali. In this case, alcohols and ethers are saponified with their transfer partly into salts and partly into alcohols. In addition, free acids, mainly acetic acid, are neutralized during this chemical operation.
For the chemical treatment of alcohol, two solutions are prepared: a 10% alkali solution (by dissolving KOH or NaOH in an aqueous-alcoholic liquid) and a 2% aqueous-alcoholic solution of potassium permanganate (KMnO 4). An alkali solution is poured into the aqueous-alcoholic liquid obtained after the second distillation with constant stirring at the rate of 10 ml of solution per liter of liquid. After 10-15 minutes of exposure with stirring, pour in 7.5 ml of potassium permanganate solution per 1 liter of liquid. After thorough mixing, leave it all for 6 hours. After this time, another 10 ml of solution per liter of alkali is poured into the liquid and after another stirring, it is left alone until the liquid becomes discolored and the black precipitate settles to the bottom. Not later than 20 hours later, the liquid is separated from the precipitate by decantation and filtration and the third distillation is started.
The ratios of the reagents used for the purification indicated here are averaged, since, depending on the technological and raw material factors, the amount of impurities in the processed product can be different. Therefore, in your work you must be guided by the rule: great benefit will be from underinvestment and vice versa. Potassium permanganate is added so much that the discoloration of the solution does not go quickly, but still fits into the allotted schedule.
Third distillation.
The filtered transparent liquid is poured into the cube of the distillation apparatus (the order of operations for loading, heating and distillation is the same as in the previous distillations). The first portions of the distillate in the amount of 0.5% of the load are taken separately and discarded. Then distilled off and collected in a collector 0.7 volume of condensate from the load in a cube. The resulting alcohol has a strength of 75-85% vol.
In especially difficult cases, when the alcohol after the third distillation will be of unsatisfactory quality, they resort to additional methods of chemical cleaning. For example, butyric and valeric acids and their salts are not separated by distillation and rectification methods, which significantly impairs the tasting properties of molasses alcohol. Cleaning it from these impurities is possible as follows. An alcohol solution of NaOH is poured into the alcohol obtained after the third distillation until a slightly alkaline reaction, thoroughly mixed and kept for 2-3 days for "cold" saponification of ethers. Then this alcohol is passed through a column with an H-cation exchanger (KU-2) - to remove salt cations, and then through an OH-anion exchanger (AN-2F) - to remove alkaline residues. Thereafter, the fourth distillation is started.
Fourth distillation.
From the water-alcohol liquid loaded into the cube of the previous distillation, about 0.7% of the head fraction is taken and discarded, then the distillate is distilled off in an amount of 0.9% of the loading volume. The resulting alcohol should have a strength of 89-92% vol.
The quantitative determinations of the distilled fractions (mainly head) indicated here are control ones and in each particular case may have deviations in one direction or another. The art of distillation, which can only be achieved empirically, lies in the ability to correctly conduct the heating process and separate fractions when collecting condensate. No treatise can endow with that fidelity of judgment that an experienced distiller possesses. But a good treatise can provide an important service, providing the necessary information about the properties of materials, about distillation, about design features and techniques, and many other essential details that have already been developed and applied by the craftsmen.
Usually, after four distillation and application of chemical purification, an alcohol of a high purity and strength is obtained. If the result is unsatisfactory, the distillation can be continued. In this case, the resulting alcohol is diluted with water (approximately 50% by volume of alcohol). Using a vacuum during distillation can reduce the number of distillation purification cycles and produce alcohol of higher quality and strength.
Distillation processes are monitored according to several parameters. Measurement of the loaded and withdrawn liquids is carried out with the help of volumetric dishes. Control over heating, boiling and condensate withdrawal is carried out visually. In a distiller made of metal, the heating temperature is monitored with a thermometer. One of the most important control elements is to determine the concentration of alcohol in the initial product and the resulting condensate at each technological stage. Organoleptic control over its properties has an essential role in obtaining high-quality alcohol.
Determination of the organoleptic properties of alcohol, that is, factors affecting the human senses (color, transparency, taste, odor), distillers produce according to certain rules, which are described in detail in Appendix 2. The smell of alcohol can be determined by rubbing drops between the palms. In this case, the smell of acetaldehyde first appears, then, as it evaporates, ethyl alcohol, and last of all, fusel oil. The taste is just as easy to determine: a finger moistened with alcohol is carried over the tongue or gum - the strength or pungency will tell you how many aldehydes are in the liquid. Of course, the main thing here is the individual abilities of the distiller-taster, his experience. The very conduct of the test, as well as the conclusion on it, must be treated with extreme caution, and at the same time, it is impossible to do without them in assessing the quality of alcohol and other alcoholic beverages today.
The table presents data on the amount of ethyl alcohol extracted from certain products, which will serve as control figures when evaluating the results of work on the completeness of extraction. This is the second most important indicator of the achieved mastery.
The output of alcohol and vodka from 1 kg of raw materials.
|
Type of raw material |
Output, l / kg |
Type of raw material |
Output, l / kg |
||
|
Alcohol |
Vodka |
Alcohol |
Vodka |
||
|
Grape |
0,09-0,14 |
0,247 |
Potato |
0,11-0,18 |
0,35 |
|
Cherry |
0,245-0,060 |
0,121 |
Starch |
0,716 |
1,521 |
|
Pear |
0,052-0,100 |
0,165 |
Corn |
0,645 |
1,41 |
|
Sugar |
0,511 |
1,08 |
Oats |
0,358 |
0,895 |
|
Sugar beet |
0,082-0,120 |
0,212 |
Wheat |
0,435 |
0,92 |
|
Apples |
0,064 |
0,138 |
Millet |
0,413 |
0,876 |
|
Peas |
0,408 |
0,767 |
Rice |
0,587 |
2,247 |
|
Buckwheat |
0,473 |
1,004 |
Rye |
0,40-0,45 |
0,88 |
|
Acorns |
0,25 |
0,558 |
Barley |
0,344 |
0,724 |
So, we have obtained high-purity ethyl alcohol of high concentration. To obtain an alcoholic beverage of the required strength, the concentrated alcohol is diluted with water, according to one of the tables below.
Dilution of strong ethyl alcohol with water to water-alcohol solutions of lower concentrations.
|
The strength of the resulting liquid,% vol |
The amount of water added to 100 volumes of strong alcohol (% vol) to obtain lower concentrations of a water-alcohol mixture (t = 15-20 ° C) |
|||||||
|
95 |
90 |
89 |
88 |
87 |
86 |
85 |
80 |
|
|
55 |
78,0 |
67,8 |
66,0 |
64,0 |
62,0 |
60,0 |
57,9 |
48,1 |
|
50 |
96,0 |
84,7 |
82,8 |
80,5 |
78,5 |
76,3 |
73,9 |
63,0 |
|
45 |
117,4 |
105,3 |
103,5 |
101,2 |
98,7 |
96,3 |
93,3 |
81,2 |
|
40 |
144,4 |
130,3 |
128,5 |
126,0 |
122,5 |
120,0 |
117,3 |
104,0 |
|
The strength of the resulting water-alcohol mixture,% vol |
The amount of alcohol of high strength (in the numerator) and water (in the denominator), ml, to obtain 1 liter of a mixture of lower concentration ( t = 20 ° C) |
|||
|
95 |
90 |
85 |
80 |
|
|
55 |
579/451 |
611/414 |
647/374 |
680/330 |
|
50 |
526/504 |
556/471 |
588/434 |
625/394 |
|
45 |
474/556 |
500/526 |
529/493 |
563/457 |
|
40 |
421/608 |
444/580 |
471/552 |
599/520 |
As you can see from the table, when mixing alcohol with water, the volume of the mixture decreases in the range from 1 to 3%. This phenomenon was discovered and explained by D.I.Mendeleev.
Raw alcohol is a full-fledged moonshine obtained after the first distillation of the mash without separating the "head", "body" and "tails" fractions. Many call it unrefined, as it contains a large amount of "booze" and other harmful impurities. We do not recommend drinking it directly after distillation, but it is important to know the technology of its preparation, since it is on its basis that our final product will be made, which we will put on the table.
We will analyze the step-by-step instructions for distilling mash into raw alcohol, and also consider several options for what we can do with it further in order to get a quality product. There are only two alternatives: to carry out a second fractional distillation with fractions or to purify the crude alcohol from harmful impurities.
Interesting fact: the yield of raw alcohol per 1 kg of sugar is no more than 1.1 liters
We use classic sugar mash with a 1 to 4 hydromodule. For 20 liters of wort, we take the following proportions:
The taste of the final product strongly depends on the quality of water, so take a spring or purchased one.
The mash ripens from 5 to 10 days in a dark place at a temperature of 20-30 degrees. It is very important to maintain the correct temperature regime and not to expose the wort to a sunny color once again, otherwise you can disrupt the chemical process in the mash.
Sometimes a situation arises in which fermentation does not take place. And the reasons and solutions to this problem are described in the publication -.
It is convenient to use a special plastic barrel with a water seal as a fermentation tank
If the bubbling in the mash has stopped, a precipitate has formed and it tasted bitter, then you can proceed to the next stage.
If for some reason it remains sweet or begins to sour, then try to revive it by adding new yeast and water.
If in general everything looks very bad, then overtake at least what is.
To avoid yeast getting into the alembic (they burn to the walls), it is recommended to clarify the mash. This is done in most cases with bentonite, but we recommend using regular filtration through cotton or gauze.
This is quite enough for a good cleaning of our wort.
The cloudy mixture becomes transparent after filtration
In the instructions, I will indicate the temperature conditions under which certain chemical reactions occur. If you have an ordinary "grandfather's" moonshine without a thermometer, then focus on jet speed(it shouldn't run too fast) and alcohol strength(collecting below 30 degrees is highly discouraged).
Use a probe thermometer to measure temperature
All the moonshine that we get and will be called raw alcohol - the product of the first distillation of mash. It contains many harmful impurities, so we recommend that you do not dwell on this result, but continue to improve the quality of your product.
In general, there are three options, one of which we strongly discourage you from doing.
Raw alcohol and ready-to-drink moonshine
The best way to bring raw alcohol to a perfect finish. By separating into fractions "head", "body" and "tails", we will maximally clean the moonshine from harmful impurities and the very "booze" that has an unpleasant taste and smell.
Moonshine fractions
The resulting distillate has a neutral taste and excellent quality. It is almost impossible to make moonshine better than using double distillation.
A simpler option is to remove harmful substances from the moonshine. It is not as effective as fractional distillation, but still many people practice it.
Before performing cleaning, you need to decide which method is best to use? In we have collected complete information about which methods work and which don't. From best to worst, this rating is as follows:
What is the best purifier to choose?
At the link above, you will receive instructions for cleaning each of the methods presented. If you decide to prepare moonshine for the table with this method, then be sure to study the rating presented to you, since this information is very interesting even for self-development.
How much of the strongest Russian moonshine will turn out when distilling raw alcohol - these are the most burning questions in the art of home brewing. It is this calculation that plays a fundamental role, it will help to get high-quality, safe alcohol at the output, with a minimum of ethyl alcohol losses, which means that the strength will pleasantly surprise you. Of course, it is difficult to finally get rid of harmful mixtures, but thoroughly cleaning the drink, improving the taste characteristics, fractional distillation will help great.
Raw alcohol itself contains many harmful substances that inflict a crushing blow on the human body, but the trouble is solved all the elements have different boiling points, it will not be difficult to drive them out.
Now we know how many harmful substances are contained in raw alcohol. Now let's figure out what raw alcohol is.
Raw alcohol - unfiltered moonshine obtained after the first fermentation of the brew. It is not necessary to consume it inside, as follows from the table above, there are a lot of harmful things, so it is necessary to fractionally overtake it again or to carry out further alcoholic research, but it is possible to carry out rectification, to make the purest alcohol.
In the definition, an important word is mash, let's see what to make this product from, because it is the basis of alcohol.
Alcohol comes out during the breakdown of sugars, so the mash can be made from any sweet or starchy component, for example, fruits (apples, plums, grapes and others) or grains (wheat, rye, etc.), if none of the above is at hand, then ordinary granulated sugar will come off. The final yield of alcohol depends on the sweetness of the raw material, the sweeter it is, the more alcohol.
We smoothly approached the question that alcohol needs to be distilled again, without leaving it in its original form, too harmful elements remain in alcohol, drinking is fraught with consequences, at best, a little intoxication, but a lethal outcome is possible.
The repeated distillation of raw alcohol is called fractional, here the fractions are separated, it is important to remove the tail fraction, the "head", so that only the "body" remains, that is, what is used internally. The head fraction is the most dangerous components, you cannot drink, only for technical needs, for example, kindling firewood, the "tails" also contain harmfulness (fusel mixtures), but less than in the "head", it can be re-distilled or combined with new portions of mash, to create strong elite alcohol, they are collected in an individual container, but if there is no desire to "bother", you can simply drain it down the drain, which is typical for beginners. 
In order to carry out a fractional distillation of raw alcohol, you need to take three simple steps: "chop off the heads", collect the "body", "cut off the tails."
When carrying out the procedure, you can rely on the data in the table
| Liquid temperature in a cube (°) | The amount of alcohol in a cube (% of the total volume) | Complete alcohol content (% of total volume) |
| 88 | 21,9 | 68,9 |
| 89 | 19,1 | 66,7 |
| 90 | 16,5 | 64,1 |
| 91 | 14,3 | 61,3 |
| 92 | 12,2 | 57,9 |
| 93 | 10,2 | 53,6 |
| 94 | 8,5 | 49 |
| 95 | 6,9 | 43,6 |
| 96 | 5,3 | 36,8 |
| 97 | 3,9 | 29,5 |
| 98 | 2,5 | 20,7 |
| 99 | 1,2 | 10,8 |
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
An important role is played by the raw materials selected for the preparation of the mash. To the question of how much raw material will be obtained from the mash, you can give an answer of 100 percent accuracy, it is measured by the sugar content of the components, the sweeter the raw material, the more alcohol will come out at the end. Average 0.64 liters. alcohol / kilogram of sugar, for fruit varieties the number will increase.
The choice of the device depends on the ultimate goal, if you just need moonshine, for use at the table, an ordinary unit with a dry steam boiler will do, it is good, but pure alcohol will not work on it, no matter how hard you try, even with multiple distillations. When you need a liquid with a strength close to natural alcohol, you need to apply the option with a rectification column, rectification is done on it, and what is it that differs from distillation, let's talk further.
Moonshine still with a steamer
Using distillation, we get moonshine, with the smell of the initial raw material, if it is fragrant. When rectification is done, the end result is neutral, odorless, without much taste. Such a thing is used to prepare tinctures, drink. Now there are apparatuses with reflux condensers that work as a rectification column, they do 2 things at once, not at the same time, of course, rectification and distillation, it all depends on the desired final result. I must say that the units give a very impressive quality of alcohol, you can prepare liqueur, Calvados, and other delicious alcoholic products. You can not use a rectification column to distill the mash, such carelessness leads to clogging of the device in the lower part. It is necessary to purchase an apparatus with an already built-in application for rectification. There are a large number of such models on the market, there are inexpensive options for any wallet, because the price depends on the complexity of the design, whatever it is you will be able to choose.
The distillation of the raw alcohol is done, it remains to clean the final product.
Attention, raw alcohol can be purified only after the fractional distillation procedure, when there are almost no dangerous fractions left, but 
the nasty smell itself remains, there is no desire to drink such. This is where cleaning comes to the rescue, there are a great many methods: potassium permanganate, activated carbon tablets, charcoal, salt, soda, and others. The most often used is an integrated approach, carbonization and cleaning with vegetable oil, such a "general cleaning" allows you to soften the taste of alcohol, removes the unpleasant stench of "fusel oils". After the completion of the procedure, the alcohol is tinted, flavored, but at the request of the professional capabilities of the distiller.
In the article, we have carefully analyzed an important process in home brewing - the distillation of raw alcohol, this must always be done, because such a product is obtained during the first distillation and we have a huge number of different hazards, the use of which will not add to health. In this case, it is better to play it safe, to brew alcohol correctly, without neglecting fractional distillation, cleaning, and choosing the correct model of the moonshine still. The quality of the drink is influenced by many facts, nothing can be missed.
Every moonshiner knows that in order to get a quality drink, the mash needs to be distilled twice. At the same time, moonshine used to be distilled only once and the quality of the drink was also very good. So is a second distillation necessary?
Raw alcohol is the result of the first run. Most often it is performed without separation into fractions. Subsequently, it is purified and re-distilled. The raw contains a large amount of fusel oils. This negatively affects its taste and smell. In addition, it is dangerous for the body.
Unrefined raw alcohol can cause severe hangover, as well as severe poisoning with headaches, vomiting and even seizures.
It is very often indicated that it is necessary to distill the mash up to 30 degrees. This way you can get more alcohol. But if you put quality first, then distillation is performed in a slightly different way. For this, it is recommended to cut off the heads already during the initial distillation. It is in them that a large amount of hazardous substances will be contained. The resulting heads are poured out, it is not recommended to use them.
It is important to determine the number of goals here. This is done in different ways:
The finished home brew is poured into the moonshine still. As soon as the temperature reaches 63-67 degrees, the heating decreases and the first drops are expected. We collect the required volume, calculated earlier.
It is important that the distillate drips and does not come out in a trickle.
After that, we add the fire so that the distillate stands out already in a trickle. The collection continues until the fortress is 35 degrees. On average, it is 90-93 degrees. The rest will already be considered tails with a high content of fusel oils. They can be added to the moonshine at the next distillation and increase the overall yield.
It is recommended to use an apparatus with a steam boiler. A straight-through apparatus is also suitable. Then the division into fractions will be mandatory during the first run. A moonshine still with a reinforcing column will allow you to get more purified alcohol.
The resulting crude alcohol must be prepared for the second distillation. Charcoal and coconut charcoal, low fat milk, salt, soda and so on are suitable for this. In a word, you choose the cleaning method yourself, since there are a huge number of them. After cleaning, it must be diluted.
Distilling pure raw alcohol is dangerous due to the fact that the liquid is strong and flammable.
