How to clarify moonshine from cloudiness after dilution. Why moonshine becomes cloudy: reasons and remedies

Many believe that we should be indebted to Peter the Great for the appearance of strong alcohol, which he brought from Europe to Russia. They say that until the beginning of the 18th century there were no such drinks in the country at all. We cannot fundamentally agree with this. The process of fermentation and distillation was known even under Ivan the Terrible. Then the process of making the “invigorating potion” was treated with special respect, observing all the manufacturing technology, using secret ingredients, thanks to which the drink was as pure as a tear. Because of the high cost of moonshine, only the highest ranks and nobles could “distill” it, while the local “poverty” could only be content with home-made home brew. Today, many of the secrets of purifying a freshly distilled drink have been forgotten. Although there are some left that are still used by those who know how to distill moonshine. For example, everyone in any village in Russia knows how to clean with potassium permanganate.

History of moonshine: from antiquity to modernity

Moonshine - the name itself implies action - to drive, both in the literal and figurative sense. At different times it was persecuted: it was banned, sold only to the rich, and was made from such a waste that people died when consuming it.

But the beginning of moonshine was encouraging: back in the 14th century in Rus', people discovered that fruits or vegetables left in a warm place for a long time rot, releasing carbon dioxide and forming a weak degree of alcohol. Subsequently, it was revealed that when this substance is heated and “distilled,” the resulting “royal” drink is obtained. It was also experimentally proven that the use of wheat or rye grains as raw materials significantly improved the taste and quality of moonshine. As for the issue of the “purity” of the drink, in those days increased importance was given to crystalline quality: from 1 ton of raw materials only 30 liters of the purest moonshine were obtained.

Over the centuries, cooking processes have been improved. By the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century. Russia became the producer of the best and most delicious moonshine that was available throughout Europe: they were given to ambassadors and nobles, sold to foreign merchants and traders, and treated to important guests and nobility.

Today, processes have accelerated, and special demands are made on quality: people want strength and a “blow to the head.” When asked whether it is necessary to purify moonshine, today it is worth saying affirmatively: “It is absolutely necessary, and it is better in several ways at once.”

Necessary ingredients for preparing the drink

What's good about moonshine? Strength, crystallinity or taste? Or healing properties? The answer is all of the above. In addition, the drink has truly miraculous qualities:

• You can rub it with it when you have a cold;
• carry out disinfection (do not be surprised, moonshine can be up to 96 degrees, the main thing is to be able to “drive” it);
• Use as an aperitif for better digestion of food.

Moonshine can be produced from any raw material. The point is that this drink, unique in all respects, leading in all respects over others (whiskey, cognac, bourbon, brandy, tequila, rum, grappa), can be “chased” from almost all available “materials”:

• berries;
• fruits;
• vegetables;
• cereals;
• jam, marmalade, honey;
• dairy products;
• wine, juices, kvass;
• bakery products;
• pl. etc.

That is, only those ingredients that are subject to the fermentation process are needed. And the indispensable and most important finalizer of everything is sugar, which helps speed up the fermentation process. The main thing is that the products are of high quality and natural, then you will get the best moonshine. How to clean with potassium permanganate or other methods? More on this in the next section.

Aspects from the production process: from the mash to the final product

Every self-respecting moonshiner has at his disposal special equipment for the production of this divine drink at home:

• distillation cube - an iron (preferably stainless steel) vessel that serves to heat the mash;
• coil - serves to cool vapors;
• copper tubes - necessary to connect the cube to the coil.

The moonshine production process includes the following steps:

1. Preparing the basis for the future drink - mash.
2. Heating the latter and distilling it with the help of a specialized cube, after which it will turn into the final product.
3. Purification from fusel oils.
4. Odor removal.

After receiving moonshine, many people want to clean it of impurities and odors. Question: “How to clean moonshine with potassium permanganate?” - in principle, it is asked regularly on various forums and pages. To do this, you need freshly expelled moonshine and potassium permanganate, and several stages of action. But besides the latter, there are many more ways to painlessly and easily remove all unnecessary "particles" from the drink.

The easiest way to remove fusel oils

Having kicked out the moonshine, many calm down and enjoy the drink they receive. But if life and your health are valuable, you should finish what you started. It is necessary to clear the drink of all impurities and fusel oils without delay and a shadow of doubt. Many of the proposed methods (for example, how to properly clean moonshine with potassium permanganate) or heard recipes are not always convenient and partly costly.

The simplest option for removing all excess from moonshine is freezing. The following ingredients are needed:

• freezer;
• moonshine;
• vessel.

Due to the severe frost, everything and excess liquid will freeze, but the real and clean moonshine will remain. As a result, by removing waste, you get a crystal clear and delicious drink.

Potassium permanganate: one of the best ways to clean moonshine

How to clean with potassium permanganate? There is no simpler or better method! To do this, you should go to the pharmacy (if not at home) and purchase manganese powder, which will help moonshine expel all unwanted neighbors from its composition.

The composition is as follows: for 1 liter of freshly expelled moonshine, only 2-3 grams of manganese is required.

After pouring it into a bottle, you need to shake the contents well - the drink will acquire a characteristic pink-scarlet color. Then leave the vessel alone (preferably a place devoid of sunlight) for 1-2 days. After the time has elapsed, a precipitate forms at the bottom of the bottle, which collected all the “extra” consistency.

To improve the effect, after adding manganese to the vessel, you can also put the latter on a steam bath on low heat (20 minutes). Then strain through cotton wool. The drink is cleared and ready to drink!

The most practical and effective way to cleanse using soda

After distillation, moonshine usually has a sharp and not so pleasant smell, which completely discourages any desire to taste it. To get rid of the annoying notes of stench, you should clean the drink with soda. How to clean moonshine with soda is a simple task, and the process is quite pleasant and uncomplicated.

For this you will need:

1. 10-15 grams of soda.
2. 1 liter of freshly distilled moonshine.
3. Free time and patience.

It is necessary to stir the specified amount of drink and soda, then do not touch for 40 minutes. Next, you should shake the vessel with moonshine again, leaving the contents in the vessel for a longer period - 12-24 hours.

After the specified time has elapsed, the drink is perfectly cleared. It is necessary to remove the top layer (on average 2-3 cm of undrinkable liquid) and sediment (soda and fusel oils, impurities). What remains between the top and bottom layers is purified moonshine, which will be as clear as a tear and with a neutral odor.

As a result, the problem of how to clean moonshine with soda has been solved, and its procedure will not take much time and money. Baking soda can be purchased at any grocery store and the price is ridiculously low. This is why this cleaning method is one of the most budget-friendly.

Charcoal cleaning as the most environmentally friendly method

The use of natural products (environmentally friendly and safe) is the best way to clean moonshine from impurities and harmful oils. One such method is the use of charcoal.

This is one of the oldest and most proven methods, since there have always been many forests in Rus', and Russians have always been able to use the benefits of nature.

Since certain stages and procedures must be followed in which it will lose everything negative, ennobling it to the level of a “royal” drink.

Stage 1 - you need to extract coal. To do this, you should find suitable wood, preferably fresh, green. It is better to give preference to linden and birch. Having selected the required number of branches (it is better to take trees no older than half a century), you need to light a fire. After burning, the hot coals should be placed in any container with a lid and left to cool completely. Next you need to crush the coals until fine.

Stage 2 - preparation of ingredients:

• Charcoal - 100 grams;
• Moonshine - 1 liter.

After mixing the liquid with the component, place the vessel in a dark place and leave for 7 days. Note: you need to shake the vessel at least 4 times a day. After the expiration date, you need to leave the vessel completely alone for another week.

Stage 3 - straining the moonshine using gauze or cotton wool.

from bad odors

Many moonshiners, having “kicked out”, in their opinion, a wonderful drink, are subsequently upset - the strong substance contains strange oils, and the smell is so pungent that the nose cannot withstand such a test. If you don’t know how to get rid of such “neighbors”, then all the products will be unsuitable for further use. Why the subsequent question: “How to remove the smell from moonshine?” - very relevant.

First you need to clean the drink from cloudiness and oils. After passing this stage, you can use numerous spices to refine the moonshine. Among them, especially respected: fennel, mint, vanilla, allspice or red pepper, fresh horseradish root, bison, oak bark.

You can also use the ancient method of purifying moonshine from the smell, which was used in Rus'. You will need 50 grams 500 grams of regular black raisins (white will not work). Pour into a vessel with moonshine and keep in a dark place for at least 30 days. After the expiration date, strain through cotton wool several times. The drink will lose all smells and tastes, being filled with the pleasant aromas of violets and grapes.

Benefits of using cleaning

Any product made from even the most environmentally friendly ingredients may contain harmful impurities and particles that can harm the human body. How does this happen? In natural products, during their processing (chemical or other) a release occurs. To do this, a cycle must be carried out to remove all harmful substances from the final product.

So, during the initial “race”, “pervak” comes out - the dirtiest and strongest moonshine. Under no circumstances should it be mixed with the drink that follows. Just delete!

Today there are a huge number of ways to clean moonshine from impurities and odors. You just need to follow simple tips, and then the drink will turn out clean and safe.

Beginner moonshiners often doubt whether it is harmful to purify moonshine with potassium permanganate? This method is very old and proven, so the consumer will not receive any negative effects on the body. On the contrary, the moonshine will be purified and take on its best appearance.

Numerous ways to improve the drink only prove that you can get a first-class and crystal drink from nasty “mash”.

Storage methods: from temperature to specific location

Getting the moonshine out is not so bad. Next, you need to clean it of impurities and a pungent odor, which can scare away even the most persistent ones. According to the recommendations of experts, moonshine should be cleaned with potassium permanganate and soda immediately after it is “distilled.” But the process does not end there either. Its taste and general condition directly depend on the storage conditions and the container in which it will be located.

So, you need to exclude the following containers from storage methods:

• plastic bottles;
• wooden barrels (if you don’t want to get cognac);
• metal vessels (aluminium, copper, steel).

Only glass, ceramic bottles, jars or vessels can be used. Some also use stainless steel barrels for storage.

As for the temperature, it does not play any role: whether there are negative or positive changes, the drink does not lose its properties.

Moonshine, according to most experienced producers, becomes better at high degrees. It is even recommended to seal it in a bottle and put it in the attic of the house (where it can be more than 40 degrees higher in the summer) for 10 years. During this time, the drink will transform, turning into nectar.

You should also avoid places exposed to direct sunlight.

Many distillers wonder why moonshine becomes cloudy when diluted with water. There are several answers to this question: everything depends not only on the characteristics of the drink, but also on the equipment on which it is produced.

For many years it was believed that the color of the distillate should be opaque. But this is just a stereotype that has developed under the influence of cinema and television.

However, it is first worth turning to history. About 200 years ago, almost all moonshine had a cloudy color, the color of milk, as the villagers said. It’s difficult to call this drink moonshine; rather, the definition of “surrogate” suits it. Turbidity was considered a sign of high strength, but in reality such alcohol was rich in fusel oils, esters and aldehydes; drinking it was dangerous to health. The same cannot be said about the distillate that was present in noble houses. All kinds of liqueurs and liqueurs were a decoration for the table of high society; they were often served for lunch or dinner as an aperitif.

Moonshine becomes cloudy when diluted with water.

The nobles improved the technology of distilling moonshine, which ultimately allowed them to produce high-quality drinks.

But when the Bolsheviks came to power, they decided that it would be more expedient to cultivate locally produced alcohol. Directors made films by displaying glass bottles filled with cloudy liquid. And the audience had no questions about what was contained in the bottles; the answer was obvious - moonshine.

Why did the moonshine become cloudy?

There may be several reasons for this. At its core, turbidity is particles of impurities that change the color of the drink.

There are several reasons why alcohol becomes cloudy:

1. Cloudiness may occur due to dilution of alcohol with hard water.
2. Poor quality equipment may affect the color of the product.
3. The presence of harmful impurities and toxins in alcohol is the main reason for discoloration.

If alcohol becomes cloudy after diluting with water, then the cause of this phenomenon may be the water. The liquid that is used in the process of making mash or the distillate directly affects the characteristics of the product. For this reason, it is best to dilute moonshine with bottled water; you can also use filtered water or still mineral water.

If the moonshine becomes cloudy even before dilution, i.e. immediately after receipt, then the reason for this may be poor-quality equipment. This includes the lack of a steam chamber, a poor cooling system, as well as the material from which the distillation cube is made.

If metal ions or other foreign elements enter the drink during the manufacturing process, its color may change. Such transformations will affect not only the quality of the distillate, but will also hopelessly ruin its taste and smell.

The main reason why alcohol changes its color is due to impurities. Fusel oils, of which there are about forty varieties, can cause significant harm to the drink. If the mash has not been sufficiently purified, then the final product will contain harmful impurities - they are the ones that affect the transparency of the moonshine.

In addition, during the boiling process, mash particles can get into the finished distillate. Intense boiling causes the mash to begin to bubble. It is difficult to control the boiling process because the distillation cube is closed. So it turns out that after distillation, the distiller receives cloudy moonshine. In this case, not only the color of the drink suffers, but also its quality.

When moonshine becomes cloudy when diluted, this may be temporary. Experts advise diluting the distillate according to the following scheme: pour moonshine into water, and not vice versa. This will help keep the product clear and avoid haze.

How to restore transparency?

Clarification of moonshine can take place in several stages. Everything largely depends on the reason that led to the color change.

So, how to return transparency to moonshine:

• subject the drink to additional purification, thereby ridding it of fusel oils, aldehydes and other harmful substances;
• replace some parts of the device with those that are inert;
• re-distill the distillate.

Some fans of producing alcohol at home subject it to additional purification - the moonshine is passed through filters, which are filter jugs for purifying tap water. You can also use homemade filters; they also help restore the clarity of alcohol.

You can cleanse the drink of harmful impurities using activated carbon tablets, potassium permanganate crystals, and even bread. But such methods are considered ineffective, since they often do not bring the desired result.

Since some parts of the moonshine still can oxidize during the distillation process, ions can enter the mash, change its composition and affect the quality of the product. To prevent this, you should choose hoses made of food-grade silicone, distillation cubes made of copper or stainless steel.

Repeated distillation is a good way to clean alcohol from impurities, eliminate fusel oils, esters and aldehydes. It is carried out according to the same scheme as the first.

Turbidity may also appear if the drink has not been divided into fractions. Separating the “heads” from the “body” and selecting the “tails” is the main task of the moonshiner. If the distillate was distilled in violation of the system or rules, then there is a high risk that the color of the moonshine will be cloudy.

In principle, it is not necessary to clean alcohol, filter it, or change parts of the apparatus. Sometimes it’s enough to just let the distillate sit. Moonshine can simply be covered with a dark cloth and placed in a cool place. The sediment will settle to the bottom and the color of the drink will change.

The container in which the product is stored can also affect transparency. It is worth using glass rather than plastic, since plastic can oxidize over time. Plastic particles that get into moonshine make it cloudy, for this reason you should avoid plastic bottles and canisters.

If you need to improve the quality of moonshine and its strength, then an oak barrel will cope with this task. Such a container will not only give the drink a pleasant aroma, but will also help to significantly improve its characteristics.

If the alcohol becomes cloudy during the dilution process, then simple heating will help correct this mistake. The product is placed in a container and heated to 70 degrees. Then it is sharply cooled, which allows you to change the color of the finished distillate and restore its transparency.

But not everyone likes a drink with similar characteristics; distillers often try to make moonshine cloudy, wanting in this way to give it a unique charm.

How to make moonshine cloudy?

Making alcohol opaque is immediately before drinking it.

To give alcohol a similar shade will help:

1. Powdered milk.
2. Milk serum.
3. Vegetable oil.

Just 15 grams of powdered milk or cream will help to add color to the drink. You just need to pour milk or cream into a container with moonshine and carefully move it. It is desirable that the product be warm or at room temperature. But don’t get carried away - 10–15 grams will be enough to change 1 liter of alcohol and make it cloudy. At the same time, the smell of the drink will not change, as will its taste.

Whey can also affect the characteristics of the distillate. But don’t get carried away with the process: in order to change the color of the drink, it’s enough to pour 5 to 30 ml of the product into 1 liter. You cannot replace whey with kefir or milk; such a product can lead to food poisoning.

In addition, by adding milk to alcohol, you can witness a chemical reaction during which the milk will curdle, and in order to rid the drink of flakes, it will have to be filtered.

If you feel nostalgia for the village and cloudy distillate, then you can add a few drops of vegetable oil to it. This product will not affect the taste of moonshine, but will help change its color. Just 5-6 drops of oil, and colorful alcohol is ready to drink. To ensure that the oil is distributed evenly, the product should be shaken or stirred several times with a wooden spoon.

The color of the distillate may also change if it is infused with herbs or nuts. Such a drink will not only have the desired color, it will have good characteristics - taste and smell.

Turbidity should not be regarded as an indicator of the quality of alcohol. Opacity should alert the consumer or distillate manufacturer. Such a drink should be tried with caution. If, in addition to being cloudy, moonshine has an unpleasant, pungent odor and strange taste, then you should not drink it; such alcohol can only be used for technical needs, and then only with caution.

Making homemade alcohol in itself is a rather time-consuming process. The mash alone costs at least 3-4 days. And even if you happen to (we recommend choosing a device with a distillation column brand) with good performance, distilling the mash, and then the raw alcohol, still takes several hours.

Sometimes it happens that mistakes were made when distilling the mash. Cloudy moonshine is always annoying, and most importantly, cleaning it again takes time. But over many years of practice, craftsmen have found ways to quickly clean moonshine from fusel oils and smell.

Most often, such cleaning is required by beginners, since they have not yet established all the mechanisms for complying with the distillation technology. However, if you approach the “” question wisely, you can purchase a distiller that is as convenient and easy to use as possible.

We recommend quick cleaning of moonshine only if a second distillation is planned. After all, re-distillation is the key to a high-quality drink that is as safe as possible (in terms of impurities) for health. Even craftsmen who have had a chance with jewelry calculations most often distill moonshine twice. Thus, in almost 100% of cases, a quick method of purifying moonshine is necessary after the first distillation to simplify cleaning in the second distillation.

So, 4 methods for quickly cleaning moonshine:

1. Regular baking soda allows you to quickly clean moonshine. You will need 10 grams per liter of distillate and about 12 hours of time. Soda is poured into the moonshine, the container is shaken thoroughly and left for half an hour. Then shake the container again and leave for 10 hours (ideally overnight). However, soda binds a small amount of “fusel oils” and neutralizes acids. This eliminates some of the turbidity and unpleasant odor. After a precipitate has formed, the pure distillate is carefully drained from it. For better purification, the distillate should be re-distilled.

2. Potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) is a powerful oxidizing agent. It allows you to remove harmful aldehydes from the drink. Potassium permanganate powder is taken at the rate of 1 gram per liter of distillate. The container is shaken well and placed in a water bath at a temperature of 50-70°C for 15 minutes. After the sediment has formed, the distillate is allowed to settle for a while, and then it is carefully drained from the sediment. It is best to use potassium permanganate in combination with soda and alkali, and re-distill the purified distillate.

3. How else to clean moonshine quickly at home without special tools? Everyone in the house has a refrigerator, and in it - a freezer. The freezing method is one of the most ancient. The distillate is poured into a glass or iron container and placed in the freezer overnight. Water, along with harmful impurities, freezes near the walls of the container, and the purified ethanol solution remains in the center. If the cloudiness and smell still persist, you need to repeat the procedure. The main thing is not to take a container with a narrow neck for these purposes.

4. The most effective and fastest method is coal purification, when moonshine is passed through a coal column. However, this requires special activated charcoal or coconut charcoal, as well as a column. But this method allows for reliable cleaning at a speed of up to 2 liters per minute.

We can talk a lot about it, but over many years of practice, dubious methods have long become obsolete. And if some methods may seem insufficiently “environmentally friendly” (for example, the use of potassium permanganate), then their harm is still significantly lower than the harm caused by excess impurities in the distillate. However, these days you can completely freely find a distiller that will allow you to obtain a pure and drinkable drink after the first distillation. , meeting modern quality and safety requirements? It is best to study the market and do it directly with the manufacturer.

The taste and aromatic qualities of moonshine, as well as its safety for health, largely depend on foreign impurities that enter the distillate from raw materials, as a result of the activity of yeast, or during its distillation. Modern equipment and adherence to the rules of fractional distillation solve almost 100% of the problems associated with these impurities, but often conditions are far from ideal and moonshine must be cleaned of odors, unpleasant tastes and harmful compounds. In this article, we tried to systematize and analyze all the methods for cleaning moonshine at home and draw certain conclusions for each of them.

Almost all components of moonshine, except water, are harmful to our body and are, in fact, poison. Not all of them are equally dangerous (ethanol, for obvious reasons, we immediately excluded), and some of them endow the drink with the very “bouquet” of tastes and aromas for which we are engaged in distillation (and we will only talk about it further). But these components are dangerous and their quantity must be minimized, which is what this material is devoted to. So, what will we clean from:

1. Methanol(methyl alcohol) is the simplest monohydric alcohol that has the smell of ethanol. Its boiling point is only 64.7 o C, that is, logically it should go down the drain during 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 using the methods described below, since the organoleptic properties (the combination of tastes and aromas) are greatly affected.
2. Acetaldehyde (acetic aldehyde) is an organic compound, the aldehyde of ethanol and acetic acid. Formed during the oxidation of ethanol. Moonshine can contain quite large quantities (up to 400 mg/l or more), which can be very dangerous to health. In small concentrations, it is easily “digested” by the body into harmless acetic acid and gives the distillate a certain taste that is familiar to us.
3. 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 fusel milk is isoamyl alcohol. However, it should be understood that the taste profile of moonshine, especially grain moonshine, very much depends on the presence of certain fusel oil components in it.

Canadian Crystal Head Vodka is filtered three times through quartz crystals known as Herkimer diamonds.

I would like to immediately note that when discussing cleaning methods, we are talking, first of all, about grain distillates (for example, you can also clean them) - it is not recommended to clean fruit and most grain distillates, as this can greatly worsen their organoleptic properties. Moreover, we are talking exclusively about the distillation of drinks, and not their rectification (rectifier haters do not need to read the article).

Well, before we begin: the most effective and expedient way to obtain a pure distillate with pleasant organoleptics is a second fractional distillation with precise cutting off of the “heads” and “tails”. If you use good equipment and follow all the rules of fractional distillation, then there is no need to clean the moonshine. Strive for this first! But if the equipment or knowledge does not yet allow you to obtain 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 cleaner moonshine with pleasant organoleptics. This has long been confirmed not only by practice, but also by scientific methods. Thus, laboratory tests show that when using a smaller amount of dry yeast in the mash, raw alcohol (hereinafter CC) is obtained with a significantly lower content of fusel oil, isoamylol, isobutanol and others like it.

There is also evidence that when mash is fermented at a higher temperature (30 o C), a smaller amount of fusel oil is observed in the SS, but also less esters, from which we can conclude that for sugar mash a higher temperature is preferable, but for fruit mash - vice versa. As for clarifying the mash, a lot is written about this in the recipe for sugar moonshine, and the process itself, I believe, is mandatory.

Local output: To prepare sugar mash, we use half the amount of yeast and maintain a higher temperature regime. This is not a paradigm, but a certain revolution in distillation, which should be taken into account and, at a minimum, tested experimentally on a small amount of distillate. Clarifying the mash is a prerequisite for obtaining high-quality moonshine.

Methods for cleaning moonshine before the second distillation

After receiving clarified mash, it must 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 moonshine from sugar (not a paradigm - a recommendation). Before the mandatory second distillation, it is recommended to clean the resulting SS from fusel and other impurities, which should have a positive effect on the finished product. For this purpose, the following are used: chemical cleaning, coagulant cleaning, physical cleaning with oil and charcoaling. 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 CC with various chemical reagents 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 saponification of an alcohol solution with alkali (soda ash or caustic soda), which reacts with acids, neutralizing them, and subsequent neutralization of the alkaline environment with potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). The result: an insoluble precipitate of flakes, which contains a certain part of the “smelly” and “harmful” impurities from the SS.

On practice! The methodology was developed on the basis of the information presented in the book “Production of Alcohol 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 into the CC with stirring, potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate, KMnO 4), also dissolved in water, is immediately poured in, and after 15-20 minutes – caustic soda (sodium hydroxide, caustic soda, NaOH) dissolved in a glass of water. After 15-20 hours of settling, the SS is drained from the formed precipitate and necessarily undergoes a second fractional distillation).

Chemical cleaning from Western colleagues in the workshop: add 1 g of caustic soda dissolved in a glass of water to 1 liter of 50% CC. Wait 2 to 12 hours with occasional stirring. Do a pH test to make sure the environment is very alkaline (8-14pH). If everything is in order, add the same amount of potassium permanganate by weight as sodium hydroxide was added (first dissolve potassium permanganate in water). After this, wait 15-20 hours until sediment settles. Next, remove the SS from the sediment and distill. As an oxidizing agent, potassium permanganate can be replaced with 30% hydrogen peroxide (don’t ask for the proportions, I couldn’t find an adequate manual).

Local output: Chemical purification is certainly 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 technical equipment for distillers, more and more practitioners are abandoning it - it is difficult to calculate the required amount of chemicals for a specific distillation system without preliminary laboratory analysis. Only one conclusion can be drawn here: if you are looking for a ready-made recipe for the chemical purification of moonshine, then such a thing cannot exist in nature, and blindly following the instructions is more likely to worsen the quality of the distillate than to improve it and, in the end, can harm the health of drinkers.

Coagulant purification of raw alcohol

Speaking in human language, there is a certain group of substances, coagulants, which, when released into a solution, “glue” various compounds together, forming larger fractions that can be filtered. In this case, various compounds mean fusel oil, ethers, as well as suspension, which could somehow get into the distillate.

The principle of purifying 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, simultaneously “capturing” “smelly” impurities into the sediment, since 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 whites, beat, add a glass of water, beat again and add to SS. Wait until the protein coagulates and precipitates, filter, and send for distillation. The difficulty of this method lies in the fact that the protein reluctantly coagulates in a weak alcohol solution - for rapid coagulation, the distillate strength must be more than 40%, preferably 50%. After the first distillation on a simple apparatus, the strength is usually noticeably lower. In addition, after the second distillation of the protein-purified SS, a hydrogen sulfide or boiled egg odor may be traced in the final product.

For 10 liters of SS add 1 liter of skim milk (or up to 1.5% fat content) milk, wait for the formation of a precipitate (can be accelerated with citric acid or lemon juice), filter, dilute and do a second distillation. The problems are the same as with egg whites: the distillate often smells of hydrogen sulfide and can remain cloudy (here you need to practice slow distillation long and hard to prevent burning, etc.).

Local output: Purifying moonshine with egg white and milk before the second distillation is a rather controversial technique, which is more likely to worsen the organoleptic properties than to improve it. Similar purification methods are also used after the second distillation, when it is necessary to soften the distillate and this is perhaps a more sensible approach, but with its own problems.

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 the oil. At home, it is recommended to use refined vegetable oil without foreign 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, filling it 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 bulk of the oil should collect on the surface of the vessel (it is better to stand in a cool place) and the SS can be drained, leaving the bulk of the oil film in the container. After this, the SS must be carefully filtered through a cotton filter and/or a carbon column, and then distilled a second time, separating the heads and tails.

Local output: Purifying 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 basis, 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 purifying moonshine with activated carbon on our website, where the “infusion” method of charcoalization is described in detail. To clean SS, it is better to use charcoaling using the “column” method. There are laboratory studies confirming that after cleaning SS in this way, the concentration of fusel oil in it is significantly reduced. This technique does not need local withdrawal, since it is considered generally accepted and effective at all stages of preparing a 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” coal production and the production of an effective coal column.

Purification of moonshine by second fractional distillation

It doesn’t need any introduction, there is a book where the process of fractional distillation is described in more detail, including “catching isoamyl alcohol” - a method for purifying moonshine from isoamyl alcohol. Only one local conclusion suggests itself: repeated fractional distillation of the distillate is the most effective way to purify moonshine at home. But the degree of purification greatly depends on the available equipment and distillation skills. 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, intermediate purification is desirable.

Cleaning 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 may still not have the most pleasant smell and taste. In such cases, I personally recommend doing another distillation with a more careful separation of the moonshine into fractions, but if greed has taken over you, then you can try some methods 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 whites is carried out according to the same scheme and gives an acceptable result. Before cleaning, moonshine must be diluted to drinking strength, taking into account that during the cleaning process the degree will decrease by 2-3%. There are significant disadvantages: often the moonshine does not acquire the most pleasant eggy taste, and filtering the sediment is very, very difficult. When cleaning the finished product with milk, which is preferable, you should reduce its amount for each liter of moonshine or use powdered milk.

On practice: For 1 liter of drinking strength moonshine (42-45%, you need to take it a little stronger, since purification with milk steals a couple of degrees), take 10 ml of fresh skim 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 the flakes should be allowed to swell for 2-3 hours; fresh milk should be diluted with water 1:1. Pour the solution into the distillate, mix well and leave to settle in a cool place until a sediment forms and the distillate completely clears (from 1 hour to several days, depending on the quality of the milk). If the milk has not started curdling after 6-7 hours, you can add a little citric acid or lemon juice (lemon on the tip of a knife, repeating until the milk curdles). After complete clarification, drain from the sediment and, if necessary, filter (can be done through a coal column).

Local output: as a way of softening and slightly cleaning the finished product has its place, but the result greatly depends on the quality of the milk. It is not uncommon for moonshine to remain cloudy and no amount of filtration will help. There may also be a distinct milky taste in the final product.

Distillate purification with activated carbon

I will not repeat myself, the principle has not changed. After charring, 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 charcoalization is not appropriate and it is not necessary to carry it out at this stage, especially if the technology is violated, the distillate concentrates acetaldehyde, and this causes an unpleasant odor and a terrible hangover in the morning. In subsequent materials we will study in more detail the methods of purifying moonshine with charcoal, but for now be content with the previously mentioned article with “infused” charcoal.

A carbon filter made from a Chinese pump and a coal container as an effective system for continuous carbonation of moonshine.

Masking the smell of moonshine

An ineffective technique that many people mistakenly confuse with purifying moonshine. The idea is to mask the unpleasant odor in the drink with various products, such as rye bread pulp, 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 is not successful, then make it based on it, there are simply a huge number of recipes on our resource. Why soak bread crumbs when you can make amazing " "? If the stench of moonshine is simply unbearable, then the technology of its production has clearly been violated - such a product cannot be consumed, only intermediate cleaning and re-distillation.

In order of delirium - distillate freezing

Many “respected” resources recommend freezing it as a way to purify moonshine, they say that the water, when it turns into a crystalline form, takes with it fusel and other abominations, which is why the distillate becomes, well, simply virgin purity.

Wake up! Alcohol is a solvent and the higher its concentration, the better various impurities dissolve in it. During freezing, the concentration of alcohol increases, along with its 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). We are not talking about any cleaning here at all.

Irina Kamshilina

Cooking for someone is much more pleasant than cooking for yourself))

Content

In the manufacture of home-made alcohol, it is impossible to avoid obtaining secondary products of processing raw materials into alcohol - the so-called. fusel oils. These include propyl, isopropyl amyl and isoamyl alcohols, acetaldehyde, furfural. These chemicals adversely affect the body, causing headaches, hangovers, and poisoning after drinking home-made alcohol that has not been thoroughly purified. It is possible to remove fusel oils from moonshine using folk methods that involve the use of improvised means or specialized equipment.

What are fusel oils

This name is given to a whole group of substances obtained during the fermentation of starchy or fruit raw materials. In their pure form they have an oily consistency and a bitter, pungent odor. Alcoholic drinks that have not been properly purified contain these toxic high-molecular compounds that have a negative effect on the body. The largest amount of toxins contains moonshine after the initial distillation. Their presence can be easily recognized by the pungent odor of acetone.

When consuming poorly cleaned fusel, toxins very quickly enter the bloodstream, placing a heavy load on the liver, which is trying to filter them out and remove them. Even a small amount of harmful impurities that make their way through the natural purification processes in the human body causes a severe hangover. Having drunk a low-quality product with a high content of toxins, a person provides himself with a sharp headache, problems with the intestines. The constant use of low-grade fusel oil leads to cirrhosis of the liver, kidney problems.

Purification of moonshine from fusel oils is a mandatory process for the production of alcohol, without which it will be unusable. In industrial production, large distillation columns are used for purification, equipped with dephlegmators, which separate harmful impurities from alcohol vapors. The process of distillation of alcohol at home is carried out using a hand-assembled or purchased moonshine still. It does a good job of neutralizing toxins, but the process can be improved by using improvised means in the following steps:

1. Fermentation. To reduce the content of toxins in the finished mash, increase the process temperature to 30 degrees.
2. First distillation. Vegetable oil cleansing is used, which successfully captures all toxins, which can then be removed with charcoal.
3. Second distillation. After the final cutting off the so-called. heads and tails are often thermally cleaned. Raw materials are brought to a temperature of 70-73 degrees, at which fusel oils begin to evaporate. The disadvantage of this method is a slight loss of strength.
4. The final stage. The final clarification of the finished product is also called clarification and is used in the production of wine. Often white clay, milk, and egg whites are used to carry out this process.

Freezing

The simplest ancient method of neutralizing toxins is based on the use of temperature differences at which a change in the state of aggregation of substances contained in raw materials occurs. Well suited for preliminary and final cleaning of the product. The essence of the method is that when the moonshine is strongly cooled, the alcohol will remain in a liquid state, and the water will freeze on the walls of the container, capturing some of the toxic substances. Here's how to clean moonshine from the smell of fusel oils:

1. Pour the product into a glass container, cover with a layer of gauze on top.
2. Cool to low temperature. Keep the jar in the cold for 3-4 hours. Let the water completely freeze and form a layer of ice on the walls of the container.
3. If desired, repeat the process 1-2 times, after diluting the product slightly with distilled water.

Activated carbon

Purification of moonshine and improvement of its taste are effectively carried out using a natural absorbent - activated carbon. This substance perfectly absorbs toxins and easily captures aldehydes and essential oils. This method of detoxification can be carried out at all stages of distillation and preparation of moonshine without loss of effectiveness. Remember that after absorbing harmful impurities, coal after a short time (3-4 hours) begins to actively give them back, again saturating the pervak ​​with fusel oils. Cleaning steps:

1. Take activated carbon tablets (3-4 g/liter) or plain charcoal for the barbecue. Grind them into a fine powder.
2. Pour into a container with moonshine, mix thoroughly.
3. Let it brew for 2-3 hours.
4. Filter the charcoal residue through cotton wool or folded gauze.
5. Alternatively, carbon water filters can be used. Just pass moonshine through them 2-3 times.

Potassium permangantsovka

A very popular method of purifying moonshine is the use of potassium permanganate in the form of crystals or a medical solution. Remember safety precautions: crystalline potassium permanganate is a very caustic substance that can cause severe chemical burns on the skin. The essence of the method is that potassium permanganate, being a strong oxidizing agent, reacts with aldehydes and essential oils.

Potassium permanganate dissolves in moonshine and causes a solid sediment to form from the reacted fusel, which is simply removed by filtration through gauze. Remember that this method is only suitable for moonshine that has not undergone final purification. During the last distillation, potassium permanganate will go into the settling tank. The detoxification process is carried out as follows:

1. Add crystals or a solution of potassium permanganate to the moonshine before the final distillation at the rate of 2-3 grams of active substance per liter.
2. Let the alcohol sit, stirring it every hour.
3. Remove solid sediment using cotton wool or gauze.

Egg white

Organic substances easily react chemically with each other. Likewise, egg white reacts well with many toxins contained in unrefined moonshine. It copes especially well with the removal of aldehydes, which have a detrimental effect on the human liver. This method is used strictly before the final distillation of the drink. You need to carry out the process as follows:

1. Break raw chicken eggs (1pc / 5 liters), separate the whites from the yolks.
2. Whip the egg whites thoroughly.
3. Add to the alcoholic raw material, stir thoroughly several times until small white flakes fall out.
4. Repeat the process 1-2 times for best results.
5. Filter the precipitate through cotton wool or gauze.

Dairy

Like egg whites, dairy products contain substances that can react with fusel oils, forming a solid precipitate. For this method, plain and powdered milk, kefir, fermented baked milk are suitable. This purification method should be used prior to the final distillation stage to avoid the introduction of unnecessary off-odors. Here is how detox is done using powdered milk as an example:

1. Dilute the milk powder with water (7 g/liter) and stir until no lumps remain.
2. Pour the liquid into the container with moonshine, mix.
3. This cleaning process takes the longest: leave the container to sit for a week.
4. Filter the resulting precipitate through cheesecloth.

Soda

Simple baking soda also reacts well with fusel oils, precipitating. This purification technology is used before the second distillation of the drink. To detoxify with soda, stir in moonshine, maintaining a concentration of 10 g/liter. Leave the resulting solution to settle for 8-10 hours. Filter the precipitate through a layer of gauze, cotton pads or a carbon water filter.

Hibiscus

You can clean the mash before the initial distillation stage using hibiscus tea or orris root. The method works due to the presence of acids in these plant components, which bind fusel oils, causing them to fall out as a solid sediment at the bottom of the container. Here's how lightening is done:

1. Pour dry hibiscus petals (hibiscus tea) or violet root (2 tbsp/liter) with water.
2. Bring the liquid to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly.
3. Remove the flowers and pour the broth into the mash.
4. Leave the mixture to settle for a day. Next, you can begin distillation.

Bentonite

Clarifying the drink with white clay has long been a well-known folk method. Before you use it to clean moonshine from fusel oils, figure out where to get bentonite from. An excellent option is to buy a special powder designed to clarify alcohol. An alternative could be cat litter containing bentonite or building clay. Do not use natural clay unless necessary: ​​it is unknown what impurities it contains. Cleaning is done as follows:

1. Grind the mineral to a powder.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of clay per 5 liters of mash, stir.
3. Wait until the bentonite swells and precipitates.
4. Filter the drink through cheesecloth.

Refined oil

The mash can be easily cleaned using simple store-bought vegetable oil. This happens because alcohol and water do not mix with it, unlike fusel milk. To lighten the drink according to this recipe, add an arbitrary amount of refined oil to it and seal tightly with a lid. Next, shake the container vigorously 8-10 times at intervals of 5-10 minutes so that the drops of oil capture the fusel.

Tannins

This purification is used in the production of cognac. When it is infused in oak barrels, the special natural tanning agent tannin, which the wood contains, captures and binds toxin molecules, thereby neutralizing the drink. You can clarify alcohol in this way at home as follows:

1. Collect oak bark and cut it into small chips (5-8 g/liter).
2. Boil it over high heat for 5-10 minutes to disinfect.
3. Add the shavings to the mash and leave to settle for 1-2 weeks, tightly sealing the container with a lid. In order for the drink to acquire a beige color and a woody taste, leave it to brew for another 2-3 months.
4. Open the container and remove the bark.

How to clean mash

Before starting the distillation process, it is better to first clean the prepared mash from fusel oils in order to make your work easier during distillation in advance. All methods of clarifying a fermented mixture also involve the forced cessation of the yeast life process. Before starting cleaning, be sure to degas the mash by stirring it thoroughly. This will remove excess carbon dioxide, finally stopping fermentation. The following substances and components are used for clarification before distillation:

• bentonite;
• hibiscus, hibiscus flowers;
• Filka root;
• gelatin;
• dairy products;
• egg whites.

Moonshine still with cleaning from fusel oils

To make moonshine at home, standard moonshine stills are used, equipped with all the necessary components for distillation, distillation and purification of the drink. The device has the following device:

1. Distillation cube. Here the mash is heated, divided into fractions. Volatile evaporated components pass on, impurities remain.
2. Steamer. The element, also called a settling tank, is intended for intermediate purification of alcohol vapors from fusel. It catches some of the heavy compounds, which are drained into a special container.
3. Fridge. Here, the alcohol vapor condenses due to the reduced temperature and enters the distillate container.

Distillation

During cyclic distillation of alcohol, liquids are formed that are given the following names: head, body, tail. They vary greatly in composition, which is explained by the difference in the degree of their purification. The most harmful and toxic part is the so-called. moonshine head. At high concentrations, the drink is very intoxicating, has a detrimental effect on the body, and causes a severe hangover. Find out how these three factions differ.

1. Head. The most toxic part, also called "pervak". The product obtained after the first distillation. Contains the largest amount of fusel oils.
2. Body. Raw spirit, the main part of the drink containing ethyl alcohol.
3. Tail. Waste collected by the dry steamer. Contains aldehydes, essential oils.

Filtration

To obtain a high-quality drink, it must be cleared of impurities remaining after distillation and intermediate detoxification. The last cleaning of moonshine is called clarification. Bentonite, egg white and activated carbon are better suited for this purpose: they have the least impact on the organoleptic qualities of the final product.

Infusion

This process is used to obtain aromatic tinctures with a pronounced taste and smell. What taste the final product will have depends on what it was insisted on. To carry out this process, fruits, juicy berries, vegetables, aromatic and simple medicinal herbs are often used. The duration of the infusion may vary for different products used. Thus, the German Jägermeister liqueur is aged for up to 12 months, and cherry liqueur can be prepared in a few weeks.

How to identify fusel oils in moonshine

The presence of these toxins in a drink is very easily determined by its organoleptic characteristics. Pure moonshine, containing a large amount of toxins, has a slightly viscous consistency and a whitish tint. It is easy to distinguish fusel from a high-quality drink by the sharp unpleasant odor of acetone and aldehydes (the latter are close in smell to medical formaldehyde). Remember that the use of the so-called. Pervaka has a negative effect on the kidneys, liver, and can cause serious poisoning.

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How to clean moonshine from fusel oils and smell