Cost of moonshine: calculation of 1 liter

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

In 2019, the minimum retail price of vodka will increase from 205 to 215 rubles. This is due to the increase in excise taxes on alcohol. Most buyers ignore the overpriced vodka in stores and prefer to buy mid-price vodka. Therefore, for a bottle of "little white" with a capacity of 0.5 liters and a standard strength of 40%, the average Russian will pay 250-350 rubles.

The price is not too high if a person buys no more than 1-2 liters per year. But with more frequent use of strong alcohol, people begin to think about how to produce home-made vodka themselves, or, more simply, moonshine. The cost of this drink is not too high, in addition, if you gain experience, you can get high-quality home-made alcohol with a minimum content of fusel oils. The taste and aroma of moonshine can be improved with the help of various additives - berries, coffee beans, fruits, herbs, nuts, oak bark and shavings, etc. Russianlegislation allows the production of moonshine for personal use at low-capacity plants (less than 2,000 liters per year).

Let's try to calculate the cost of 1 liter of moonshine. In fact, at every stage of the production of homemade alcohol, you will have to face your own costs.

What moonshine is made of

The cost of moonshine depends primarily on the raw materials used. Some distillers make mash without sugar and yeast based on products from their own garden, for example, on apples, sugar beets, potatoes, seasonal berries. Of course, all these products also have a cost, since their cultivation required certain expenses for seeds, tools, fertilizers, etc. In addition, every gardener spends a lot of personal time caring for crops.

It is very difficult to calculate the real cost of mash from your own products. Therefore, for the calculation, we will take the classic sugar mash. The cost of a liter of moonshine in this case is much easier to determine.

What makes up the cost of homemade alcohol

The technological process of making homemade strong alcohol consists of three main stages:

• Making mash.
• Distillation and re-distillation (if necessary).
• Cleaning moonshine.

In addition, many distillers insist alcohol on nuts, berries and herbs, which leads to an increase inthe cost of moonshine. This step is optional, so we will not include it in the final cost estimate.

Each stage of production has its costs. But first you need to stock up on all the necessary equipment.

Initial Costs

The cost of a starter kit for making strong alcohol can vary greatly. Some people assemble a distillation plant from improvised materials, and it costs them 500 rubles, which are mainly spent on acquiring a large tank for mash and some small items, such as a silicone hose and medical gloves (analogous to a water seal). Others do not spare money and buy a full-fledged mini-factory for the production of alcohol with full automation of all main stages.

But most people settle for the minimum starter kit, which consists of the following items:

1. Plastic tank with a capacity of 30-40 liters with a hole on the lid for a water seal - 300 rubles
2. A water seal complete with a rubber stopper of the required diameter - 100 rubles
3. Plastic tap for cutting into the fermentation tank – 200 rubles
4. Moonshine still (10-12 l) – 5000 rubles
5. Silicone hose (diameter 6-10 mm, length 4-5 m) - 200 rubles
6. Household alcoholmeter - 100 rubles

Total, you need to spend 5900 rubles on the initial purchase of equipment. Let's round them up to 6,000 rubles to take into account price fluctuations in different stores.

This entire amount must be taken into account when determining the costmoonshine at home. It is quite difficult to do this, since some people make a one-time batch and abandon this business, others use the equipment at full capacity.

To simplify the calculation, we use averages. The moonshine is designed for 5 years of use (in fact, it can serve 15-20). If you produce 20 liters of moonshine per year, then 60 rubles must be added to the cost of each liter. And if you produce 50 liters, then you need to pay only 10 rubles for each liter for equipment depreciation.

Cost of mash

How to calculate the cost of moonshine? Braga is initially prepared from sugar, yeast and water according to the classic recipe. It is these products that most distillers take into account when calculating costs.

Inexpensive alcohol yeast can be bought for 70 rubles. for 100 gr. Sugar on a wholesale scale - from 33 rubles. per kilogram. In retail stores - 43 rubles. The cost of tap water is approximately 40 rubles. per cubic meter. When calculating the cost of mash, this value can be neglected, since only 4 kopecks need to be laid for each liter of raw materials.

Now let's calculate: 10 liters of water will require 3 kg of sugar and half a pack of dry alcohol yeast, which will eventually give 12 liters of alcohol wort.

Result - 164 rubles

From 12 liters of mash, on average, 1.2 liters of pure alcohol is obtained, which is equal to 2.8 liters of moonshine with a strength of 40%. Part of this volume can be safely discarded for losses during the second distillation, as well as for the “head” and “tails”, which are not intended foruse. No more than 2.5 liters will come out clean.

Total: the cost of mash for one liter of moonshine is 66 rubles. We round them up to 70 rubles.

Distillation

An important part of the cost of moonshine is the cost of energy. It is rather problematic to calculate them, since distillers use different installations that differ in volume, power, and wall thickness. Some prefer to put the apparatus on gas stoves during distillation, others on electric ones. There are units with a built-in heating element.

Experienced moonshiners say that the consumption of electricity for distillation of one liter is 1-2 kWh. What will be 3, 5-7 rubles. With a double distillation, the amount doubles accordingly.

You also need to take into account the water consumption for cooling. On average, it is 0.5 cubic meters per 30 liters of alcoholic wort. With double distillation - 1 m³. Therefore, for each liter of moonshine you need to lay 6 rubles.

Cleaning

What else affects the cost of moonshine? From sugar and yeast in the process of fermentation, many harmful impurities are formed, which must be disposed of. The easiest way to clean homemade alcohol is with activated charcoal.

The cost of the drug is 330 rubles. for a large package, designed for 30 liters. It turns out 11 rubles. for every liter of alcohol.

Final costing

The final cost of a liter of moonshine is the sum of the following numbers:

• Braga – 70 rubles
• Electricity (including double distillation) – 7 rubles
• Water for cooling (including double distillation) - 6 rubles
• Cleansing – 11 rubles
• Depreciation of equipment - 10 rubles.

Total cost: 70 + 7 + 6 + 11 + 10=104 RUB

This figure may vary within ±10%, depending on the specific prices in the region for food and energy.