How to filter moonshine: tips and tricks

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

Every person who makes moonshine knows how important it is to properly clean homemade liquor. Not only the taste and smell of the resulting moonshine will depend on this, but also the he alth of the drinker. Therefore, before proceeding directly to the process of its preparation, you should learn how to filter moonshine.

Pre-training

In order to brew moonshine, you will need the following items: a saucepan with a lid, a moonshine still, a warm blanket, an alcohol meter, dishes of various sizes and glass bottles for the finished drink. And you will also need clean, purified water, special yeast and sugar. Sometimes citric acid is added to the mash to improve the fermentation process. In order for the drink to ferment well and not create too much foam, it is best to take special yeast intended for making homemade alcohol.

If you use a bakery product, then the mash will turn out to be rather cloudy, with abundant foaming. In addition, the cooking process itself will be noticeably delayed. As a rule, withwith baker's yeast, the composition is very slowly gaining strength. Usually, the ratio of components is calculated as follows: for two kilograms of granulated sugar, you need to take eight liters of pure water and 40 grams of dry yeast. From the listed products, more than two liters of moonshine are obtained.

Cooking process

First, the mash is being prepared. To do this, heat the water to a temperature of about 70 degrees. Sugar is poured into it and boiled for 50 minutes. At the end of cooking, citric acid is added. After about one hour, the sugar syrup is removed from the stove and combined with cold water. Thus, the temperature of the liquid will be no more than 30 degrees. Yeast is dissolved in it and sent for fermentation. This process takes 7 to 12 days.

You can determine the readiness of the mash by a specific bitter taste and the appearance of sediment. In addition, bubbles cease to form in the liquid, which means that the fermentation process is completely over. Now the mash is poured into a moonshine still and distilled.

When to clean

As soon as the fermentation process ends, be sure to remove the remains of fungi that are at the bottom of the container. To do this, the composition is carefully poured into another pan and heated over a fire. Next, the mash should be cleaned. Many people prefer to use clay powder. It will take only one teaspoon of the powder, which is stirred in one liter of water, after which the mixture is combined with steel liquid. Braga is thoroughly shaken and leftto infuse for some more time.

After the "head", "body" and "tail" are separated, the main cleaning begins, which is very often carried out using coal. Derived from wood or coconut, this product is very popular.

What does unrefined mash contain

The fact that moonshine must be cleaned is known to every person who has tried to cook it at least once. The fact is that the unrefined drink contains the following unhe althy impurities:

• Essential oil. It not only has an extremely unpleasant odor, but also poses a danger to the body. It is a rather strong toxin that paralyzes the work of internal organs.
• Oxidation products, otherwise called aldehydes, also poison the body.
• Many moonshiners probably know about the dangers of methyl alcohol. In high concentrations, it can cause temporary or permanent blindness.

That is why sorbents should be used, which are designed to rid moonshine of impurities. How to filter moonshine at home?

Charcoal cleansing

This is the most affordable and easy way to clean moonshine. You can cook charcoal yourself or use tablets bought at a pharmacy. It should be borne in mind that the composition of the tablets contains extra components that adversely affect the quality of the final product. For example, each tablet contains (in addition to the main component) potato starch and sucrose. In addition, the sorbentget from gas masks, and use the filter for the aquarium. Experienced moonshiners advise using special coal, which is sold in moonshine shops.

Is it possible to filter moonshine with coal from a gas mask. In fact, this coal is the most harmful type of sorbent. It contains chemicals that will be completely superfluous for human he alth. The wood sorbent sold in the supermarket has proven itself to be excellent. In addition, rural residents can cook their own charcoal. Moreover, if charcoal from the barbecue is used as a cleanser, the moonshine will acquire a pleasant smoke aroma.

How to filter moonshine with charcoal

First of all, you should prepare the filter. To do this, you can use an ordinary plastic bottle from under one and a half or two liters of water. It is cut into two parts and the one with the neck is used. Next, the throat is laid with several layers of cotton wool. It is desirable to pre-wrap it in gauze. Crushed charcoal is sprinkled on top. Professionals even have a special method for calculating the amount of coal. For every liter of moonshine, they use no more than 12 grams of sorbent. After each time, be sure to re-do the filter. If the cork on the plastic bottle is wide, then it is best to just make two wide holes.

Other ways

Sometimes you can just filter moonshine through a water filter. It also has a sufficient amount of sorbent, which cleans the alcoholic drink well. Howeverit should be borne in mind that in this case it will be necessary to drive moonshine not once, but several times. Otherwise, it will remain cloudy.

Also, charcoal can be powdered and poured directly into the liquid. True, this method causes criticism among moonshiners. In their opinion, due to the direct connection of the sorbent with the mash, alcohol is oxidized. Not only does it lose its taste, but harmful compounds also appear. How to filter moonshine at home with charcoal? Usually proceed as follows: 150 grams of sorbent is used for three liters of liquid. Coal is in the drink for one week, after which the moonshine is filtered and poured into a new container.

Coconut Charcoal

This product has a number of advantages over other similar products. First of all, it is a fairly environmentally friendly product. In addition, it practically does not create dust, is quite economical and has a sufficiently large number of pores that absorb essential oils. It can also be purchased from specialized stores. How to filter moonshine with coconut charcoal? Usually they act as follows: the pieces are divided into small fractions and dust is removed. Next, the prepared sorbent is poured into a container and moonshine is poured into it. The ratio of liquid and coal should be at the level of 10 grams per liter.

After everything is thoroughly mixed, moonshine is sent to infuse. After three or four days, it is passed through double gauze and poured into a new container. howsay experienced moonshiners, after filtering with coconut charcoal, the drink turns out to be very transparent and pleasant to the taste. During infusion, it should occasionally be taken out and shaken. It is extremely important to bring moonshine to 45 degrees before filtering moonshine with coconut charcoal.

How to get rid of the smell

A lot of people are interested in: how to make moonshine not have an unpleasant fusel smell. This is actually quite easy to do. For this, ordinary milk containing a very small percentage of fat content is most often used. However, it should be borne in mind that before filtering moonshine at home, moonshine should be brought to 40 degrees. Therefore, too strong a drink is diluted. For three liters of alcohol you need to take 500 milliliters of fresh milk. The procedure itself takes a lot of time and lasts at least one week.

Already after the composition is infused, it should be filtered through a charcoal filter. If, after a seven-day period, a precipitate appears, then citric acid should be added to the drink.

With bread or manganese

How to filter moonshine with bread? For this method, you will need several crusts of fresh rye bread. They are broken into several pieces and thrown into the mash. This procedure does not take too long. It usually takes only two days to clean moonshine with bread.

Purification with manganese has been criticized a lot lately. Many people consider manganese to be quite harmful.toxic product and categorically do not accept its use. However, more recently it has been a fairly popular cleaning method. Its essence is as follows: for three liters of liquid, you need to take only five or six grams of manganese crystals. They are added directly to the container with moonshine. After a day, the drink can be filtered through coal or sand.

Freezing procedure

This method is very often used in the villages during the winter, but the city dweller can also try it. How to filter moonshine with frost? To do this, a container with moonshine is placed in a very cold place where it should freeze slightly. If its volume is small, then you can put it in the refrigerator. The liquid that does not freeze is real moonshine that does not contain harmful impurities.

Filter unit

This is a fairly handy drug that can be purchased at the store. It contains carbon filters, which are occasionally replaced with new ones. The filter unit for moonshine is quite simple and easy to use. The pre-prepared moonshine is brought to 40 degrees and connected to the apparatus with a hose. Next, the pump turns on, after which the liquid begins to circulate through the filter system. Professionals really like this equipment, as it allows you to immediately pour the purified moonshine into bottles.

Water filter

With the help of a regular water filter, moonshine can also be filtered well. To do this, you should follow some recommendations. For example, the best result can be obtained when using conventional classic, standard cartridges. It is believed that those that are in water jugs are perfect for alcoholic drinks. The most popular brands are Barrier and Aquaphor. How to filter moonshine through the Aquaphor filter?

Before proceeding with the procedure, you should dilute the moonshine to 20 degrees. Then it is cooled and poured into a container. As soon as it passes the first cleaning, the procedure should be repeated two more times. Do not use the same cartridge too many times. Otherwise, it will become dirty and will not clean well.

When using the "Barrier" jug, you can get excellent quality moonshine. Filtering moonshine "Barrier" is quite simple. In addition, it removes excess impurities well and is able to skip about 15 liters of alcohol. After that, you should change the cartridge and continue cleaning again.

Soda or egg

Cleansing with soda makes sense. The fact is that this product perfectly fights acetic acid, which is formed in moonshine. In order to clean three liters of an alcoholic drink, you need only three grams of soda. It is added directly to the liquid, and after insisting it is filtered.

Processing moonshine with eggs is an expensive process. Its principle of action is aimed at removing fusel oils from alcohol. As in the case of milk, various impurities are perfectly removed under the action of egg flakes. It should be borne in mind that the yolk is absolutely not suitable for this procedure. It is separated, and the protein is lightly mixed (without whipping) and added to the container.

Sunflower oil

Oddly enough, but sunflower oil binds well and eliminates essential oils. How to filter moonshine with oil? In order to clean six liters of moonshine, you need only 20 grams of oil. A strong alcoholic drink is diluted with pure water and only after that oil is added. Next, the composition is vigorously shaken and left to infuse for 24 hours. As a rule, a rather noticeable greasy film appears on the surface. It is almost impossible to remove it, and therefore moonshiners simply download the purified liquid into a new container using a hose.

Violet root or lemon peels

For the procedure you will need violet root, which is pre-washed, dried and crushed. About one tablespoon of root powder is simply added to the mash. The liquid is insisted for 10 days, after which it is filtered. Lemon peels are much easier to do. Ordinary dried lemon peels are thrown into an alcoholic drink and kept for one week.

How to get rid of the smell

Having figured out how to filter moonshine through coal, you can begin to further improve the quality of the drink. After the moonshine is cleared of fusel aromas, it still remains a rather specific drink. Therefore, by the end of cooking, they are trying to improve it with some herbs or products. For example, it caninsist on oak bark. Thus, the drink will acquire a rich light brown hue and a smell similar to cognac. In addition, the composition of the oak bark contains useful components that pass into the liquid. In this case, it must be taken into account that the older the oak, the more soft tannins it will contain. In addition, do not forget that when adding various products, moonshine automatically receives their smell.

Experienced moonshiners usually spend not one distillation, but two or even three. They believe that the more cleaning procedures there are, the better the product will be. Thus, having figured out how to properly filter moonshine, you can get a great drink.