Every person who is engaged in moonshining knows how important it is to properly clean a homemade alcoholic beverage. Not only the taste and smell of the obtained moonshine, but also the health of the drinker will depend on this. Therefore, before proceeding directly to the process of its preparation, you should learn how to filter moonshine.
Preliminary preparation
In order to brew moonshine, you will need the following items: a pan with a lid, a moonshine, 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 baking product, the mash will be quite muddy, with copious foaming. In addition, the cooking process itself will be noticeably delayed. Typically, with baker's yeast, the composition is very slowly gaining strength. Typically, the ratio of the 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 these products, more than two liters of moonshine are obtained.
Cooking process
First, the mash is 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 the 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 the moonshine and distilled.
When to clean
As soon as the fermentation process ends, it is imperative to remove the remnants of the fungi that are at the bottom of the tank. To do this, the composition is carefully poured into another pan and heated on a fire. Next, the mash should be cleaned. Many people prefer using 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 a steel liquid. Shake Braga thoroughly and leave to insist for some more time.
After the "head", "body" and "tail" are separated, they proceed to the main cleaning, which is often carried out using coal. This product, obtained from wood or coconut, is very popular.
What contains uncleaned mash
The fact that moonshine must be cleaned is known to every person who at least once tried to cook it. The fact is that the unrefined drink contains the following unhealthy impurities:
- Essential oil. It not only has an extremely unpleasant smell, but also represents a danger to the body. It is a fairly powerful 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 concentration, it can cause temporary or permanent blindness.
That is why sorbents should be used, which are precisely 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 the coal yourself or use the pills purchased at the pharmacy. It should be borne in mind that the composition of the tablets contains excess components that adversely affect the quality of the final product. For example, each tablet contains (except the main component) potato starch and sucrose. In addition, the sorbent can be obtained from gas masks, as well as use a filter for the aquarium. Experienced moonshiners are advised to use special coal, which is sold in distillery 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 to human health. The wood sorbent sold in a supermarket has proven its worth. In addition, rural residents can cook their own coal. Moreover, if charcoal from barbecue is used as a cleaning agent, then moonshine will acquire a pleasant aroma of smoke.
How to filter moonshine with charcoal
First of all, you should prepare the filter. To do this, you can use a regular plastic bottle from one and a half or two liters of water. It is cut into two parts and use the one that has a neck. Next, the throat is laid in several layers of cotton wool. It is advisable to pre-wrap in gauze. The crushed coal pours out from above. Professionals even have a special technique for calculating the amount of coal. For each 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 a plastic bottle is wide, it is best to just make two wide holes.
other methods
Sometimes you can simply filter the moonshine through a filter to purify water. It also has a sufficient amount of sorbent, which cleans the alcohol well. However, it should be borne in mind that in this case it will be necessary to drive the moonshine not once, but several. Otherwise, it will remain muddy.
And also coal can be crushed into powder 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 Braga, alcohol is oxidized. Not only does he lose taste, but harmful compounds also appear. How to filter moonshine at home with coal? Typically, proceed as follows: 150 grams of sorbent is used per 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 Coal
This product has several advantages over other types of similar product. 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 at specialized stores. How to filter moonshine with coconut charcoal? Usually they act as follows: pieces are divided into small fractions and dust is removed. Next, the prepared sorbent is poured into a container and moonshine is poured there. The ratio of liquid to coal should be at the level of 10 grams per liter.
After everything is thoroughly mixed, the moonshine is sent to infuse. After three or four days it is passed through a double gauze and poured into a new container. According to experienced moonshiners, after filtering with coconut charcoal, the drink turns out to be very transparent and tastes good. During infusion, it should be occasionally removed and shaken. It is extremely important, before filtering moonshine with coconut charcoal, bring moonshine to 45 degrees.
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 simple to do. To do this, regular 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.
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 need a few crusts of fresh rye bread. They are broken into several pieces and thrown into the mash. This procedure does not take too long. Usually it takes only two days to clean the moonshine with bread.
Manganese purification has recently been criticized very often. Many people consider manganese a rather harmful toxic product and categorically do not accept its use. However, more recently, it was 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 villages during the winter, but a city dweller can also try it. How to filter moonshine using frost? To do this, the container with moonshine is put in a very cold place where, it should freeze slightly. If its volume is small, then you can put it in the refrigerator. That liquid that does not freeze is real moonshine that does not contain harmful impurities.
Filter unit
This is a fairly convenient drug that can be purchased at the store. It contains carbon filters, which are occasionally replaced with new ones. The filtering unit for moonshine is quite simple and convenient to use. The pre-prepared moonshine is brought to 40 degrees and is connected to the device using a hose. Then the pump is turned on, after which the liquid begins to circulate through the filter system. Professionals really like this equipment, as it allows you to immediately pour purified moonshine into bottles.
Water filter
Using a conventional water filter, you can also filter out moonshine quite well. To do this, you should adhere to some recommendations. For example, the best result can be obtained using conventional classic, standard cartridges. It is believed that those that stand in jugs of water are great for liquor. The most popular brands are Barrier and Aquaphor. How to filter moonshine through the Aquaphor filter?
Before starting the procedure, 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 with the Barrier is quite simple. In addition, it well removes excess impurities and is able to skip about 15 liters of alcohol. After this, replace the cartridge and continue cleaning again.
Soda or egg
Cleansing with soda makes sense. The fact is that this product perfectly fights with acetic acid, which is formed in moonshine. In order to clear three liters of an alcoholic drink, you need only three grams of soda. It is added directly to the liquid, and after insisting is filtered off.
Processing moonshine with an egg is an expensive way. 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 influence of egg flakes. Keep in mind that the yolk is absolutely not suitable for this procedure. It is separated, and the protein is slightly 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 beverage is diluted with clean water and only then is the oil added. Then the composition is shaken vigorously and left to infuse for 24 hours. As a rule, a rather noticeable oily film appears on the surface. It is almost impossible to remove it, and therefore moonshiners simply download the purified liquid into a new container with a hose.
Violet root or lemon peel
For the procedure, you need the root of the violet, 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. Conventional dried lemon peels are thrown into a liquor and the composition is 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 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 any herbs or products. For example, it can be insisted on oak bark. Thus, the drink will acquire a rich light brown hue and a smell similar to cognac. In addition, the composition of oak bark contains useful components that pass into the liquid. It should be borne in mind that the older the oak, the more soft tannins will be in it. In addition, do not forget that when adding various products, moonshine automatically gets their smell.
Experienced moonshiners usually carry out 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.