Hello friends! Since you have looked at my blog, it means you are interested in making homemade alcohol. And I’m just sure that at least once you have had the question of how to make moonshine at home. That's what we'll talk about today.

Now I will quickly tell you the entire sequence of the process, and then we will talk in more detail about each stage. So, how is moonshine prepared?

1. First, prepare a special solution consisting of water and sugar. Sugar can be used either in its pure form, or any sugar-containing raw materials (berries, fruits, etc.) can be used. This solution is called wort.

1. The wort is then processed into mash using yeast. During fermentation, yeast eats sugar and produces ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide (there are other fermentation products, but not about that now).

1. The mash already contains alcohol, but the percentage of it there is very low. Typically 8-12%. To extract alcohol from the mash, it is distilled moonshine still. The distillation process is also called distillation.

There is nothing complicated in this process. The whole point is that the mash is heated to a boil, and the steam that evaporates is cooled to a liquid state and poured into a separate container. This condensed liquid is our moonshine.

1. Then comes the purification of the moonshine. During the fermentation process, in addition to ethyl alcohol, by-products are also formed. yeast waste products. It is necessary to get rid of these impurities, because... they are harmful to health. Some even very much so. And these impurities greatly spoil the taste of the drink. We will talk about types and methods of cleaning in the section below.

1. The final and completely optional step is flavoring and tinting the moonshine. Moonshine is infused with various herbs and spices, which give it a rich color and smell.

I have listed the main stages of making moonshine. Nothing complicated, right? Now let's look at each point in more detail.

But before that, I want to note that all the stages mentioned are equally important. If the technology is not followed or low-quality raw materials are used, the output can result in a foul-smelling and even hazardous liquid.

Selection of raw materials

As already mentioned, sugar is used to prepare the wort. You can use sugar either in its pure form (granulated sugar), or use products containing sugar (berries, fruits, sugar beets, etc.). Makes delicious moonshine from old jam.

Also, starch-containing products (wheat, rice, rye, corn) in various types can be used as raw materials (for example flour). Starch itself is not subject to fermentation, but it is easily processed into sugar under the influence of enzymes contained in malt (sprouted grain). Or you can use industrial enzymes- they are cheap and work great.

The quality of moonshine also depends on the quality of the raw materials used. A good drink from g…. will not work.

At home, the most accessible raw material for making wort is sugar. And the recipe is also simple.

I'll bring you classical:

1. 1 kg of sugar is dissolved in 5 liters of water
2. Dissolve yeast (20 g dry or 100 g pressed) in a small amount of water at a temperature of 30°C
3. Mix the yeast in the sugar solution and let it ferment for several days.

Do you agree that it is very simple? But the quality of such moonshine... no, if made skillfully, it is not bad, it’s just inferior to drinks made from other raw materials.

A much tastier drink is obtained from mash made from fruit or berry raw materials. Even if you have to add sugar to the fruit must to increase the sugar content, it will still taste better.

A very good result comes from mash made with grains. It is not for nothing that GOST prescribes the production of alpha alcohol (the highest quality alcohol) only from grain raw materials. But preparing mash from grain is much more difficult.

Update from 08/13/19 In fact, there are very simple recipes for grain moonshine. Here is one of them - simple recipe for moonshine made from flour

The resulting amount of alcohol per kilogram of product used also depends on the type of raw material. Below is a table that clearly demonstrates this. These numbers are quite approximate.

I would also like to note that you need to approach the choice of raw materials from the point of view of what kind of drink you want to get. So, to make whiskey you need to use grain; to make cognac or Georgian chacha, grape mash is used, and to make Calvados, apple mash is used.

Fermentation

After we have prepared the wort, it must be fermented, during which the yeast converts sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol. The quality and quantity of moonshine produced also greatly depends on the correct fermentation process.

Compliance with technology at this stage is very important. In the room where the fermentation tank is located, it is necessary to maintain a certain temperature range. Try not to allow strong fluctuations. It is also necessary to monitor the temperature of the mash, because... During the fermentation process, it tends to heat up.

The optimal temperature for fermentation is 30-32°C (more about this Here). At a lower temperature, the fermentation process will slow down, and at a temperature below 18°C ​​it will stop altogether (the yeast will fall asleep). Also, the mash should not be allowed to overheat above 40°C. This is much more dangerous than cooling, because... At this temperature the yeast will begin to die.

Depending on the selected raw material, yeast and temperature, the fermentation process can last from 1 to 14 days or more.

A little about yeast

In principle, any commercially available yeast is suitable for making mash. Pressed bakery products are very popular. You can also use dry yeast. But the best option is special alcoholic and wine (cultured) yeast, which are sold in specialized stores for winemakers and moonshiners.

If you are preparing fruit or berry mash, then you can do without adding yeast at all. Wild yeast already lives on the surface of the fruit, which will take care of the process we need. Although I still recommend using cultured yeast, at least for the first time.

The fermentation period and the possible strength of the resulting mash depend on the type of yeast chosen. So bakery and wild ones ferment 7-12% alcohol, wine and spirits up to 12-14%. There are also special varieties of alcohol yeast, through which you can obtain mash with 18% alcohol.

The topic of choosing yeast and the fermentation process itself is quite extensive and this article cannot cover it all. Read more in these individual articles:

1. What yeast to use
2. Hydraulic module for mash. What is it and what should it be like?
3. How to feed yeast
4. Detailed composition of heads, tails, fusel oil and their influence on the taste of moonshine
5. The influence of fermentation temperature on the formation of harmful impurities
6. Recipe for sugar mash with dry yeast
7. Classic recipe for sugar mash with pressed yeast
8. Recipe for homemade jam
9. Wild Sam - a recipe for mash made with wild grain yeasts
10. A simple recipe for moonshine from flour (XOS technology + enzymes)
11. Clarifying mash with bentonite
12. How much moonshine should be made from mash?

Distillation

As I already wrote, in order to isolate alcohol from mash, i.e. To get moonshine, you need to distill this very mash. The distillation process is also called distillation, and the resulting product (moonshine) is called distillate. The mash is heated, and the steam released is condensed and poured into a separate container.

Distillation is carried out using a moonshine still. The classic design of such a device is quite simple. I give its schematic diagram below:

The principle of distillation is based on the fact that the boiling point of alcohol is lower than the temperature of water, of which the mash mainly consists. Therefore, when the mash is heated, the alcohol evaporates first (in fact, everything evaporates together, but in different quantities). In vapor form, it enters the coil, where it is cooled to a liquid state and flows into a collection container.

Now I will describe the classic distillation method. There are others, but don’t worry about them yet.

The distillation is done twice. First, the mash is distilled. The purpose of this distillation is to extract alcohol from the mash as quickly as possible. As a rule, the mash is distilled without separation, i.e. everything that comes out of the moonshine still is collected in one container. Distillation is completed when the temperature in the tank of the moonshine still (called a distillation cube) has risen to 99 degrees Celsius, or the output strength is 10-15%. After distillation, moonshine with a strength of 30-50% is obtained. It is also called raw alcohol (CA). CC can and should be distilled again to get a stronger and higher quality drink.

When distilling raw alcohol, the first drops coming out of the apparatus contain a high concentration of harmful substances. This liquid is called “pervach” or “heads” and is not consumed as food. The “heads” must be cut off, i.e. separate from moonshine. The number of heads is approximately 50 ml per 1 kg of sugar in the mash.

After “cutting off the heads,” the distillation process continues until the liquid leaving the distiller stops burning. This means that the strength of the moonshine that comes out has dropped below 40 degrees and then comes the “tails” - the non-food part that contains harmful and very smelly impurities. The tails are also cut off. Their quantity is approximately 100 ml per 1 kg of sugar used for making mash.

The distillation process is described in more detail in the link below.

The abundance of alcoholic beverages on the shelves of our stores, however, does not affect the reduction in the cost of these products. And a simple esthete cannot afford store-bought products.

A simple design of a mini-factory for the production of homemade moonshine (alcohol) is proposed. Anyone with basic knowledge of physics and chemistry can assemble the proposed design.

Structurally, the device is made in a three-liter glass jar. The process technology consists of condensing alcohol vapor on a cooler and then collecting the resulting condensate in a container.

At the initial stage, we manufacture the parts of the device. The cooler is a 0.5 liter metal container filled to the brim with small metal parts (nuts, bolts, washers, nails, etc.). We pierce two holes in the upper part of the container to secure the rope. The best material is copper. After filling the can with metal, the free volume of the container is filled with water. The container is placed in the freezer for cooling.

At the second stage, we make a watering can and a container for collecting the finished product. The material for the watering can will be any PET bottle with a capacity of 0.5 liters. We cut the bottle at a distance of 60 mm from the neck. We make a container for collecting ethyl alcohol from another 0.33 liter aluminum can of beer or carbonated drinks. The height of the required container from the bottom to the top edge is 70 mm. The capacity of the manufactured container will be about 50 ml. In the upper part of the container we pierce two opposite holes for attaching the rope.

Assembling the structure involves sequentially stringing a container, a watering can, a cooler and a jar lid onto a rope.

To obtain alcohol, you need to pour raw materials into the jar. This could be mash, wine, etc.

Pour 200-250 ml of raw materials into a three-liter jar. Remove the cooler from the refrigerator and assemble the structure. Place the assembled structure into the jar. Close the jar tightly with a plastic lid.

In the summer, when steam heating is not working, lower the jar into a container of hot water. Maintain water temperature within 50°C. The process will also last about 10 hours.

The main advantage: this is a practically free device for preparing moonshine (alcohol) in winter conditions. We freeze the cooler jar outside (it’s very good for those who have a balcony or loggia), and we place the evaporator itself on a steam heating radiator. If you have your own raw materials, then everything is practically free, and there is no smell during distillation.

One such device gives approximately 50 ml in 10-12 hours. alcohol, if there are two of them, then 100 ml.

History of the development of vodka

Psychology and alcoholism

However, alcoholism has its own clear physical manifestations; when alcohol enters the bloodstream, endorphin (the hormone of happiness) is released. The person naturally feels good and has a slight feeling of euphoria. After several such “manifestations” of happiness, the body gets used to good things and the production of endorphin is blocked (blocked, but does not disappear completely), the person begins to require this hormone from the outside. Isn't it very similar to drug addiction?

The physiological component alone is not enough to consider alcoholism. Many people drink alcohol on holidays to relax or “for appetite”, but do not start abusing it. Consequently, an alcoholic is no different from any other person in appearance; an alcoholic does not have a certain social status or any other difference at the initial stage.

To understand the causes of alcoholism, it is worth looking at each specific case. One way or another, the use of alcoholism is aimed at obtaining, albeit strange, happiness. And a person can have happiness in anything. When treating alcoholism, at the very beginning, determine what pleasure alcohol gives a person, because the main goal of an alcohol abuser is not to get drunk and become intoxicated, but to have fun.

Let's look at a few typical reasons. Internal experiences, for any reason, can become the cause. When a person takes alcohol, he begins to forget about his experiences and escape from reality. Dissatisfaction with one's social status, the way things are going at work, or the general course of affairs is an equally common reason. Alcohol gives the necessary feeling of pleasure, removes a person from reality and the person gets the peace he needs.

Pain, physical or mental, is a common cause of alcoholism and drug addiction. Although alcohol (in particular medical alcohol) is used in medicine, it is worth considering that it is only a disinfectant and it is clearly not for internal use. The feeling of joy caused by endorphins dulls physical pain and makes you forget about mental pain. In cases of people with any kind of injury, mental pain is inseparable from physical pain.

Sometimes a person starts drinking out of routine, he needs changes, he needs new feelings, and not the “joy of alcohol.”

It is sometimes very difficult to determine at first glance what the cause of alcoholism is, but you need to listen to this person and try to understand his thought and reason. Determining the cause means giving a start to treatment. Remember that not only the patient himself must be strong, but also the one who is ready to help him. Often alcoholism worsens and leads to sad consequences that society, family, friends turn away from the alcoholic and do not want to help him.

Types of strong alcohol

Treatment of alcoholism

You need to give a person what he wants, wants to change the course of affairs - help him, encourage him, offer him a new field of activity, and if necessary, help him start “life from scratch.” If it’s a matter of feelings, try to establish contact with this person, find out about his problem, cheer him up and solve it. If the problem is pain, it is worth remembering that alcohol is not a medicine, and it will not heal illnesses or injuries, it will only make it worse. It is possible to “drown out” physical pain with medications, but alcohol is not that medicine. If medications don't help much, you can always look for other specialists and other treatments, but don't choose alcohol as the best medicine.

Let the person understand that he is not alone, that he is not a sick person who has renounced everyone. Give him the feeling that he is truly needed, you, your family, your friends, your loved ones need him. Find an alcoholic a new activity, no matter what, as long as it doesn’t cause him harm and, most importantly, he likes it. Let the person understand that alcohol is not his friend, but a “demon” who, under the guise of a virtuous person, kills him.

During Prohibition, a moonshine still was the only thing that saved people before holding any events: birthdays, weddings, and so on.

In Soviet times, moonshine was considered a criminal offense. After all, this alcohol, unlike vodka, is environmentally friendly. The brew for it is infused with yeast, sugar, wheat or beets. And to add flavor, you can use various additives: prunes, herbs, mint, oak chips, birch buds and other components. Therefore, at home, craftsmen made a moonshine still from scrap materials.

One of the most popular and simplest options is milk can construction. Moreover, an aluminum can cannot be used, since this material reacts with all chemical elements. And the first purification moonshine contains a large number of harmful impurities: fusel oils, acetone and others. That is, with intensive use, after some time the aluminum can will turn into a colander.

How to make a moonshine still?

• First you need the can itself. If you can find one made of stainless steel, that will be just great. Volume – at least 30 liters
• Next, you will need a coil. The coil is needed to improve heat exchange between two media. It is practically the main part of the structure. Even in Soviet times, when the police were looking for “moonshiners,” it was he who was confiscated. For the coil, it is better to take a copper tube with a diameter of approximately 12 mm. In order to bend it at home, you can use the wooden handle of a mop or shovel. If there is nothing suitable, then simply take a piece of pipe, fill it tightly with sand or soda, compact it and wind several turns around the pipe. Carefully remove the coils and cut the pipe. Moreover, it is necessary to leave even pieces of pipe at the top and bottom
• Then the twisted part of the coil must be placed inside the pipe (for example, you can cut it from a sewer pipe of suitable diameter), stepping back three centimeters from the twisted part on each side

• After this, to the same pipe (which will play the role of a refrigerator), we attach adapters from the outside to drive and drain cold and heated water, respectively. It is advisable to imagine in advance where the water at home will be connected and make an adapter in this direction. You can use a test for sealing. When dry, it will tightly close the slightest holes and prevent precious liquid from seeping out.
• The next step is to close the top and bottom holes of the sewer pipe section with plugs. They can be cut from tin, copper or other material. In the center of them, make holes in advance for the ends of the coil. Seal all joints tightly using the same dough.
• If instead of a plastic pipe you use a metal one (refrigerator), then the end caps can be welded to it, and a mixture of epoxy resin and silver can be poured on top. Epoxy, by itself, is quite fragile, so it must be mixed with another component to obtain “forever” protection.
• You can connect the refrigerator to a steamer. This is optional, but desirable to improve the quality of moonshine. Since when entering it, fusel oils cool down and, having lost their boiling point, remain in the steamer in the form of sediment

Making a steamer

• To assemble it at home, you will need a glass jar with a tightly screwed lid.
• You need to cut two holes in it: one of which will include the end of the pipe from the can, and the other will go into the refrigerator
• To do this, draw circles on the cover according to the diameter of the adapters (fittings), carefully cut them out, install the adapters and screw the nuts tightly

• For reliability, the joints can be treated with varnish or the same raw dough
• The last step is to close the lid of the jar and also seal the joint.
• Then, we tightly seal the lid on the can and cut a tube into it to connect it to the steamer, and it, in turn, needs to be connected to the refrigerator

The refrigerator should not be installed horizontally or vertically. The optimal tilt angle is no more than 40 degrees.

Putting all the details together

Next step. It is necessary to connect two hoses to the improvised refrigerator to drive and drain water. You can connect the cold water pipe directly to the tap, or you can cut into the system by installing a tee on the pipe. The heated water drainage hose at home can simply be lowered into the sink.

Before using the device for the first time, you should check the entire system and boil clean water for several hours. In order to make a moonshine still of this design at home, neither a diagram nor drawings will be needed.

You can make an electric moonshine still at home. In this case, you will already need drawings and a diagram and a preliminary calculation of the energy consumption and power of the heaters that are installed in the distillation tank.

In addition to full-fledged designs, there are options for mini-devices. For example, from an ordinary cola or cocktail can and an ordinary three-liter can. In addition, there are gift options for mini-designs of this type. Having given such a mini-device as a gift, you can then proudly say that you have given a mini-plant for the production of alcohol as a gift.

Moonshine still from improvised means

And the simplest apparatus for making moonshine at home is an ordinary saucepan with water at the bottom.

• A stand for the container is installed at the bottom, and such a structure is closed with a basin of suitable diameter. The edges are sealed with dough or clay for tightness.
• The pan with the mash is placed on the fire, the mash gradually evaporates, cools from the basin-lid and drips into the container
• The main thing here is to correctly calculate the volume of the product. From approximately 4 liters of mash, a liter of finished product is obtained

Therefore, if you are not satisfied with the quality of purchased alcohol, then you can take decisive action and surprise your friends with home-made moonshine.

Moonshine– this is a whole wonderful world. You only have to try a drink made with your own hands once and you will understand that store-bought drinks do not evoke virtually any emotions. But, as in any matter, without some knowledge in the area, not even the first pancake can come out lumpy.

Beginners who are just starting to take the first step in making their own alcohol ask themselves a thousand and one questions:

1. alcohol mashine?
2. What's happened ?
3. Why in moonshine?
4. How to make it yourself?
5. How to do it at home?
6. What should it be?

What's better - purchased or homemade? Which device will work smoothly for decades, and which will require constant attention and constant maintenance?

Device, types and rating of the best

We have prepared a number of articles for you, after reading which you will become a real ace. Everything related to the design of moonshine stills, a description of physical and chemical processes, technologies and, of course, detailed information.

Try to start small - by reading an article about. The simple and intelligible language in which our authors write is aimed at ensuring that all the nuances of moonshine brewing are easily understood by people far from the technologist profession. Following tips and tricks In this section, in a few days you will understand all the important nuances of production.

This section will also be useful to relatives of people who are passionate about moonshine brewing. We will help you choose exactly the right one gift a moonshine still that your loved one will appreciate.

And, believe me, the most difficult thing is take the first step. But we have done everything to make this step a little easier for you.