Table of Contents
What does it mean when a still pukes?
Just the right amount of heat needs to be added to a still for it to function properly. If too much heat is added, liquid will boil up into the column and puke into the collection vessel, causing distillate to turn cloudy. If too little heat is added, the distillation process will take much longer than it should.
How do I clear my cloudy spirit?
The usual carbon filtering process will in most cases remove the cloudiness, but as the cloudiness often stems from your wash coming through with the spirit, the sure way is to redistill the cloudy spirit. Simply pour the spirit back into your still, top up to the usual height with tap water, then run as per normal.
How do you clarify moonshine?
How do you make moonshine smooth?
What alcohol is in moonshine?
What Type of Alcohol Is Moonshine? Most experts agree that moonshine is a homemade, unaged whiskey. This may be surprising due to the clear color, but the distilling process and ingredients used are clear signs that it is a whiskey.
Can you drink tails?
The tails are not very good tasting and are mostly water, proteins, carbohydrates and less volatile alcohols with higher boiling points. There are several ways that one can tell when heads end and tails begin. First, the flavor profile of the distillate will change significantly.
What happens when you double distill?
In double distillation, as the liquid in the still (the wash, which is comprised of water, about 8% alcohol and congeners) boils, the alcohol and flavourful congeners will separate from the water, vaporise and travel up the still into the condenser where they are collected before being distilled once more in the spirit
Can you drink cloudy spirit?
Re: Cloudy Spirit After Dilution
Can carbon filter, micro filter or drink as is. Let it settle over a few days to a week and you can decant it out as well. Your 93% might not be as pure as you think. It's not too bad, just not crystal clear.
What pH is best for moonshine mash?
The ideal mash pH range of 5.0 to 5.5. A pH of 5.4 is considered “optimal” for most applications, and it's a good target for brewers new to homebrew mashing.
Why is my moonshine yellow?
One possible reason why your moonshine has a yellow tint is because of a large concentration of minerals in the water. Assuming you are producing it with tap water, you'll naturally carry some of these minerals over to your shine.
How much moonshine do you get out of 5 gallons of mash?
For the instant gratification seekers in the crowd, here's the short answer: A 1 gallon run will yield 3-6 cups of alcohol. A 5 gallon run will yield 1-2 gallons of alcohol.
Why does my moonshine smell like rotten eggs?
During fermentation yeasts produce alcohol, CO2, and hundreds of other byproducts which have different smells. Some pleasant, others not so pleasant - like rotten egg or sulphur smell. This will not taint your distilled spirit and will disappear after distillation.
Why does my moonshine smell like tequila?
The bad smell, taste and smell of your moonshine can be indicative of methanol contamination, which should be avoided due to its toxic properties. The following are some steps you can follow to ensure that you made good moonshine after making your moonshine. 1. 2.
Why does my moonshine smell like rubbing alcohol?
Methanol or not, the first stuff to come off the still tastes and smells like rubbing alcohol. It's by far the worst stuff in the entire production run and it isn't going to impress anyone. A commercial distiller would never drink or sell the first stuff produced by a still.
How much glycerin do I add to moonshine?
For standard spirits add 5 ml (0.17 US fl oz) per 1 L (34 US fl oz) to improve fullness and mouthfeel. Follow the individual instructions in the Craft Kit recipe booklets or experiment to create your very own, uniquely flavoured spirits.
How do you make moonshine taste better?
What makes alcohol harsh?
When people describe a liquor as "harsh" or "smooth", they are typically referring to the presence of that characteristic "burning" taste of ethanol.
What is the strongest hard alcohol?
How much Heads do you throw out?
Always discard the foreshots — they make up around 5% or less of the product collected during a run. Throw out the first 30 ml on a 1 gallon run, the first 150 ml on a 5 gallon run, or the first 300 ml on a 10 gallon run. Heads come off of the still directly after the foreshots. Simply put, they taste and smell bad.
How do you tell a head from a heart?
Do you have to do a stripping run?
Some distillers choose to perform multiple stripping runs before their spirit run, whereas others may prefer one stripping run and then a couple of spirit runs. This is entirely up the distiller depending on what he's looking for in his end product.
What do you do with leftover wash after distilling?
Once done distilling collect 1 ¼ gallons of the left over backset (wash that is left in the still after at the end of distillation). Add the hot backset and 7 pounds of sugar to a bucket (not the fermenter) and use an immersion chiller or an ice bath and cool it to 75 degrees.
What is triple distilled moonshine?
Triple-distillation creates whiskies that are often described as smooth. By refining the spirit over three distillations rather than two, the distiller concentrates a particular fraction of aromatic and flavorful compounds, which results in a smoother taste and a subdued finish.
Why is moonshine clear?
Legal store bought whiskey- jim beam, jack Daniels, Tullamore Dew, any legal whiskey- is clear as moonshine when it comes out of a still. All whiskeys begin as a clear spirit- it isn't until whiskey is aged in wooden barrels that it takes on darker colors.
Can I distill my moonshine twice?
If you are wanting to double distil the spirit you have collected from your Air Still, we recommend topping up to the 4 L (1.1 US Gal) max line with water. Put the 700 ml (23.7 US fl oz) of alcohol you've collected from the first run, back into the boiler and top up to the 4 L (1.1 US Gal) max line with water.
Why are my tails cloudy?
The tails contain fusel oils and if a high enough concentration of these oils makes it into your shine, it will become cloudy (sometimes right away and sometimes over time).
Can I use baking soda to raise pH in mash?
Re: Adjusting pH during the mash.
The reaction is very slow, and the mash will be done before it all dissolves. Baking soda and pickling lime will dissolve quickly and raise the pH. The amount to go up or down depends on the buffering that goes on in the mash.
What happens if mash pH is too low?
in my experience, low mashing pH results in reduced body and mouthfeel. At lower pH, there is likely some degradation of the poly-saccharides or proteins that would typically exist in wort.
What pH should my strike water be?
I tend to target a strike water pH of 6.0 as the mash will bring that down quickly. As the mash is working, I also am heating and preparing my sparge water. Generally this is simply to push pH into the correct range, and not dramatically influence the mash pH running off into the kettle.
What is a stripping run in moonshine?
Does moonshine expire?
Moonshine has an indefinite shelf life and is one of the strongest alcoholic beverages, like whiskey. On the other hand, flavored moonshine, which contains sugar, has a shorter shelf life but can survive for years after being opened.
How much will a 20 gallon still produce?
We make this 20 gallon heavy copper moonshine still to order. We have been making moonshine stills for generations. We have it perfected! This still is capable of producing over 4 gallons of shine per run.
Is the first part of moonshine poisonous?
Always discard the "foreshots."
For this reason, commercial distillers will do one of two things: They will discard the first bit of alcohol produced by the still. This part of the run, known as the foreshots, smells like high powered solvent, tastes even worse, and is potentially poisonous.