Distillation with the separation of fractions "head", "body" and "tail" is used to purify the final product from harmful impurities and fusel oil. This technology allows get rid of bad taste and the smell of moonshine making it of high quality and safe for consumption. We will break down this process step by step and give recommendations to simplify it.
Some experienced moonshiners believe that the typical taste of moonshine is its “calling card” and it is wrong to get rid of it. It's actually a stereotype distillate standard - complete absence of taste, smell and color. Turbidity and taste are the result of poor-quality hauling, which is done in villages using outdated technologies. I propose to keep up with the times and drink only high-quality alcohol.
Never be greedy by separating harmful fractions. Good quality product - the key to a successful evening.
During distillation, not only water and pure ethyl alcohol, but also a number of other harmful compounds: methyl alcohol, acetaldehyde, butyric ethyl ether, amyl alcohol and others.
The boiling point of these impurities is different, so distillation occurs unevenly: first, they evaporate very harmful compounds (head), then goes quality moonshine (body) and at the end also go compounds with a bad smell (tails).
Starting distillation, the first drops of alcohol will be precisely harmful heads. After a while, the body will go. Tails will drip at the end.
Our task- collect as much high-quality moonshine as possible, excluding heads and tails from it.
How to correctly count and select heads, bodies and tails during distillation?
There are many ways, but the simplest and most effective is considered sugar. The rule sounds like this: for every kilogram of sugar, 50 ml of heads must be separated. Tailings begin to drip at the moment when the fortress in the jet drops to 40 degrees.
For clarity, I propose to consider an example that will objectively show how many heads, bodies and tails are obtained in moonshine:
There is an interesting video Antonych and Alexey Podolyak, which will show the whole technology for the separation of fractions. It is very interesting to listen to such an experienced moonshiner, so we highly recommend that you do this.
Tails mean low-alcohol moonshine, which is collected after lowering the fortress during distillation below 40 degrees. This fraction is saturated with "fuel" and other harmful impurities, but contains ethyl alcohol, which can be distilled and obtained a good product. There are a number of subtleties of this approach to distillation, which we would like to describe in this publication.
You can read more about the fractions of the head, body and tails here -. We are extremely negative about tails, believing that moonshine should be made from high-quality raw materials, and not from "underdone" with impurities. But in order to save money, many moonshiners use tailings distillation, so we decided to cover this topic and select the optimal technology for this process.
The output of the body is small, but still significant.
The reason is in large numbers harmful substances, which will partially fall into your moonshine even after high-quality cleaning. It seems strange to us to endanger our health for the sake of saving a few liters of a 40-degree drink.
The quality of moonshine from " underachievement” will be lower than from fresh mash.
If you still decide on this process, then follow the instructions described below, which will allow you to squeeze the highest quality alcohol from such raw materials.
Tailings begin to drip at the moment when the fortress in the jet drops to 40 degrees.
A moonshine still with a steamer and a reflux condenser significantly reduces the content of harmful substances in moonshine.
How to distill tails into moonshine?
There are several ways how this can be done:
Braga blends beautifully with tails. But it is impossible to increase the strength of the mixture above 20 degrees.
- Use a clean mixture of tailings from different hauls.
- Mix tails with mash.
- Mix failed or tasteless moonshine with tails.
It is important to observe the main condition: before distillation, moonshine must be diluted with clean water to a strength of 20 degrees. It is this liquid that lends itself well to distillation and the separation of fractions is of high quality.
If you pour distillate of 30 or 40-degree strength into the distillation cube, then the output will be low-quality moonshine.
Is it necessary to separate fractions during distillation?
Necessarily! This is precisely the main idea: to clean the “underdog” from harmful impurities by dividing it again into fractions. Thus, this may be the third and even fourth distillation of the distillate.
For 20 liters of tailings, diluted to a strength of 20 degrees, you get something like this:
The ratio of fractions to each other.
- Head - 0.43 liters.
- Body - 5.11 liters.
- Tail - 0.62 liters.
Showing ideal conditions. Feel free to make an error in the region of 10% minimum.
How to mix tails with mash?
For compiling correct proportion you will need to find out the strength of your ripe mash (usually it ranges from 10 to 14 degrees), and then bring it to a 20-degree fortress.
It makes no sense to make the mash stronger, as the quality of the drink will begin to deteriorate greatly. Therefore, it is better to take a mash with poor performance, dilute it with tails and then overtake it. AT this case you effectively manage your raw materials.
Can tails be drunk?
Definitely not.
There is a legend among moonshiners that from the heads and tails of moonshine it covers the most. You don’t need to drink a lot, intoxication occurs quickly, and there are plenty of these fractions after distillation.
In fact, it is not drunkenness that occurs, but poisoning: fusel oils and other impurities have a very negative effect on the digestive system, as a result of which the body begins to fight the poison and the state of health worsens. These symptoms are taken for the cheerful effect of alcohol, but in fact, not so much ethyl alcohol is drunk, and even in good drinks he acts differently.
Instructions for the correct distillation of tailings
moonshiner gurus Konstantin Kapochkin recommends doing this:
- We carry out the first distillation of moonshine without separating fractions.
- We carry out the second fractional distillation with the three fractions described above.
- We collect tails from different hauls, after which we dilute them to 20 degrees and send them for distillation.
- We select fractions using the same technology as during conventional distillation.
Reflections on this topic can be viewed on the Youtube channel Samogon Sanych. The link to the video is below:
The final stage of preventive cleaning is the separation of "heads" and "tails", or, if scientifically, fractional distillation. The fact is that during the fermentation of mash from sugar, yeast produces not only the ethyl alcohol we need, but also a small amount of acetone, acetic aldehyde , furfural, isopropyl and isobutyl alcohol and other fusel oils.
The boiling point of these substances differs from the boiling point of ethyl alcohol, some substances boil at a temperature above the boiling point of alcohol, others below. At the very beginning of the boiling of the mash, low-boiling components, such as acetone, acetaldehyde and other "sweets", boil away. This is the head fraction, or "heads" and they need to be separated from the product that we are going to drink. It should be taken every 30-40 ml from each fermented kilogram of sugar.
For example, when distilling in a moonshine from a milk tank, I pour 28 liters of mash. In the manufacture, I dilute 1 kg of sugar to a volume of 4.5-5 liters. Namely, I bring it to the volume, and not just pour in 5 liters of water. It turns out about 6 kg of sugar, and therefore I need to select 180-240 ml of head parts.
In order not to confuse heads with other liquids, I drew an ugly face on the bottle.
For convenience, I marked the marks on the bottles after about 200 ml.
When selecting "heads", it is desirable to reduce the heating power of the moonshine still so that the separation is more clear.
As soon as we have selected the estimated amount of the head fraction, we increase the heating power to the maximum available for a particular moonshine still and change the capacity - it's time to collect the most "drinkable" and clean part of the moonshine - the "body".
We collect the middle fraction, or "body" until the moment when the fortress of the resulting moonshine becomes about 35-40 degrees.
For those who have an alcohol meter, let me remind you that the strength should be measured at 20 C, at a different temperature the alcohol meter will show "weather on Mars." Or, you will have to use special recalculation schedules.
If there is no alcohol meter, you can approximately determine this moment by burning a sample of moonshine. If cold moonshine confidently ignites in a spoon, then the strength is still sufficient, as soon as the sample stops igniting (or it does not light up very confidently), then the strength of the moonshine is already low.
Separately, I note that heated moonshine, or paper moistened with moonshine, will light up even at a lower strength, so they cannot serve as an indicator.
Upon reaching this point, it is time to stop the selection of the drinking part, but it is not necessary to stop further distillation of moonshine. We change the container again and continue collecting the so-called "tails", because there is still enough ethyl alcohol in the moonshine still, just now heavy-boiling components begin to noticeably evaporate with it. In general, “tails” are something that you can’t drink, but there is still enough alcohol in them.
There is no clear opinion about the end of the tailings selection. I take this sivukha until the moment when it somehow catches fire. In the future, when a sufficient amount of this fraction is accumulated, 2 volumes of water can be added to 1 volume of fusel oil and distilled. "Heads" in the process of this distillation can not be selected, and the distillation should be stopped before the same 40 degrees. 2-3 such cycles (each time diluted with water) will noticeably clean moonshine.
At this stage, preventive cleaning of moonshine ends and final cleaning can begin. Although already at this stage the quality of moonshine is quite decent.
But it should be remembered that this is only one of the steps on the way to the perfect moonshine.
Braga contains many substances in addition to alcohol and water. The use of these substances for food purposes is highly undesirable. It is important for the moonshiner to separate foreign matter and prepare the purest possible ready-to-use product. The concentration of harmful substances depends on the amount of yeast used, the presence of additional plant components in the composition of the mash. The information below is relevant for those who use moonshine stills to get drinks.
The entire composition of the distilled liquid is conditionally divided into three parts - "head", "body" and "tail". The "body" is the fraction that makes up the final product. The moonshiner's task is to remove the fusel oils and toxins that make up the "head" and "tail" as much as possible, to get a clean "body". The separation of fractions is carried out by the method of repeated or fractional distillation.
Fraction specification
Each faction in the composition of the mash has its own chemical composition, physical and chemical properties:
- Head: a more common name among the people is “pervak”. Initial distillation fraction: it contains methyl alcohol, acetaldehyde and acetone (a particularly high concentration of these substances is typical for mash based on fruits or cereals). The components of the "head" have a boiling point lower than that of ethyl alcohol and are easily separated due to this. "Heads" can not be used for medical and food needs, it is permissible to use it exclusively for technical purposes;
- Body: the main fraction, for the sake of obtaining it, the process of home brewing is started. The fraction consists of ethyl alcohol, water, residual particles of the "head" and "tail" (100% filtration is not possible with all desire). For getting pure product you need to additionally use rectification. But this technology levels out all the taste properties of the finished product; shades, notes of fruits, herbs, berries and cereals will be lost. When obtaining distillates such as vodka, or gin, the presence of fusel oils in small concentrations is a sign of a properly prepared drink.
- Tail: Final faction, most difficult to separate. To cut off the tail, you need multiple distillation of the mash at high temperatures. "Tail" is mostly fusel oils. If the remains of this fraction are not needed, then to cut it off, it is enough to finish collecting the “body”. Another thing is that the "tail" has a significant concentration of ethanol (40% and above). "Tails" are cleaned as much as possible in the distillation column. The products of this fraction can be used when rubbing the body and in small quantities add to homemade preparations when canning.
Separation of fractions of moonshine
The most important thing is to recognize the exit of the "head" from the moonshine still. Experienced moonshiners will be able to recognize the separation of the fraction by the sharp, unpleasant odor of the escaping liquid. It is most reliable to separate the “head” using high temperature, bringing the mash to almost 90 boiling points (97 degrees Celsius or more).
It is also easy to cut off the “tail”: it is enough to fix the moment of stopping the collection of the “body”. "Body" is not collected at a fortress below 35%. Experienced distillers impregnate a piece of paper in the distillate emanating from the apparatus and set it on fire. If the paper does not light up - the fortress is below 35% and the part of the mash remaining in the apparatus is the “tail”. When the "body" exits, a piece of paper burns with a blue flame.
Along with water and alcohol, Braga contains other substances, many of which are harmful to the body. Fortunately, their boiling point is higher or lower than that of ethyl alcohol, so fractional distillation (separation into fractions) can prevent most of the dangerous impurities from entering the finished product. We will consider methods that allow you to select the correct amount of tails and heads of moonshine, which will positively affect the quality of the distillate.
Attention! The information is relevant only for a conventional moonshine still, consisting of a distillation cube and a refrigerator in the form of a coil, it is also possible to have a steamer. For devices with dephlegmators and other devices that simulate the operation distillation column, the parameters for selecting tails and heads may differ from those presented here. I advise you to clarify this point with the designers of the circuit, manufacturers or equipment sellers. I do not consult on commercial models of devices.
The amount of harmful impurities depends on the raw materials, water, yeast, temperature, fermentation duration, design of the moonshine still and distillation technology. Even in mash according to the same recipe, the concentration of harmful substances can change every time, but at home, analysis of the composition of the mash is impossible, so approximate values \u200b\u200bare taken as a basis.
"Head" moonshine(also called "pervach" or "pervak") - the initial fraction with a sharp unpleasant odor. Contains the most dangerous impurities: methyl alcohol (many in cereals and fruit mash), acetone, acetaldehyde and others. Due to the fact that the boiling point of harmful substances is lower than that of ethyl alcohol, they come out first during distillation, therefore, it is possible to prevent them from entering the main product.
In everyday life, pervach is considered the most quality moonshine, because it is strong and quickly intoxicates. It's actually poison pure form, its use causes toxic poisoning, which is often confused with intoxication.
Heads are the strongest The moonshine head should not be drunk or used for rubbing. This faction can go exclusively for technical needs, but due to bad smell in most cases, it is simply thrown away.
"Body"- drinking part, the main goal of the moonshiner (the second name is "heart"). In theory, it contains only ethyl alcohol and water, but in practice there are always other impurities in the "body", since during distillation it is purely physically impossible to separate the yield into clear fractions, to one degree or another different substances with a close boiling point are always mixed, the output is "lubricated".
For complete decomposition into fractions, rectification is needed, thanks to which pure ethyl alcohol can be obtained. The disadvantage of the method is that, along with harmful impurities, substances responsible for the organoleptic properties of the drink are removed.
This means that after rectification, the taste and smell of moonshine from different raw materials (sugar, grains and fruits) will be the same, since only ethyl alcohol will remain in the drink.
It should be remembered that the harm and benefits of many substances in the distillate are relative. For example, fusel oils cause the liver to activate before alcohol begins to act, this protects the body from the harmful effects of alcohol.
A study by Vladimir Pavlovich, a professor at the Narcology Research Institute of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, proved that rectified alcohol (vodka) causes alcohol addiction many times faster than distillates - whiskey, cognac, tequila, etc. About 70% of dependent people are vodka alcoholics. The purer the poison (in our case, ethyl alcohol), the faster the addiction develops.
The correct separation of moonshine into fractions during distillation on a classic moonshine still allows you to remove almost all harmful substances, but leave those that are responsible for the aroma and taste of the drink, which cannot be done during rectification.
"Tail" moonshine- the third fraction, in addition to ethyl alcohol, contains fusel oils, which give an unpleasant odor, taste and cloudy color. The boiling point of fusel oil is higher than that of ethyl alcohol, therefore, in order to separate the tail of moonshine, it is enough to stop collecting the main product - the “body” in time.
Although after distillation a lot of ethyl alcohol remains in the “tails” (up to 40%), the ingress of other substances along with it spoils the quality of moonshine, which is why it is so important to finish the distillation on time.
Tailings can be recycled, but usually not worth the energy spent. Unlike "heads", "tails" are recyclable, they can be added to a new batch of mash (immediately before distillation) or cleaned in a distillation column. Distilling the “tails” a second time on a moonshine is useless, this will not improve the quality!
The question of how much to select "heads" and "tails" is a compromise between the quantity and quality of moonshine. Further, we will use the "golden mean" - parameters that have been tested by more than one generation of moonshiners. You can change them at your discretion both in one direction and in the other. Further, I will pay attention not to specific numbers, but to methods of calculation.
How to select the head of moonshine
First, the mash is brought to a boil. When the first drops appear, the power is reduced to a minimum, then the heating is gradually increased again so that the device enters the operating mode. Performance depends on the design and power of the stove, there are no average parameters here. It is considered normal when the moonshine comes out cold (the temperature is approximately equal to the temperature of the cooling water). This is what you should strive for.
Head separation methods:
1. By sugar. The simplest, but at the same time effective method. Suitable if the sugar content of the mash or the amount of added sugar is known. in fruit or grain mash sugar content is determined by a special device - a vinometer (hydrometer-saccharometer) before adding yeast.
For example, there are 5 liters of mash with a sugar content of 20%, which means that the total sugar content is 1 kg (5 * 0.2 = 1). The calculation assumes that 1 liter of solution by weight is equal to 1 kilogram, in practice this is not the case, but the error itself has little effect on the result, and the calculation simplifies significantly, so I advise you not to "bother".
60-100 ml heads are taken from 1 kg of sugar. It is advisable to divide this amount into two distillations, taking 30-50 ml of yield during the first distillation and the same amount during the second.
2. For pure alcohol. It is not always possible to find out the sugar content before fermentation begins. In this case, the first distillation is done without cutting off the “heads”, then the amount of absolute alcohol is measured. For example, if you get 6 liters of distillate with a total strength of 63%, then it contains 3.78 liters of pure alcohol (6 * 0.63 = 3.78). To simplify the calculations, we take the ethyl strength as 100%, although absolute alcohol can only be obtained in laboratory conditions.
On the second run head fraction cut off at the rate of 8-15% of the amount of pure alcohol. In our example, this is 0.567 liters (3.78 * 0.15 = 0.567).
One of the varieties of this method is the selection of 1% of the heads of the mash volume, but due to various reasons related to fermentation and sugar concentration, this method cannot be considered accurate, it is better to focus on absolute ethyl.
3. By smell. Suitable for experienced distillers who can identify moonshine heads by an unpleasant odor.
The distillate leaving the apparatus is periodically sniffed, rubbing a couple of drops in the palms, when the pungent smell disappears, they begin to select the “body”. In this way, it is good to check the correctness of calculations based on sugar or alcohol.
4. By temperature. Due to the design features moonshine stills and different composition impurities, this method does not always work well in practice. I recommend using only last resort. I bring it for review.
The evaporation temperature of the “heads” is 65-68 ° C. During distillation, when the temperature reaches 63°C (the thermometer must be at the inlet to the refrigerator), the heating power is sharply reduced in order to smoothly reach the above temperature range. Then the “heads” are taken away while drops come out of the apparatus. When the output stops, raise the temperature to 78°C and select the "body" to a temperature of 85°C. The values are approximate and may differ depending on the device!
How to separate tails in moonshine
Evidence of the appearance of tails is the fall of the fortress in the jet to 30-45 degrees. In order not to miss this moment, it is desirable towards the end of the distillation to collect the moonshine coming out of the apparatus into a flask or a small jar, in which it is easy to measure with an alcohol meter (the liquid temperature must be 20 ° C). If the strength is high enough, pour the distillate into a common container and substitute the jar again.
During the first distillation (especially fruit and grain brews), you can collect the "body" until the degree of distillate falls below 30%. At the same time, moonshine sometimes becomes cloudy, but that's okay, the second distillation, in which the beginning of the tails is considered to be 40% fortress, will fix the problem.
Most moonshiners prefer to consider everything that has a fortress below 40 degrees as tails of moonshine. If there is no alcohol meter, moonshine is taken until it burns in a spoon.
When the yield strength falls below the minimum, the distillation is stopped by stopping the heating, or they continue to collect tailings up to 15-20%, but this wastes energy and time, which in most cases does not justify itself.
