How many degrees are in the tails of moonshine. Selection of "heads" and "tails", or fractional distillation

The production of homemade alcohol is a creative process. You can get a quality drink if you know how to separate the heads and tails in moonshine. This procedure will help get rid of harmful fractions in which dangerous compounds are concentrated.

Methods for separating heads and tails of moonshine

Water and alcohol are not the only ingredients found in homemade strong drink. Some pose a certain danger to the human body. Due to the fact that their boiling point differs from the boiling point of ethyl alcohol, heads and tails can be selected by means of fractionation, thereby achieving efficient distillation.

The better the heads and tails are selected, the better the distillation

The amount of harmful components in the final product directly depends on the initially selected raw materials, the duration of fermentation, the distillation technology, and even on the design of the apparatus through which the mash is distilled. It is worth noting that the amount of fusel oils in Braga can vary even if it is prepared according to the same recipe. It is almost impossible to carry out an analysis at home, so the calculation can only be approximate.

The “head” of moonshine, another name for pervach, or pervak, is the first part of the distillation, it has a sharp and unpleasant odor.

Methyl alcohol is considered the most dangerous impurity; it is present in large quantities in fruit or grain fermentation products. In addition, mash contains acetone, acetaldehyde, etc. The boiling point of these components is lower than that of ethyl alcohol, using this property, it is possible to exclude these harmful substances from entering a strong drink.

For a very long time, it was believed among the people that pervach is the strongest and best part of the distilled drink. She instantly intoxicates and is very strong. Experts assure that "heads" are poison. The first fraction causes severe poisoning, it is this condition that is often confused with intoxication.

Do not confuse pervac poisoning with intoxication

What is a "body"? This is the first and real part, which can be called drinking. Moonshiners call it "heart". Theoretically, it consists of alcohol and water, but in practice there is always some part of the impurities present. It is possible to cut off the mash into separate fractions only during rectification. After this procedure, the drink will taste only ethyl alcohol.

"Tail" - the third part of the ejected liquid. This fraction contains in its composition not only ethyl alcohol, but also fusel oils.

It is they who give a cloudy appearance, an unpleasant aroma and a peculiar taste of moonshine. The boiling point of this component is higher than ethyl alcohol, which means that if you stop draining the main product - the “body” in a timely manner, then the “tail” will not get into a strong homemade drink.

What to do with the "tails" of moonshine? It is worth saying that the “tails” can be distilled twice, that is, they are allowed to be drained into the next portion of the mash. You can use "heads" only for technical needs. For more information about the heads and tails of moonshine, see this video:

For each distiller, the question arises, how to select the first, second and third fractions? What trade-off to choose between quality and quantity? It is best to choose the golden mean, use the parameters of experienced moonshiners.

Heating the prepared composition for distillation to a boil and starting to get the first drops of a strong liquid, you should reduce the power. Next, you need to gradually increase the heat. The method used will allow you to set the device to operating mode, with such manipulations, the moonshine will start to come out chilled.

Fraction selection methods

There are several options for selecting a primer. The easiest one is sugar. If there is a calculation of sugar content (the amount of sugar added), then this method is effective. Grain or fruit mash is checked with a wine meter. For 1 kg of sugar, from 60 to 100 ml of "heads" are taken. The selected product can be divided into 2 times, i.e., during the first distillation, take only 30-50 ml of liquid, during the second distillation, the same amount.

The amount of "head" can be determined by pure alcohol

If it is not possible to find out the sugar content, then there is another way to determine the amount of "head" - by pure alcohol. To do this, the first distillation is carried out without removing the first fraction. On this day, the amount of moonshine obtained is determined by the amount of pure alcohol in a strong drink. For example, in 6 liters of distillate with a strength of 63% vol. will contain 3.78 liters of alcohol. During the second distillation, it is necessary to remove from 18 to 15% of the head fraction. For calculations in home brewing, see this useful and relevant video:

Experienced winemakers separate the "heads" by smell. The distillate is periodically sniffed, a small amount of liquid is rubbed on the palms. As soon as the specific smell disappears, they begin to take the "body".

The last part of the distillation is the "tails". They are determined by the fall of the fortress in the outgoing jet. Tailings appear at 30 - 45% vol. In order not to miss this moment, you should use a separate container in which it is easier to measure. If there is no alcoholometer at home, then a strong drink is taken as long as it burns.

Where to put the "heads" and "tails" has already been suggested above.

Moonshine is a very exciting process. And this concerns not only the practical part, but even the theoretical one. It is interesting to read articles on the topic of distillate production. But for all the entertainment, certain rules must be observed so that the first and subsequent tastings do not lead to disastrous results. We are talking about the concentration of harmful impurities, which must be correctly separated. Moonshiners call this process the selection (cutting off) of heads and tails during the second distillation. How to select heads and tails in moonshine - in our article.

moonshine fractions

Regardless of what wort was used (sugar, fruit or grain mash), when heated, fungal cells will decompose and a whole complex of esters and toxic alcohols will be released. All this is called one phrase "fusel oils" and includes more than 10 positions that are more or less harmful to health. It is impossible to completely clean moonshine, this applies more to distillation on a distillation column (tsarga), but we are talking about a conventional moonshine still. But in the process of heating, you can clean the drink as completely as possible and get quite tolerable moonshine at the exit.

In total, there are 3 main fractions:

• "Head"

The first fraction, which appears already when heated to 60°C. This is pervach, and its harm is simply colossal. It is advisable to cut it off with a small margin - an average of 50 ml per kilogram of sugar in Braga. That is, if 5 kg of sugar was used, then the first 250 ml is a head with a very pungent smell of acetone.

Here are concentrated: methyl alcohol, acetone, acetic acid. Due to the fact that their boiling point is lower than that of ethyl alcohol, they appear first in the form of drops. The volume of heads depends, among other things, on the type of mash. Most of them are in cereals.

Some take Pervach for the most picky moonshine, and vice versa, they try not to take heads. In fact, its use does not lead to intoxication, but to poisoning.

• "body" or "heart"

This is the central part, for the sake of which the whole process of moonshine is started. If you select the heads correctly at the very beginning, you can get a relatively pure product.

• "Tails"

This is the final stage, which is carried out when the strength of the moonshine falls below 35 °. The use of the tail fraction of moonshine is recommended repeatedly when preparing the next portion of the mash in order to maximize the taste of the finished product.

It is pointless to drive the tails into the next portion for the second distillation, it will not give any result.

The tail part just contains fusel oils, which lead to clouding of moonshine and the appearance of an unpleasant fusel smell. Objectively, their presence has little effect on health, but if you need a fragrant and clean drink, it is better to cut them off in time.

It is impossible to completely cut off the heads and tails with conventional distillation. Rectification will help to completely separate moonshine into fractions. But as a result, you will get pure ethyl alcohol without a characteristic aroma and pleasant taste sensations.

By the way, doctors are extremely negative about such drinks, since their use very quickly turns into abuse. Alcohol dependence on distillates (whiskey, rum, cognac) occurs 14 times less often than on pure ethyl.

The main question is how many heads to select and how many tails? There is no unambiguous recipe, there are only experienced marks that have been developed over the years, which can be slightly changed. In other words, we will not name the ideal numbers, only the method of selection during re-distillation.

VIDEO: How to separate the heads and whether it can be done on the first run

How to pick heads

We mean that the mash is already ready, it was poured without sediment into the distillation cube and put on fire (for heating elements, the principle is the same). First, bring to a boil (check the thermometer on the cube) for 15-20 minutes, gradually increasing the temperature by 5 ° C per minute. Then we also gradually reduce it to a minimum and again increase it to 68 ° C. Ideally, the output should be cold moonshine, in extreme cases, not higher than 30 ° C.

Cutting methods:

1. By sugar

This method is the simplest and is used, as a rule, by beginners. It consists in calculating the volume of sugar for mash and thus determining the volume of heads. The method is quite viable, but only if you know exactly how much sugar was used.

On average, 50 ml of heads are taken from 1 kilogram of sugar, but it is best to divide this process into two parts. At the first distillation, cut off about 30 ml and at the second distillation, another 30 ml from each kilogram.

1. By the amount of ethyl alcohol

This method is more realistic for those who poured sugar “by eye” or added it during the fermentation process, although this is not correct. At the first distillation, you do not touch the heads at all, but you can cut off the tails (more on this below). Next, we measure how much pure ethyl alcohol theoretically turned out.

Let's give an example - we got 5 liters of almost moonshine, measured its strength with a hydrometer, got 65 °. Thus, we will have 3.25 liters (5x0.65 = 3.25). It is clear that the strength of alcohol is far from 100 °, but such a fundamental degree accuracy is not needed).

Now, when re-distilling, we need to remove 15% of the heads, and this will be 0.496 (3.25x0.15 \u003d 0.489). Accordingly, on the second stage, cut off the first half liter and pour them out of harm's way.

1. By smell

This method is used only by experienced moonshiners who have mastered the zen of distilling. A beginner will not be able to "catch" the moment when the pervach stopped and the body started.

1. By temperature

Not the most reliable method, since some impurities have a boiling point close to ethyl alcohol, and therefore it is extremely difficult to cut them off. But in any case, we will explain how this happens.

When heated, as we see from the table, acetaldehyde will “go” first, and ethyl acetate, whose boiling point is only 79 °, closes the chain. The temperature is gradually reduced in order to “drive out” the maximum impurities on this scale. When the exit of the heads has stopped, the cube is heated to 78 ° C, after which the actual moonshine begins to go, and this process continues up to 88 ° C. Once again, we repeat that everything is relative and how many degrees to bring depends on the mash and the modification of the unit.

When the temperature is raised to 85 ° C, several drops are collected in a separate container and the strength is checked with a hydrometer (temperature below 40 ° C) or an alcohol meter (not higher than 20 ° C - otherwise it will “lie”). If these devices are not available, you can collect drops in a spoon and set fire to it. As long as it burns or the strength is above 35°, it is still a body. As soon as moonshine stopped burning or the fortress fell below 35 °, tails begin to go.

Sometimes moonshine can become cloudy due to tailings, but you can get rid of this on re-distillation

If the mash was made on wheat, fruit or cake, you can collect the body to a strength of 30 °, but it will no longer burn, so you can “miss”. This is not scary, since part of the tails will go into the head during the second distillation.

Experienced distillers do not collect the body if the fortress has dropped to 39 °. In general, this is correct, but not critical.

You can reuse the tails to prepare the next portion of the mash, although this does not justify itself either in terms of organoleptic or the strength of the finished product. The tails can be thrown away or used for external use.

Cleaning before the second distillation will improve the result

Intermediate cleaning allows you to improve the taste of the finished product, although it is carried out only by a few. Experienced distillers never skip this stage, since not only the quantity of moonshine is important, but also its quality. Fundamentally, the intermediate cleaning is no different from the final one. The easiest way to do this is with vegetable oil and a charcoal filter.

How to clean with vegetable oil

We collect the finished product in one container and dilute with water up to 15 °. Pour refined vegetable oil (odorless) at the rate of 15-20 ml for each liter of diluted moonshine. Shake vigorously for a minute and a half, stop for a couple of minutes, repeat. And so 3-4 times. We leave it for a day, after which we remove the oil from the surface with a spoon or a cotton pad - it will drag the molecules of impurities with it. We pass 3-4 times through gauze, and then we do carbonization. For this, it is best to use charcoal, although activated charcoal tablets do the job just fine.

Intermediate treatment is needed only for grain and sugar distillate. If the mash was made on berries or fruits, such a stage will simply “kill” the entire aromatic component.

VIDEO: Do I need a second stage with a dry steamer

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 a good product is obtained. 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 a lot of 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.

1. Use a clean mixture of tailings from different hauls.
2. Mix tails with mash.
3. 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.

Ideal conditions are shown. Feel free to make an error in the region of 10% minimum.

How to mix tails with mash?

To draw up the 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. In this case, you effectively dispose of 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 mistaken for the jolly effect of alcohol, but in fact, not so much ethyl alcohol is drunk, and in good drinks it works differently.

Instructions for the correct distillation of tailings

moonshiner gurus Konstantin Kapochkin recommends doing this:

1. We carry out the first distillation of moonshine without separating fractions.
2. We carry out the second fractional distillation with the three fractions described above.
3. We collect tails from different hauls, after which we dilute them to 20 degrees and send them for distillation.
4. 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:

When making moonshine at home, you need to be very clear that we are talking about complex chemical processes, and such a concept as dividing the resulting product into fractions is very important. Braga, in addition to the ethyl alcohol we are interested in, contains a huge amount of impurities, including strong poisons such as methyl alcohol, acetone, fusel oils. But there is one significant plus - almost all these elements boil and evaporate at different temperatures. Conventionally, the whole process is divided into three stages:

• "Heads" - at the initial stage, the so-called "light" fractions are expelled, that is, boiling and evaporating at lower temperatures. This is primarily acetone and other aldehydes. They are the least in the output - about 2% of the volume of mash on the first pasture. They should not be used at all, although, as many remember, “pervak” was very much appreciated before, because it hits the head very hard, but, however, the consequences of its use are very serious
• “Body” is just the ethyl alcohol we are interested in. It boils and begins to evaporate at a temperature of about +76 C o ... +78 C o , but it also contains a certain amount of by-products that evaporate at the same time as it
• "Tails" - they are called "heavy" fractions. These are esters, fusel oils - we don’t need them either, and you can collect them only during the first distillation, and on the second - cut off and collect only to add to the next mash when it is ready for pasture

Tailings in home brewing are a way to get the right strength so as not to drain the remains of valuable ethyl alcohol. But you can’t do this with heads - they don’t have ethyl alcohol at all, since it begins to evaporate only at +76 C o ... +78 C o, and everything that boils and evaporates earlier is poison.

Separation of heads and tails during moonshine

With tails, I'll tell you from personal experience, things are easier. As soon as the moonshine coming out of the coil stops burning, you can cut them off. And even if a little gets into the “body” of moonshine, it’s not scary, since we will carry out additional cleaning. But with the "heads" it is more difficult. Perhaps you will find information somewhere that they can be easily identified by smell ... This, I tell you, is complete nonsense.

Firstly, during the haul in the kitchen, there is already a peculiar smell, and your scent is gradually lost. And it’s worth at least once to smell the condensate directly, as you will finally understand nothing. Yes, with experience you will learn to sort out some differences, but you cannot call it an objective method. I always follow the following rule. It is known that fully fermented mash contains 2% of the "heads" of its original volume. That is, if I have 20 liters of home brew, then I cut off and mercilessly drain about 400 milligrams of “heads” into the sewer. At first it will be a little pitiful - I remember it myself, but later you will understand that this is necessary when you wake up a couple of times in the morning after an evening feast with a square head.

During the second haul, the volume of heads is calculated according to the planned yield of the final product. It will be about 5% of it. That is, no more than 80-100 milligrams, if the initial volume of the mash was 20 liters. At the third stage, this percentage is reduced to 2% of the yield, which is no more than 30 milligrams.

The separation of tails during moonshine begins only by the second stage. The easiest way to navigate here is by the ability of the condensate to ignite or by the thermometer built into the distillation cube. We do not throw out the tails - they can be used. We add them to the new fermented mash in order to completely extract the remaining ethyl alcohol from them.

Important! Even after two or three hauls, moonshine must be further cleaned. Ethyl alcohol is not so special that it evaporates exclusively on its own - it still contains some impurities, so for the maximum degree of purification, use the methods recommended by me in the relevant publications.

Yes, no matter how natural and high-quality the mash preparation is, if you do not divide the product into fractions, then its use will be associated with unpleasant consequences in the form of a headache, morning hangover and other side effects.

It's no secret that you need to get high-quality alcoholic drinks at home. There are craftsmen who are able to make a reliable distiller on their own, but such skill is not available to most interested Russians. A classic distiller is quite capable of coping with the task of high-quality distillation - this is evidenced. If you are lucky (we recommend choosing an apparatus of the brand), and you are looking forward to getting the purest home-made alcohol, then it is appropriate to talk about the selection of heads with a dry steamer.

Is it necessary to separate the heads if there is a dry steamer?

Certainly, it is necessary. Heads are a “light-boiling” fraction of moonshine, consisting mainly of esters and aldehydes. In addition to this good, the head fraction contains acetone and methanol, a very toxic alcohol. All of them boil at a temperature lower than the boiling point of ethyl alcohol. In a dry steamer, as is known, priority condensation of substances occurs, the boiling point of which is higher than that of ethanol. In other words, “tail” impurities, the so-called “fusel oils”, settle in the steamer. Thus, the “heads” freely leave the steamer, without lingering in it, and their selection is mandatory during distillation.

The question arises: how to select heads with a dry steamer during the first and second distillation. If a second distillation is planned, then the heads can not be taken away, but everything can be driven as it is at maximum heat. Then calculate the estimated volume of heads from the amount of absolute alcohol (8-12%, and 12-15% when distilling apple mash). However, one may be puzzled by their selection immediately during the distillation of mash. Then the heads are taken at the rate of 50-70 ml (70-100 when distilling apple mash) per 1 kg of sugar used in the preparation of the mash. The sugar contained in raw materials (for example, in jam) is also taken into account. The amount of sugar in the mash before adding yeast can also be measured using a hydrometer-sugar meter (vinomer).

How many heads to take with a sukhoparnik.

Calculation examples:

1. from absolute alcohol.
   Suppose that after the first distillation, raw alcohol with a strength of 40 degrees was obtained. 40/100 = 0.4 (l) - 400 ml of absolute alcohol is contained in 1 liter of raw. From each liter it is necessary to select those same 8-15% of absolute alcohol: 400 * 0.08 = 32 (ml); 400*0.15=60 (ml), i.e. 32-60 ml of heads are taken from each liter of raw.
2. From the readings of the sugar meter.
   Let there be 20 liters of mash, which contains 12% sugar. 20 * 12 / 100 \u003d 2.4 (kg) - 2.4 kg of sugar is contained in 20 liters of mash. From each kg of sugar, we select the heads at the rate of 50-70 ml. In total, 120-168 ml of heads are to be selected.

What to do with the selected head faction?

Well, certainly do not drink if you value your health. Most of the time they are just thrown away. You can set it on fire - they burn beautifully, and are even used as a means for ignition. You can pour it into the glass washer tank in the car, but be prepared for the fact that the aroma will be very specific. You can wash the nail polish, but this is already out of hopelessness. In any case, the heads are selected on any apparatus in the same proportions described above, and it does not matter whether you have a dry steamer or a column.