Aged in oak barrel. What strength to pour moonshine into an oak barrel

Being engaged in moonshine brewing at home, you are guaranteed to pay attention to oak containers, which can not only guarantee decent storage of your alcohol, but also provide the product with new interesting organoleptic properties.

Further in the article, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with how to cook moonshine in a barrel, based on its strength and other interesting nuances. You will also learn the fundamental principles of selecting and preparing containers for use.

Did you know? Since 2002, brew moonshine on the territory Russian Federation allowed only for subsequent personal consumption.

Deciding to enrich the structure of your homemade alcohol from potatoes, buckwheat or any other ingredients, you will definitely pay attention to the process of aging the product in a wooden barrel.

With its help, you can achieve non-trivial organoleptic indicators in almost any alcohol. It is enough just to choose the right container and responsibly treat the procedure for its preparation. At the same time, not wanting to miscalculate with the choice of a keg, try to pay attention to the following significant points:

• Manufacturer. The purchase of a container should be carried out only in specialized stores, where the client can be provided with certificates of quality and guarantees for the product. In no case do not purchase containers from your hands, since you do not know for sure how many times it was used by the former owner and what kind of alcohol was poured into it.
• Volume. Do not neglect this parameter, as various inconveniences may subsequently arise. To store the same moonshine from wine in an apartment, small containers with a volume of 2-10 liters are perfect. If you have a whole house at your disposal, then you can purchase a larger container. It should also be remembered that the volume of the container directly affects the rate of maturation of the product. The smaller the product, the faster drink acquires balanced and elegant organoleptic characteristics.
• The degree of roasting of wood. Having decided to store - moonshine from potatoes - in an oak container, be sure to take a look at the degree of roasting of the inner walls of the product. It can affect color, smell and, of course, taste. finished product. In total, today there are three degrees of roasting: light, medium and strong.

How to properly prepare an oak barrel for moonshine infusion

When choosing a suitable barrel for aging your alcohol, take your time, be sure to pay attention to the principles proper preparation products for use. That is, the choice of containers was only the first step.

Next, you need to learn how to soak an oak barrel for moonshine so that later in the process of using it, tannins that can kill the best tasting colors of alcohol do not penetrate into the drink. The preparation of containers involves the following procedures:

1. Preparation of an oak barrel for moonshine begins with the fact that you need to pour water into the container room temperature, filling it on 9/10. Next, close the container and leave it filled for 2-3 hours. During this time, systematically check the product for leakage. At the same time, the rivets must be soaked, but there should not be any liquid under the container.
2. After the expiration date, replace the water with a new one and leave it in this form for several days. This process will then need to be repeated again.
3. Long exposure of water will cause it to change color to brown. You will need to drain this liquid and then fill the container with boiling water by 1/3. Once you've done that, start spinning the barrel to wash away the rest of the tannins from the walls. You need to do this for 5-10 minutes. Then leave the product for 30-40 minutes alone. As soon as the required time has passed, add water to the top and close the product with a cork. In this form, the product should stand for at least a month.
4. As soon as the 30-day period comes to an end, drain the water and fill the container halfway with a hot soda solution in the proportion of 20 g per 1 liter of water. Shake the container light movements and discard the solution.
5. Rinse the vessel from the remnants of the solution and fill the container with boiling water for 20 minutes. Next, drain the water and fill it with cold water instead. Leave everything like this for 24 hours.
6. Drain all liquid from the container and let it dry. After complete drying, you can start infusing moonshine by pouring primary distillate with a strength of 20-30 degrees into the container. The first aging of light alcohol should be carried out for no more than 2-3 months, then more resourceful products can be poured into containers.

Did you know? Alcohol mashine allows you to make a higher quality strong alcohol than what you can buy in a store, but at the same time home production- it is always an experiment, which can often lead to an unpleasant result.

What strength of moonshine should be poured into an oak barrel

To decide what exactly should be the degree measure of alcohol poured into an oak barrel, you must initially set a clear goal, namely, decide for yourself what product you want to get.

For example, to ready-made alcohol acquired characteristics, the strength of the initial distillate should be approximately 45 degrees. Of particular importance is the place where you subsequently place your keg.

In a dry, dark room, an oak container will increase the strength of the drink. That is, by pouring 45% alcohol, after aging you can get alcohol with a 65-degree strength. At the same time, in damp rooms, the strength of alcohol during exposure decreases by about 10 degrees.

How long to keep moonshine in an oak barrel

Infusion of moonshine in oak barrel at home - it is complex and very interesting process who does not tolerate negligence. At the same time, you should understand that this strong alcohol should not be kept for too long, as it can seriously change its taste, and not for the better.

The standard period for aging homemade distillate in oak barrels is considered to be a period of 3 to 10 months. Remarkable is the fact that each drink has its own special relationship to aging.

To get "scotch" you will need to age the product for 6-10 months. It can take only 2-3 months to make, and it will be ready in about 4-6 months.

How many times can you use an oak barrel for moonshine

The service life of a standard quality container is at least 10-15 years. Throughout this period, strong alcohol can be stored in the container.

Moreover, the more often you change the fluid in the tank, the faster it wears out. On average, one barrel is enough to age 5-7 batches of alcohol. Alcohol tends to evaporate and strongly dry the walls of the product in which it is stored.

And this can lead to damage. Therefore, after 5-7 aging, professionals recommend completely disassembling the casks and re-firing them from the inside. After this process, the quality of aging the drink in an oak barrel, of course, drops, but the product lasts much longer this way.

To protect your container from premature internal destruction as much as possible, do not neglect simple generally accepted rules operation of the product. Fill the container with liquid at least 9/10 and every month try to add a little fresh distillate to it. Also, after completely draining the liquid, let the barrel dry normally. Do not speed up this process artificially.

Did you know? Do not confuse moonshine with sivukha! The latter is an unrefined product that should not be consumed.

Enjoy unique flavors

A properly selected and responsibly prepared oak barrel for moonshine will allow you to create unique alcoholic products again and again, with which you will subsequently delight both yourself and all invited guests. Using the recommendations outlined in the article, you are guaranteed to improve your skills in the production of alcohol.

Go to the nearest special shop or a workshop for a quality natural oak keg that will provide you necessary conditions extracts of finished alcohol.

How long does an oak barrel last

To such a frequently asked question, we can safely answer that the barrel definitely has its own resources, which are exhausted over the years. Also, the tannins that the barrel itself possesses simply disappear over the years.

If you don't apply special efforts, then the barrel can last 15-20 years. But if you properly care for it, then the service life can be significantly increased. Basically, one barrel is aged about 6-8 times. Then it is desirable to completely disassemble the barrel and burn it from the inside, of course, the effect and benefit will be slightly less than from a new barrel.

How to increase keg service?

In order to new barrel lasted as long as possible, careful care is required for it. For example, the service life of an oak barrel for moonshine can be increased as follows. Moonshine, as you know, is not aged in oak barrels for many years. Rather keep it for several months. On average, a barrel lasts about 15-20 years, which means that a barrel can be used repeatedly for moonshine. Most importantly, during exposure alcoholic drink, lubricate the barrel with beeswax, this will not allow the drink to evaporate, and will also strengthen the oak barrel itself. In addition, after each use of an oak barrel, it is necessary to wash it thoroughly and then dry it. And then fill again with some liquid. It must be remembered once and for all: an oak barrel should not be left empty, so it can dry out. Even if the entire keg rinsing procedure was completed, and then after a single use, the keg remained unfilled for a long time, it will begin to leak liquid.

After use, the barrel should be filled with lime (quicklime), then pour boiled water, hold for about four hours, drain the water, fill with ice water, repeat this procedure several times. Finally, fill with warm water, and place in a dark place. Only in this case the keg will be stored in the necessary conditions.

When an oak barrel is used to age and store cognac or wine, the product can age for several years. During this time, the barrel loses some tannins, which must be restored, this can be done by firing. We disassemble the barrel, burn it from the inside, collect it back. Thus, it is possible to slightly extend the service life.

When a barrel is needed for pickling products such as cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms and other pickles that are marinated in brine for one or more seasons, then the process of processing it is similar to processing after aging moonshine. The barrel should be thoroughly washed, dried, and then soaked and filled with liquid.

So, not all barrels can serve for many years, mostly 15-20 years, but if you give it proper attention and care, you can extend its service life by several years. And with the help of ordinary disassembly, firing, assembly of the barrel, you can even try to save its tannins. After all, it is they who give alcoholic beverages and pickles that very unusual taste.

Amazing taste properties acquire alcoholic beverages aged in oak barrels. These products can literally breathe. Air penetrates to the drink without obstacles, and alcohol vapors do not leave the container. Oxygen reacts, there is an increased oxidation of the contents and saturation pleasant smell. Tanning oils on the inner surface give a new color to moonshine and improve taste characteristics. This article provides a description of how to prepare and ensure the correct keg is placed. A recipe for making whiskey is given.

Barrel steaming

The process of steaming the inner surface is carried out for hygiene reasons to remove bacteria from the wood and enhance its aroma. Heated stones are laid out at the bottom of the barrel, and then water is poured onto them by a third of the volume. The barrel is sealed to retain the steam and kept that way throughout the vaporization process. After reducing the intensity of vaporization, the barrel is opened, watered hot water and whipped with a fragrant broom. the rest warm water poured out of the barrel. After drying, the barrel is ready for pouring alcohol.

Elimination of defects

New drums can have very large gaps. The leak is the result of improper preparation of the oak barrel. If containers for
strong alcoholic drink began to leak after transfusion, you should not wait until the gaps are reduced naturally. Need to transfuse valuable product into another barrel so as not to lose it. The affected area should be dried. An ordinary household hair dryer is perfect for this. During processing, the device should be kept at a distance of 30-40 cm so that the temperature effect is not too hot and oak barrels for moonshine do not deteriorate.

Barrel soaking

The container must be soaked before use. To follow the recipe correctly, you will need to pour boiling water into the barrel by 30% of the volume, and then close it tightly and hold high temperature inside for half an hour. Then you need to swing the barrel in order to wash the inside of the barrel. After that, you need to carefully fill the tank warm water and change it once a day for two weeks.

How to store an empty oak barrel?

To prepare the container for storage, you need to correctly perform
a few basic steps. Oak barrels, freed from alcoholic beverages, should be poured immediately cognac spirit. Such tanks should be left full to prevent depletion. Alcohols suck a lot of substances out of barrels. This contributes to their exhaustion. It is not recommended to keep the barrels empty for more than a day. They need to be used again.

What do you need to know about barrel depletion?

Creation Recipe good moonshine in an oak barrel depends on how many times the fixture has been used before. After the second, third and subsequent fillings of young alcohol, due to the decrease in wood components, the rate of their extraction gradually slows down. This happens until the wood is completely depleted. After that, the reservoir can only serve as a vessel, and not as a source useful components for alcohol.

How to age moonshine in an oak barrel?

When aging alcohol in barrels, all conditions must be observed. From this depends on the process of development of taste properties. Alcohol obtained by distillation is sharp in taste and almost colorless. With long-term exposure, the components of the alcoholic beverage change, a golden color appears, the taste softens and a pleasant aroma appears. Taste properties improve over time if you continue to infuse the drink. The alcohol becomes softer, a delicate pleasant flavor bouquet with a hint of vanilla, characteristic of well-aged drinks, develops harmoniously. You need to leave some space inside. This will contribute to the development of oxidative processes.

How to make whiskey from moonshine at home?

What ingredients do you need to make whiskey? How many do you need? An example is a simple recipe.

Required Ingredients:

• 3 l moonshine 45%
• 3 art. l. oak bark
• 50 g charcoal
• 6-8 dried apricots

Oak bark is sold in pharmacies. Coal is created by the elementary method of burning birch, oak logs or fruit trees. Choose resin-free wood.

Recipe:

• The fortress of moonshine should be brought up to 45%.
• Charcoal crushed into powder.
• Oak bark, dried apricots and charcoal are added to the jar. One and a half liters of alcohol is poured into a jar and everything is thoroughly mixed. After that, the bank is filled. The container must be filled with moonshine to the brim.
• A good exposure will be achieved if the blank is placed in a cold room without light for two weeks, having previously closed it tightly.
• To get rid of wood residues, the resulting whiskey is filtered.

Storage conditions for finished alcohol

To the recipe strong alcohol performed perfectly, will the optimum storage temperature range be required? from 14C° to 20C°. Suitable temperature 16C°. If this temperature is violated, the loss of alcohol due to evaporation increases, and if
decrease stops the holding process. Containers should be stored in dark cellars without light, in the complete absence of vibration and any extra odors. The humidity level should be at least 75% -85%.

Compliance with the above rules is a prerequisite. Keeping moonshine in an oak barrel is the only way. To raise the level of humidity, it is enough to place a basin or a bucket of water in the room. You can cover the tank with something and put a small container of liquid under it. Easy Recipe and the technology of preparing oak barrels is clear even to beginners.

The quality of long-term distillate aging is not an idle question for any home winemaker. It is possible only when moonshine is aged in an oak barrel, which, interacting with the drink, will add to it tart taste, fragrant composition and unique color. Homemade moonshine, after a certain time, turn into cognac or other noble alcoholic drink.

For moonshine tincture in an oak barrel, time is required, high-quality preparation of storage containers, and compliance with elementary requirements for the characteristics of raw materials.

What strength of moonshine to pour into an oak barrel depends on two significant circumstances:

• the size of an oak barrel;
• estimated time of exposure of the drink.

When saving an alcoholic drink at home, it is most logical to use a small container.

For oak containers with a volume of two to ten liters, you will need moonshine with a strength of 40-50%. In this case, the exposure period should not be less than six months.

Endure if necessary large quantity moonshine (more than ten liters), the fortress needs 55-70%, and at least three years of time. The longer the barrel with the contents is stored, the stronger the final drink will be.

Quality alcoholic product directly depends on the frequency of use of containers for infusion.

For the first time, the barrel used for storage gives the drink a maximum of wood components. With each successive time, the saturation of moonshine with oak extracts becomes less and less pronounced. After the fifth filling, the oak barrel is only a storage tank, as the wood will be depleted.

For getting excellent result the winemaker should follow the technology of aging moonshine in an oak barrel.

To make moonshine, in fact, fragrant drink A special oak barrel for moonshine will help you. Many years ago, specialists in this drink put forward the theory that the storage of alcoholic beverages in wooden barrels renders positive influence for moonshine. Its taste qualities become more saturated, and the aroma becomes pleasant. The secret lies in the fact that the pores located in the wood allow the barrel to breathe. Thus, oxygen is able to get into the middle of the container with a drink, while alcohol vapors do not have the opportunity to go back.

Before use, the barrel must be steamed

Experienced experts say that oak barrels for moonshine must undergo thorough preparation before the start of operation. If you do not pay due attention to the necessary procedures, you run the risk of transferring a large batch of raw materials, and spending a lot of your time absolutely in vain. There are several mandatory procedures that allow you to prepare an oak product for further use at home. One of milestones is the steaming of the product. The procedure under consideration allows you to get rid of cracks. Such gaps are not considered marriage, they are of natural origin. Regardless of what material the container is made of, even though it is cherry, even acacia, in any case, the product requires preliminary steaming. The steaming process is as follows. An oak barrel is filled with boiling water by a third, after which the container is scrolled. Leave the barrel for complete steaming. After half an hour, the water is drained.

Such manipulations help the wood to swell, which leads to the disappearance of existing gaps and cracks.

Barrel soaking

Soaking the product allows you to detect and correct all flaws oak product. The fresh product contains tannins, especially in riveting. It is for their elimination that soaking is carried out. Otherwise, moonshine will have a too tart taste.

Initially, oak barrels must be soaked daily, completely filling the container with water. Initially, leave the water in the barrel for a day. Experts recommend gradually increasing the duration of the water content, from 2 to 5 days. After two weeks, the water infused in an oak container should be clear and not have any foreign odors.

It is recommended to use warm water to soak the container. If you use boiling water, do not leave the water until it has completely cooled. The filled container is carefully inspected. Fluid may leak between the ends and rivets. When the wood swells, the gaps disappear.

Soaking is one of the stages preceding the use of the barrel for its intended purpose.

How to store an empty oak barrel?

Speaking of wooden structures, one should not forget how such material lends itself to moisture and temperature changes. As a rule, wood products are subjected to auxiliary processing in order to preserve their functionality to the maximum. long term. However, this has nothing to do with barrels. Oak barrels intended to store alcoholic beverages or foodstuffs must not be coated with varnishes, oils or paints. The fact is that such procedures can not only affect the taste of the contents, but also harm the health of the user.

If you plan to leave an oak barrel empty for a long time, you should ensure proper storage of the product. After each use, the barrel should be thoroughly rinsed. drinking water, then scald with boiling water with soda ash. Then you should wipe the product dry and place it in a canvas or jute bag. This will protect the container from dust. The most suitable place to store empty oak barrels is a utility room or shed made of wood. Please note that it is strictly forbidden to put the barrel on the ground. Direct contact with the ground will lead to the fact that the product will pick up moisture, and subsequently become moldy.

Barrels should be stored properly

What do you need to know about barrel depletion?

Alcohol draws a lot out of the keg nutrients. It is important after the next batch of moonshine or cognac is drained, pour the next batch of alcohol-containing drink into a previously prepared oak barrel. The break should be minimal and not exceed 24 hours. Therefore, experienced experts recommend preparing the required amount of ingredients for cooking in advance. next game moonshine. If you do not fill the vessel with another batch of alcohol in a timely manner, the inner walls of the product may become covered with mold, which is quite difficult to get rid of. You should also not forget that the oak gives its tannins to the contents of the barrel. Based on this, the aging period of the drink will change. Each subsequent tincture will require more and more time. As practice shows, the period of preparation of moonshine will increase by an average of 15-20%. Unfortunately, after 10-20 infusions (depending on the volume of the container), the oak barrel, having lost its basic properties, can serve its owners only as an original accessory or storage for alcohol.

Over time, the barrel is depleted and loses its properties.

How to age moonshine in an oak barrel?

It is important to observe a number of conditions when aging moonshine. Alcohol obtained after distillation, as a rule, has harsh palatability. In addition, moonshine can be cloudy. After aging alcohol in an oak barrel, the composition of the drink changes, which leads to an improvement in its quality. The aged drink acquires a golden hue, in addition, the oak barrel gives it pleasant aroma. Tannin, in combination with other substances, helps to increase the strength of the alcoholic beverage, but at the same time, the moonshine will be softer and even acquire a light and pleasant vanilla flavor.

Extra vibrations, odors, as well as contact with moonshine and its contents are highly objectionable. In the event that it is required to increase the level of humidity in the room where the barrel is located, a bowl filled with water should be placed near it. Do not forget that the water should be changed periodically, otherwise flowering cannot be avoided.

Operating technology wooden barrels and pouring moonshine into them for aging is elementary and understandable even to a beginner. The process is laborious and time consuming, but the production is environmentally friendly. pure moonshine worth the effort.