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How strong is my moonshine?
Shake Test – Arguably the easiest way to gauge the alcohol content of moonshine is to perform a shake test. Although it’s not an entirely accurate form of measurement, it will give you a rough idea as to how much alcohol the moonshine contains. To perform a shake test, fill a glass jar about 1/2 the way full of your moonshine.
Now, here comes the important part: you need to closely examine the bubbles of your moonshine after shaking it. Moonshine with a high alcohol content will have large bubbles that dissipate within seconds, while moonshine with a low alcohol content will have small bubbles that last for several minutes.
The shake test is a quick and easy way to determine whether or not your moonshine is potent. Watered down moonshine will possess small bubbles that linger rather than dissipating. Pay close attention to the bubbles of your moonshine when performing a shake test.
How high is the alcohol content in moonshine?
Typically, moonshine has an ABV of 40%. However, the ABV of moonshine can be even higher, reaching levels of anywhere from 60%-80%! When it comes to alcohol levels in a spirit, the distilling process is the defining factor.
How do you measure alcohol content in spirits?
To measure the ABV in your spirit, you will need an alcoholmeter. This is a small float, with a scale in it. The more alcohol that is present, the lighter the density of the liquid and so the alcoholmeter sinks a bit lower. You then read off the scale how much alcohol is present and dilute accordingly.
Can you measure alcohol content without hydrometer?
Download Article Download Article Testing for alcohol content is an important part of home-brewing to determine the potency of your drinks. While most people will use a hydrometer to check the alcohol levels, you can also use a refractometer, which measures how light bends through a liquid to determine the density.
- 1 Buy a refractometer online to measure alcohol content. Refractometers are cylindrical devices that measure the concentration of sugar in water based on how light refracts through the solution. Look at home-brewing websites to see what refractometers they have available to purchase.
- Refractometers usually cost $30 USD or more. More expensive models tend to be more accurate than cheaper ones.
- You may be able to find refractometers in specialty home-brewing stores.
- In order to use a refractometer to measure alcohol content, you need to take a measurement before it begins fermenting. You will not be able to measure alcohol content in a drink otherwise.
- 2 Put 2–3 drops of distilled water on the refractometer’s glass and shut the lid. Flip open the plastic cap on the end of the refractometer to expose the glass underneath. Use a pipette to apply a few drops of distilled water on top of the glass, making sure they don’t run off. Flip the plastic lid closed so it spreads the water evenly over the surface.
- Avoid using water from a sink since it may have additives that could affect your reading.
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- 3 Hold the refractometer up to your eye so it points at a light source. Put the refractometer’s lens against your eye and point the other end with the glass toward a light, such as a lamp or ceiling light. As you look through the lens, you will see a scale of numbers ascending vertically and the background will have a white section near the bottom and a blue section above it.
- The horizontal line that splits the blue section and the white section in the background is the hydrometer reading.
- If you have a digital refractometer, it will have a light built into the body so you don’t need an external light source.
Tip: If you can’t read the numbers on the scales, rotate the eyepiece to focus the image.
- 4 Adjust the calibration screw if you don’t have a 0 reading on the scale. Check where the horizontal line crosses the scales. If it doesn’t line up with the 0 mark on either scale, locate the calibration screw on the top of the refractometer. Use a screwdriver to turn the screw counterclockwise if the line is above the 0 mark or clockwise if the line is above it.
- The calibration screw may be covered by a plastic cap so you don’t accidentally rotate it while using the refractometer.
- The refractometer may already come with a screwdriver.
- 5 Wipe the glass dry to prevent damage. Flip the lid open on the refractometer and use a lint-free microfiber towel to dry off the glass. If you aren’t able to clean off all the water with the towel, leave the lid open and allow the refractometer to air dry so it doesn’t affect future readings.
- Avoid leaving water or moisture on the refractometer since it could leak into the machine and make it inaccurate in future readings.
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- 1 Put 2–3 drops of the unfermented sample on the refractometer. Use the sugar and water starter liquid, or wort, you’re using for your homebrew and pull a small sample into a pipette. Open the plastic lid on the refractometer and apply 2–3 drops across the glass. Close the lid to help spread out the drops into a thin, even layer.
- Refractometers work best for measuring alcohol in home-brewed beer or whiskey.
- You can try using a refractometer to measure must, which is crushed fruit used for wine, but you may not get as accurate of a reading.
Tip: Many refractometers automatically adjust for temperature, but if your model doesn’t, wait until the unfermented sample reaches room temperature before taking your measurement. If you don’t, you may get an inaccurate reading.
- 2 Hold the refractometer up to a light to find the Brix gravity reading. Place the refractometer’s lens against your eye and point the glass toward a light source. Rotate the lens to adjust the focus if you’re not able to see the scales clearly. Look at the scale labeled “Brix %” and note where the horizontal line crosses it. Write down the reading so you don’t forget it later on.
- The Brix scale usually goes from 0 to 30%, but it may vary depending on the model of your refractometer.
- You do not need to use the side labeled “SG” or “Specific Gravity” since it will be more difficult to convert later on.
- 3 Take another Brix reading 2–3 weeks after the liquid starts fermenting. Wait until the solution or wort begins fermenting before taking your next measurement, or else you won’t be able to get an accurate measurement. Place another 2–3 drops of the wort onto the refractometer’s glass and close the lid.
- You can take your second reading at any point during the fermentation process.
- 4 Divide both of your readings by 1.04 to correct them. Since refractometers have slight inaccuracies to them, take the readings you found and divide them by 1.04, which is the standard correction value. Write down the final results you found out rounded to the second decimal place so you have the initial and final Brix percent measurements.
- For example, if the initial Brix percentage was 12 on the refractometer, the equation would be: 12/1.04 = 11.54.
- If you found the final Brix percentage was 8, then your equation would be: 8/1.04 = 7.69.
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- 1 Plug the readings into the correction formula for the final specific gravity. Use the formula: 1.0000 – (0.0044993 * IB) + (0.011774 * FB) + (0.00027581 * IB²) – (0.0012717 * FB²) – (0.0000072800 * IB³) + (0.000063293 * FB³), where IB is the corrected initial Brix measurement and FB is the corrected final Brix measurement.
- For example, if the corrected initial Brix percentage was 11.54 and the corrected final percentage was 7.69, the equation would be: 1.0000 – (0.0044993 * 11.54) + (0.011774 * 7.69) + (0.00027581 * (11.54²)) – (0.0012717 * (7.69²)) – (0.0000072800 * (11.54³)) + (0.000063293 * (7.69³)).
- After plugging the equation into a calculator, the final specific gravity would be 1.018.
- 2 Convert the first Brix reading with (IB / ) + 1. Plug the corrected initial Brix percentage into the equation in place of IB and enter the formula into your calculator. Round your answer to the third decimal point to find the initial specific gravity, which you can use to find the alcohol content of the wort.
- For example, if the first Brix percentage was 11.54, the equation would read: (11.54 / ) + 1.
- When you plug the equation into a calculator, you would find the initial specific gravity is 1.046.
- 3 Use (76.08 * / ) * (FG / 0.794) to find the alcohol content. Plug the initial specific gravity you just calculated in for IG and the final specific gravity you found earlier in place of FG. Type the equation into a calculator and round the answer to the third decimal point to find the expected alcohol content of the wort once it’s completely fermented.
- For example, if the initial specific gravity was 1.046 and the final specific gravity was 1.018, then the equation would read: (76.08 * / ) * (1.018 / 0.794).
- After putting the formula into a calculator, your result would be 3.747, which means the drink will be 3.747% alcohol by volume, which is how much alcohol is contained in 100 millilitres (3.4 fl oz).
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Unlike a hydrometer, you cannot use a refractometer to test alcohol content if you don’t know the initial gravity before the liquid ferments.
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- Refractometer
- Pipette
- Distilled water
- Screwdriver
- Microfiber cloth
- Calculator
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How do I check my mash ABV?
How to Use a Proofing Hydrometer – A proofing hydrometer works (mechanically) exactly the same way a brewing hydrometer does. However, you don’t need to take a “starting gravity” reading. Simply drop a distilling hydrometer in high proof alcohol and read the number on the side.
Can I measure alcohol content without original gravity?
It is possible to calculate ABV without knowing the original gravity of the beer. There are several reasons why the original gravity may be an unknown. There have been a few cases where in the rush of getting the wort into the fermentor I have forgotten to take an original gravity measurement.
Why is my moonshine so strong?
Why Is Moonshine Illegal? – Moonshine is an alcoholic drink that is made illegally and typically in secret. The main ingredient in moonshine is corn mash, which is mixed with water and then distilled. The distilling process is what makes it so potent and can also make it dangerous.
If the distillation process isn’t done correctly, it can contain high levels of methanol, which can be toxic or even deadly. Moonshine has been around for centuries and remains popular today. There are a number of reasons why people continue to make and drink moonshine, even though it’s illegal. For one, it’s often cheaper than buying alcohol from a store.
And, since it is made illegally, there’s a certain cachet and appeal that comes with drinking it. If you’re curious about how it’s made or want to try some yourself, be sure to do your research first and take appropriate safety precautions. Moonshine can be dangerous if not made correctly, so it’s important to know what you’re doing before you start distilling your own alcohol.
How do I check my mash ABV?
How to Use a Proofing Hydrometer – A proofing hydrometer works (mechanically) exactly the same way a brewing hydrometer does. However, you don’t need to take a “starting gravity” reading. Simply drop a distilling hydrometer in high proof alcohol and read the number on the side.
Does moonshine get weaker over time?
So you’ve found a bottle of moonshine from yesteryear. Is it still fit to drink? This is a question I’ve asked myself recently. I heard different things coming from different sources, so I decided to do a little research on my own, and here’s the answer.
So, does moonshine go bad? In short, moonshine, like other plain spirits, does not really go bad. This means moonshine has an indefinite shelf life, unless you are dealing with a flavored option (which can spoil as a result of its high sugar density). Coming up, I’ll go over everything you need to know about moonshine and its shelf life so you can get the most out of your spirits.
Keep reading to find out if your moonshine is still good (or whether you should just chuck it!).