VAPOR SPEED CALCULATOR
Perfect your moonshine skills with our vapor speed calculator!
One of the best things about making moonshine is it is a hobby that can grow with you. From making your first simple sugar shine mash to perfectly your techniques to make your own signature shine, we have all the tools and equipment you need.
What is a Vapor Speed Calculator?
A vapor speed calculator is an important, although perhaps lesser known, tool for making moonshine.
This is because while this tool is not specifically used in the production of moonshine itself, it is an important tool to be used before your moonshine is consumed.
A vapor calculator is used to accurately determine how much water is required to dilute your shine. To determine this, you insert your volume of spirits, known strength, and desired strength.
While a vapor speed calculator may not be essential to the production of moonshine, it is certainly an important tool before the consumption of moonshine.
What Proof is Moonshine?
The proof of moonshine will vary depending on the recipe used as well as the distillation method.
In fact, a little known fact is the orginal XXX on a bottle of moonshine often represented the number of times a mash was run through the distiller. With each additional distillation the spirits become stronger.
While the term moonshine actually refers to spirits that are made illicitly or 'by the light of the moon' it is usually closely linked with high proof spirits.
With this in mind, moonshine usually has an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 40%. When you are determining the proof of the shine you multiply that figure by 2. So 40% ABV is equal to 80 proof.
However, this figure can climb to 60-80%. With liquor this strong, it is important to learn how to dilute your shine into a proof that is easier to stomach.
Is it Safe to Drink Moonshine?
The answer to whether it is safe to drink moonshine is not a simple one. The safety of your shine comes down to preparation and consumption. Two factors that can have a lot of variables.
For this reason, it would not be safe to drink moonshine unless you knew how it was prepared and its proof.
When making your own moonshine, there are many steps you can take to make your moonshine safer to consume.
Firstly, you want to be sure than you have sanitized all of your equipment. It is important to have both sanitized and proper equipment when making your own spirits.
Secondly, you need to be sure that you are taking all of the necessary safety percautions. It is important to know your safety risk and how to minimize it.
Check out Is it Safe to Make Moonshine?
Third, you need to educate yourself. It is important to know all the steps necessary to make moonshine before you start. After all, making a batch of moonshine is usually about a two-week commitment. You should know what it involved before you start.
A great way to educate yourself is to download our How to Make Moonshine e-book. It is a great step by step guide designed for beginners to work through all the stages of making moonshine.
Why is it Important to Fractionate Your Moonshine?
Fractionating your moonshine is an important step to making moonshine that is safe to consume.
Fractionating moonshine happens during distillation. Based on the output temperature you are able to separate the ethanol which is safe to consume from the other by-products, which are not safe.
This is done by not only closely monitoring the temperature of your mash during distillation, but more experienced shiners can also monitor their run through smell and taste.
Check out Everything you Need to Know About Distillation
This chart below is a handy guide to help you determine the correct fraction according to temperature.
We always suggest using about 12 mason jars to collect your run as it makes it easier to fractionate.
|
Output |
Temperature |
Fraction |
Keep or Toss? |
|
Acetone |
134°F or 56.5°C |
Foreshots |
TOSS |
|
Methanol |
147°F or 64°C |
Heads |
TOSS |
|
Ethyl Acetate |
171°F or 77.1°C |
Heads |
Keep for a second distillation or toss |
|
Ethanol |
172°F or 78°C |
HEARTS |
KEEP |
|
2-Propanol |
207°F or 82°C |
Tails |
Keep for a second distillation or toss |
|
1-Propanol |
207°F or 97°C |
Tails |
Keep for a second distillation or toss |
|
Water |
212°F or 100°C |
Tails |
Keep for a second distillation or toss |
|
Butanol |
241°F 116°C |
Tails |
Keep for a second distillation or toss |
|
Amyl alcohol |
280°F or 137.8°F |
Tails |
Keep for a second distillation or toss |
|
Furfural |
322°F or 161°C |
Tails |
Keep for a second distillation or toss |
Choosing the Right Moonshine Still
When it comes to making moonshine, using the right still is an extremely important step. At How to Moonshine, we believe your still should be well-made, easy to use and provide great results.
One of the best ways to ensure great results is to become familiar with your still. At How to Moonshine, our stills come complete with complete and easy to follow manuals to make sure you understand how to operate your still.
Unlike many of our competitors, we are available to answer any questions you have along the way. Simply reach out and we are happy to answer all of your questions having to do with everything moonshine.
How Do you Drink Moonshine?
One of the best things about moonshine is its versatility. As moonshine is a neutral spirit it can easily be flavored to replace many of your favorite spirits and make many different cocktails.
With this versatility in mind, moonshine can appeal to almost any drinker. Whether you love sippin on strong whiskey and want to enjoy the kick and burn of plain moonshine, or you are far less daring and prefer to not.
For those who are less daring, you can not only flavor your shine using a variety of recipes, you can also dilute moonshine to your desired proof. This is where your vapor speed calculator comes in handy.
As with any strong spirit, it is important to let anyone know that is lucky enough to share your moonshine with you to be aware of its potency.
This is especially important when mixing cocktails or serving flavored moonshine. Everyone knows that when you can't taste the alcohol in your drinks they are especially dangerous. This is even more true when you are serving high proof moonshine.
It can be argued that the threat of alcohol poisoning is just as worrisome as the threat of methanol poisoning when consuming moonshine. Of course, it always just comes back to the fact that you need to properly prepare and consume your moonshine in order to stay safe.