Moonshine from birch sap benefits and harms. How to make mash from birch sap. Healing properties of birch brunek
Many people know that moonshine belongs to alcoholic beverages that can be prepared from almost any base.
But few people even think about what such a alcoholic drink can be made not only safe, but also very useful. Especially when natural birch sap is the main ingredient in its preparation.
The main advantages of this natural gift are the following:
- Wide range of applications. This juice is actively used in cosmetology, traditional medicine and moonshine.
- Rich chemical and biological composition. It is he who causes such an extensive use of this nectar.
- Completely natural origin, which provides the finished moonshine not only naturalness, but also safety.
- Even in the process of double distillation, birch nectar retains all its beneficial features.
Attention! Birch nectar retains all this benefit if it was collected from March to May. The rest of the time the concentration useful substances in this juice is minimal.
Watch a video that talks about the benefits of birch sap:
Do not forget that the benefit and quality of the finished moonshine is influenced not only by the juice itself, but also by the correct observance of all the technological subtleties of its preparation.
How to make mash at home?
Classic way
Cooking Ingredients:
- 30 g of kefir;
- 40 g dry yeast;
- 3 kg of sugar;
- 10 liters of juice.
This recipe includes the presence of such an ingredient as dry yeast. It is their presence that allows you to be sure that the fermentation process will be started on time and will go right, which means it will save the finished drink from souring.
Cooking order:
- Heat birch sap to a temperature of 25 degrees and dissolve all the sugar in it.
- Dilute the yeast according to the instructions on the package.
- Pour the juice into a fermentation container, add kefir and yeast there.
- Install a water seal.
- After the end of fermentation, after about 12 days, the mash is carefully drained from the sediment and distilled through a moonshine still.
It is better to keep the obtained birch moonshine before use for several days in a cool place for the final stabilization of its taste.
Reference! You can determine the end of the fermentation process by the absence of new bubbles carbon dioxide, as well as to the taste of the mash itself. It should become slightly bitter in taste, and sweetness should not be felt at all.
The process of making moonshine from birch sap with yeast is shown in the video:
Yeast free
This recipe uses only two simple ingredients.
Cooking Ingredients:
- 30 g of fresh milk or daily kefir;
- 30 liters of fresh birch nectar.
At first glance, the cooking technology may seem a bit complicated and time consuming, but this is a deceptive impression. The result is a transparent moonshine, High Quality and with excellent taste characteristics.
Cooking process:
- Pour 3 liters of juice into a separate container.
- Boil the remaining liquid at a minimum boil until its volume reaches 11 liters.
- After that, remove the container from the heat and cool to a temperature of 22 degrees above zero.
- Mix two types of juice and pour them into a fermentation tank.
- Add kefir there and install a water seal.
- After 15 days, the finished mash is drained from the sediment and distilled.
Important! The wort should ferment at a temperature of about 25 degrees and in a darkened room.
Such an additive gives exact confidence that the fermentation process will be started in a timely and correct manner.
With honey
Such a homemade alcoholic drink turns out to be especially aromatic and pleasant to the taste.
Reference! Unlike alcohol prepared according to other recipes, this drink has a very subtle and delicate honey aftertaste. That is why there are more and more fans of this drink every year.
To prepare such a healthy and tasty moonshine at home, you will need:
- 3 liters of liquid honey;
- 10 liters of juice;
- 20 g dry yeast.
Preparing the drink itself is quite easy:
- Heat the juice to a temperature of 45 degrees and carefully dissolve all the honey in it.
- Dissolve the yeast according to the instructions that come with it.
- Mix honey liquid with yeast and pour into a fermentation container.
- Install a water seal and leave the mixture for 7 days.
- Then drain the finished mash from the sediment and filter.
In the end, it is necessary to distill the finished alcohol by any available method.
Moonshine prepared on the basis of birch sap, according to any of these recipes, always turns out to be successful.
Reference! Its main distinguishing feature from alcohol prepared at home according to similar recipes is a milder taste and delicate aroma.
And if traditionally moonshine is a male drink, then a lady will not refuse alcohol prepared according to this recipe. On average, the strength of the finished drink is about 45 degrees. In a dry, cool place and in an airtight container, it has a guaranteed shelf life of 60 months.
But even such noble alcohol can be improved even more if use the following tips:
- Instead of dry yeast, it is better to use their fresh analogue, although their volume should be 3-4 times larger.
- If honey is used, then it must be liquid, otherwise it should be melted in a water bath.
- To improve the taste and color of the finished moonshine, the distillation of the mash should be carried out twice. The first time without dividing the liquid into fractions, but the second time, already separating the tails and heads.
- Between the first and second distillation, it is better to pause for a couple of days. And at this time, clean the pervak with additional birch charcoal.
- Immediately before use, the finished moonshine should not only be well cooled, but also kept for at least 2 days to finally stabilize the taste.
Compliance with these simple tips, as well as strict adherence to the chosen recipe for the preparation of this alcohol, will allow you to enjoy the true taste and aroma of real birch moonshine, which will not leave anyone indifferent.
In this article I will describe my first and at the moment the only experience of making moonshine with birch sap. Among several recipes that I found on the Internet, for a start I chose the one that is simpler - with the addition of sugar and yeast. My moonshine on birch sap turned out to be quite soft, slightly tart in taste. It smells of course moonshine, but with a slight woody tint. The most amazing thing about this drink is its aftertaste. I have never gnawed birch logs, but I am sure that if I gnaw, the aftertaste will be the same as after this moonshine on birch sap. I don’t know if this is an advantage or a disadvantage of this drink, but it definitely deserves to be tried at least once in a lifetime. |
When and where to collect birch sap
Unfortunately, the collection of birch sap is very limited in time, and there are no exact dates when the sap flow begins. Therefore, for a while, I turned into a young naturalist and tracked the following natural and weather conditions:
- the air temperature during the day has become above 5 ° C, but if after warming frost hit again, then the time to collect birch sap has not yet come;
- the first thawed patches appeared on the ground, we pay special attention to the land around the tree trunks;
- the buds on the birch trees are swollen, but have not yet begun to bloom.
Probably, it would not be superfluous to say that you should not collect birch sap in the city or in close proximity to the highway. We choose environmentally friendly places - forests and groves away from factories, plants and garbage dumps. And it is better to immediately monitor the signs of sap flow directly in those places where we are going to extract juice. After all, in settlements, for example, snow melts faster, thawed patches and swollen buds appear earlier than in the forest. So, having seen all the signs of sap flow in the city, having arrived in the forest, we run the risk of seeing birches waist-deep in snow without a single swollen bud.
Equipment for collecting birch sap
To be fully equipped by the time the birch sap comes out, we stock up on simple equipment:
- Empty plastic bottles. Clean, without any foreign odors, best of all new or from under drinking water. The bigger, the better.
— Covers for plastic bottles. Two for each bottle. We will drill one lid and use it to collect birch sap, and close the second bottle when it is already full. In principle, you can take a separate large container and pour the collected juice into it, then you need exactly the same number of caps as bottles.
— Cocktail pipes. One for each bottle.
- Ropes about 50 cm long. One for each bottle.
- Self-tapping screws. One is required for each bottle, but since they have a habit of crumbling and getting lost, we take it with a margin.
- A screwdriver with a drill (the diameter must match the cocktail tubes) and a cross nozzle (for the size of self-tapping screws). If this is not available, then a drill and a screwdriver will help us.
- Scissors.
- Plasticine.
Preparation of containers for collecting birch sap
To begin with, we take exactly as many caps as we have bottles, and with the help of a screwdriver we drill small holes in them. | |
Insert a cocktail tube into each lid. We screw caps with tubes onto plastic bottles. | |
We tie a rope to the neck of each bottle and make a loop out of the rope. The container for collecting birch sap is ready! The photo shows only a part of my arsenal, in fact I prepared more bottles, because the more containers, the more effective the collection of juice. |
How to collect birch sap
Collecting birch sap is best done in the daytime, when the air temperature reaches its daily maximum. You should lay a few hours for this lesson, so we stock up on strength, patience and warm clothes.
We take with us a screwdriver with a drill and a cross nozzle, prepared bottles for collecting birch sap and a second set of caps for them (or a large container for transporting juice), self-tapping screws and plasticine. We move towards the chosen birches.
To collect juice, we select the largest trees. Young ones will not give as much juice as a large birch can give, and wounds are more critical for them. Experts recommend collecting juice from the south side of the tree. If we have not acquired the habit of carrying a compass with us, we simply work with the part of the tree on which the sun shines.
Installation of containers for collecting birch sap
Before hanging all our bottles, we make sure once again that the sap flow has begun. To do this, we select a larger birch and use a screwdriver with a drill to make a hole in the trunk. The main sap flow occurs between the bark and the wood, which means that it is enough to drill a tree 2-4 cm. The sap should begin to drip almost immediately. If this does not happen, this may mean that: - we arrived too early; - we arrived too late; - we chose too young birch; - it is too cold outside, and the collection of juice should be postponed until warmer. |
|
If the juice drips, then we take the first bottle, with the help of scissors we shorten the outer part of the tube to a convenient length and insert it into the hole in the barrel. | |
Then we fix the bottle on the tree with a rope, a self-tapping screw and a screwdriver. Due to my inexperience, the process of hanging bottles at first took a lot of time, but by the end I got the hang of it and quickly coped with this simple job. |
|
We are waiting for the bottle to be filled with birch sap. How much juice can be collected from one birch depends on its size. From not very large trees, it is not recommended to take more than one liter of juice. Then we remove the bottle from the birch, cover the holes drilled in the tree with plasticine. You can use any other way to close the holes: cork from twigs or wax can also work for this purpose. This must be done so that the tree does not die. After that, we close the bottle with birch sap with a spare undrilled cap or pour the juice into a large container for transportation home. |
|
Returning home, we filter the birch sap through cotton pads or several layers of gauze. It is recommended to store juice at room temperature for no more than a day. If we can’t immediately put the mash on it, then we put it in the refrigerator. But you can store it in the refrigerator for no more than seven days, so we will not delay it and as soon as possible we will move on to making moonshine on birch sap. |
Moonshine on birch sap - a detailed recipe
Ingredients for mashThe proportions are very similar to proportions, only we take a little less sugar, since birch sap already contains sugar: for 1 kg of sugar, 4.5 liters of birch sap and 20 g of dry yeast (if spirit yeast is used, then the amount is in accordance with package directions). In my case, have been mastered: |
|
CookingCooking mash on birch sapWe pour a small part of birch sap into a separate container. We will heat this molded part in order to increase the temperature of the mixture before introducing yeast into it. The rest of the birch sap is poured into a fermentation tank. I poured 3 liters, 15 liters went into the mash bottle. |
|
Add sugar to the juice in the fermentation tank, stir until completely dissolved. The resulting volume of sugar-birch syrup is calculated using. Mixing 15 liters of birch sap and 4 kg of sugar, I got about 17.5 liters of syrup. |
|
Next, we heat the pre-cast birch sap on the stove. It must be heated to such a temperature that after pouring it into the fermentation tank, the total temperature of the mixture becomes 28-30 ° C. In my case, I had to heat 3 liters of juice and pour it into 17.5 liters of syrup at room temperature (about 24 degrees). With the help, I picked up the optimal temperature to which I had to heat the syrup poured in advance - 55-60 ° C. |
|
After heating, pour it into a fermentation container. The temperature of the mixture must be controlled. If it is above 30 ° C, then the yeast may die. Therefore, if overheated, then we wait until it cools down. | |
We take from the fermentation tank about 0.5 liters. warm birch-sugar mixture. We introduce yeast into it, wait 10-15 minutes. The time required to activate the yeast depends on the type of yeast and may differ from that indicated in this recipe. Carefully read the instructions on the package and follow it! |
|
Pour the yeast starter into the fermentation tank, mix its contents thoroughly again, then close it with a water seal and wait for the mash to be ready. | |
Making moonshine with birch sapAfter the birch sap mash is ready, we need to overtake it. I acted in complete analogy with - I prepared for distillation and distilled it twice: the first time by simple distillation, the second time by fractional (fractional) distillation. |
|
After the end of the distillation, we dilute the birch distillate to 40-42 degrees. To calculate, I recommend using another calculator from our website:. I strongly DO NOT recommend filtering moonshine on birch sap with charcoal and subjecting it to additional purification - we will lose all the taste and aromatic qualities inherent in birch moonshine! After breeding moonshine on birch sap, you need to stand for at least a week. And then, try and evaluate! From the amount of ingredients indicated at the beginning of the recipe, I got about 2.5 liters of ready-made birch moonshine 42% strength. |
In April, nature is just waking up, really no gifts have yet grown, but birch sap is already flowing like a river. This is a unique opportunity to make mash from natural raw materials, which has sugar in its composition. Whether the resulting distillate has medical properties is a secondary issue, but its quality and excellent taste speak for themselves.
Below we will look at two approaches to making moonshine: using sugar and yeast (they can be replaced with raisins), as well as a completely yeast-free method. The second method, although it is considered extremely low in efficiency, but the quality of the final product will not raise questions even among professional moonshiners. The first is designed for the classic double distillation with fractionation.
Birch sap contains about 1.5% sugar, which can be converted into alcohol through fermentation.
The first method is considered simple and quite effective. Sometimes it is called "Princely". To prepare the mash, we need the ingredients in the following proportions:
- Birch sap - 10 liters.
- Sugar - 3 kg.
- Alcoholic yeast - 40 grams.
As an alternative to yeast, you can use 100 grams unwashed raisins. Wild yeast from the surface of dry grapes will start the fermentation process, however, it will take a little longer.
Usually, water is also added to the fermentation tank, but since birch sap already consists of 99% of it, there is no point in this. We proceed immediately to the technology of making moonshine:
Good mash consistency
- Birch sap at room temperature is poured into the fermentation tank, sugar is poured out and activated alcohol yeast is added (dilute them in a glass of water for 10 minutes according to the instructions).
- We intensively mix the contents of the container, put a water seal on top of it and take it to a dark place with a temperature of 20–26 degrees for 5–7 days. Sometimes fermentation is faster, but it is better to focus on these numbers.
- When the mash stopped releasing carbon dioxide bubbles and became lighter in color, it must be removed from the sediment and filtered through gauze, and then poured into an alembic.
- We quickly carry out the first distillation until the fortress drops to 30%.
- We dilute the distillate with water (namely, water, not juice) up to 20%.
- We carry out redistillation. We single out the first 10% of moonshine as a harmful “head” fraction and remove it for technical needs. the rest of the distillate is carefully collected until the fortress falls below 40%.
- Moonshine is ready, you can try!
Be sure to dilute the moonshine with water, and not with birch sap, otherwise it will react with alcohol, a precipitate and a film in the form of jelly will appear. Drinking such a drink will be already unpleasant.
An excellent video was prepared by the author of the Youtube channel New world. The guy shows the technology of collecting birch sap, as well as all stages of his own production. From 20 liters of mash, 3 liters of excellent distillate were obtained, which was decided at the end. You can see all this in more detail in the video below.
Yeast-free recipe (long, but high quality)
If you decide to make a truly elite moonshine, then you will not need anything other than birch sap. The only ingredient will be itself juice (30 liters), which, as a result of natural fermentation, will release the necessary alcohol.
The technology here is much more complex, despite the absence of other components, so study it very carefully.
Activation of birch sap fermentation
- We pour three liters of juice into a separate container. They will act as a source of wild yeast.
- The remaining 27 liters must be boiled until 10 liters remain. This is done in order to increase the concentration of sugar in the liquid.
- We mix the boiled juice and the remaining 3 liters in a fermentation tank. We put a water seal, take it to a dark place with a temperature of 20-26 degrees and carefully monitor the fermentation.
- If after a day there are no signs of carbon dioxide release, then it is better to pour 30 grams of alcoholic yeast so as not to spoil the product. If everything already began to boil, then we are waiting for the end of fermentation. This moment comes in about a week.
- The finished mash must be drained from the sediment and filtered through gauze, and then sent to the distillation cube.
- You can distill once or twice. If the "exhaust" of alcohol is worthy, then you can make a double distillation to achieve crystal clear distillate. If not, then after the first time he lets the drink brew and proceed to the tasting.
It is very important not to miss the start of fermentation, as its long absence will lead to sourness of the product. It will be very disappointing to lose so much liquid, which has evaporated so intensively for such a long time.
The authors of the channel tell in detail about the intricacies of using a birch drink in distilling Antonych and Alexey Podolyak. Amazing information that will be useful for both moonshiners and ordinary people for self-development. Highly recommended for viewing.
For a Russian, collecting birch sap is the same ritual, sacred action, as for a Canadian - maple syrup.
Our famous drink, which from time immemorial has been generously fed to us by the Motherland in early spring, is both an excellent refreshing, thirst-quenching agent and healer, and an excellent raw material for the preparation of various alcoholic beverages.
They drink it just like that, cook on it, as well as the drink that interests us most - moonshine from birch sap - natural, with a light refined taste. This is not a shame to put on the table for a family holiday, and even for the dearest revered guests!
For a long time, birch sap not only quenched thirst, but also treated. There are a great many recipes for its use, and moonshine, prepared on natural raw materials bestowed by nature, is also a kind of healer. Especially if you use it wisely, but in good mental company. What is this moonshine?
Moonshine prepared by an experienced moonshiner, very soft. Drinks easily, leaving a pleasant aftertaste. Prevents severe hangovers.
Basic recipe
At home, moonshine from birch sap is most often prepared traditional way, adding yeast and sugar.
To get 3 liters good drink with a strength of about 45 °, you will need 10 liters of birch sap, 3 kg of sugar and 200 g of pressed (40 g of dry) yeast. When increasing the quantity, recalculate based on the indicated proportions, you can use or
First step: Sugar and yeast are dissolved in birch sap heated to a warm state.
Second phase: fermentation, which should take place in heat. The optimum temperature is considered to be about 25 ° C, and in no case - not lower than 18 ° C, otherwise the fermentation process can greatly slow down, or even stop altogether.
Whether to drain the mash from the sediment is a moot point. With slow heating and compliance with the moonshine technology, the quality does not suffer at all. And if you drain the mash, then the lack of product is guaranteed.
That is, if from 10 liters of mash, with good aging and proper preparation, you can get up to 3.2 liters of good quality and strength above 42 °, then draining the mash from the sediment, you can not get a significant amount of good moonshine.
Important! It is not recommended to dilute birch sap with water, it is used in its pure form.
Recipe without yeast and sugar
You can make birch moonshine absolutely without the use of sugar or yeast.
Three liters of a natural healing drink without the addition of yeast and sugar with a strength of 45 degrees is obtained from 30 liters of birch sap.
For this absolutely natural and original recipe 30 liters of fresh raw materials are needed. Even slightly sour can lead to failure.
Process needed divided into steps:
- Collection of juice should be carried out quickly, preferably in one day.
- cast off three-liter jar juice and set aside.
- boiling. In a suitable dish, for example, a 30-40-liter tank, the juice is evaporated over low heat until 10 out of 27 liters remain. It is desirable that the dish be wide, of course, do not cover it with a lid. The process is lengthy and will take more than one hour. But, believe me (and check!) - it's worth it!
- After cooling up to a temperature not exceeding 40 ° C, to it add left 3 liters of raw juice. Cover with a lid, put in a warm place (very important!) And wait until it ferments.
- Moonshine is driven when the contents of the tank will taste bitter.
To determine that the time has come to collect raw materials, make a small puncture on a fairly thick (in the hand) branch. If the juice immediately went, then it's time to come.
This birch sap moonshine recipe does not include the addition of other ingredients. And if you did everything right, the mash will definitely work out - it will ferment, foam will form, and a characteristic smell of fermentation will appear.
However, if there are no signs of fermentation for two to three days, you need to save the braga immediately by adding about 300 g of pressed yeast to it. You can also dry, about 50 - 60 g. Sugar is not added, after boiling it is already enough.
Healing properties of moonshine on birch buds
To give additional therapeutic agents, moonshine is insisted either on birch buds (hardly blooming, from which a leaf will subsequently turn out), or on already blossoming earrings (birch brunkas).
In this case, the taste turns out to be a slightly different shade. And also the drink acquires a pleasant shade.
Moonshine infused with birch buds helps with a whole bunch of diseases, including colds, gastrointestinal diseases, and also cleanses and restores the liver.
Again, we emphasize - when used not for the sake of drunkenness, but for health, that is - in reasonable doses. A glass of such moonshine before lunch (dinner) will bring great benefits to the whole body. This remedy also helps women - from the unpleasant manifestations of menopause, and from migraines, headaches, atherosclerosis.
There are various recipes for homemade alcohol from birch sap. Yes, you yourself can experiment, add your own ingredients.
And also - learn new interesting things on our website. Do not forget to share them with your friends, as well as your own achievements in this industry full of surprises and new tastes, in in social networks!
In the period from the beginning of the first thaws of spring until mid-April, birch sap is extracted. The drink, which has a sweetish-sour taste, is aromatic and peculiar. True, at home it has to be canned or frozen in order to preserve its beneficial properties. After all, the shelf life of birch sap is small - no more than 2 days.
From the juice of a birch tree in Russia it was customary to make kvass, wine, lemonade and moonshine. They also drank the drink in its pure form, which is still popular today. In addition, such a woody liquid is used in cosmetology, traditional medicine. Birch sap is effective in the treatment of increased blood pressure, at overweight, fatigue and low immunity, poor skin condition.
Methods for making moonshine from birch sap
Strong alcoholic drink, prepared on the basis of birch sap, is distinguished by its mild taste, its smell is much more pleasant in comparison with what was made on the water. The juice has a sugar content (up to 2%), which reduces the consumption of granulated sugar. In some recipes for birch sap mash, sugar and yeast are not required at all, since the gift of trees itself roams well. True, the juice consumption is then quite large: out of 10 liters of birch liquid, usually no more than 1 liter of moonshine comes out.But for beginners, it is better to pay attention to more traditional method of making moonshine from birch sap which uses yeast and sugar. The fact is that the wild yeast contained in the composition of the birch liquid can die without ensuring the fermentation of the juice. Therefore, it is better to keep baker's or distiller's yeast at the ready so that the sugar is sure to be processed into alcohol.
Dilute the resulting strong only clean water(for example, spring). When birch sap is poured in order to reduce the strength of the distillate, you can get cloudy moonshine, on the surface of which a slimy film will float. It is advisable to distill the resulting moonshine twice to get a clean drink without an unpleasant fusel smell.
How to extract birch sap?
Usually they start collecting birch sap early - in the first days of March. It is best to carry out extraction during daylight hours, since it is then that the juice is extracted most actively. In order not to harm nature, it is necessary to choose a tree with a diameter of at least 30 cm or more. You should collect no more than 2 liters of juice per day from a tree, in extreme cases (if the tree is strong and mature) - 5 liters. It is advisable to take juice from those trees that grow far from major highways.Having chosen a tree, a small hole (only a couple of centimeters deep) should be drilled or cut in its bark on the north side. Inserting a groove or a narrow tube into the resulting hole in the tree, substitute the dishes to collect the juice. If the tree is young and its trunk diameter does not exceed 30 cm, one hole will be enough. In a powerful tree, no more than 4-5 holes are made. When the birch gives the required volume of liquid (2-3 liters), it is necessary to cover the hole with garden pitch, plasticine or wax. Otherwise, the tree will get sick.
Moonshine from birch sap with sugar and yeast
Ingredients
- Birch sap - 5 liters;
- Sugar - 1500 g;
- Yeast - 100 g pressed or 20 g dry;
- Milk - 1 spoon or a piece of ordinary dry biscuits, crackers;
- A little lukewarm water (to activate the yeast).
Cooking process
Birch moonshine without sugar and yeast
As mentioned above, it is better to insure yourself and still purchase fresh yeast. Suddenly fermentation will be weak, then the introduction of yeast diluted in warm water will help. Sugar is not involved in this recipe, since it is assumed that the glucose present in the birch sap will ferment.Ingredients
- Birch sap - 30 l;
- Milk - 1 tbsp. a spoon.
Cooking process
- Prepare a natural sourdough: separate 3 liters of birch sap, in which wild yeast will live without heating;
- Heat the remaining liquid (27 liters) to a boil, cook over low heat until the volume of juice decreases to 10 liters. Cool birch sap to 25 degrees;
- Connect the liquids (cooled juice and poured earlier). Pour them into a fermentation container along with a spoonful of milk. Install a water seal and move the birch mash to a dark and warm place. If after 2-3 days the signs of fermentation do not manifest themselves (there is no hissing, abundant foam, characteristic sour smell), you will have to add yeast (300 g pressed or 60 g dry);
- When fermentation is over, remove the mash from the sediment. Distill the drink (preferably twice) as described in the previous case.
Store moonshine from birch sap in glass containers (cylinders, jars or bottles). Another suitable container is stainless steel containers. But it is better to refuse plastic bottles. It is important that the container is hermetically sealed, otherwise the alcohol will evaporate. The strength of the drink will be reduced. Store the drink in a dark place where the temperature does not rise above 15 degrees, for example, in a basement or cellar. The shelf life of homemade birch moonshine is at least 3 years.