Fermented water

Kilju is a Finnish word for ethanol fermented water that is approximately 15–17%.

Kilju ethanol fermentation is made by exclusively dissolving sugar, yeast, and water. Crude kilju is formed when the yeast have consumed all the sugar, it should have zero must weight. Kilju is finished after it has been clarified which will produce pure fermented water that is flax-colored with no discernible taste other than that of ethanol.

Distilled spirit like moonshine is often diluted with drink mixers. However, moonshine is illegal in most countries, and it may be contaminated with methanol.

Production

An easy way to produce kilju is to obtain turbo yeast kits (contains Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals) that instructs on the package the quantity of white sugar, and tap water needed.

1. Mix the water and the sugar. Before next step, the sugar should be fully dissolved in water, which can be sped up with stirred warm water (a sous vide stick can be used), that is cooled back to room temperature (controlled by a thermometer), before the yeast is added.
2. Let the solution ferment for 10 days, then clarified it to produce a tasteless 15% ABV water solution.
3. An alcoholic hydrometer is used to determine the ABV, and water is added to cut down the ABV if desired.

Mixed drinks

Kilju can be used as an ethanol base for concentrated drink mixers.

Alcopop

1. The yeast fermented spirit is diluted with water until the ABV is 3–7%.
2. The solution is then carbonated with a soda machine, and soft drink syrup is added.

See also

• Alcohol

External links

• Kilju (Wikipedia)