The history of the manufacture of alcoholic beverages originates from time immemorial, which could not but affect the folklore: "And I was there, I drank honey", "What did they eat? Kashka. What did they drink? Braze "and so on. But this problem got real urgency during the so-called perestroika "dry law", when alcohol was imposed a strict moratorium with extensive public propaganda: lectures, posters, Komsomol "non-alcoholic" weddings.
But our people, as usual, can not without a burning one. Accepting alcoholic beverages for a former Soviet man is a whole philosophy, so that they do not talk about the degradation of the person and the harm of alcohol in general. And, being deprived of the main therapeutic (and psychotherapeutic) means, people did not lose their heads and returned to the origins - the independent production of beverages. In the course went complex home-made devices and no less intricate technologies of home winemaking .
For today, there is no acute need for making home- made or wine, the store shelves are simply bursting with the abundance of bottles with bright labels - choose for every taste and in any price category. But the traditions are alive and many make spirits not for satisfying vital needs, but, so to speak, out of love for the process, giving their occupation a hobby status.
Manufacture of drinking alcohol
Most of these drinks are prepared on the basis of drinking alcohol, the production of which occurs in several complex stages:
- preparation of raw materials;
- obtaining directly alcohol;
- purification and aromatization of alcohol.
The last stage is especially important, since the quality and safety of the final product directly depends on it. Clearing of harmful impurities and foreign smells (it should be noted, very unpleasant) are carried out with the help of chemical methods and technologies: treatment with alkali, potassium permanganate, distillation.
An important characteristic of drinking alcohol is its strength. It, in fact, is a semi-finished product of the drink, however, its characteristics will directly affect the result of the final - whether it's domestic vodka, liquor or cognac. Fortress, that is, the number of degrees in it is easiest to measure a household alcohol meter - electronic or mercury.
Device and principle of action of the alcoholometer
The alcoholometer is a kind of hydrometer - a device for measuring the density of liquids. It is calculated to a greater extent to work with alcohol-aqueous mixtures, the more alcohol in impurities, the less accurate the readings will be. At once it is necessary to make a reservation that spirtometers are not suitable for measuring the strength of wines - for them there are special devices.
In general, the alcoholometer is a narrow glass tube, the lower part of which is filled with mercury, and the top is the scale. This can be a mass-to-volume ratio, but modern devices are designed to make life easier for "users", so you can immediately see the desired value - the percentage of alcohol content.
How to use a household alcohol meter?
The main condition for the accuracy of measurements is compliance with all requirements for the procedure:
- the temperature of the liquid should be 20 ° C. Remember that if you add water to the alcohol, the temperature rises and you should wait until it returns to the original value;
- the mixture should not contain any impurities, except directly alcohol and pure water.
So, in a narrow glass container with alcohol solution immerse the mercury part of the device or probe - in the case of a digital alcohol meter and wait until the movement of the scale or changes in the numerical value stops.
It should be noted that measurement by an electronic spiritueter for accuracy and convenience is much superior to the usual one, however, and its cost is much higher.