Kilju

"Sugar wine" redirects here. For the presence of sugar in wine, seeSugars in wine.

This article is about a traditional Finnish drink. For the county in North Korea, seeKilju County.

A picture of a cheap fermentation vessel (regular plastic buckets of 10l) with integratedfermentation lockinstalled by drilling a hole inside the bucket and inserting the lock into it

Kilju(Finnish pronunciation:[ˈkilju]) is theFinnishword for home madealcoholic beveragetypically made ofsugar,yeast,and water. TheABVis around 15–17%, and since it does not contain asweet reserveit is completelydry.Crude fermented water may bedistilledtomoonshine.Kilju for consumption isclarifiedto avoidwine fault.It is aflax-coloredalcoholic beveragewith no discernible taste other than that ofethanol.It can be used as an ethanol base fordrink mixers.

Cultural aspects

Kilju is considered to be a low-quality beverage that isconsumed mainly for the sake of its alcohol content.It is commonly associated with the punk subculture.Due to its low cost, potential wine fault (when not clarified enough), and simple production process, kilju is mostly drunk by low-income people.

Kilju is a well-established part of the Finnish alcohol and counter-culture, as witnessed even in the leading engineer school's making-and-use-of video of yore. "Four thousand litres of gases are generated. They are led to the neighbours' delight." The drink tends to invite suchblack humour,of thedeadpankind.

The first commercially produced kilju was introduced in 2022.

Production

Kilju in its fifth day of fermentation. Anair lockhas been added to keep unnecessary and harmful bacteria away from the fermenting beverage.

The process is similar to that ofhomebrewingwine. If done slowly, it requires rigorous hygiene and filtering of the product. If brewed fast, specialized dried yeasts are available in amounts to drive the fermentation process through before bacterial infiltration can take place, in about three days. In Finnish, the latter are calledpikahiiva(lit. quick-yeast), and they are sold in about a hundred gramme packs dry, as opposed to the live standard pack of brewer's yeast of 50 g wet.

Properly made kilju is a clear, colorless, or off-white liquid with no discernible taste other than that ofethanol.It can be produced by natural settling of the yeast over time, but nowadays various fining agents are used to hasten the process as well.

Kilju is often produced improperly by home brewers who allowcontaminantsto disrupt fermentation or do not adequatelyfilterorrackthe liquid, or do not use afining agent.The latter mistakes result in yeast being suspended, causing the mixture to be cloudy rather than clear. The yeast is not harmful, but can yield an unpleasant taste and intestinal discomfort.It is also a common mistake to leave the carbon dioxide produced by fermentation into the suspension, so that the yeast provides it with nucleation sites, keeping the yeast up in the solution. Proper technique calls for airing the product after fermentation, stirring, and perhaps for fining agents such as microsilica or various semipolar proteinaceacous or carbohydrate agents.

Ingredients

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

• Inverted sugar syrup
  • Water
  • Sugars in wine:White sugar(or crystallized sucrose) is cheap and common. Also, partially refined sugars such asbrown sugarshould be avoided, for example molasses produces a distinct flavor in rum. Using plain sugar is beneficial over whole fruit; Methanol is a major occurrence infruit spirits.
• Yeast in winemaking:The most common yeast associated withwinemakingisSaccharomyces cerevisiae.Saccharomyces cerevisiaeis excellent at producing ethanol.Yeast are dependent on a few nutrients (often included in yeast kit sanchets) to produce as much ethanol as possible, the most important ones are:
  • Invertaseis an enzyme that cleaves theglycosidic linkagebetween the glucose and fructose molecules in sucrose. This helps the yeast metabolize the sugars faster.
  • Thiamine:Increases the resistance of the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaeagainst oxidative, osmotic and thermal stress.
  • Yeast assimilable nitrogen(YAN), is the combination offree amino nitrogen(FAN),ammonia(NH₃) andammonium(NH₄⁺) that is available for thewine yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaeto use duringfermentation.Outside thesugars in wine,nitrogenis the most important nutrient needed to carry out a successful fermentation that doesn't end prior to the intended point ofdrynessor sees the development of off-odors and relatedwine faults.

Inverted sugar syrup

Inverted sugar syrupfor fermented water is usually home-made by fully dissolving sugar in coldtap water.Yeast requires oxygen rich water that do not exceed 25 degrees Celsius.

A common manual way to dissolve refined sugar is to mix with water in a container which is half filled, and then sealed and shaken. However, amixerorblendermay be used to automatically dissolve the sugar, in turns, if necessary.

Yeast

Yeast, and yeast nutrition, is mixed in the syrup. One gram pure yeast consumes approximately 0.2 grams sugar.

Yeasts will usually die out once the alcohol level reaches about 15% due to thetoxicityof alcohol on the yeast cells'physiologywhile the more alcohol tolerantSaccharomycesspecies take over. In addition toS. cerevisiae,Saccharomyces bayanusis a species of yeast that can tolerate alcohol levels of 17–20%.

Alcohol measurement

A classical hand-heldmust weight-typerefractometer.

1. To make plain crude kilju, themust weightmust be zero: Afermentation lockshould indicate less than a bubble per minute. Then the sugar reserve is measured with amust weightrefractometer/hygrometer. If there's sugar left, then more yeast should be added to consume it, and this measurement process should be repeated. A solution with sugar is not fermented water, but fermented syrup.
2. Clarification:The solution is clarified, typically with afining agentsuch asbentonite.
3. Alcohol by volume:Only when the must weight is zero, and when the solution has been clarified, analcoholic hydrometer,or an ethanol-type refractometer, will display accurate alcohol volume. A leftover sugar reserve will give false values.

Alcohol adjustment

Since fermented water contains no flavors, water may be added to cut down the ABV if desired.

Post-process

For fermented alcohol that is both flavored and sweeten with fruit, seewinemaking.

Equipment used to make kilju, and a bottle of unclarified kilju, with water-logged raisins to avoid legal issues in Finland before1 March 2018.

Fermented water contains a similar alcoholic content of wines as both beverages are fermented on yeast, however fermented water differs from wine and other fermented beverages in that it contains no fruit juice or residual sugar after manufacture.

Kilju can be produced byfermentingsugar, yeast, and water, but it was illegal in Finland before March 2018;therefore, grain, potatoes, fruitsorberrieswere used during fermentation to avoid legal problems and to flavor the drink. Oranges and lemons are a popular choice for this purpose.

Undistilled

Flavoring

See also:Wine cooler

It often has additives such as citrus fruits, apples, berry juices, or artificial flavorings. Flavored kilju from fruits for example doesn't necessarily have to be sweet as long as all sugar is consumed by the yeast.

Kilju (15-17% ABV) contains 2.4-2.7 times more water than 40% distilled spirit. Since kilju contains approximately 85% water, it can be mixed with concentrates such as adrink mixer,fruit syrup, orsquashconcentrate.

Carbonation (alcopop)

Alternatively, it can be made as a carbonated soft drink by two methods.

When servedbefore the fermentation process is complete.Kilju made this way is high in sugar andcarbon dioxide(CO₂) content, and has little to no alcohol, being similar to a sweet lemon soda. It is a family tradition to many. The simple production process also makes it accessible tounderage drinkers.Cf.sima,commonly seasoned with lemon and unpurified cane sugar, leading to asmall beeror a lightmead.

To make homemadealcopop(typically to 3–7%) water is added to kiljuafter the fermentation process is completeto dilute the ABV accordingly. The solution is then carbonated with asoda machine,andsoft drinksyrup (which will lower the ABV approximately 10%) is added. Alternatively, it can be made as a carbonated soft drink when servedbeforethe fermentation process is complete. Fermented water made this way is high in sugar andcarbon dioxide(CO₂) content, and do not need to be diluted with water because it has little to no alcohol depending on how many days it has been fermented, being similar to a sweet lemon soda.

Distillation (moonshine)

Athermal immersion circulator,like thissous videstick, is used to evaporate ethanol inplastic stillsorspiral stills.

Kilju can be refined intomoonshineby means ofdistillationtovodkaor rectified spirit, but it isillegal in most countries.It is distinct from rum because it is typically made by molasses, a byproduct of the sugar refining process, or fresh sugar cane juice that has a discernible taste of its own.

Moonshine by country,often distilled from fermented water:

• Cuba: Gualfarina
• Finland: Pontikka
• Latvia: Kandža
• Nicaragua: Cususa
• Poland: Bimber
• Russia: Samogon
• Saudi Arabia: Aragh
• Sweden: Hembränt (HB)

Legality

Winemakingis legal in most countries. However, kilju is fermented from pure carbohydrates likewhite sugar(a plant extract) instead of grapes.

Finland

The Finnish Alcoholic Beverages Act 1 March 2018 legalized the manufacture offermented waterand wine from fruits, berries and other carbohydrate sources, without the pretense of making proper wine.

Sweden

In Sweden, it is legal to produce fermented water and there is no upper limit on the alcohol volume produced from the yeast.

Consumption

Kilju is often mixed withjuiceor some other beverage to mask off tastes, of which there can be several.

Compared to wines, kilju most closely resemblesBeaujolais nouveau,which is drunk after only a few weeks of fermentation. However, properly made kilju will not easily turn into vinegar, lacking the nutrients necessary for further fermentation. It is possible to drink kilju years after it was made if it has been properly stored. In fact as white wines, it ages well into 2-3a, especially when made from impure cane sugar, molasses included (fariinisokeri), or if brewed partially from oat malt and hops, as an extra strong beer.

History

When homebrewing grew in popularity during the economicdepressionthat followed theFinnish banking crisisof the early 1990s, yeast strains known as "turbo yeast" ( "turbohiiva", "pikahiiva" ) were introduced to the market. These yeast strains enable a very rapid fermentation to full cask strength, in some cases in as little as three days (compared to several weeks required by traditional wine yeast strains). Such a short production time naturally does not allow the yeast to becomelees.The introduction of turbo yeast reinforced the public's view of kilju as an easy method of procuring cheap alcohol.

See also

• Fermented tea
• Free Beer
• Mead
  • Sima
• Fruit wine
• Pruno
• Tharra

External links

• Kiljun valmistus ja käyttö