Kilju

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

This article is about the traditional Finnish drink. For the county in North Korea, see Kilchu.

Equipment used to make kilju, and a bottle of unclarified kilju.

Kilju (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkilju]), in English also known as sugar wine, is a Finnish home-made alcoholic beverage made from sugar, yeast, and water. Its alcohol content is usually 15%–17% ABV.

Kilju is widely considered to be a low-quality beverage that is consumed mainly for the sake of its alcohol content.

Production of kilju

Kilju in its fifth day of fermentation. An air lock has been added to keep microorganisms out.

Kilju is produced by fermenting sugar, water, and yeast. The process is similar to that of homebrewing wine; it requires rigorous hygiene and filtering of the product. Properly made kilju is a clear, colorless liquid with no discernible taste other than that of ethanol. It can be refined into pontikka (Finnish moonshine) by means of distillation. It then resembles rum, since rum is made from unrefined sugarcane instead of refined, crystallized table sugar.

Kilju is often produced improperly by home brewers who allow contaminants to disrupt fermentation or do not adequately filter the liquid, thereby leaving large amounts of yeast suspended in it. The latter error is easy to detect since the suspended yeast colors the liquid, which is an opaque gray and has a distinctive odor. Either of these errors may render the drink unpalatable, and suspended yeast may upset the stomach of the drinker^{[citation needed]}.

When homebrewing grew in popularity during the economic depression that followed the Finnish banking crisis of the early 1990s, yeast strains known as “turbo yeast” were introduced to the market. These yeast strains enable a very rapid fermentation to full 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 become sediment. The introduction of turbo yeast reinforced the public's view of kilju as an easy method of procuring cheap alcohol.

Consumption

Kilju is often mixed with juice or some other beverage to mask bad tastes caused by impurities.

Because kilju does not benefit from maturing, it is best enjoyed when it is fresh. Compared to wines, kilju most closely resembles Beaujolais nouveau, which is drunk after only a few weeks of fermentation. However, properly made kilju will not easily turn into vinegar. It is possible to enjoy kilju years after it was made, if it has been properly stored. Another beverage being very similar to kilju by flavour and aroma is Japanese rice wine Sake .

Legal status in Finland

Kilju made exclusively from sugar, water, and yeast is illegal in Finland; consequently, fruits or berries are used during fermentation to avoid legal problems and to flavor the drink. Oranges are a popular choice for this purpose.

Cultural aspects

Due to its low cost and simple production process, kilju is mostly drunk by low-income people, such as students and alcoholics^{[citation needed]}. The simple production process also enables underage persons to make it quite easily^{[citation needed]}.

Kilju has a strong association with the Finnish punk subculture, presumably because of its “Do It Yourself” and anti-establishment characteristics. In Finland, only licensed restaurants and the government monopoly, Alko, are permitted to sell drinks with an ABV content of over 4.7%. Drinking kilju can thus be considered a form of anti-authoritarian protest^{[citation needed]}.

See also

• Fruit wine
• Mead
• Moonshine
• Pontikka