Moonshine question.

[MaryB]

You can buy a still in the USA depending on the state you are in, using it is what gets you in trouble! https://milehidistilling.com/product...nd-gin-basket/ 8 gallon reflux column still.

[Buck Neck It]

I once made a still out of an old stainless beer keg, I am still looking for an enemy to give it to. It is just not a good idea to have unlimited access to 80% ethanol at $12 a gallon.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

In Saudi Arabia a common device for the home operator is a catering size pressure cooker, with a welded stainless reflux column. Well, so I am told, anyway. It is pretty safe, and can be done without a reflux column. You have to make sure there isn't a blockage, since although there is a safety valve, it would emit explosive gases.

In one job I had, some of my bosses rented a complete villa for a commercial-scale illicit business. Some time after I was transferred away, one of their customers sold some to Muslims, who got caught, and talked. The Saudis followed the usual procedure for a Very Important Defence Contract, of going to the management and saying "We have to do a surprise police raid. Would Monday be all right?" Most of them were promptly shipped out, but the ringleader was on vacation, an unfamiliar situation, so nobody thought to warn him not to come back. He escaped after a night-time chase across the desert, and the company shipped him across the country, where the local emigration office hadn't been told to look for him, and out of the country.

Many years later one of the best Saudi trainees I ever had got drunk and crashed his car into a large ornamental fountain, with dramatic results. (Serve them right for building a fountain above street level.) He was dismissed and flogged, though the version for nearly-victimless crime is a pretty token flogging. I wrote him a glowing though not actually untruthful testimonial for any future employer, and shortly afterwards I was called in to see the dreaded Mr. Abdulaziz. Everybody thought I was in the deepest sort of trouble, but in fact he said "We are heartily glad you helped him. Just temporarily he is better without what Muslims would have to say."

[6bg6ga]

First of all I've never made shine since we here in Iowa wouldn't know how to do it. I have however tasted some really good Tennessee shine which was smooth with only a slight hint of corn taste. Shine when made incorrectly will kill you. The wifes family suffered the loss of a member during WWII as a result of bad home made shine on a ship. I really don't see the need for this thread since making alcohol when considering the costs of essentials to make it is probably going to exceed the cost of purchasing ready made. If this is a how do you make shine then I would say go for it. I would also like to know how it is done since I believe the story told on TV isn't 100% correct.

[longbow]

Take a look at the links I posted everything you need to know is there. That and Bokakob. Homedistillers.org will be enlightening if you haven't seen it.

It is hard work to make shine that will kill anyone... really hard work. it may not be too hard to go blind if you do not make sure there is no methanol in the distillate, but it is sloppy work if you leave methanol in your distillate. For fuel grade of course that wouldn't matter but I'm betting even fuel grade ethanol is distilled with no methanol in it.

I'll agree that if you get shine from guy who is just trying to make a cheap buck you are taking your chances but if you go through a few reasonable and easy steps to produce ethanol in a properly made still there is no danger at all. You are more likely to get food poisoning form badly cooked turkey at Christmas.

And no, it is way cheaper to make yourself than buy but for a hobby distiller that isn't the point... much like boolit casting in that regard or tying flies, or... insert your favourite pastime here.

Longbow

[Shiloh]

They use grain alcohol, ethyl alcohol in the medical labs. 100% pure when it arrives in 55 gallon drums.
It is purchased for lab use only, and every last ounce of it has to be accounted for. The labs fill out a requisition for it.

It is relatively cheap when used for medical labs. If used for consumption, it carried a tax of $28 a gallon at the time.

SHiloh

[MaryB]

I have a large stainless pressure cooker, remove weight and attach the worm(cooling coil). Monitor temps and pressure to control your heat and what is distilling out. Cost of equipment... coil of flexible copper pipe used for ice maker water lines, a container to hold that coil in a cold water bath, and a container to ferment in. Ingredients? I have 7k pounds of corn sitting in the storage shed that I burn for heat. Sugar is cheap and you don't need a lot at that scale. Yeast is cheap if you use bread yeast... might get 2 quarts per run but for personal use how much do you need!

First of all I've never made shine since we here in Iowa wouldn't know how to do it. I have however tasted some really good Tennessee shine which was smooth with only a slight hint of corn taste. Shine when made incorrectly will kill you. The wifes family suffered the loss of a member during WWII as a result of bad home made shine on a ship. I really don't see the need for this thread since making alcohol when considering the costs of essentials to make it is probably going to exceed the cost of purchasing ready made. If this is a how do you make shine then I would say go for it. I would also like to know how it is done since I believe the story told on TV isn't 100% correct.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The only snag there, and it is a minor one, is that if the copper coil descends below water in a cooling vessel and then comes out above it, it will fill with the distillate, and spurt intermittently rather than drip. I found this when I distilled salt-free water for washing photographic film... That's my story and I'm sticking to it. It would be better if the copper tube comes out the bottom of the cooling vessel, so that it slopes downwards all the time. A slight cooling water leak at that joint is harmless.

[6bg6ga]

Mary you make it sound tempting to try. With my luck one of my neighbors would turn me in and I would go to jail for trying to make a pint of the stuff.

[44man]

How about 25# of sugar and 4 gallons of 100 proof. I can't say more but never sell any. Sugar wash is put down but it is smooth with no burn. No bad flavors. Made fruit stuff, peach and berries are great and grapes left from wine making with sugar added.
You can not tell when I make any. Best was rice wine that sucked, friend made it but it was great in the end. How they drink rice wine, I don't know.
It should be legal for your use. You can buy all kinds of stills and yeast. But don't sell any product. Freeze hard cider, I don't think the feds care if money is not involved.

[Blackwater]

Ironically, 44man, I think you're at least generally right. I knew an old GBI agent who'd been a revenooer in his earlier, younger days. Got to talk to him several times about "the old days," and it was evident he nearly cried inside when he busted up a really good 'still. The smile on his face was more revealing than 10,000 words could ever have been.

And the guys who have "had moonshine" mostly have NO idea what the GOOD STUFF is really like. And it's rare, and getting VERY hard to find these days. It's become a little TOO much of a "family secret" for most folks to really get the "good stuff." And plenty of that "other" stuff is around, and that's what most everybody calls "moonshine" now. And it CAN be as varied as .... well, the people who make it. But there are many recipes and versions, all of which, like any "cooking," can vary tremendously. A moonshine connoisseur who really knows the good stuff, usually only just smiles a strange, knowing smile, that those who've never had the good stuff will never, unfortunately, be able to know or understand.

Today, if you find someone who makes the good stuff, and he'll let you have some, you are a very richly blessed and trusted man indeed, and that comes from a lifetime of proving yourself worthy and trusted. It's like finding a pot of gold these days.

I enjoy an occasional drink now and then, but I'll NEVER turn down a good shot of the "good stuff." It's just very, very rare these days. And your comments about the water are so apt, too. It's long been said that this is the real "secret" to any good distilled spirits. I'm no PhD in it, but I believe that's true. Something in the making of it makes the tiniest traces come out so much more strongly in the finished product, and the minerals in the water have great bearing on what is produced in the end. I'll never understand it all, but I'll never miss an opportunity to learn from one of the "old masters" at it. Those boys learned by doing, and took great pains to develop their recipes and proceedures. No two are exactly alike, but all seem to have settled on a particular combination of ingredients, process, time and other factors, to produce something truly unique, and not "candied up" like most tax paid stuff.

As long as there's someone who can make it, the good stuff will always be legendary.

[Driver man]

There is a legendary moonshine from the Southland of New Zealand. Makes a good read.

https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/hokonui-moonshine/

[kenyerian]

My father in law used to run some back in the day. He has been gone now for several years and his recipe went with him.

[MaryB]

Drilled hole lower wall that is sealed with silicone... I never did this so this is just a suggestion...

The only snag there, and it is a minor one, is that if the copper coil descends below water in a cooling vessel and then comes out above it, it will fill with the distillate, and spurt intermittently rather than drip. I found this when I distilled salt-free water for washing photographic film... That's my story and I'm sticking to it. It would be better if the copper tube comes out the bottom of the cooling vessel, so that it slopes downwards all the time. A slight cooling water leak at that joint is harmless.

[MaryB]

Water makes a huge difference in ANY fermented product. I start with RO water for beer brewing and add minerals to match the beer style I am making instead of using my nasty tap water direct.

Ironically, 44man, I think you're at least generally right. I knew an old GBI agent who'd been a revenooer in his earlier, younger days. Got to talk to him several times about "the old days," and it was evident he nearly cried inside when he busted up a really good 'still. The smile on his face was more revealing than 10,000 words could ever have been.

And the guys who have "had moonshine" mostly have NO idea what the GOOD STUFF is really like. And it's rare, and getting VERY hard to find these days. It's become a little TOO much of a "family secret" for most folks to really get the "good stuff." And plenty of that "other" stuff is around, and that's what most everybody calls "moonshine" now. And it CAN be as varied as .... well, the people who make it. But there are many recipes and versions, all of which, like any "cooking," can vary tremendously. A moonshine connoisseur who really knows the good stuff, usually only just smiles a strange, knowing smile, that those who've never had the good stuff will never, unfortunately, be able to know or understand.

Today, if you find someone who makes the good stuff, and he'll let you have some, you are a very richly blessed and trusted man indeed, and that comes from a lifetime of proving yourself worthy and trusted. It's like finding a pot of gold these days.

I enjoy an occasional drink now and then, but I'll NEVER turn down a good shot of the "good stuff." It's just very, very rare these days. And your comments about the water are so apt, too. It's long been said that this is the real "secret" to any good distilled spirits. I'm no PhD in it, but I believe that's true. Something in the making of it makes the tiniest traces come out so much more strongly in the finished product, and the minerals in the water have great bearing on what is produced in the end. I'll never understand it all, but I'll never miss an opportunity to learn from one of the "old masters" at it. Those boys learned by doing, and took great pains to develop their recipes and proceedures. No two are exactly alike, but all seem to have settled on a particular combination of ingredients, process, time and other factors, to produce something truly unique, and not "candied up" like most tax paid stuff.

As long as there's someone who can make it, the good stuff will always be legendary.

[MaryB]

Interesting but some glaring errors in the technical aspects. Once distilled it is not fermented 3 years in barrels, it is aged. And the barley is mashed in with hot water at a certain temperature to let the enzymes present in sprouted barley convert the starches to sugars, malting itself does not create much sugar. Then it is rinsed with hot water to get all the sugar available out of the grains.

Makes me wonder how all the different beer barley malt would affect finished flavors in a whiskey... There are literally 100 different types of malt that all impart different flavors to the finished beer. One I use a lot of is Victory that provides a biscuit flavor in the beer, another is UK Extra Dark Crystal that is kilned at higher temps to impart a caramel flavor to the little sugar available along with toasted flavor that has coffee notes.

Yes beer brewing is a science and an art both!

There is a legendary moonshine from the Southland of New Zealand. Makes a good read.

https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/hokonui-moonshine/

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Interesting but some glaring errors in the technical aspects. Once distilled it is not fermented 3 years in barrels, it is aged.

That's right. In winemaking the enzymes may consume all the available sugar and then die of starvation, producing a dry wine. If there is more sugar the enzymes keep on working till they die of alcoholic poisoning, just like anything living can, if it shows enough persistence. If there is too much sugar the wine remains excessively sweet. In conventional beermaking the enzymes can only go the starvation route, and in any distilled liquor they can't possibly live.

Aging in wooden casks imparts flavour and colouring to the product - and a slight but with luck insignificant weakening, as alcohol evaporates more than water does. Even whisky has no natural colour unless this is done, and aging in bottles does nothing whatever. There has been an increase in the age of Scottish whiskies on the market, but it does nothing but reflect an overcapacity a few years back (due to mean-spirited taxation the makers will say), so that it lingered longer in the warehouses.

In 1898 the barque "Firth of Cromarty" was wrecked just a few miles from me. It seems the crew had broken cargo, which was whisky, and become incapable. The cases washed ashore caused a serious interruption of the local economy. Recently a local diver salvaged a quantity, in bottles of still familiar brands, and as it was outward bound for Australia with British taxes unpaid, had to declare it to customs and pay duty. I don't think they would have been much concerned with the loss to Her Majesty's Government if he had kept it for private refreshment, but he couldn't have realised the very high prices collectors pay. It was still as good as ever it had been, but no better. Pity about the labels, though.

[6bg6ga]

I personally can see the merit of making distilled spirits legal for home consumption and not for resale. I can see the merits of distilled spirits before I can see making MJ legal for personal use.

[44man]

You can roast or char oak pieces and put in the jugs to color and flavor. Toasted oak adds a lot to a beer or wine too.
Not much beats a barrel but they are expensive and who can wait years?
Pete bought one for wine to find it was not charred and was full of wax to seal it.

[w5pv]

At one time Mobile One feed stock was pure grain alcohol and the company would add wood alcohol to it to keep it from being drunk by the employees