Moonshine, with the mods permission.

[ohiopiper]

There is an intersting and entertaining thread going on about moonshine here in The Pub. There is also some interest in what goes into making it.

I, like a few others, have some elderly relatives that were close to the illegal whiskey trade and I have a pretty good knowlege of it. I have two great uncles on my mothers side who spent quite a bit of time making and operating stills up until the 1980's. My paternal grandfather and great grandfather were both moonshiners. If there is interest and with the mods permission (because it IS an illegal activity in most jurisdictions) I can compose and post a description of the methods and materials used, along with giving a sense of how labor intensive it is to make corn whiskey. Honestly, it's cheaper to go buy a bottle!

All of this information is available in one form or another, so nothing is giving away the key to the castle, so to speak.

Mods, if the answer is negative, please just close the thread.

Thanks.

[Mike in Dayton]

My grandfather was a moonshiner in the 60's. I can remember "business" being transacted when I was a kid and visiting on the farm. He would never talk about it so I don't know how he made it or the details of the still. The story from my cousin was the still was hidden in a cave. I guess you did what you needed to do to keep food on the table.

On the Discovery Channel they are running a mini series on moonshine. They follow a moonshiner and what he has to do make the stuff, sell it, and keep hidden from the law. The TV story is a fabrication of course but I hope it is based on facts. They also show the enforcement side and what they have to do to shut down these illegal operations. Tonight is the final episode.

[Dale Seago]

Sounds a lot like early whisky production issues in Scotland. . .

[ohiopiper]

What you'd need to get started:

Right way:

Three sheets of copper, aproximately three by five foot. They should be the thickest you can bend by hand, so this will vary from person to person.

Eighteen feet of copper tubing, here you want something flexible, so don't get the biggest available.

hand tools, to include shovel, pick, hoe, hammer, at least four small C-clamps, mallet, drill, hack saw, string, pencil/grease pen, rivets and plenty of ground rye. Rye is your sealant.

Eight *WELL CLEANED OUT* fifty-five gallon drums or barrels. If you wouldn't eat out of, don't use it to make whiskey. Oak barrels are best because you don't have to worry about industrial chemical residue.

Five gallon bucket.

Ten gallon bucket

Eighty quart jars with lids

Ten bushels of non-hybrid white corn.

If you've got any money left, go buy a box of Wheaties. You'll need it tomorrow. Good thing Craigs' List wasn't around for these old timers. There would have been a lot of postings for "Copper for sale. Got to be an easier way to make a living".

Wrong way:

Go steal a heating oil tank, two fifty-five gallon oil drums and a car radiator. Rinse them quickly with a garden hose and call it good. You're not going to drink this slop anyway.

Get the jars and corn, then go steal some two inch irrigation tubing from a broke farmer. He's got bigger problems, anyway, losing a lot of his crop to the fellows who cut the middle out of a field and planted marijuana.

Keep a sharp eye out for people just like you who'd steal from you what you've stolen from others.

[auld argonian]

Interesting. With all the photo essays that the home-brew guys have done here, it's pretty obvious that it's easier and cheaper just to go buy a six-pack than to go through the machinations to crank out some beverage in your garage but its the do-it-yourself aspect that seems to be appealing.

The issue of legality has always been based on the ability of the state to collect taxes...sometimes the authorities have put out the story that the home-made stuff could be hazardous to your health but you'll notice that the guys who busted up the stills were Revenue Agents and not Health Inspectors.

Also interesting if you get a chance to watch the PBS special on Pollan's book The Botany Of Desire wherein they go on about the apple and the fact that this Great Nation Of Ours (the USA) virtually ran on hard cider from Colonial Times to the Civil War. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, no less.

Personally, I don't see the harm in describing the process...not like you're giving the instructions for making Meth and, face it, it's not like this information isn't around somewhere else on the internet. At least here you have participants who have an interest in the process as a historical topic.

Best

AA

[Mikewood]

Distillation is quite simple. You need a sealed system composed of a container to heat the solution to a vapor a condenser to cool the vapor back to a pure form. I have seen an electric crockpot with a steel lid used to heat the mash and PVC pipe as a tube to draw off the vapor. The condenser is simply a milk jug full of ice water with the tube thru it.
The tricks are to discard the start and the end of the run.
Alcohol vaporizes at about 178 Deg F. Water at 212 Deg F.

I have seen stills made with large pots and woks as lids they put a smaller pot inside the large one sitting on a pedestal. The liquid vaporizes in the large pot and condenses in the wok lid and falls as "rain" into the small pot that is held above the heat. It helps to put ice in the wok lid. As you can imagine its hard to tell the temperature. But a remote electronic meat thermometer will work.

Do this only in well ventilated areas! Alcohol vapor can explode.

[ohiopiper]

Quote:
Distillation is quite simple

In theory, yes. Keeping it free from contamination is the issue. At best, it tastes slightly "off". At worst, it can be downright dangerous to drink.

For example, the previous post.
Quote:
" PVC pipe as a tube"
And when you run a hot vapor through it, it releases chemicals. Ever drank a bottle of water that has gotten hot? Even after being re-chilled, it tastes strange.
Quote:
" large pots and woks as lids they put a smaller pot inside the large"
There is a reason for using copper. Copper and stainless steel are the two materials that are completely non-reactive with the contents of the still at all temperatures. Aluminum and cheap pot metal will react and release chemicals into the mix. Since they react with the alcohol, they boil off with it. They also change the boiling point of the alcohol and make it harder to keep the good stuff from the leavings.

Not picking on you in particular, Mike, but the common misconception about making liquor is that it's easy and anyone can do it. Few can do it right and not hurt anyone.

[Mikewood]

I hear you OP. my post was to emphasize the process is doable. I agree that Copper sealed with lead free solder or stainless is preferable to PVC and aluminum is a poor choice. But sadly we in America have by and large been convinced that the only safe or desirable product is one that is commercially made. Bread, beer, cheese and soap are not safe if made at home. Nothing could be further from the truth. Someone can brew 5 gallons of beer including supplies for $100 or so. They can then distill that into a Qt of alcohol for the same amount. Keep in mind $200 is a lot for your first quart. The second can be made with 10lb of sugar. It can be a fun safe though illegal hobby. Personally I would rather buy hard liquor but i brew beer and make wine and mead.

[O'Searcaigh]

Yee Gads! Its not like good (sometimes even inexpensive) whiskey isn't easily available. Sounds like too much trouble to me but then, one person's hobby is another person's nuisance I guess.

[McClef]

Distillation methods are something best not gone into detail and not should there be any encouragement for people to break the applicable excise laws of their country.

Please keep to these guidelines or permission may well have to be removed.