Me and my roommates were looking for a small summer time project and something we never had time to pursue during the past year was makin some moonshine. I've gotten the basic idea ingrediant wise (at least i think i do); i found one recipe that says to use water, sugar, dried corn, and malt syrup. correct? and i've come upon two ways to distill it, boiling and freezing. the freezing method works cause the water will freeze at 32 and the alchol will stay in liquid form... any tips from those who've done it or any websites? I can't find anything other the vague descriptions. Nothing really describes the fermenting part at all, or distilling as well
thanks
mike

 

Not a good idea. malt syrup??????? try yeast......oh ooop....um no I dont know how to make it

You basically hae to do it outside, it is pretty wasy to find someone making moonshine and it is STILL very illegal!



i.e. I DO NOT SUGGEST THIS! VERY ILLEGAL! BAD JOOJOO! it is even illegal to possess moonshine.

 

Ask them Duke boys! I didn't know it was illegal to make moonshine. That's interesting! Still, I'm a bit curious as to the process now . . . not that I would ever attempt to produce such a product.

 

Jersey, it is a learnable skill, but you have to have the proper still to make it. You could build one if you really wanted too. But there are difficulties. Can you sweat connections on copper pipe ? Does your mix contain lead ? The problem with shine is that you can have some methanol and fusil oils in the finished product unintentionally. These contaminates will intensify the intoxicant effects, but also can make you blind or kill you. Wouldn't it be easier, and safer for your health, to find a store that sells Everclear 190 ? Still construction for drinking alchohol is best left to the professionals. DF

 

Its legal to make beer. But not sell it. If you just make a little still the cops probably won't mess with you. Its when you get into producing mass quantities... Its a fairly easy process. But i've heard it stinks, literally. Not sure how bad but hopefully not bad enough the neighborhood calls the city and they investigate. Also, anyhing over %95 alcohol WILL kill you. Remember to dilute it. Otherwise you might as well drink bleach. Its been along time since i did the research so anyone feel free to correct me. I'm not sure if i would get in trouble otherwise i would post more detailed stuff.

beside i don't want some kid to read it and try and end up going blind or dieing becasue of somehting I posted.

dinosaur fan is completly right.

 

I agree with every word. Better to just buy Everclear or make beer. Dead or blind just ain't worth the risk.

 

The problem with getting the good recipes is that most moonshiners took it to the grave. My great grandfather was a moonshiner. He guarded that recipe with his life. He never told anyone the recipe, not even my grandmother(his daughter), or her brother. My grandmother has many stories about her dad making moonshine, even one about him getting arrested.
I have often thought about making a still. Not for the moonshine, but to help keep my family history alive. If you know what you are looking for, i know people that have found them in antique stores.

Chris

 

This book has interviews with old Appalachian moonshiners, along with photos of various stills (45 pages worth). http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...17657?v=glance
For distilling modest quantities, there's the technique where you use a big pot (containing the fermented beer-like stuff), with a smaller pot positioned somehow in the middle. Put a big round bowl on top,full of ice. Heat the big pot, and the alcohol fumes rise up, hit the cold underside of the bowl, condense, and drip into the small pot.

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...nshine&spell=1
I have tasted some peach shine. Not sure if its called brandy or liqueur or something else. it was very good, it had a light peachy tint and smelled like fresh peaches.

some people suggest to run it through a charcoal filter before drinking.

 

If you start with malt syrup, you will end up with something like scotch. Any type of distilled liquor starts with a "beer". You take something with sugars in it, anything from grapes (congnac) to potatoes (vodka) or corn (sourmash). You need to use yeast to ferment it. Keep the mixture fairly cool, less than 80 degrees. You will do better if you keep it anerobic (no oxygen) there are numerous ways to do this, but beer making supply vendors can set you up with an air trap. Once fermentation is done, use the above described method to distill it. A pressure relief valve is highly recommended. You can produce 500 gallons a year, for personal consuption, in the US. 500 gal. can you imagine how baked you would be? Don't try and sell any, that's where the trouble would start.

 

Go to google.com and type in "moonshine recipes"

 

Try making a beer first. I've been a homebrewer for 3 years, and it's a great hobby. It tastes better than the factory beers, and you can do a brew from start to finish in about 5-6 weeks. Properly aging a distilled product takes years, although 'shine's aging time is often measured in hours. There are beer kits available from beginner to advanced, and the initial investment is under $100 if you don't go too fancy. Home brewing is legal, whereas home distillation is not. There is distillation equipment sold mail-order under the guise of essential oil extraction (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more). Look in a brewing magazine like "Brew Your Own" if you want to know more.

 

It is NOT illegal to make moonshine, so long as it is for personal consumption and not for resale, and as long as you do not make over 500 US gal. in a year, as was stated above. It is when you try and sell it that you start violating all kinds of federal laws. It being legal, however, does not mean it is an intelligent thing to do. If you dont know what you are doing, you can kill yourself VERY easily. IF you distill your product too long, you end up with straight grain alcohol. Drink some of that and violating laws will become the least of your worries. I've drank some good shine made in Eastern Oklahoma, by an old man that has been perfecting it for 75 years. His father handed the recipe down to him, and it will undoubtedly go to the grave with him. There is no way I would try to make it myself, though. Too many little things to go wrong if you're an amatuer.

 

Come to CANADA and get some fella! You got it you me heard it right.

 

Seems to me there was this hear book series call Firefox that had a recipe for shine. I forget what volume it was but i did read a bout it. Be careful how you cook that stuff off. You don't want to "burn it" cause you'll get more comin' out than you want. I think it was about 182-183 degrees but its been a while Use no lead around any fittings. Now there enough information in what I just said for you to get drunk!