First, lighten up...

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Second, anyone, meaning you, ever understood the concept of sarcasm?

What I was getting at, and obviously, went over your head, was to make fun of the ridiculous regulations and taxes our government has placed on this and other industries.

 

Is anyone else having a problem with the www.homedistiller.org website? My computer says that it cannot find the server for the website.

Chris

 

Yup, way over I guess. Seemed like you were tryin to poke fun at ME or somethin. I know sarcasm too good, I use it a lot, just kinda hard to tell when it's in writing and not spoken. Ya know.

 

I'm still laughing about the 15 year old who took 4 or 5 slugs of hooch (supposedly thinking it was water) and was passed out for 3 days.

How in the world can you not know the difference between hardcore liquor and water???

 

You can find a story here about a fellow up in Culpeper Virginia who makes moonshine legally. He sells it throughout the state in the Virginia ABC stores. This article appeared in the Farm Bureau magazine about 2 years ago.

 

I remember visiting my grandfather in Georgia having jugs of moonshine around. He was one of the old timers from the day that made it - and made it smooth tasting (well - as smooth as it could get). I know one of my cousins learned how to make it from him, but I never did. I never lived in a place where I could make it - the apartment complex or the neighborhood I lived in would have thought much of me for putting up a still.

 

I had some hootch from 'Bama that was the same color as water, and just as smooth. Only after I swallowed it did I feel a nice warmth coming from deep down inside, until it spread across my face, and made it shine.

 

I think that public health is one of the reasons that it is illegal to distill alcohol (for drinking)privately. I remember from 8th grade physics class that there are at least two types of "alcohol". Methanol and Ethanol. Methanol is what you find as a fuel for your "test tube heater" in class, and also is a major ingredient in Sterno, the flammable jelly in cans that is used to heat fondue pots and keep trays of food warm. The possible effects of methanol if it is swallowed are: Blindness, Paralysis, and Death.
Ethanol, however is alcohol in its safer (to drink) form. Ethanol is produced by live creatures known to us as yeast during fermentation, the usual result of controlled fermentation are beer and wine. Beer and wine have a low concentration of ethanol, because it is a waste product of the yeast, and when it reaches a certain level, the yeast dies off. (They can only live and breed until their own sewage kills them off!) Now let's look at distillation, How can you be sure that the heat level used in the moonshine distillation apparatus is controlled in such a way that only the ethanol is evaporated into the condensation coils,to be collected for later use, and that too much heat is never applied? That level of technology/ability would be beyond the ability of most of us - I can read a repair manual, and do the work, understand how all the parts work, but completing the job perfectly sometimes takes more than one attempt. Leave the distilling of drinkable alcohol to the professionals. I don't think I could ever make anything better than Wild Turkey, or Captain Morgan's Rum.....

 

Methanol is called wood alcohol for a reason - it's made from wood. Ethanol is made from grain products. You don't accidently get the wrong one because you cook it at the wrong temperature. You have to use a whole 'nother set of ingredients.

As for being as good as various store-bought brands, some is very much better. It's a matter of quality control, which is a matter of pride - if you're gonna do it, do it right.

People have been distilling alcohol for bajillions of years, but Americans finally got it together, and make the finest sour mash straight bourbon whiskey known to man. Thank you, Jesus.

 

Is anyone else having a problem with the www.homedistiller.org website? Its been two straight weeks and i have yet to be able to pull up the site.

Chris

 

Ethanol isn't the only alcohol you can get during fermentation. If you ferment at too high of a temperature (+80F), fusel alcohol will also form. This would then carry over during distillation along with the ethanol. Fusel alcohol in your beer or 'shine is a major cause of hangovers.

 

If it isn't made right it can kill or blind sombody & taxes.

 

Alcohol is yeast pee. Hence your mouth tastes like pee the next day after you've been drinking.

Anyways....I hope i come across the opportunity to sample some of this some day. You all make it wound like its great. Not that i'm a big drinker (Been almost a year...), but I do delight in sampling and whatnot. Certainly wouldn't take enough to knock myself on my behind.

 

CKRICHARD, I was able to pull up the site but it was very slow for me, you may need to try a couple of times. Also I am using firefox not internet explorer, I find sometimes firefox is more tolerable of an extremely slow sight.

Mike