You could ferment your own alcohol by simply leaving fruit juice on the counter overnight (pretty sure the result won't be pleasant), but distillation is used to isolate the alcohol to get a product of higher purity or proof. Moonshine is an example of an historically significant distilled spirit. Even though Prohibition is in the past, it's still illegal to make moonshine in the United States.
Aside from reasons relating to politics and money, there are safety concerns with making your own 'shine. One is the possibility of the still exploding from a buildup of internal pressure. Otherwise, there is the possibility of poisoning yourself with volatile oils or other contaminants by not discarding them during the distillation process or by not maintaining careful temperature control. The most prevalent health problem is contamination of the moonshine with high levels of lead. Laboratory glassware tends not to be something the average Bootlegger possesses, which means he or she will probably use metal components. Welding metal parts or using inappropriate materials (like car radiators) can lead to the leaching of lead into the distillate. It's possible to filter the lead out, but many people are unaware of the hazard.
Anyway, for your entertainment and edification, here are instructions for making moonshine.
Aside from reasons relating to politics and money, there are safety concerns with making your own 'shine. One is the possibility of the still exploding from a buildup of internal pressure. Otherwise, there is the possibility of poisoning yourself with volatile oils or other contaminants by not discarding them during the distillation process or by not maintaining careful temperature control. The most prevalent health problem is contamination of the moonshine with high levels of lead. Laboratory glassware tends not to be something the average Bootlegger possesses, which means he or she will probably use metal components. Welding metal parts or using inappropriate materials (like car radiators) can lead to the leaching of lead into the distillate. It's possible to filter the lead out, but many people are unaware of the hazard.
Anyway, for your entertainment and edification, here are instructions for making moonshine.
Comments
It is a common mistake that people make when they say, moonshine is illegal. It is not illegal if you pay taxes for it. that is the only reasi=on it would still be considered illegal I’m surprised a person with a Ph.D doesn’t know that!
You have to get a permit to distill alcohol. It is not just paying taxes on it. It is illegible to distill with out a permit. You are mistaken
Moonshiner for 25 years.
WRONG, Against Federal law.
*That
*Reason
This lady is just playing ball for the government. The fact is booze making is safer then eating a steak by far.
People get sick from booze that has been intentionally “tweeked” or from lead content. Use common sense, stainless steel, and teflon. Also discard the first part of the batch, and you will be safe. She talks about an “over pressurized” still. Thats not possible, so don’t worry about that.
It’s not illegal to make shine for YOUR OWN CONSUMPTION or for a gift. It becomes illegal the second you sell it and the government doesn’t get their cut.
wrong it is illegal it make moonshine for your own consumption, you cannot distill any alcohol except for fuel….PERIOD. Then you have to have a special permit from the feds. You can make wine and beer but no distilled products!!
it is legal to have up to 5 gallons of home made alcohol cuz that is considered personal consumption by the federal government. ive researched this countless times because i make my own.
It is illegal to distill alcohol. It is not illegal to homebrew beer or ferment wine. It is illegal to sell that beer and wine without going throught the proper legal passages where it is taxed. The act of distilling alcohol is against federal laws, no lie.
It is not illegal to distill alchohol but there is a limit on the amount you can make per year.
I’ve condensed my own ethanol only a couple of times(17 times).It has far been the most rewarding(and Im rich by the way)experience Ive ever accomplished,aside from climbing Everest,…Ive had more fun with Kazz(my cat)and distilling(beginner chemistry)than Ive ever had.He chases my laser pointer to no end!!!!!(LOL)I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ITS FREE
It IS indeed illegal to distill liquor at home — whether it is for sale or not, whether it is a small quantity or a large one. It is only legal when you are doing so to use it as fuel and have the proper permit.
How likely are you to even be on the government radar? not likely. But it is still technically illegal.
It is not illegal to distill alcohol, as long as it`s not used for human consumption. If you store more than 100 gallons, it must be denatured with a gallon of kerosene or like substance according to the BATF). All kinds of eco-types are using it for tractors, lawn mowers, automobiles, generators, etc.
what part of the world do you live in..you CANNOT distill/make moonshine in the USA…make a 100 gallons call the law and see what happens. where do ppl get these crazy ideas…a friend told me…lol they didnt say anything about going to prison….lol
ive been making rot gut for over 39 years.and if any of you dumbasses dont think it’s illegal just ask anyone who has been busted for making it..i dont care if you dump it down yer damn gullet or dump it in yer lawn mower or whatever you find to dump it down its still against the law.why do you idiots think most of it is made out of site if it was legal to make for whatever reason its bein made for dont you think the old shiners and boys like me would be making it in plain site..for christ sake you all dont know yer ass from yer elbow.go ask junior johnson and the father of shine popcorn cant now cuz he is dead but he will tell you..its illegal fer whatever reason yer makin it for
In the United States, those wishing to distill alcohol must contact their local BATF office to obtain an appropriate licensing prior to performing home distillation. It is the sole responsibility of the distiller to know and abide by all applicable laws.
We’ve created a video tour of the facilities at Strait Shine in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Learn about the hand-crafted distilled products and hear about how moonshine is made.
Moonshine is awesome
W, I agree with what you said. It isn’t illegal to make for your own consumption or as a gift. I KNOW it says that somewhere in TN law and I was wondering if you could help me find it.
FYI it is not illegal to make your own distilled spirits but it is intentionally prohibitively difficult. Aside from the application and permits (for any amount of distilled alcohol)you also have to pay excise tax on it.
See this FAQ:
http://www.ttb.gov/faqs/alcohol_faqs.shtml
Don’t fool yourself, or listen to people that don’t know or just guessing. IT IS ILLEGAL! Alot of my family has gone to jail for making moonshine. And if you don,t know what your doing you will get yourself in a lot of trouble real quick.Read about it and leave alone..Have you ever seen a still blow up I have!!!!!!
Who cares if its illegal?
IT IS NOT ILLEGAL to make your own moonshine or any kind of moonshine,whiskey,beer or wine as.You are aloud to make certain amounts and or your own consumption or git.It becomes illegal once you start selling it under the table.You are aloud a certain number of gallons per household per year.
you go ahead and make all the distilled product that you want and when you spend 30 years in prison then you will understand that you are not allowed to make it for your use except to put it in your car and drive with it…you cannot make it to drink period. I have the special permit to make it for fuel,I can make 10,000 gallons a year tax free. The license is good for life.
I’m just gonna go with it’s illegal, don’t make it, adn if you do, don’t tell anybody about it. You know, the whole common sense thing.
Hey, Jim….you are allowed to speak aloud!
it is legal to make up to a certain amount per year for personal use only.
no, it is illegible to distill with out a permit
You can make a certain amount of beer and wine, but not liquor. Those that say you can are wrong.
Listen People……In the U.S.A…..If you have a distillery that is not registered….Doesn’t matter if there is 2 inches of dust in the pot,YOU ARE BREAKING A FEDERAL LAW….If you grind malt….YOU are BREAKING a FEderal LAw….You can have 499 gallons of moonshine in your house and its a misdemeaner….500 gallons and you are BREAKING A FEDERAL LAW…..Any one of these offenses will put you in the FEDERAL Pen in ATLANT,GA…..Believe me ….there are better ways to spend the next 5 years!!
This is bad info on making any kind of alcohol. Malted corn (sprouted, then dried, then ground) must be mashed, not mushed, in the presence of amylase enzyme at around 150 degrees F for about an hour to convert complex starch to sugar. Amylase enzyme is typically provided by ground malted barley, mashed with the corn. Corn that is not exposed to amylase will provide very little sugar that can be converted to alcohol. It will, however provide some flavor. If sugar is added to the fermentation of unmashed corn to bring the SG up into a usable range, good results can be had, but not the same as with malted mashed corn. I’ve made beer and wine for years and I distill my own water. Distilling alcohol is illegal without a license.
Make it, drink it, and enjoy~ If you get caught you are dumb! Make small personal quantities, and look for other ways to make a quick buck.
it is perfectly legal to make moonshine but it is illegal to distribute it
everyone is a legal expert but no-one can show in writing the law that states one way or the other.
If it’s so Illegal why then does Junior Johnson (of Nascar fame) always have some around and has never been busted for it. Even drinking it on national TV.
he has been busted for it yrs ago….now he has his own distillery….and if i were him i wouldnt put my name on it….catdaddy and junior johnson moonshine…tastes like crap….give me the real deal
bonded liquor just isnt the same
It is legal to produce wine and/or beer in your own home up to 200 gallons a year for personal use, but not for sales. This is stated by law thanks to the Carter administration durring his president reign. Depending upon which state you live in, depends on the strictness of how eager they are to find a still of some sort for moonshine. Generally, moonshine is illegal, period, fermented or distilled, it doesnt matter, i believe if you can reach the alcohol content of 200 proof or 100% alcohol by volume(ABV), you can use it for fuel consumption in motors such as lawnmowers or some vehicles. For fueling purposes, moonshine is a prime biofuel at 100%ABV, but it just so happens to be that it is also the strongest moonshine you can make if you decide to “accidentally” poor in your mouth and also thier is a capping law for alternative fuels by the government that if so much moonshine is produced within a years time that they will buy the additional alcohol produced, but im not an expert, i just enforce these laws, and yes, they do explode. Only because idiots dont realize that alcohol is flamable and transferring it into a vapor make the situation worse. It might have something to do with boiling the shine over a bonfire and trying to catch the dropplets from the vapor coil?
First off it seems there are a ton of people here that dont know if it is legal to make moonshine and im here to deliver the facts on this issue… every state has its own statutes on this i live in florida and the statute says… 565.07 Sale or consumption of certain distilled spirits prohibited.
—No distilled spirit greater than 153 proof shall be sold, processed, or consumed in the state.
History.—s. 3, ch. 85-203.
you should check the state website to see what the law is in your own state the actual site will end in .GOV
i hope this will put an end to all the “know it alls” here lol
It is illegal it make. We Italians have been making Grappa (Italian Moonshine) from the wine squeezing for years. It would be almost imposable to blow up a modern Stainless Steel still.
Yes, I agree, it’s against federal law to distill alcohol without a permit for fuel alcohol or a permit for whiskey. It’s also against the law in many states to distill alcohol without the federal permits and additional permits. So, distilling “moonshine” or any other type of unpermitted alcohol is illegal. Paying taxes on something that is against the law doesn’t make it legal. As far as where to get / how to make a moonshine still, check this out: how to make a moonshine still
First, I can neither confirm nor deny that I have distilled spirits without a license in the past, as that activity may be illegal in my country.
Anyway:
1) You’d need one hell of a big still before you had a vapor pressure buildup that would rupture the pressure vessel.
2) I remember a while back somebody calculated exactly how much uncut moonshine you’d need to drink to die of methanol/fusel oil poisoning. Even with the most shoddy, poorly-produced spirits, you’d still need to drink something on the order of three gallons of 95% whiskey. Even drinking storebought everclear, you’re dead from plain old alcohol poisoning after an eighth of that amount.
2) The author is a chem PhD, but does she weld? Welding fills the gaps in the material with more of the same material. Unless you’re using something insane like lead cored MIG wire (?), you’re fine. Lead poisoning happens when moonshiners do something really stupid, like using lead solder to join pipes together, or really really stupid and uses a car rad for a condenser. For ANY food-safe work, you should always use silver. Also, few commercial distilleries use glassware – it’s far too expensive. They use either copper or stainless, just like the shiners do.
In wisconsin its leagal to make whatever type of alcohoul you want as long as its no more then 5 gallons and you dont sell it for profit
Seriously? Reading these statements just shows how “intelligent” everyone is. People should not go to websites to look up legal information which in this case, and in most cases, very from state to state even and more so if it is a federal law. If you really want to moonshine, you are going to moonshine. Unless you are actively selling the shine or telling everyone you know that you have a distillery, then one, you shouldn’t be moonshing, and two you should be arrested for being an idiot. You can safely build, operate and run a distillery at your home safely, if you just use some common sense. Do actuall legal research instead of asking who could be a 12 yr old girl if moon shining is legal or not in your state. The Feds will be more than happy to answer your question and surprise surprise, you don’t go to jail for asking a question that could save your ass from going to jail.
Here is the relevant federal regulation. If you are willing to get a fed permit (good luck), have your facility inspected, file annual reports, etc, you can make liquor. As the author above notes, the feds themselves admit these regulations are designed to make it impractical for any but a commercial producer. No, you can’t make a little in the garage as long as its for personal use. I don’t care what your state law is, Fed law trumps.
http://www.ttb.gov/faqs/genalcohol.shtml
So if this is so illegal then how would the show moonshiners be aired on TV? You can make the damn thing so you don’t know anything who ever says its illegal. Hell my buddy is a cop and he is there helping me. I even gave the police office some. Still no arrest, never seen them all smile like that. Your just saying that your too scared to drink the stuff or make it because of what this article says. Yeah ill admit they try to make it sound like its illegal so everyone in the united states does not make it then the government is down more debt than what they are now
Here is my take on all this.. By federal law it is illegal to distill consumable alcohol without a distillers bond and permit PERIOD.. You can get an alternative fuels permit for $20 and a lot of paperwork which includes a waver that allows the federal B.A.T.F. to inspect {open ended search warrant} your operation.. This is the twist and it involves you state and local laws.. Just like California and many other states have bent the federal drug laws pertaining to marijuana so same are the alcohol laws.. Different states set a maximum proof level for commercial spirits, thats why you can buy Everclear and Clearsprings 180 proof in West Virginia and Tennessee but you can’t buy it in Ohio.. It is also considered illegal to transport state tax stamped liquor across state lines without a beverage distributors license and the proper paperwork.. But if you go out of state and buy a few quarts odds are even if it is sitting in the back seat in plain site the police would not even ask about it.. This is the same attitude they have about home booze making around here.. You could make a few gallons of juice in a small pressure cooker in your own home for personal use and the local sheriff would not waste his time.. But as soon as you started selling it they would bust you.. Several enterprising people have been busted for slipping a few gallons out of the middle of a fuel still run to make extra cash.. I like mine aged with a few chunks of charred oak in the jug and a few cloves.. Cheep way to get started is to shop GoodWill for a 3 to 5 gallon used pressure cooker that has the temperature gage and pressure gage already on it.. Then you get a 25 foot roll of copper or stainless steel tubing and fittings from the auto parts store.. Have fun………………
As for recipes, there are hundreds and some are even tasty and have a good aroma.. My favorite is 10 pounds of finely ground organically grown honey crisp sweet corn fresh off the cob.. 5 pounds of dried molasses from the feed store and 1 pound of toasted oatmeal all cooked and cooled to room temperature.. Let it set overnight then bring it to a boil again for 20 minutes and let it cool to 90 degrees.. Place it in your sterile mashing barrel with your favorite brewers yeast sprinkled in as you pour in your mix.. I like to use a heating blanket wrapped around the outside to keep the temperature warm until the mix starts generating its own heat.. Stirring the mash once or twice over a 7 to 14 day brew will help to evenly cure the batch.. This is where art and skill come in, as telling when it is ready is done by smell and taste (my secrete).. So is the amount of water to be added {do not use chlorinated tap water}.. By using the oats and molasses and allowing the batch to rest overnight it completes the chemical process of breaking down the starch some before the yeast is added.. Some people like rye in place of the oats and I have even seen shine made from old bread but as for taste, well it is all to the beholder.. Distill at your own risk…………
I think this is very funny.We seem to be hearing from everyone but the Feds. ( the one’s that will arrest you ) .So you know they are watching this comment , so with that said and not a clear yes or no answer from them, I would this call this entrapment.They could always answer the Question to stop the law from being broken. thank you
For those interested in trying their hand despite the legalities, Whiskey Still sells stove-top stills.
http://www.justice.gc.ca/
lots of reading but it seems as though you can do it just dont get caught. it is up to the officer and he will take and or destroy any distillation equip. on site. i wouldnt want to try and make money off it. i dont trust many people and if any word gets out to the wrong person and you are making money and not the gov,t you are what i call screwed!
Im not sure where people dream up this stuff wow, it is illegal to make one drop of shine without a permit. to the guy who said he took some to his cop friend must i say dump ass.does that town even have 100 people in it.do me a favor and call the feds and tell them you are making shine and them let me know how that works for you . i wouldnt think the feds would ever find out about you making 5 or ten gallons at a time, they are looking for the ones who make 200 gallon or more a night, and to all the people who post on here and say o ya its legal if you dont sell it well that just shows how smart you are lol
moonshiner is right on, has anyone on here ever make 160 proof whiskey proly not well there is alot of people on here who just like to talk about it and still they know nothen about it if you dont know just keep you lips shut moonshiner proly is one of the few who has ever made a good batch maybe if everyone would just listen they would learn somthing
Illegal duh
Moonshine implies illegality, when moonshiners illegally distilled their alcohol under the light of the moon. Obtaining a license to commercially produce alcohol means it is legal to produce it, however the product is not usually regarded as “true” moonshine.