Can you make moonshine

They are expensive and difficult to obtain. A Federal Fuel Alcohol Permit can be obtained for no cost, but it is intended for creating alcohol for uses other than ingesting. State laws vary widely regarding the legality of home distilling. In some states it is illegal to own a still while in other states it is not.

Sometimes it is legal to own the still, but you may be charged a small fine for creating and producing alcohol. It is illegal everywhere to sell alcohol to minors. If you have been charged with home distilling, you should consult a drug lawyer right away. A lawyer will help advise you of your options and devise your best case, and represent you during plea discussions and in court.

Jose Rivera. Law Library Disclaimer. Can't find your category? Click here. Choose a Legal Category: Family Law. Real Estate and Property Law. According to federal law, It is legal to own a still larger than 1 gallon so long as it is not being used to distill alcohol or it is permitted to be used for distilling fuel alcohol or spirits.

If a person wishes to legally distill alcohol, they have two options. The first option is to obtain a Federal Distilled Spirits Permit. This is the permit that industry giants like Jack Daniels and Makers Mark distilleries possess, which makes it legal for them to distill and distribute to the public. As one might imagine, this permit is very difficult to get. In short, unless an individual is opening a distillery with the intention of selling their product in liquor stores, don't even bother looking into getting a distilled spirits permit; it's way too expensive and complicated for a home distiller to obtain.

Instead pursue a fuel alcohol permit which we'll describe next. Option two is a Federal Fuel Alcohol Permit link below. Be advised that the conditions of the permit only allow a distiller to use the alcohol they produce for fuel purposes, not for consumption. List the type as a "pot still. This will be the identifying information for the still. Note, those not planning to use their still for alcohol do not need to get a permit or register the still with the federal government.

However, for those who are going to use the equipment to distill alcohol, the use your order number which is also your serial number on all permit paperwork. State distilling law is different in every state. Some states have no laws on owning a still, but prohibit the distillation of alcohol such as Colorado , which charges a small fine if one is caught doing so while other states prohibit possession of a still unless it's for fuel alcohol such as North Carolina, which requires a state fuel alcohol permit.

Some states may prohibit possession of distillation equipment and distilling altogether. Google state laws to find the rules and regulations in your state.

Essentially, thin mash is part grain and part granulated sugar. But why? Corn is somewhat difficult to work with during the mashing process because it gets extremely thick before starch begins to break down into sugar. However, if making a mash for fuel alcohol, as is what we actually did in the video, starting alcohol percentage can and should be fairly high to maximize the yield.

By adding granulated sugar after the mash we were able to increase starting alcohol content. To make thin mash, we followed steps above then simply added granulated sugar before moving on to step 7. Remember, making this mash is legal. However, distilling it is not. Below is a table illustrating ABV increases caused by the addition of sugar. We use the term "sugar mash" loosely here. It essentially describes high proof alcohol made with only granulated sugar and zero grain.

It doesn't require a mash to convert starch to sugar and the procedure for making it is very simple. It is made by dissolving white table sugar into water, heating to pasteurize optional , adding yeast nutrient very important and adding yeast. As we've said several times in this article and hundreds of times on this site, distilling alcohol without the proper permits is illegal.

Don't do it unless you're properly licensed and permitted. We're describing it here for educational purposes only and this isn't meant to be relied upon by any person or entity as a scientific basis for any act or decision whatsoever.

Distilling alcohol is accomplished by heating a mixture of water and alcohol beer to at or above degrees but below degrees. This will cause ethanol to boil, but will leave water behind. Because ethanol boils at and water at The name of the game here is reducing the sediment in your mash water to as close to zero as possible. Now for the fun part! Distillation is an incredible process. Distillation is the process of separating different chemicals by taking advantage of different evaporation temperatures between the chemicals.

This process is not creating alcohol, it is separating it from all of the other substances in your mash water. You created all of the alcohol during fermentation well, the yeast did. Next, dial up your heat source to high until your still starts producing. Time your drips as they speed up until you reach 3 to 5 drips per second. Congratulations, you went from researching How to Make Moonshine to making your own moonshine! Never use plastic containers as this can lace your product with BPA among causing other issues.

These contain the earliest-evaporating alcohols in your mash water and should never be ingested. Foreshots can contain methanol and should never ever be consumed.

Methanol can make you blind among causing other problems. Collect the foreshots in their own container and throw them out. The heads also contain volatile alcohols like the foreshots. However, rather than causing blindness, the effects are less extreme — like one hell of a hangover.

Like the foreshots, collect your heads in their own containers and throw them out. This is the good stuff, mostly ethanol. At this point you should start losing the harsh, solvent smell present during the heads.

The flavor of corn mash moonshine should now be smooth and sweet. This is the stage where skill and experience come most into play. Isolating your hearts well, while maximizing production of them is a bit of an art. As you reach the end of the ethanol and move into the final stage of your production you hit the tails. The tails will taste very different from the hearts. The product will begin to feel slippery between your fingers. This is due to water, carbohydrates, and proteins present.

You can set your tails aside for later distillation or toss them. You made it, well done.