How to make moonshine

WARNING!!!!!
this is for informational purposes only and should not be used for illegal activities. there are many legal things one can do with a still including fueling cars (must register with the federal government) as well as extracting essential oils from plants (not necessary to register). also, implementing the following procedures could result in bodily harm from explosions, fires, burns, not to mention what could happen if you actually consume your final product. use your head, be careful and be safe. 


Thank you to everyone who has made this a successful Instructable!  I appreciate the views and positive feedback.  Please cut me some slack where I am lacking.  I have recently updated to include a few more specifics, but this does not take the place of doing your own research.  I am not an expert, though I play one on TV.  I am also toying with a discussion forum for all the numerous repeat questions.  Please continue to check the comments discussions before posting questions.  Many have been answered before and plenty more than once.


as a further note, i have decided to add this link to clear up any misunderstandings about what United States law has to say about distilling. Hopefully this will make some of you think a little harder about this and the rest to stop posting comments debating the legality of this. This is ONLY for the US.

Distilling Code

let's begin.

anything alcoholic can be distilled. i've distilled everything from my own moonshine washes to jug wine purchased at my local liquor store. distillation is actually quite simple. the hard part is making sure you are getting ethanol and not methanol (or the like). in this instructable i will show how i made a wash, fermented it, and consequently--the most important part--how i distilled it. i have added more specifics in order to answer some of the most asked questions i've gotten in the comments.  i hope this helps. i might also mention that everything here is hypothetical and for informational purposes only. hope that covers the bases.

and. . . let's begin. for real this time.

(if this doesn't make sense or you would like more info, check out my instructable--distilling basics--for more detailed information on the distillation process or read through the comment strings before posting a question.  I get repeat questions constantly and I don't have time to answer the same questions over and over.  Sorry.)

Step 1 Fermentation

i used a sugar water solution to create a wash which i then distilled to a neutral spirit. i dissolved about 5lbs of sugar in 3 gallons of water (not an exact formula, play around a bit) and then let it cool to room temperature. this is about as basic a wash as you can get. many more options are available for different flavor characteristics.  for instance, if you ferment molasses you will end up with rum.  if you ferment blue agave you will end up with tequila. i was looking for simplicity for a beginner and ran with this. it is the easiest to procure and make. unfortunately white sugar creates a decidedly cidery flavor to the spirit, but much of that can be distilled out or masked by flavoring or blending.

the wash (fermentable solution, a.k.a. sugar water) was then poured into a clean carboy (big glass bottle, see pic). after that i 'pitched' the yeast (dumped yeast into wash) and then capped the carboy with an airlock (see pic). now we wait. depending on yeast, temperature, amount of digestible materials, etc., a couple of weeks is usually good. at this point yeast is eating sugar, and excreting carbon dioxide and alcohol. give it some time. let it work. when the bubbles stop (and look close) it's done.  if it is still bubbling, let it go.  the two week time is just a very rough estimate.  it will vary for everyone.

if the bubbles have slowed considerably, taste a bit. if it is sweet, let it go a bit longer.

when it is done. we're ready for the next stage:

distillation.

Comments

[bossyshiner]

pdub thanks so much for sharing your info. This has been a great stepping stone for me. I have my first batch bubbling right now. I used sweet horse feed with sugar and turbo yeast ( super yeast by LIQUOR QUIK). has anyone done this before or am i crazy???

[bobby73]

I bought brewers yeast at the health food store but after I got home I was reading on it and found it is the yeast that has already been used to brew beer... will this work or do I need a different type?

[pdub77]

That may still work. Dried does not indicate any problem as yeast can be dried and "reawakened" over and over. As long as it was not pasteurized or otherwise heated until death it should work. Try mixing some of whatever sugar you will be fermenting with about a pint of warm (not hot) water and drop a teaspoon or so of your yeast into it. Let it sit for the day or overnight or until you see bubbles forming, whatever happens first. If it begins bubbling and foaming you have live yeast and you can pitch this mixture into your wash. If nothing happens it is dead and you will need to use something else. I have never seen this product or know anything about how it is processed, this is just how to make a basic yeast starter that will show you if your yeast is still viable.

Anyone else care to weigh in on this?

[tricker69]

Brewers yeast from health food stores are sold as natural health supplements. According to the warnings/disclaimers, it seems it might have the potential to be live.
Considering the price of a packet of yeast used in homebrew libations to be extremely cheap, I would avoid the supplement kind sold in natural health shops.

[bobby73]

Also I made my own air lock by sealing a piece of rubber tubing in the top of my fermenting bottle and running it into a 20 oz. bottle half filled with water. Any one know if this will work?

[pdub77]

That should work great. Post pics if you can. How to make an airlock is a question that has been asked many, many times. Thanks!

[bobby73]

a better picture

[pdub77]

Looks great!

[bobby73]

It works pretty good to, its just bubbling away

[bobby73]

(removed by author or community request)

[pdub77]

No worries. Thanks for posting!

[bobby73]

Thanks for your reply, I have done a little more research and figured out I was trying to use dietary yeast.... no good :) it can't be live as it is a food additive for vegans, however I am on the right track now after dumping that batch. i added about a pond and a half of corn meal to the mix

[PAShiner]

Clearer pics maybe? Im not a photographer

[pdub77]

Nice work! Thanks for the pics.

[friger]

Loved this instructable, Had to try it myself. I made a mash from 2 lbs. of molasses and one gallon of water. Boiled the solution, let it cool, pitched some yeast and let it go for about a month. My gravity readings showed it to be 15%. I did 2 runs and it is currently being infused with whiskey barrel wood chips. I would guess it is easily 80% or better, has a nice blue flame when lit. Any suggestions on cutting it?

[pdub77]

Nice work! I would definitely cut it as it is too easy to get in trouble with alcohol of this proof. I would use the best water you have and see how it tastes with a little bit and then go from there if you like it. You can also put fruit or coffee beans, vanilla beans or whatever in the liquor and let it sit for a while to infuse if you want flavors and then add some water.

Thanks for the pics!

[PAShiner]

This really is a great instructable to get started. Ive seriously read all 860 or so comments on this and im so sick of reading the word methanol. In the last few months and distilled and consumed a few gallons on my homemade shine and ya know what happened? I got drunk! Everytime! AND i just had an eye exam at work and im still 20/20. So methanol can suck it. Ive made the mash with corn, water, sugar and yeast and i also made a wash with just sugar, water and yeast. The difference is negligible really. Im trying to add a few pics of my basic pot still and a spoonful burning blue after one run. Im thinking of trying one the the Turbo yeasts. Anyone try them yet? All of the ones ive seen for sale are measured in metric and im too lazy to convert it. Any ideas what yeast i should try? Ive been using just regular bread yeast or whatever its called. The 3 little packs that are all connected. The work fine, proof being the buring spoon after 1 run.. The pic of the still is hard to see, ive read so much on here, id be willing to answer and questions. In regard to those who arent getting any distillate until 200, id let your mash/wash ferment longer, few days. You're getting alcohol but there isnt very much in the initial wash. Starting with more alcohol=lower temps.

[whodatxxsaints]

pdub, great instructable man. I followed most of your steps except for the thermometer part. I made my own pressure cooker and it worked well but the only problem I had was nothing came out of my condenser until about 200-205 degrees and kept producing but just stayed at about 205. I went and bought an analog thermometer. I mean, it still made alcohol but just wasnt very strong and i didnt kno wether it was safe or not to drink. Any suggestions?

[jcain1983]

How much did you end up with after the first run? and after you run it back through how much do u lose?

[fredricksburgthethird]

be very careful when attempting this... i used a very similar setup except had a tea kettle with lid, and it blew its top spewing 200 degree mash all over my hand. very painful. i want to try it again but im not sure anything that i can put together will handle this much pressure.

[pdub77]

There should not be any high pressure at all. If there is pressure building you have done something wrong or there is a blockage somewhere. I'm sorry about your hand, dude.

[Mr.Cuddles]

This is a great instructable. Thank you for your time and effort to get this information out there. I do have a question though. I've read quite a bit of the comments, and of course all of the instructable and didn't see the answer unless I missed it. At which point would you be flavoring it? I've had straight moonshine and loved it.(I'm a drinker and drink pretty much anything) I've been wanting to try apple and strawberry and I started wondering at which point in this process do you flavor it with, lets say, fruits...apple in this case.

I'm still not 100% committed on verifying the validity of your hypothetical process ;), but with a little more research, and when I'm sure I could do this without any negative side effects (aside from a little buzz), I sure hope to give it a shot.

Btw, a little off topic but I'm amazed at some comments I've read. Some people just don't get the fact that how a person's words sound when they're spoken, isn't quite the way it needs to be typed on a public site. I've now made a judgement on all of you based solely on your comments. lol

[pdub77]

LOL. If I were going to flavor this particular beverage and I was creating a neutral spirit like I did in the Instructable I would flavor it at the end prior to drinking it. Distilling will remove the vast majority of flavoring with the exception of the character the ethanol itself takes on during the fermentation process. You can always place fruit or whatever in a container with your final product and let that age for a while or store it in a charred barrel (like a lot of whiskeys) or something like that as well. Hope this helps and thanks for the kind words!

[jjll31]

I started a wash by using 20oz of wheat germ, 5 pounds of sugar warmed melted and cooled then added 4 packs of yeast. Its in a 6 gallon bucket with air lock. for 48 hours it bubble well fizzed reaally well now its pretty slow. Its been at about 70 degrees and I was wonder if it doing ok. my first time with a wash and most articles say it takes at least a week?

[deaconkane]

how much yeast for this brew? lol

[bobby73]

3 packs

[emeghaq]

3 packs of the packets or 9 individual packs

[bobby73]

Just 3 packs or 3/4 oz.

[johnthehandyman]

Hey I understand everything on here. But at the ferminating process do you absolutely need the airlock tip?

[pdub77]

The airlock allows carbon dioxide (a byproduct or fermentation) to escape while not allowing harmful bacteria to enter. Is it absolutely necessary? No. Is it preferable and will it possibly save you some time, energy and money? Yes. There are many methods to do this, though. Just google it and you can find many different ways to make an airlock or substitue something. Even a piece of saran wrap rubber banded over the top can work. It doesn't have to be perfect, but if bad yeast and bacteria get in, your product is ruined and you may not find this out for weeks.

[kurdcroat]

Just so I understand, you use a basic brewing yeast? I'm a homebrewer and can get that easily, but wanted to be sure what type of yeast. thanks.

[randomv]

"Effects of Methanol Poisoning As little as four milliliters can cause blindness and 80 to 150 milliliters can be fatal; about half a milliliter per kilogram of weight is deadly. Drinking methanol causes effects similar to common alcohol, such as an upset stomach and dizziness, with the addition of pronounced vision problems. After these effects disappear, they reappear six to 30 hours later, only with much greater severity. severe symptoms tend to appear 18 to 24 hours after consumption. the relapse time makes it imperative to seek medical help as soon as possible. The most seriously poisoned lose consciousness and die of respiratory or heart failure. those who do not die may stay in a coma for as long as a week and may be left blinded." Not to scare anyone, just wanted to point out that you have to be very careful. I may try this some day, thank you for the very good guide.

[lx2036]

As long as you make your mash with the right ingredients (fruits/grains/sugars) the methanol content will never be high enough to do any damage. You'll die from alcohol poisoning 10-20 times over before you've consumed enough methanol to do anything. The reason we are worried about it in distillation is because it really affects taste, not because of its toxicity. Same deal with the tails. The reason it's got such a reputation is most don't understand it. Posting facts like this without a full explanation of the details only fuels the misinformation. For a good perspective into the professional-amateurs check out:
Home Distiller (the forum is great as well) or
Whiskey Still (the new distiller FAQ is great)
Here's a quote from the new distiller FAQ talking about average toxic: content
"Home distilled spirit (untreated): methanol 0.0067%, ethanol 99.632%, fusils 0.361%
Commercial vodka: methanol 0.013%, ethanol 99.507%, fusils 0.48%
Poor quality home distilled spirit : methanol 0.0186%, ethanol 98.453%, and fusils 1.528%
If you're talking about untreated spirits as being dangerous, then to reach the LD50's that are published, you'd need to consume 149 L to be affected by the methanol, or for a 90kg bloke, about 58 L for the pentanol, from the "good" homemade stuff. That would be one hell of a session ! Even on their "poor quality" brew you'd need 11 L for the fusels. Stock standard pissed-as-a-newt high-school-student alcohol poisoning is the greater problem."

[pdub77]

I would prefer you didn't advertise on my Instructable. This site is about building and making things, not about buying them ready-made.

[darden89]

Can you put corn mass into a pot still and still get the same results as you would with a suger/water mash?

[Jrogers3350]

First off I just wanted to say thanks for putting this up here, my family has a lot of heritage in the moonshine era and me and my brother have been wanting to take a gander down that road. After reading this plus doing some more research I think i've found most of the information i need. This has definitely helped out a bunch. Only question i have is have you ever heard/thought of using a beer keg as the pot? I've been doing a little research into this as i have an extra one laying around and thinking about using it. Just wanted to know if maybe there was any dangers i should be aware of depending on the type of metal it is and such... thanks so much again!!!

[scoonr]

beer kegs are stainless steel and work quite well for your pot. I assume you have already found some instruction on how to make your still. Mine is a column reflux type and I have just made my first batch. It worked very well although it was pretty expensive. by the time i got raching rings (small ceramic rings for condensation in the column) I was into it around $600.00, sure hope I like the taste of the stuff as it will take some time to break even. The experience alone of making some is worth most of what I have spent.

[pdub77]

Thanks for the info, scoonr. Care to share any pics?

[scoonr]

hi pdub here are the pics i promised. beer keg on a banjo burner. 36 inch tall reflux shown here making distilled water.

[pdub77]

That's fantastic! This is taking it to the next level. Thank you so much for sharing.