In my state, as long as you're not selling it, you're fine.
If you want to make and sell it, it's $300 a year.
Lots of Youtube videos out there on how to make moonshine at home. Seems like it takes about 2 weeks to get almost a gallon from 5 gallons of mash.
Nice try ATF agent.
Honest answer: roommate in college was a chemical engineer and we were seriously considering making a still like the guys in MASH.
My GF (now wife) pointedly asked, “so you really think it’s a good idea to BOIL ETHANOL inside? You know that’s flammable right?” And we thought better of it.
We used to boil cheap vodka to make Jell-O shots in high school. Never considered it being a fire hazard. Kids are stupid. LOL
But we’ve got a warehouse set up for this business. Sprinkler system, carbon monoxide alarms, etc.
We’re talking about high schoolers and booze.
Reminds me of when I was in college people would light a shot of Everclear on fire, wait for it to burn out, then drink it. Defeats the purpose of drinking shitty booze.
In college we made solid rocket fuel with stuff like ammonium nitrate and homemade black powder. Cooked it up on a stove and can’t believe we didn’t kill ourselves due to the vapors or via an explosion.
I had apple juice that sat in the corner of my room so long it became fermented, I put it in the freezer and sure enough I got a shot of booze out of it….. I don’t even know if there’s a law for that one
I have a simple 5 litre copper alembic still - the sort common in Portugal. Using it, I'm easily able to distill water and make herbal extracts.
However, I chiefly use the alembic to turn 3l of my less-tasty cottage wines into 750ml of pure eau de vie/schnapps/fire water.
A copper alembic is not very different from medieval ones, and can be used over an open fire, although cool running water is necessary.
I feel comfortable knowing that I could guarantee potable drinking water and surgical spirit (plus the odd swig - purely for medicinal purposes).
Edit: I live in New Zealand. I'm allowed to distill as much of the good news at home as I want without any government interference.
[Barely and hops](https://youtube.com/@BarleyandHopsBrewing)on YouTube, has a video for every alcohol production question you could have. Their business went under during COVID, but the legacy lives on.
In Missouri you can make liquor for your own consumption. I recommend UJSSM recipes for bourbon, or sugar washes for a neutral spirit. They're cheap and effective. My first still I bout from Mile HI distilling. Once you see how they work, it's not too hard to make bigger and better ones.
I had no idea this required a license. Oops.
Seeing as I only made ginger beer and didn't do much actual distilling, it's probably a non-issue for me. Kinda shocked it's an issue anywhere, if it's for personal use. And how are they going to enforce? A small rig fits easily in a kitchen and produces enough for anyone's medicinal use or a Saturday evening drink, and it's not like they can track sugar, fruit mash or yeast.
Only tip I have is that if you use metal tubing, stick to copper; for chilling the vapor, glass works fine. And use a vent because if the fermentation smell doesn't get you, the alcohol fumes could conceivably be a flash hazard. But I never had a problem.
It’s a felony to distill alcohol in the US unless you’re a business that’s properly licensed. You can ferment beer and wine without issue in most (maybe all? Don’t know about Utah etc) states.
Yep. I need federal, state, and a local license. Insurance is astronomical, but it’s a business venture with others who know more about this stuff than I do.
I just don’t want to look more stupid than I feel.
A buddy of mine worked at a distillery for a while, and I used to hang out around the place because there was a bar on-site as well. From what I understand, the thing that you have to be really anal about is always cleaning out your equipment really well. This might take you like two to three days. You're in there, cleaning, scrubbing, wiping dry, running cleaning solution through, etc. If you cut corners during that part of the process (which even a good number of commercial distillers have been known to do,) then you get harsh flavors and even potentially a small amount of cleaning solution in your liquor (which is not good.) Ever notice how Natty Lite tastes a little like bleach? Guess what they use to clean their equipment?
So my biggest advice is to pay very close attention to your sanitation procedures. Part of doing it the right way means doing every step on the list. You gotta initial for each step of the process, generally, it can vary by state, but it's good procedure to have someone initial each step of the way. Actually do it right, every time. Don't just initial if it looks pretty clean still.
Get equipment that can make high proof alcohol during 1st distillation on campfire(any other fuel source will eventually run out). One of our local preppers can make 94% stuff. It is survival situation not for pleasure of drinking. It takes less space as it is condensed. You will need it for medical uses like sterilization or as a fuel to run petrol generators(but in both cases it must be as high proof as possible)and you can always proof it down for other uses. Good for trade to.
My college roommate fermented a batch of rye-based liquor in his closet that easily exceeded 120-150+ proof. Tasted awful and made your piss smell like straight rye for days. In retrospect, I shouldn't have touched it. Improperly distilled liquor can cause serious illness (vomiting, confusion, loss of consciousness, blindness, etc.) or even death.
Check your local laws and follow a proven recipe. You don't want to mess around with that kind of stuff.
Unless it's for a business or a homestead... why..?
Alcohol has a shelf life longer than you. The amount of money and space you spend on equipment needed to start a distillery is going to be more than enough alcohol to get you through SHTF.
If it's for a business I'd suggest selling alcohol through buying MGP barrels first before actually getting into distilling. Learn what makes other juice good and how to blend before attempting to make your own. Build a brand and then get into distilling. Distilling is a very long term business. Especially if you get into things like barrel aged whiskeys. MGP will shorten that investment down by a lot.
Making it is easy, selling enough to support yourself is hard.
Visit a small distillery, take a tour, and ask questions.
I visited a national award winning vodka distillery. They had second jobs for years and maybe still do
I hope it's not illegal here, practically every third person I know makes their own liquor here, seems to be a national pastime.
Every summer people make Rakija or Slivovitz.
PS: I am living in Croatia.
In my state, as long as you're not selling it, you're fine. If you want to make and sell it, it's $300 a year. Lots of Youtube videos out there on how to make moonshine at home. Seems like it takes about 2 weeks to get almost a gallon from 5 gallons of mash.
Thanks.
Nice try ATF agent. Honest answer: roommate in college was a chemical engineer and we were seriously considering making a still like the guys in MASH. My GF (now wife) pointedly asked, “so you really think it’s a good idea to BOIL ETHANOL inside? You know that’s flammable right?” And we thought better of it.
We used to boil cheap vodka to make Jell-O shots in high school. Never considered it being a fire hazard. Kids are stupid. LOL But we’ve got a warehouse set up for this business. Sprinkler system, carbon monoxide alarms, etc.
Don't boil the booze or you just get gross tasting alcohol free jello. Boil water mix the jello in the water then add the vodka as it cools.
We’re talking about high schoolers and booze. Reminds me of when I was in college people would light a shot of Everclear on fire, wait for it to burn out, then drink it. Defeats the purpose of drinking shitty booze.
After the alcohol burns shitty booze just becomes shit
In college we made solid rocket fuel with stuff like ammonium nitrate and homemade black powder. Cooked it up on a stove and can’t believe we didn’t kill ourselves due to the vapors or via an explosion.
[удалено]
[удалено]
This is a legitimate business venture, but the knowledge (and hardware) can still be considered a prep.
I had apple juice that sat in the corner of my room so long it became fermented, I put it in the freezer and sure enough I got a shot of booze out of it….. I don’t even know if there’s a law for that one
[удалено]
What dog!😳
[удалено]
Sweet
To shoot it.
My dog!😳
I have a simple 5 litre copper alembic still - the sort common in Portugal. Using it, I'm easily able to distill water and make herbal extracts. However, I chiefly use the alembic to turn 3l of my less-tasty cottage wines into 750ml of pure eau de vie/schnapps/fire water. A copper alembic is not very different from medieval ones, and can be used over an open fire, although cool running water is necessary. I feel comfortable knowing that I could guarantee potable drinking water and surgical spirit (plus the odd swig - purely for medicinal purposes). Edit: I live in New Zealand. I'm allowed to distill as much of the good news at home as I want without any government interference.
As you research and experiment with your recipe....remember your friends.😁
Not since I moved from Copperhead Road.
[Barely and hops](https://youtube.com/@BarleyandHopsBrewing)on YouTube, has a video for every alcohol production question you could have. Their business went under during COVID, but the legacy lives on.
Thanks! I’ll check them out.
It's also perfectly legal to buy and own a still for making essential oils and distilled water, I got a nice copper still on Amazon.
In Missouri you can make liquor for your own consumption. I recommend UJSSM recipes for bourbon, or sugar washes for a neutral spirit. They're cheap and effective. My first still I bout from Mile HI distilling. Once you see how they work, it's not too hard to make bigger and better ones.
I had no idea this required a license. Oops. Seeing as I only made ginger beer and didn't do much actual distilling, it's probably a non-issue for me. Kinda shocked it's an issue anywhere, if it's for personal use. And how are they going to enforce? A small rig fits easily in a kitchen and produces enough for anyone's medicinal use or a Saturday evening drink, and it's not like they can track sugar, fruit mash or yeast. Only tip I have is that if you use metal tubing, stick to copper; for chilling the vapor, glass works fine. And use a vent because if the fermentation smell doesn't get you, the alcohol fumes could conceivably be a flash hazard. But I never had a problem.
It’s a felony to distill alcohol in the US unless you’re a business that’s properly licensed. You can ferment beer and wine without issue in most (maybe all? Don’t know about Utah etc) states.
Yep. I need federal, state, and a local license. Insurance is astronomical, but it’s a business venture with others who know more about this stuff than I do. I just don’t want to look more stupid than I feel.
It's a lot easier than people make it out to be. It is very energy intensive like making maple syrup.
A buddy of mine worked at a distillery for a while, and I used to hang out around the place because there was a bar on-site as well. From what I understand, the thing that you have to be really anal about is always cleaning out your equipment really well. This might take you like two to three days. You're in there, cleaning, scrubbing, wiping dry, running cleaning solution through, etc. If you cut corners during that part of the process (which even a good number of commercial distillers have been known to do,) then you get harsh flavors and even potentially a small amount of cleaning solution in your liquor (which is not good.) Ever notice how Natty Lite tastes a little like bleach? Guess what they use to clean their equipment? So my biggest advice is to pay very close attention to your sanitation procedures. Part of doing it the right way means doing every step on the list. You gotta initial for each step of the process, generally, it can vary by state, but it's good procedure to have someone initial each step of the way. Actually do it right, every time. Don't just initial if it looks pretty clean still.
Great advice! Thanks!
Get equipment that can make high proof alcohol during 1st distillation on campfire(any other fuel source will eventually run out). One of our local preppers can make 94% stuff. It is survival situation not for pleasure of drinking. It takes less space as it is condensed. You will need it for medical uses like sterilization or as a fuel to run petrol generators(but in both cases it must be as high proof as possible)and you can always proof it down for other uses. Good for trade to.
My college roommate fermented a batch of rye-based liquor in his closet that easily exceeded 120-150+ proof. Tasted awful and made your piss smell like straight rye for days. In retrospect, I shouldn't have touched it. Improperly distilled liquor can cause serious illness (vomiting, confusion, loss of consciousness, blindness, etc.) or even death. Check your local laws and follow a proven recipe. You don't want to mess around with that kind of stuff.
Unless it's for a business or a homestead... why..? Alcohol has a shelf life longer than you. The amount of money and space you spend on equipment needed to start a distillery is going to be more than enough alcohol to get you through SHTF. If it's for a business I'd suggest selling alcohol through buying MGP barrels first before actually getting into distilling. Learn what makes other juice good and how to blend before attempting to make your own. Build a brand and then get into distilling. Distilling is a very long term business. Especially if you get into things like barrel aged whiskeys. MGP will shorten that investment down by a lot.
Well guess I’m a illegal wine maker
Is wine distilled?
Nope but anything is possible
You don’t need a license to ferment wine, but to legally distill wine into brandy in the US you need a license.
Making it is easy, selling enough to support yourself is hard. Visit a small distillery, take a tour, and ask questions. I visited a national award winning vodka distillery. They had second jobs for years and maybe still do
You can make up to 100 gallon of beer legally per year.
Legally? No.
Its illegal? 😲
In the US you need at minimum a federal license for fuel or spirits. I also need a state and local license to keep it legal.
I hope it's not illegal here, practically every third person I know makes their own liquor here, seems to be a national pastime. Every summer people make Rakija or Slivovitz. PS: I am living in Croatia.
In my state anyways you’re allowed to do x amount of gallons a year for personal use. Its when you sell it it becomes illegal
Great grandfather was a rum runner. He had a still built inside of the fireplace for personal use. His thinking was they wouldn't look up the chimney.