Comments on: How to make moonshine

By: cc

cc — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 21:52:04 +0000

is there a way to test if you have methenal? i ran 3 gallon batch threw out first 100ml but also i did not start producing anything until it hit 185 degrees and it was not a constant drip what does that mean is it still good? if the temp droped it would slow production down. does that mean i produced meythenal?

By: Cam from AZ

Cam from AZ — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 19:50:04 +0000

Not sure what that 10 lbs of corn meal is for in the context of this recipe. Cooking your corn meal in water at 150 F (even up to 180 F) is great for releasing the starches contained in the corn, but, in my understanding, just cooking it in water does not convert the starches into sugar, and sugar is what you need for yeast to make alcohol. Personally, I would heat the corn mash to 155 – 180 F, stirring constantly to prevent any burning on the bottom, for an hour or so, until it thickens up good. Then add Alpha Amylase, then hold that temp (appx 155 F) for about an hour while keeping it well stirred. The Alpha Amylase will convert the corn starches into long chain sugars, which ARE NOT FERMENTABLE. You should also notice a considerable thinning out of the mash as the stiff starches are converted to sugars. You then need to reduce the temp of the mash to the proper temp to add Gluco Amylase (usually around 150F – follow the Amylase manufacturers instructions for amounts and temps for both the Alpha, and the Gluco Amylase. Different Amylase’s will work best at different temps). Gluco Amylase will turn the long chain sugar molecules into short chained FERMENTABLE ones which yeast love to eat and turn into alcohol! Now taste it. It should be pretty sweet. Do an iodine test for remaining starch. It’s easy. Now would be the time to add some cool water to start bringing the temp down to about 90 – 100 F and pitch the yeast (proof it first in some warm sugar water). One thing you should do just before pitching the yeast is to pour your mash back and forth a few times between some (clean and sanitized) buckets to get it well aerated. Add sugar (dissolved in warm water), if necessary, after fermentation has begun. Might as well use corn sugar if you can. Adjust specific gravity of the mash to between 1.060 and 1.070 (ten sixty to ten seventy), adding sugar to raise the number, adding water to lower it. Now let it ferment until it’s done. Then, using layers of cheese cloth, strain it out really, really good, and you should have a nice wash for distilling. Make sure you get all the squeezin’s from the meal.
Good luck, hope that helps…

By: Bob Smead

Bob Smead — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 04:48:14 +0000

Good article…wow…do people still use car radiators? I thought that went out in the 1930s!?! OK…I’ve been reading a book called How to Master Moonshine I got on Amazon. It is great…really easy to understand and explains it in detail. I’ll take a stab at answering some questions/comments. First, an air still is quite usable…I’m assuming you mean those little table-top models. Only problem is they can’t process much at a time. Yes, you can quite safely distill wine into alcohol. I doubt he would get 80 percent on the first run though. Also bear in mind that you will get only the alcohol out of the wine, so if it’s 10 percent alcohol, that’s all you’ll get. It would probably be cheaper and easier to make your own moonshine out of sugar. How much yeast you use depends on how big your batch is. One packet of yeast from a wine or brew store is usually enough to ferment 5 or 6 gallons. Stick to wine, beer or turbo yeasts, not bread or bakers yeast. And blindness…if you use food-grade materials (not car radiators), and food safe ingredients (sugar, grain), there is almost no chance you’ll go blind. Methanol is produced in small amounts from grains …any fibrous material can produce methanol, plant matter, grains and obviously wood (wood alcohol is another name for methanol). But, if you wouldn’t eat it, why would you drink it? (I got that from the book!). Hope that helps!

By: PaulfromTexas

PaulfromTexas — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 23:15:02 +0000

Just FYI
Most blindness from moonshine results from the use of car radiators for cooling coils.

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 04:15:59 +0000

You don’t say how much yeast?

By: martha

martha — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 19:44:46 +0000

i am most interested in trying out this method ,i happen to like whiskey and just to make a small amount is all i’m after. here have a swig of granny’s moonshine wow !

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 18:29:10 +0000

I heard that a guy used wild Irish rose wine and distilled some moonshine by just pouring the wine into his pot and running it through. He claimed that it was skipping the first run completely and was ready to drink after only the first run. He also claimed it was around 80% alkyhall. Is there any truth in this at all?

By: Ray

Ray — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 21:53:02 +0000

Any suggestions on running an air still? How many times to run it through the stripping run?

By: Tameka Strzyzewski

Tameka Strzyzewski — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 17:21:55 +0000

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