I know we have a lot of home-brewers, but does anyone have a still?

[TheGreenspanator]

I forget how this came up in conversation, but my husband and I know people who make their own homemade wine and beer, but I don't think I know anyone who has a still. Maybe because I'm in PA and not in the mountains of PA? I don't know. We both think having a still would be way cooler. But I figured at least a couple of you would have some insight. Can you make your own white whiskey for your own consumption? (I realize I can google this.)

[Tornado2dr]

I forget how this came up in conversation, but my husband and I know people who make their own homemade wine and beer, but I don't think I know anyone who has a still. Maybe because I'm in PA and not in the mountains of PA? I don't know. We both think having a still would be way cooler. But I figured at least a couple of you would have some insight. Can you make your own white whiskey for your own consumption? (I realize I can google this.)

I'm pretty sure you can make your own for your own consumption - but when the tax-man cometh, he'd better not find an acre site and tons of corn-mash.

we made a stovetop-still in college and got everyone seriously hammered off of what amounted to cherry flavored gasoline. Good times.

[synthsis]

I've been kicking around the idea of a still. I found a super easy DIY on youtube a while back the involved a hot-plate, pressure cooker, and some copper tubing more or less.

[Tornado2dr]

I've been kicking around the idea of a still. I found a super easy DIY on youtube a while back the involved a hot-plate, pressure cooker, and some copper tubing more or less.

This is what we did but on the small burner of the stove

[Hostile]

My junior year of college I lived with a guy who was from Franklin County, VA- "The Moonshine Capital of the World". He used to bring back mason jars with him after vacations, some with just moonshine and others with cherries fermenting in moonshine.

[Der Schaltwerks]

It's against the law.

[ATL_Av8r]

Not sayin'

[sirswank]

still illegal to distill without a license, regardless of amount or intent (home use vs reselling)

[backinthegame]

I started to put one together about 15 years ago but lost patients and interest. My neighbor has a brother that makes "Apple pie" regularly and hooks me up with a few jars. It's basically apple flavored everclear. Good ****.

[ATL_Av8r]

I started to put one together about 15 years ago but lost patients and interest. My neighbor has a brother that makes "Apple pie" regularly and hooks me up with a few jars. It's basically apple flavored everclear. Good ****.

A friend's bro-in-law makes that. Good ****....but it'll put hair on your taint

[JimmyD]

I started to put one together about 15 years ago but lost patients and interest.

Doctors shouldn't be making stills anyways.

[.LSinLV.]

I had one, but it blowed up. it blowed up real good!

[TheGreenspanator]

I started to put one together about 15 years ago but lost patients and interest. My neighbor has a brother that makes "Apple pie" regularly and hooks me up with a few jars. It's basically apple flavored everclear. Good ****.

Yeah we have friends from down south whose neighbors experiment with different flavors. The blackberry could take the paint off your car, but one time they filled a bottle that had a finger or two of peppermint schnapps left in the bottom? That stuff was awesome, AND it would knock you on your ass without you seeing it coming. Almost too smooth

[winstonsmith84]

I have (had) a tea kettle still that I ran on a hot plate in my garage. I have pretty much unlimited access to cider and apples in the fall, so I usually use that as my mash. My stuff is AWFUL. Last time I did it I made three runs and got about a quart. Awful stuff. Make you go blind and have retarded kids. I drank it, but still...

[Blk95VR6]

You can brew all you want as long as you're "legit", meaning you get taxed on what you sell (as I'm sure you all know).


...and I just found out yesterday that a friend died from some bad 'shine over the weekend...


Even with the advances in technology it can still be lethal for you...


Mike

[spdfrek]

My friends grandfather used to make some white lighting. That stuff was smooth and would sneak up on you.

[TErak66]

I have some in the fridge from my great uncle who's been making it for the better part of 50 years. It taste like burning all the way down.

[Vrucizzy]

I don't have a still.....yet. I do brew my own beer so I have a good start on some of the equipment needed. I've heard that some provinces here allow a small amount for personal consumption.

My grandfather does it back in Ontario though. He'll mostly make Croatian plumb brandy since it's what he did back home. Otherwise he may take older wine and distill it. He's tried puting oak chips in from wine kits to give it some flavour. It's no fined barrel aged whiskey by any means but it's drinkable.

At least with him, it's not about just getting all alcohol so he'll actually try to get some nice flavour out of it. It's probably close to the 50% range like most store bought liquors.

There's also an older guy here that I met while watching a soccer game at the Croatian centre that does a large amount of plumb brandy. It's nice to know I can get it locally in between visits to Europe.

[seymore15074]

It's against the law.

This!

[Air-over-water]

It's against the law.

So are a lot of things people do everyday.

[winstonsmith84]

large amount of plumb brandy.

You can ferment lead?

My family has some history with illicit liquor production dating back to the late 1800's, but nothing major. Just a still in the woods, like most of Appalachia. I have a couple bottles of wine/brandy/something I'm not about to open that came from a stash in my grandparents basement. It must have been pretty bad stuff if my alcoholic grandfather would not touch it.

[Air-over-water]

You can ferment lead?

Not without it leaving a metallic aftertaste.

[personman]

I had one, but it blowed up. it blowed up real good!

Lemme see if I can tell this story the right way...

My great-grandmother's brother-in-law set up a still in his basement back in the day. Went boom. They ended up moving into a chicken coop they were in the middle of constructing. The alcoholic brother-in-law came home drunk one night and blew his own brains across the wall with a shotgun, the sister sold the (coop) house to my great-grandmother.

That was the same great-grandmother who grew a pretty herb in her garden that my uncles would take to town and sell to supplement her social security.

The one family reunion I went to at that house was quite interesting.

[Egilbe]

My grandfather and his brother's had stills going during prohibition. 400 acres of corn between them and 3 cows to milk

[crashmtb]

Yes, hello, I have still. Many still. finest of bathtub west of Koblinsk!
It is to make BORISLAV'S!



Soon to be arriving, BORISLAV'S CITROEN!
Made with the zest of real Citroens!

[TheGreenspanator]

Yes, hello, I have still. Many still. finest of bathtub west of Koblinsk!
It is to make BORISLAV'S!



Soon to be arriving, BORISLAV'S CITROEN!
Made with the zest of real Citroens!

[Robstr]

The biggest thing that has prevented me from doing it is I'm not confident that I won't end up with a puddle of methnol and end up offing myself.

All things considered, it's pretty simple plumbing.

[winstonsmith84]

Soon to be arriving, BORISLAV'S CITROEN!
Made with the zest of real Citroens!

Please tell me it is fermented in the hydraulic spheres of 1000 old DS's.

[crashmtb]

Please tell me it is fermented in the hydraulic spheres of 1000 old DS's.

No, it is BORISLAV's. So, in bathtubs.
But it is made FROM fermented those!

[JimmyD]

The biggest thing that has prevented me from doing it is I'm not confident that I won't end up with a puddle of methnol and end up offing myself.

All things considered, it's pretty simple plumbing.

Soooo..... the possibility of federal charges weren't a deterrent?

[TheGreenspanator]

Soooo..... the possibility of federal charges weren't a deterrent?

I'm pretty sure the Feds have a lot bigger fish to fry than someone attempting to make a couple bottles of potentially nearly undrinkable liquor for their own private consumption

[FBMphil]

I have a bottle of laboratory distilled gin sitting on my desk. I am NOT f***ing trying it

[OSD#15]

My friends and I made one back when we were 16/17 because getting liquor in our town was such a pain in the ass. We actually brought it to school piece by piece and the shop teacher (unknowingly) built it for us It turned out to be very very well made. We made a few gallons of some nasty, sassy, dirty liquor. We also grew our own tobacco to make cigarettes with. A few months later, we discovered photoshop and made some IDs that looked legit enough to pass at the local liquor store and the still was never used again. My friends and I were pretty resourceful little punks back then

[kenny301]

It's against the law.

This

still illegal to distill without a license, regardless of amount or intent (home use vs reselling)

and this

I'm pretty sure the Feds have a lot bigger fish to fry than someone attempting to make a couple bottles of potentially nearly undrinkable liquor for their own private consumption

Well, you are posting about doing it on a high traffic public forum. You'd be surprised how many times the feds go for the minnow instead of the whale. They have the time and resources.

One of my local home brew stores sells stills, yeast, flavorings, etc for distilling spirits. However, you can only legally buy the still to distill water or herbs. You need a license to do anything else and it is notoriously difficult to get. Also, as said above, if you screw it up you could dead.

[winstonsmith84]

Well, you are posting about doing it on a high traffic public forum. You'd be surprised how many times the feds go for the minnow instead of the whale. They have the time and resources.

.

I'm pretty sure the revenuers are not gonna come up the holler with everything they have just cause I made a quart of horrendous liquor. I mean, hell... where is the evidence? I'm a notorious liar anyway.

****, I left a sippy cup full of applejuice under the seat of my car for a few weeks and it fermented. Is I going to FPMITAP?