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Quick Answer: How To Make Moonshine From Scratch

Procedure: Place your mash pot on its heat source and pour in 5 gallons of water. Heat water to 165 °F. Turn off heat source when you reach 165 °F and immediately stir in 8.5 pounds of Flaked Corn Maize. Stir mixture continuously for 7 minutes.

How long does moonshine take to make?

As you can see, the process of fermenting and distilling moonshine is quite time-consuming. In general, you can expect it to take between 1-3 weeks to make moonshine, as the mash must ferment and the distillation process must be continued until the final shine is safe for consumption.

How is real moonshine made?

Making moonshine or any other distilled alcohol consists of two processes: fermentation and distillation. Ethanol (alcohol) has a lower boiling point than water so it evaporates first from the boiling fermented mixture. The alcohol vapor is then cooled and condensed inside the condenser to a liquid form.

What is the main ingredient in moonshine?

“Moonshine” is distilled from the fermented sugar of a malt grains like oats, cornmeal, or wheat. A strong alcohol, the recipe for moonshine is very basic, which is why it has been popular throughout the years as something that can be made by amateur and professional distillers alike.

How strong is homemade moonshine?

Moonshine is usually distilled to 40% ABV, and seldom above 66% based on 48 samples. For example a conventional pot stills commonly produce 40% ABV, and top out between 60-80% ABV after multiple distillations.

How do you speed up the fermentation of moonshine?

So, say you brew 5 gallons of beer day one, aerate and pitch an adequate yeast pitch for that size beer, then put 5 more gallons on top of that 12-24 hours later you will drastically speed up fermentation time. Just be sure to aerate each batch well.

Is moonshine hard to make?

The process to make moonshine from scratch, starting with a corn mash to distilling is quite difficult and illegal without a license. There’s no need to go through this complicated process (with uncertain results) when we can legally buy 190 proof grain alcohol.

What do moonshiners use to make their moonshine?

Alcohol can actually be distilled from almost any kind of grain (the earliest American moonshiners used rye or barley), but virtually all moonshine made in the United States for the last 150 years has been made with corn.

What is in moonshine that makes it illegal?

One way the government has been able to market this law is by alluding to the idea that moonshine-making at home is unsafe, due to its potential to be tainted by toxic heavy metal particles. These arguably avoidable risks include tainting the spirit with methanol, which is known to cause blindness.

Is moonshine stronger than vodka?

Physically speaking, there is no real difference between vodka and moonshine. Both are unaged neutral spirits, usually cut with water to increase volume and produce a more drinkable product.

What alcohol is in moonshine?

Moonshine purists define the spirit as a homemade, unaged whiskey, marked by its clear color, corn base and high alcohol content—sometimes peaking as high as 190 proof. Traditionally, it was produced in a homemade still and bottled in a mason jar.

How do you make moonshine from scratch?

Procedure: Place your mash pot on its heat source and pour in 5 gallons of water. Heat water to 165 °F. Turn off heat source when you reach 165 °F and immediately stir in 8.5 pounds of Flaked Corn Maize. Stir mixture continuously for 7 minutes.

How much sugar do you put in a gallon of water for moonshine?

For example, for every 1 gallon of water, you would use 1 pound of sugar, and 1 pound of corn meal. So for a 5 gallon mash (which is recommended for your first batches of moonshine) you would use 5 gallons of water, 5 pounds of corn meal, and 5 pounds of sugar.

How fast does moonshine get you drunk?

Moonshine: 0-100 Real Quick Drunk You will be fine one second, then, very shortly after drinking, you’ll be HAMMERED. You’ll feel yourself soaring above the legal limit as you begin to move less like a sober person and more like a marionette controlled by the jerky-handed puppet master known as moonshine.

What is the highest percentage of alcohol in moonshine?

What Is The Highest Proof Moonshine. The highest proof moonshine you can make using distillation will be 191 proof (95.5% ABV). That’s because alcohol begins to attract moisture from the air at concentrations higher than 96% ABV, immediately diluting your moonshine.

What is the normal proof of moonshine?

On average, a proof moonshine could range somewhere between 100 to 150 proof. When you convert that alcohol by volume, 150 proof is equivalent to 75% alcohol by volume.

How do you increase fermentation speed?

How to Ferment Food Faster Use less salt. Add other bacteria (such as brine from another active ferment or whey). Keep the ferment in a warm spot (be careful not to be too warm; temperatures in the high 70s can slow and eventually prevent fermentation). Peel hard vegetables (like carrots or pickles).

How do you make alcohol ferment faster?

Pitching a bigger starter may help speed the fermentation a bit, but there’s no need to greatly overdo it. Another way to be sure you have enough yeast to get a rapid onset of fermentation is to pitch your new batch onto the yeast from a prior batch.

How can I make my mash ferment faster?

A mash fermenting at 80 degrees will ferment a lot quicker than a mash fermenting at 55 degrees. The amount of sugar is the mash will also play a big role in the amount of time needed for fermentation to finish. The more sugar in the mash the longer the fermentation will take.

Can I make moonshine for personal use?

Today, people make artisan moonshine out of a sense of nostalgia and preference for taste. These can be sold in liquor stores or brewed just for personal use. However, distilling alcohol at home, even for personal use, is illegal under federal law. These produced legal moonshine for sale and distribution.

Can you make moonshine at home?

While most states prohibit home moonshining, state laws sometimes conflict with federal law. But federal law trumps state law, and to the feds, distilling at home for personal consumption is illegal, period.

How much does it cost to make moonshine?

It costs around $8 per gallon for the sugar and wheat to make the moonshine. The selling price is around $25 a gallon if sold in bulk, or $40 for retail price.