How to Make Moonshine

In the days of prohibition those who wanted a drink turned to making their own alcohol from easily obtained ingredients. This mixture was known as moonshine. Here is the recipe used all those years ago to turn some corn, water and barley into something special.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 50 lbs corn meal
• 15 lbs ground malt barley
• 40 gallons of water
• 6 oz yeast
• 2Large pots
• Copper tubing coiled

1. Boil the water. Heat the water until it reaches a rolling boil

2. Add corn meal. Add the corn meal and remove from the heat.

3. Cool down. Allow the corn meal and water to cool down to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Add malt barley. Add the malt barely and allow to sit for an hour. This will change the corn starch into sugar.

5. Cool mixture to 90 degrees. When the moonshine mixture reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit add the yeast and stir well.

6. Allow to distill. Let the mixture sit for three days undisturbed. This mixture is now known as mash.

7. Heat the mash. After the three days is over heat the mash to 176 degrees Fahrenheit to separate the water from the alcohol.

8. Capture the vapor. Use a coil of copper tubing immersed in cold water to capture the vapor. The other end of the copper tubing should run into a large clean pot.

9. What enters the clean pot is called moonshine. Drink responsibly and enjoy.

Tips & Warnings

• Alcohol boils off at 176 degrees Fahrenheit while water vaporizes at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
• It is illegal in some places to make your own alcohol. Check with your local laws before starting your first batch of moonshine.

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Resources

• Moonshine Mix Recipes

[CrystalZoom]

on 5/3/2009 Yes it is dangerous to drink the first I was just reading on wikiHow about it.

[soanyway]

on 11/29/2008 Well then....lot's of comment's on this one! capturing the "vapor" needs more explaining to me.

[PrettyDemitris]

on 10/5/2007 NUengineer05, if you are an engineer why can't you spell illegal or alcohol... or distilled? I have a hard time taking you seriously...

[JaneHutchi]

on 8/30/2007 Response to "It will make you blind" comment. Please refer to source for complete quote (FAQ #3) and more info: http://homedistiller.org/

"Will [distilling] make me blind?
Not if you're careful. This pervasive question is due to moonshine lore, which abounds with myths of blindness, but few actual documented cases. The concern is due to the presence of methanol (wood alcohol), an optic nerve poison, which can be present in small amounts when fermenting grains or fruits high in pectin. This methanol comes off first from the still, so it is easily segregated and discarded, and easily observed via changes in the vapour temperature. A simple rule of thumb for this is to throw away the first 50 mL you collect (per 20 L mash used). Probably the greatest risk to your health during distilling is the risk of fire - collecting a flammable liquid near a heat source. So keep a fire extinguisher

[NUengineer05]

on 8/29/2007 THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS
If you drink what is called the "First Runnings" you can go blind
The alcohol vapors are explosive
It is leagal to ferment (Brew Beer, Make Wine) in almost every state in various quantities
It is ILLEAGAL in all states to distil Alcohal