Making Moonshine (Copper Pot Still)

Visit my website for more fun facts about whiskey at WWW.WHISKEYPRO.TUMBLR.COM

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• moonshine
• copper still

[craigery83]

so the first stuff that comes out is methanol, and should be disposed of correct?

[TheWhiskeypro]

@craigery83 Yes, roughly the first 3-5 oz you can just toss out

[TheWhiskeypro]

@craigery83 Yes, roughly the first 3-5 oz you can just toss out

[coozy100]

shits like rocket fuel. is this the *deemed safe to drink stuff* or the old radiator fluid stuff? because my uncle told me about shiners making there stuff out of radiator fluid *cuz its 100 percent Ethel alcohol* but it makes u go blind o.o. any tips?

[TheWhiskeypro]

@coozy100 I haven't heard anything about using radiator fluid but the alcohol I used was a beer made out corn, rye and barley. As for the going blind stuff, that refers to stills being made in the old days when some distillers would solder their stills with lead. So sometimes when people would drink this moonshine it would give them lead poisoning and cause problems such as blindness. Craft distillers today are typically much safer and create great tasting spirits that are safe to drink.

[oshilz]

how did u make ur paist?

[TheWhiskeypro]

@oshilz If you visit my website, there is an article explaining the process called luting the joints on your still (sorry i couldn't put the link youtube won't let me)

[soulevs]

@TheWhiskeypro actually there have been very few actual cases of people going blind, and it was because there were morons who tried to distill denatured alcohol (basically the govt adds methanol--an optic nerve poison similar to the ethanol you drink-- to alcohol not designed for consumption)

Lead wouldn't make you blind, it would make you brain dead, put you in a coma, and/or eventually kill you

[touchsmart0]

@craigery83 you can do a spoon test to find out whats good, with a spoon catch some shine coming out and set it a fire,

if it burns red your dead becuase u got lead in there,

if it burns yellow you got methanol and toss it,

if it burns blue your ready to start drinking

[EqualOpr2nityAnnoyer]

@coozy100 The stuff that makes you go blind is methanol, aka wood alcohol. That's a dead issue nowadays cuz that came from folks trying to use any and everything to make a buck, same goes for using radiators as stills. People would cut it with all sorts of nasty stuff, the equivalent of coke dealers stomping on product with some crap household chemicals to stretch out what they got. As far as the heads go it just tastes like $h!t, aint gonna kill you tho unless ur batch is bad anyway.

[CyberINetwork]

Whats moonshine?

[HumanZoo22]

@Ilovetheplatypus you are soooo right, people on youtube have nooo idea what the terms heads" "tails" and "cut" is when it comes to distilling.... people need to learn before you brew... Nice warning Platypus...

[Ilovetheplatypus]

@coozy100 Even if you're making a small batch at home you need to discard the first few shots because they will contain all of the hazardous alcohol. As the op said, heavy metal poisoning was also a possibility, but as far as I know blindness is not a symptom of lead poisoning. As for it being rocket fuel, I don't actually know of anyone using it to fuel a rocket, but it worked just fine in my truck when i once ran out of gas. Worked better than gas actually.

[Ilovetheplatypus]

@coozy100 Lol; don't know why I'm responding to a year old comment but here I go! Poor production from part-time shiners looking to make a little extra cash is what led to the problems back in the day. They didn't really use radiator fluid, but old radiators were used as a condenser in shitty stills. Also, if you're processing a big run, the first jar that comes off will be mostly methanol. People that actually sold the first jar were the reason for blindness and other sickness. Continued....

[Ncharlestun]

Cool your shine with Home Depot buckets, get two for your mash and one for your coil. Get a big hose for your inlet at the bottom and a smaller hose at the top to drain. Match fittings for your hoses and your bigger hose for your sink faucet. Unscrew the faucet aireator for your big hose. Drill your holes in the bucket the next size down of your fittings to ensure tight fit. Install your fittings. Seal with plumbers putty. Slide big hose on faucet. Use hose clamp if needed. Ice is no good.

[americanboy130]

@TheWhiskeypro another problem could also be methanol poisoning instead of lead

[americanboy130]

@coozy100 only methanol is a poison to your optic nerves, ethyl alcohol is the drinkable stuff, but if you dont like having just a shot of 100% ethyl and getting hella tipsy, just add enough water to dilute it to a safe drinking range, then you can add your own flavorings in.

original comment:

shits like rocket fuel. is this the *deemed safe to drink stuff*