Moonshining in the Blue Ridge

[MossRoad]

Most submarine pot stills were made from galvanized steel, not copper.

Here's a good read on that and a lot of other interesting reading on still types and techniques...

Still Types and Techniques – Blue Ridge Institute and Museum

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I'm pretty sure those are submarine pot stills, not mash tanks.

Possible... I'm no shiner, but I do know a few. I'll ask.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Most submarine pot stills were made from galvanized steel, not copper.

Here's a good read on that and a lot of other interesting reading on still types and techniques...

Still Types and Techniques – Blue Ridge Institute and Museum

I live about 15 miles from that museum.

 

[Oaktree]

Then again, I'm probably the only one who hadn't heard the term.

Well, there are at least two of us.
Didn't know people still did moonshine either, thought it died out when prohibition was repealed.

 

[Peter 315]

Well, there are at least two of us.
Didn't know people still did moonshine either, thought it died out when prohibition was repealed.

My next-door neighbor has a small still

 

[MossRoad]

I have my wife's grandfather's still. It's only about 2 gallons. He used it to make bandy out of wine that he made. And small batches of whiskey. It's an old copper pot with a copper watering can soldered to the drop of it, and a copper funnel upside down on top of that. Kinda neat to have that piece of his life. I, of course, have never used it to distill alcohol. That would be illegal.

 

[MossRoad]

I live about 15 miles from that museum.

Might be worth a visit.

 

[Fuddy1952]

We're not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
I'm pretty sure anyone can "still" make a certain amount of alcohol a year without problems. The trouble I'm thinking is selling it without Uncle Sucker getting tax revenue.

Watch "Laurel & Hardy - The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (1937) (Colour) (HD)" on YouTube
Laurel & Hardy - The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (1937) (Colour) (HD) - YouTube

 

[TnAndy]

How recently did moonshiners operate? That wellhouse looks way too new to date back to prohibition.

One operated on my property until the mid 70's when the old guy that did it and lived near my place finally died. I bought here in 1982, and have found numerous sites where he had one set up over the years, including the ax holes in 55gal drums where the ATF guys chopped them up.

Ole Clifford would often build his still on a dry ridge, and use tarpaper spread out up the hill as a trap for rainwater to collect in his mash barrel. I have to admire his work ethic looking at some of the places he would haul sugar and corn to, and finished product back down off of.

Lot of folks have laughed about my place over the years and asked "You make it too ?"

I tell them if I were gonna get in the liquor making business, I sure would NOT do it in the places Clifford did. I'd go to town, rent a warehouse with rail siding and loading dock, bring my raw materials in by the box car load, get my water from a tap, dump the waste down a city sewer and put up a big sing out front that said "ACME CHEMICAL COMPANY....DANGER, NO ENTRANCE" Make more product in a month or two than Ole Clifford made in a lifetime, then walk away from the whole thing.

 

[4570Man]

I have my wife's grandfather's still. It's only about 2 gallons. He used it to make bandy out of wine that he made. And small batches of whiskey. It's an old copper pot with a copper watering can soldered to the drop of it, and a copper funnel upside down on top of that. Kinda neat to have that piece of his life. I, of course, have never used it to distill alcohol. That would be illegal.

I’m not well read on alcohol laws, but isn’t distilling small volumes for personal consumption legal?

 

[TnAndy]

We're not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
I'm pretty sure anyone can "still" make a certain amount of alcohol a year without problems. The trouble I'm thinking is selling it without Uncle Sucker getting tax revenue.

While you can brew a certain amount of beer or wine for personal consumption, all distilled alcohol requires a federal permit & tax, last I knew of, even for personal consumption. If using for fuel, you have to contaminate it with gasoline or something so it can't be consumed.

 

[timbatrader]

Here in New Zealand you can distill for your own consumption haven't tried myself but quite popular here is a link to a still supplier NZ Made Parrot, Copper Condensers & Homebrew Stills

 

[bunyip]

I hadn't heard of Jake Leg but have heard of bath tub gin and why it is called that, home brew shops here have sold stills for a number of yearsbut are quick to point out that they are only for making perfume
After the still process I believe that two layers are removed, one is methyl alcohol which is what blinds you and the other has an acetone smell which won't kill you but will leave you with a memorable hangover, my understanding (I could be wrong here) is that the finished product settles in layers.
Bath tub gin was so called as it was churned out in bath tubs and only took a couple of days from start to finish unlike a fine malt, my father had a still in the retirement home he was in and was supplying the village with contraband we found out after his death, he was sorely missed.

 

[Fuddy1952]

While you can brew a certain amount of beer or wine for personal consumption, all distilled alcohol requires a federal permit & tax, last I knew of, even for personal consumption. If using for fuel, you have to contaminate it with gasoline or something so it can't be consumed.

That seems like a gray area. If making it for fuel, you could set some aside before adding gasoline.
I have a book here if I can find it by "Mother Earth News" in 70s-early 80s. One article shows a (late 60s 6 cyl I believe) Chevy pickup truck with a still in the bed. He had an alcohol carburetor so driving along, still would run making alcohol to run the truck. It showed he and his wife would pick up wood, paper, etc. found by road to burn.
Ingenious I thought.

 

[4570Man]

If you had to maintain the hassle of a fire why wouldn’t you just use steam?

 

[Jstpssng]

Gasification has been used in autos since the early days, and I believe was especially common in WWII. Here's a Model A on Hemmings powered by wood.
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2017/...on-or-why-we-dont-power-cars-with-wood-today/
There actually is quite a bit of info available on the internet regarding the subject.

 

[MossRoad]

We're not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
I'm pretty sure anyone can "still" make a certain amount of alcohol a year without problems. The trouble I'm thinking is selling it without Uncle Sucker getting tax revenue.

Watch "Laurel & Hardy - The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (1937) (Colour) (HD)" on YouTube
Laurel & Hardy - The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (1937) (Colour) (HD) - YouTube

Nope. It's against federal law to distill alcohol unless you have a distilled spirits permit or a federal fuel alcohol permit. No exceptions for small batches, personal use, etc...

You can make beer. You can make wine. You just can't distill it to up the alcohol content.

 

[MossRoad]

If you had to maintain the hassle of a fire why wouldn’t you just use steam?

Because you can't run steam in a combustion engine.

 

[MossRoad]

Gasification has been used in autos since the early days, and I believe was especially common in WWII. Here's a Model A on Hemmings powered by wood.
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2017/...on-or-why-we-dont-power-cars-with-wood-today/
There actually is quite a bit of info available on the internet regarding the subject.

Yep. But that's smoke, not firewater. :laughing:

 

[Jstpssng]

Yep. But that's smoke, not firewater. :laughing:

Ah, but it goes right in line with Fuddy's post # 54.