Is it legal to make moonshine in the U.S.?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Is it legal to make moonshine in the U.S.? (Page 1 of 3)

Posted: 2/5/2010 7:58:25 AM EDT

Subject says it all...some friends and I were talking about it at work.

Posted: 2/5/2010 7:58:59 AM EDT

[#1]

see city/state laws

Posted: 2/5/2010 7:59:05 AM EDT

[#2]

You cannot distill your own whiskey.

Posted: 2/5/2010 7:59:23 AM EDT

[#3]

is this a serious question?

Posted: 2/5/2010 7:59:35 AM EDT

[#4]

no

Posted: 2/5/2010 7:59:56 AM EDT

[#5]

What's your definition of moonshine?

Posted: 2/5/2010 7:59:58 AM EDT

[#6]

Not if you get caught.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:00:28 AM EDT

[#7]

Hope , a whole Government sponsered Plant to make it opened in my town a month ago they are shipping it out in trains and tanker loads!!!

You can smell the grain a fermenting!!

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:00:55 AM EDT

[#8]

Watch out for the tax men. Don't matter who it is for.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:01:13 AM EDT

[#9]

Sure, is, I can go to the liquor store and buy corn liquor in mason jars thats 100% legal. You just have to jump through the hoops with the BATFE and follow state and local regs, and have lots of capitol to start your own distillery.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:01:53 AM EDT

[#10]

Cue that verse in "Rocky Top..."

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:01:54 AM EDT

[#11]

Yes up to a certain quantity
Also, no selling of your product without a license

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:02:29 AM EDT

[#12]

It is not legal to make moonshine.
It is very easy to make moonshine.
The last published figures I saw said there were no moonshine busts in the last few years. I think the figures were from 2007.
It is legal to use a still to distill water and also essential oils.
Stills can legally be purchsed on internets.
It many states it is easy to get a permit to distill fuel alcohol; the equipment and process are very similar.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:03:16 AM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Yes up to a certain quantity
Also, no selling of your product without a license

WTF??? Can you back that up?

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:03:17 AM EDT

[#14]

No. You have to get all kinds of licenses. And if its legal, its not really moonshine

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:03:55 AM EDT

[#15]

You can make so much beer and wine for personal consumption, why would hard liquor be any different?

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:05:16 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:

You can make so much beer and wine for personal consumption, why would hard liquor be any different?

Who said laws were rational?

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:06:50 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Yes up to a certain quantity
Also, no selling of your product without a license

No, just.... no

You can make beer and wine up to certain amounts without a license, for personal consumption.
No distillation at all without a special tax stamp and/or ATF permit.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:07:53 AM EDT

[#18]

You can get a permit to make Ethanol but if somebody puts it to their lips.............it's not legal anymore !

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:09:11 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
You can make so much beer and wine for personal consumption, why would hard liquor be any different?

Because legally it is.

You can not privately distill liquor. Beer and wine are not distilled.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:09:46 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Yes up to a certain quantity
Also, no selling of your product without a license

FAIL !

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:12:54 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
Subject says it all...some friends and I were talking about it at work.

I hope it is....

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:15:02 AM EDT

[#22]

Yes, you can make as much moonshine as you want as long as you pay the tax which is 13 dollars per gallon, depending on the proof.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:15:07 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Yes up to a certain quantity
Also, no selling of your product without a license

FAIL !

Yep, only beer/wine to a certain amount. Any distillation is illegal unless you're a licensed producer.

A little kid can't even ferment table scraps and distill the alcohol out for a Bunsen burner or little steam engine as a science fair project.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:15:19 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:

Quoted:

You can make so much beer and wine for personal consumption, why would hard liquor be any different?

Who said laws were rational?

(I don't want to derail this thread) but a bunch of GD'ers seem to think that laws = unquestionable rational baseline to build logical arguments off of...

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:16:01 AM EDT

[#25]

Yes, you can make your own alcohol, but only for personal consumption. Kinda like how you can make your own gun, but can't sell it to anyone else without the proper licenses and whatnot. Thank Jimmy Carter for it, it was one of the few good things he did while president.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:19:09 AM EDT

[#26]

Yes you can!!! You can get a permit(stamp) to produce your own Bio-fuel, In this case it would be ethanol. It wont permit consumption or resale of said product. My old-man a permit. He has a six foot fractioning colum atop a full keg in his shop. He also gets the small ethanol producer's tax credit too.

Batf permit takes about a month

You have to list type of Alcohol distilation plant........Small 10000gal a year or less, medium 10000-500000 gal a year, large 500k plus a year
place a bond and a buch of other crap...

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:21:20 AM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
Yes, you can make your own alcohol, but only for personal consumption. Kinda like how you can make your own gun, but can't sell it to anyone else without the proper licenses and whatnot.

Wrong on both counts, but for different reasons.

Alcohol yes - in the form of fermented spirits such as beer or wine. Never, ever by distillation without a license.

You can make guns for personal use, AND later sell those guns if you wish. But you cannot make them for the PURPOSE of reselling without a manufacturing license.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:21:26 AM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
Yes you can!!! You can get a permit to produce your own Bio-fuel, In this case it would be ethanol. It wont permit consumption or resale of said product. My old-man a permit. He has a six foot fractioning colum atop a full keg in his shop.

I heard that if you do that you are legally required to mix in a certain % of gasoline so you cant consume it. Is that true?

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:21:29 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Yes up to a certain quantity
Also, no selling of your product without a license

WTF??? Can you back that up?

No because its not true. You can make any quanity you want for personal use or selling if you jump through the government hoops and pay the taxes, you can not make any quanity legally without doing that.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:21:50 AM EDT

[#30]

The following is for "personal" consumption.

Beer - Yes, no taxation can't sell it.

Wine - Yes, no taxation can't sell it.

Liquor - Yes, but you have to pay taxes on it and you can't sell it.

For selling you just have to pay taxes on it and it has to be approved for resale.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:22:24 AM EDT

[#31]

i am not a 100%, but during a criminal justice class this very subject came up. teacher (also a MD lawyer) said that it is legal to make moonshine up to a certain amount without a taxe stamp or license so long as it is for personal consumption.
He also said that so long as you do not advertise what you are doing or become a huge operation, the BATFE has better things to do.
YMMV

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:22:31 AM EDT

[#32]

Buddy of mine back in the 9th grade use to make it in his bedroom out of a crock pot. Would bring it to school, and by 3:00 be dirt bag drunk

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:23:20 AM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
Yes up to a certain quantity
Also, no selling of your product without a license

wrong.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:24:56 AM EDT

[#34]

Somewhere, the ATF goons trolling this thread are perking up and saying "Oh yeah! That's what the A stands for!" as they fire up the SWAT bus.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:25:18 AM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Yes up to a certain quantity
Also, no selling of your product without a license

wrong.

Legal in Oklahoma I believe, but only a certain quantity and not for sale.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:28:03 AM EDT

[#36]

IBP.
In Before Popcorn.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:28:21 AM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Yes up to a certain quantity
Also, no selling of your product without a license

wrong.

Legal in Oklahoma I believe, but only a certain quantity and not for sale.

That would be wrong....

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:31:49 AM EDT

[#38]

it is not legal. just did a little more online research and found that in 78 carter made it legal to homebrew wine and beer, but not to distill your own liquor.
bill was introduced in 2001 to make moonshining legal but it never made it out of committee.
there you go, it is not legal.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:31:55 AM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:
i am not a 100%, but during a criminal justice class this very subject came up. teacher (also a MD lawyer) said that it is legal to make moonshine up to a certain amount without a taxe stamp or license so long as it is for personal consumption.
He also said that so long as you do not advertise what you are doing or become a huge operation, the BATFE has better things to do.
YMMV

I'm glad you're not 100%, because it's wrong. (edit, saw your own correction.)

People take the beer/wine limit for personal use, and somehow keep extending that into distilled spirits. Which you can't do with out the appropriate paperwork and taxes to the Treasury Dept./BATFE, period.

Think of distillation of any spirt like the NFA of the alcohol world. Just like you can make a Title 1 firearm in your basement to your hearts content if you're not selling them without any paperwork or registration. However, you can't home build a SBR, SBS, MG, or AOW without going through the NFA approval process and applicable taxes.

So yes it can be done "legally" but what most people mean when they say "legal" DIY distilled spirit, they really mean "without any taxes or oversight like you can beer and wine". There is no such thing in the USA.

And in the "land of the free" it's not a new thing, and dates even further back than the time of Prohibition. This goes back all the way to 1791 and the Whiskey Rebellion.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:35:41 AM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Yes, you can make your own alcohol, but only for personal consumption. Kinda like how you can make your own gun, but can't sell it to anyone else without the proper licenses and whatnot.

Wrong on both counts, but for different reasons.

Alcohol yes - in the form of fermented spirits such as beer or wine. Never, ever by distillation without a license.

You can make guns for personal use, AND later sell those guns if you wish. But you cannot make them for the PURPOSE of reselling without a manufacturing license.

Say whaaaat......So someone can legally make a zip gun or the like? Does it have to be registered? Details please..........

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:37:20 AM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:

Quoted:
You can make so much beer and wine for personal consumption, why would hard liquor be any different?

Who said laws were rational?

Prohibitionists aren't rational. They're like anti-gunners in that regard.z

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:38:47 AM EDT

[#42]

First you need to be a hillbilly, and be married to your sister

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:40:06 AM EDT

[#43]

No, he dosent cut his ethanol that i know of. What i do know is that it is a big deal for him to store any real amount of ethanol.Fire mashal jams him up all the time. think he has to keep it outside in a poly-barrel in a small concrete walled spill pit.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:40:29 AM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Yes up to a certain quantity
Also, no selling of your product without a license

wrong.

Legal in Oklahoma I believe, but only a certain quantity and not for sale.

That would be wrong....

Wow, be right back!

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:46:10 AM EDT

[#45]

As others have already posted, no it is not legal, unlike homebrew beer/wine. Plenty of people buy/make stills intended for water distillation though. Being a gun owner though I've seen what happens when the atf decides to get involved in people's lives and wouldn't dream of inviting that man into my life.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:49:49 AM EDT

[#46]

Do not go to http://www.homedistiller.org/

Do not read the large and well visited forum.

Do not follow any advice or methods you read there.

Specifically avoid discussion of Reflux Column Stills.
You have been warned.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:51:27 AM EDT

[#47]

Legal to make beer and wine for self consumption. Liquor is NOT.
Revenuers will come take you to jail.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:52:58 AM EDT

[#48]

Quoted:

Do not go to http://www.homedistiller.org/

Do not read the large and well visited forum.

Do not follow any advice or methods you read there.

Specifically avoid discussion of Reflux Column Stills.

You have been warned.

I think I'll go so I know how to identify someone who is ignoring the law.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:53:02 AM EDT

[#49]

I always thought that this varied right down to the local level where in some counties or corp. limits you could make anything to drink as long as you don't sell it and keep it under specified amounts. Others beer and wine only-don't sell it and don't make too much, others yet-don't make nothin with alcohol ever. So i'd say check and see where you are to be sure.
Really though what the hell as long as you aren't selling it or parading around passing it out to minors or something equally stupid and just a make a li'l hootch for yourself it probably wouldn't ruffle no feathers none.

Posted: 2/5/2010 8:54:53 AM EDT

[#50]

You can make beer, wine, mead, etc at home. Fermentation is ok.
Distillation is not.

Kharn

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Is it legal to make moonshine in the U.S.? (Page 1 of 3)

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