Posted: 4/18/2008 9:54:31 AM EDT
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Ok... haven't been on in a good while. Anyway on to my question.. Is it illegal to make "moonshine"? I mean i know its illegal to make with the intent to sell, but is it illegal to make for personal consumption? They have the make your own beer kits and other various kinds of liqour but i didnt know if this carried over to running a "mini" still  On another note its good to see GD is still full of fun shit to read... Roughnck |
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I asked our lurking ATFE agent this question exactly. He told me that while it is not prohibited, the red tape necessary makes it impractical for a small scale guy like me. You have to have state inspections done, and pay taxes and fees. Your location has to be approved for the intended use, etc. |
All that just to make it for personal use? Kinda ridiculous.... |
yep. the agent I asked actually had raided a guy who had a still in his garage. He (the accused) said his shine tasted nasty and he was using it to run his lawnmower. JBT  didn't say how bad they reamed him, but any of their attention would be unpleasant.
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How does this not apply to those who have home brewery kits? I mean i know there is a huge difference in alc content but i mean come on... |
The law was changed in the '70s to allow home brewing/wine making of limited quantities. |
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You can make beers and wines at home up to 200 gallons per household. If you want to make something that taste good and has a kick, make some wine that you like; or buy some, put it in the freezer for a day and scoop the ice out of it. That is called 'fortifying'. It reduces the non alcohol content of the wine. |
You beat me to it. I was going to suggest "Ice Beer." |
Oh... interesting. I just put some cheap shit in the freezer. I'll see how it comes out. |
In context, the o.p. was asking about distilling at home, which obviously means that the .gov wouldn't be aware and wouldn't get their cut. My answer was correct within that context. The question was obviously not about starting your own .gov registered / taxed distillery. |
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You can make better spirits than you can afford to buy if you do it right. It's all in the proper equipment and processing. I have tasted someone elses attempts and it was putrid. The stuff that was made by people close to me was like drinking Red Breast or even better. Those days are long gone for me now. I don't even have an overdue library book these days. eta, it's a lot of work too! Not near as romantical as seen on TV. |
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distilled spirits are illegal without a license. beer, wine, cider, mead, cyser, etc. can be made at home with little restriction. the only real one is that you cant produce more than 100 gallons annually, unless two people above 21 lives with you, then you are allowed 200 gallons total. also, do not sell homebrew. you might sell bottles and caps, but the liquid is to have no value. |
that's the point. make the hoops innumerable and arbitrary, and people won't try to jump through them. i'd love to make some of my own apple brandy, but as long as it's still illegal to do so, i'll just stick with making my own hard cider. a good (read: REALLY hard) apple wine will come out of the secondary at about 18%alcohol. couple glasses of that stuff, and nobody can see straight. |
5 gallons apple juice 2 pounds corn sugar 1 packet red star montrachet yeast. that is some of the best apfelwein ever. It is not my design though. it belongs to Edwort at homebrewtalk.com |
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I never knew... there are always kids in the bars bragging about making it... which im sure tastes like shit and they try to sell it for 70 a jar. I never knew the legalities and never felt like paying 70 dollars for a jar of piss water. I guess now i know and will be trying ice beer tonight when i get back from the Jason Boland and Aaron Watson concert at Ghrams... Anybody ever seen them live? I know JB and Stragglers put on a hell of a show not sure about AW. They almost cancelled the concert because of all the polygamist kids that they are housing in my town... fuckin ridiculous.
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Thanks, I saved that... not sure if i'll ever atttempt it but i might.
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Edwort is a GOD among men for that recipie, i've got two 5 gallon batches going right now. and if you want a bit more kick double up the sugar to 3 or 4 pounds and the montrachet will still ferment it dry. |
Both are just as illegal as distillation, I believe. |
Holy shit is this true? Ya'll have lead me astray lol
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Yep. Although I have done it, unintentionally. Since the "decanting" happened when I opened the can and drank it, it was probably legal. But that first half can got me wasted. |
well shit... now im going to hae to make some kind of homebrew lol |
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FYI IIRC. You can own a still if it is 1 gallon or less, and for water purification only. Also, you can own a large still for alternative fuel use. But you need a permit. If you live in New Zealand, it is completely legal to distill. Check out their cool website here: www.homedistiller.org/ You can home brew beer and wine legally in the states. |
It is apparently a large paperwork problem, but doable. |
FAIL! It is illegal to distill spirits without paying the Federal excise tax (and meeting any and all state and local laws). Since 1978 Congress passed legislation exempting home brewed beer and fermented wine from Federal excise tax (you can't sell what you make unless you pay the Federal excise taxes and meet any and all state and local laws). Liquor is distilled. Moonshine is liquor. Whiskies of all types, vodka, gin, vodka, rum, brandy, etc. is distilled. Beer (ales, porters, lagers, stouts, etc.) are not liquor. Wine (unfortified) is not liquor. |