I bought all the equipment I need back before Y2K. I can't drink it, but I sure know how to make it. The biology teacher made some in the lab when I was in school. It was almost pure alcohol. He had some in a watch glass and lit it. You couldn't see the fire, but you could feel it.
You can make alcohol from anything containing sugar or starch. In fact, when my parents were making lots of preserves, if they bought very much sugar at one time, they had to sign a register, sort of like the "poison book" at the drug store.
some of my family spent time in prison for this back in the day. guess what was used to bribe the guards when the rest of the family wanted to visit them?
I'd love to get started distilling, but can't exactly start up a still when the other family members are opposed to in your current area of residence. Until I move, it's just going to be some classic beer/cider/wine homebrewing for me.
I feel stupid for asking, but tell me more about why this is such a big deal--I was just reading somewhere else about all you need to do is learn to make alcohol so Im curious. And please experts, we all have things we can learn more about. Maybe bc I dont drink Im clueless on this but def intrigued to hear more
Distilling can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, my main concern would be methanol which is generally why the head is discarded. The shit can permanently blind or even kill you. It is very easy to make though and is definitely something I would consider. I have already developed proficiency at making wine, beer, and even hard apple cider......it's not too many more steps to distilling. Of course if I was distilling for profit I probably wouldn't put to much effort into the wort, corn, sugar, and water would be it for the fermenting process.
FYI, methanol isn't concentrated in any portion of the distillate, it's found in all parts, heads tails and hearts. Secondly, unless drinking the equivalent predistillate would kill/blind you, it's near impossible for the final product to, since distillation doesn't make extra methanol, it only concentrates it. Lastly, methanol being associated with home distilled spirits is a holdover from Prohibition from when the Feds intentionally poisoned batches with methanol to scare people away from illegal liquor still operations.
I understand it has to do with temperature and that you can get most of the bad stuff out early as methanol and alcohol are released at different temps....or so I read somewhere long ago. It's been awhile since I went down the distilling rabbit hole, thanks. I also read that methanol is a pretty useful solvent (just don't drink it).
When I was in Korea they roasted moth larvae on these grills outside at the market. They stunk so bad, the Koreans ate them from little cone cups like crunchy chips. Yuck
I've worked right next to a starbucks roasting plant for the last 10 years. Every once in a while it will smell terrible. Like the way a burnt pot of coffee smells like.
Get a bottle of store bought kombucha, drink all but 1 inch to the bottom, add tea and sugar, let sit covered with just a cloth until your scoby grows. Transplant into larger container and grow as much as you want. Watch out for fruit flies. The longer you grow the scoby, the more alcohol it produces.
WHEN the economy crashes...
fun thread on the functionality of TV stills https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3586
I bought all the equipment I need back before Y2K. I can't drink it, but I sure know how to make it. The biology teacher made some in the lab when I was in school. It was almost pure alcohol. He had some in a watch glass and lit it. You couldn't see the fire, but you could feel it.
You can make alcohol from anything containing sugar or starch. In fact, when my parents were making lots of preserves, if they bought very much sugar at one time, they had to sign a register, sort of like the "poison book" at the drug store.
some of my family spent time in prison for this back in the day. guess what was used to bribe the guards when the rest of the family wanted to visit them?
breaking bad: the early years
it will be nice if we can eventually be not anon.
Aren't bankers robbers too?
I'd love to get started distilling, but can't exactly start up a still when the other family members are opposed to in your current area of residence. Until I move, it's just going to be some classic beer/cider/wine homebrewing for me.
Let it shine, let it shine!
It starts with one thing
I feel stupid for asking, but tell me more about why this is such a big deal--I was just reading somewhere else about all you need to do is learn to make alcohol so Im curious. And please experts, we all have things we can learn more about. Maybe bc I dont drink Im clueless on this but def intrigued to hear more
And u can use it for fuel In Stoves, lamps etc.
Distilling can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, my main concern would be methanol which is generally why the head is discarded. The shit can permanently blind or even kill you. It is very easy to make though and is definitely something I would consider. I have already developed proficiency at making wine, beer, and even hard apple cider......it's not too many more steps to distilling. Of course if I was distilling for profit I probably wouldn't put to much effort into the wort, corn, sugar, and water would be it for the fermenting process.
FYI, methanol isn't concentrated in any portion of the distillate, it's found in all parts, heads tails and hearts. Secondly, unless drinking the equivalent predistillate would kill/blind you, it's near impossible for the final product to, since distillation doesn't make extra methanol, it only concentrates it. Lastly, methanol being associated with home distilled spirits is a holdover from Prohibition from when the Feds intentionally poisoned batches with methanol to scare people away from illegal liquor still operations.
~10k more people murdered by their own government.
I understand it has to do with temperature and that you can get most of the bad stuff out early as methanol and alcohol are released at different temps....or so I read somewhere long ago. It's been awhile since I went down the distilling rabbit hole, thanks. I also read that methanol is a pretty useful solvent (just don't drink it).
That's called knowing the cuts. This is more a problem of sketchy business practices (adulteration) than it is an actual skill-based issue.
When I was in Korea they roasted moth larvae on these grills outside at the market. They stunk so bad, the Koreans ate them from little cone cups like crunchy chips. Yuck
I've worked right next to a starbucks roasting plant for the last 10 years. Every once in a while it will smell terrible. Like the way a burnt pot of coffee smells like.
Get a bottle of store bought kombucha, drink all but 1 inch to the bottom, add tea and sugar, let sit covered with just a cloth until your scoby grows. Transplant into larger container and grow as much as you want. Watch out for fruit flies. The longer you grow the scoby, the more alcohol it produces.