We show you how to make moonshine
at home using a pressure cooker still with our moonshine instructions,
and
we'll give you a peach moonshine recipe and a video for whiskey
moonshine. However, please check with
your
local authorities to see
if it is
legal to make shine in your area.
Some countries do not allow it at all, while some do, but only for
personal consumption.
Today's
bootlegger moonshiners make $40 a gallon for traditional corn moonshine
or $100 a gallon for fruit
moonshine.
When it's summer and corn is cheap
and plentiful this is the more favored ingredient for making
shine.
However, in the winter, the corn is scarce and so fruit is used to make
a brandy instead.
Despite the blanket ban in
some countries in making shine, many people still
make
moonshine
and many more are looking for instructions on how to
make shine at
home. So, for the good old economic adage of 'supply and demand' we
will oblige, and show you just how to make it.
For those of you who are in the know Popcorn Sutton
was a well known moonshiner who was arrested in 1998 for making
moonshine and sentenced to 18 months in jail in 2009. At 62 years of
age when he was arrested he didn't want to
spend the years in jail and sadly took his own life.
Old Popcorn Sutton was quite a
character and you can watch Popcorn Sutton in his moonshine documentary
making his last
batch of moonshine. His wife sold one of his recipes (Popcorn
had several) to Hank jr. who was a close friend.
However, please be careful when you are
making moonshine whiskey, and know
the dangers.
If you don't control
the
temperature properly you could end up poisoning yourself, and the same
goes when you have not gotten rid of contaminates during the
distillation process, or drinking the first distill.
You also need to
realize that your homemade
still has the potential to explode from a
build up of gases if you have added your fruit or corn too early.
Finally, you should only
use moonshine stills made from copper as many
people are unaware that they can get lead poisoning from using
contaminated metal containers for their distillation equipment.
So, you
see, there is a lot to learn on how to make moonshine.
Contents
How to Make a Still
This contribution tells you how to distill liquids in your own kitchen.
Maybe for illegal liquor, maybe for purifying water.
! Drinking distilled alcohol may be harmful / fatal.
! Distilling alcohol may be illegal
! Drinking distilled water may be harmful / fatal
I used:
A pressure-cooker
8mm OD copper tubing
A plastic bucket.
Form a coil with the copper tube, leaving a long lead-in. I wrapped around a demi.
Drill a hole in the bucket, and poke the lower end of your coil through this.
The copper tube is connected to the pressure-cooker with a (brewing) cork
A bit of Blu-Tac seals the tube to the bucket
Fill the bucket with cold water, and maybe some ice.
A person might take two bottles of cheap wine. put them in the pressure-cooker an heat them to the boil. The distillate would be enriched in alcohol, collected from the bottom of the still.
One might wish to add a bit of colour with homemade caramel, and have homemade brandy.
And then one might drink the output and try to post a coherent Instructable.
Homemade moonshine still from a pressure cooker
A pressure cooker is a useful pot with an airtight lid and safety valves. With its help, you can not only cook delicious dishes, but also drive moonshine. We will look at a simple pressure cooker distiller design that is used by many experienced and novice moonshiners.
The pressure cooker moonshine still has three important advantages over other models:
- it is a ready-made sealed alembic that requires minimal rework;
- stainless steel pressure cookers are widely sold and inexpensive;
- old containers that are no longer used for cooking are suitable.
There is only one drawback – small capacity. Pressure cookers with a volume of more than 5-6 liters are very rare. It turns out a mini moonshine still for distilling small batches of home brew, or you will have to distill it in several passes.
Instructions for making a moonshine still from a pressure cooker
- Description of elements:
- 1 – pressure cooker lid; 2 – thermometer; 3 – tube; 4 – crane; 5 – water cooling; 6 – a moonshine receiver; 7 – drain;
- 8 – water bath.
1. Modification of the evaporator
It is only necessary to slightly modify the lid of the pressure cooker, namely, to embed two plumbing fluors with a ½ or ¾ inch thread.
Fittings can be used, but feet are preferred as they provide a better seal.
The first hole is required to connect the evaporator to the refrigerator through a tube, a thermometer is inserted into the second, allowing you to control the temperature of the wash.
All connecting pipes and other elements of the apparatus should be metal (ideally copper), since their rubber and plastic counterparts leave an unpleasant aftertaste in the finished moonshine.
2. Selection of the condenser (refrigerator)
In most schemes of moonshine stills, the condenser is called a coil; in this module, alcohol vapors are converted into liquid.
A quartz glass cooler used in chemical laboratories is considered an ideal option. The second option is to make a coil from a copper tube, which can be bought at the construction market or in a plumbing store.
For normal cooling of a home-made condenser, running water is needed.
For 1-2 hours of distillation, several hundred liters of water may be required. To reduce consumption, craftsmen use a closed cooling system with a volume of only 30-40 liters. Two buckets are set at different heights (50-60 cm drop).
From the upper bucket, water flows by gravity into the coil, from there it flows into the lower bucket. Then it is pumped back into the upper bucket with an aquarium pump or other pump.
But this scheme is suitable only for experienced moonshiners, as it requires adjusting the flow rate of the liquid.
With the correct operation of the moonshine from the pressure cooker, the moonshine should be cold at the outlet of the coil, but if the distillate is warm, it means that the device is not working properly and the cooling system needs to be refined.
3. Connection of elements
At this stage, after assembly, the sealing of all elements, especially the connecting pipes, is checked. Depending on the design, sometimes the joints have to be additionally processed. The easiest way is to close all holes with ordinary dough, which can be easily removed after distillation.
Lean-type construction
They still argue about the need for a dry greenhouse. Some believe that it removes some of the third-party impurities. If you also think so, then you can make a moonshine from a pressure cooker with a steam boiler. The design of the distiller will remain the same, just add one more element. The diagram is shown in the figure.
You can use an ordinary 750 ml glass jar with a twist-off lid as a dry steamer. Two holes are drilled in the lid, into which the tubes are soldered. One of them connects to the pressure cooker, the other to the refrigeration unit.
Theoretically, with this scheme, the vapors of ethyl alcohol and fusel oils are first condensed in a dry steam room. Then the alcohol boils again, and fusel oils remain at the bottom of the can. But in practice, there can be many nuances associated with the temperature regime and the quality of the mash.
PS A moonshine still from a pressure cooker is perfect not only for making traditional sugar moonshine, but also for distilling calvados, whiskey, cognac and other spirits that require distillation.
Can You Make Moonshine With An Instant Pot? – Advanced Mixology
January 26, 2021 How-To Guides
Yes, making instant pot moonshine is doable. All you need is a pressure cooker, copper tubing, a drill, a metal pot, a large plastic bucket, cheesecloth, cornmeal, sugar, and yeast.
When making moonshine, a byproduct called methanol is made. This component has adverse effects on a person's vision and can cause blindness. It’s good to know the risks and hazards that may come with it, so make sure you read the basics of moonshine making first before making instant pot moonshine.
Things You’ll Need
Making Your Still
To start this off, you need a pressure cooker that’s dedicated to making moonshine. If you already own a pressure cooker that you hold dear, you should consider buying a new one that you don’t mind drilling a hole into.
- Drill a hole in the lid of your pressure cooker.
- With your new hole, thread the copper tubing through it. This will act as your condensing tube.
- You can secure your thread with some duct tape if it feels loose.
Instant Pot Moonshine Recipe
The first thing you have to do is make the mash for your moonshine before going to the distilling process. When it’s time to distill your fermented mash, be sure you have everything set up for things to run smoothly.
During distillation, you have to discard those troublesome foreshots (methanol). Ensure the items you are using are clean and sterile, so impurities are kept at a minimum.
Ingredients
- 10 lbs. Cornmeal
- 10 lbs. Sugar
- 10 gal Water
- 0.5 oz. Yeast
How to Make
- Pour your water into the metal pot and bring it to a boil.
- Add your cornmeal into the boiling water and stir until well combined.
- Let it cook until it turns into a thick paste.
- Take the heat off and let it cool.
- Pour your mixture into a clean plastic bucket.
- Pour the sugar and yeast into the mixture and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Cover the bucket with the cheesecloth and store it in a cool and dark place. Let it ferment for a week.
- Strain the mash with cheesecloth into the pressure cooker.
- Clamp the lid down and place it on the burner.
- Run the copper tubing from the lid to a nearby sink or pot filled with cold water.
- Submerge the middle of the copper tubing into the water.
The other end of the tube should be aimed at a clean container on the floor.
- Heat the pressure cooker at around 177 degrees Fahrenheit.
- After a few minutes of condensation, discard the 2 oz. of methanol produced in the bucket.
- Once the temperature begins faltering, you can now collect the condensation.
- Transfer the alcohol into bottles or jars you have in your home.
Conclusion
Remember, you have to be registered as a distiller to make your moonshine. Making instant pot moonshine can be dangerous if you don’t follow the instructions carefully, so please exercise extreme caution. If you want to make legal alcohol drinks, you can try homemade wines, vodka, or whiskey instead.
Do you want to try this daredevil moonshine recipe? What other crazy ways can you make moonshine? Let us know in the comments below.
- 10 lbs. Cornmeal
- 10 lbs. Sugar
- 10 gal Water
- 0.5 oz. Yeast
-
Pour your water into the metal pot and bring it to a boil.
-
Add your cornmeal into the boiling water and stir until well combined.
-
Let it cook until it turns into a thick paste.
-
Take the heat off and let it cool.
-
Pour your mixture into a clean plastic bucket.
-
Pour the sugar and yeast into the mixture and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
-
Cover the bucket with the cheesecloth and store it in a cool and dark place. Let it ferment for a week.
-
Strain the mash with cheesecloth into the pressure cooker.
-
Clamp the lid down and place it on the burner.
-
Run the copper tubing from the lid to a nearby sink or pot filled with cold water.
-
Submerge the middle of the copper tubing into the water. The other end of the tube should be aimed at a clean container on the floor.
-
Heat the pressure cooker at around 177 degrees Fahrenheit.
-
After a few minutes of condensation, discard the 2 oz. of methanol produced in the bucket.
-
Once the temperature begins faltering, you can now collect the condensation.
-
Transfer the alcohol into bottles or jars you have in your home.
Remember, you have to be registered as a distiller to make your moonshine. Making instant pot moonshine can be dangerous if you don’t follow the instructions carefully, so please exercise extreme caution. If you want to make legal alcohol drinks, you can try homemade wines, vodka, or whiskey instead.
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Pressure Cooker Pros
Pressure cookers are often used for cooking a variety of food, but you can also use it for producing moonshine or brandy. Before we dive into this pressure cooker still recipe, let’s look at the components that go into making a pressure cooker still.
You will need the following equipment:
- Pressure cooker
- Stove
- Sink
- Large Bucket
- Copper tubing (straight and coiled)
- Pot
- 20-gallon drum (copper or steel material)
*Never use an aluminum pressure cooker – aluminum corrodes and deteriorates quickly and may be unsafe when attaching copper tubing.
How to Set Up a Pressure Cooker Still
Take the pressure cooker and attach one end of the straight copper tubing to the vent. Take the other end of the straight copper tubing and run it through a sink so that cold water surrounds the tubing. Continue running the copper tubing into the copper or steel bucket.
Once the copper tubing has entered the bucket, it will need to be coiled. Coiled copper tubing helps the alcohol cool before it enters the bucket, so this is an essential requirement to follow when setting up a still.
Pressure cooker → Sink → Large Bucket
How to Use a Pressure Cooker Still: A Step-by-Step Guide
Now that you know how to set up a pressure cooker still, let’s go over how to use it. Before getting started, make sure you have your pressure cooker still assembled. You will need to create the sour mash that goes into the pressure cooker about 5 days prior. Don’t worry – the recipe below will show you exactly how to make the sour mash that will be going into the pressure cooker.
Step 1: Add the Sour Mash to the Pressure Cooker
The sour mash is what is used to create the liquor. You will add the sour mash directly into the pressure cooker and turn the pressure cooker on to 173°F. Once the sour mash has reached 173°F, steam will be created and pulled through the copper tubing that has been inserted at the vent of the pressure cooker.
Step 2: Cool the Sour Mash
As the alcohol steam is pulled from the pressure cooker through the copper tubing, it will need to be cooled.
This is what turns the sour mash into drinkable liquor and may be the most important step in the process. The steam will be cooled as it travels through the copper tubing that is submerged in cold water.
As the hot steam cools off, it will condense and will follow the copper tubing into the third and final stage.
Step 3: Fill the Bucket
The copper tubing that goes from the cold water into the bucket will give you the finished product. The condensed steam will travel the coiled copper tubing before exiting into the bucket. The coiled copper tubing will further help the condensed steam cool before it exits and fills the bucket.
Moonshine Recipe
Ingredients:
- 5lb bag of coarse cornmeal
- 5lb bag of granulated sugar
- 0.6 ounces of yeast
- 1-pint malt extract
- 10 gallons of water
- Fill a 20-gallon copper or steel drum with 10 gallons of water and heat the water to 120°F by placing it over an open flame.
- Add the cornmeal a little at a time, stirring as you go. Next, add the sugar and stir until it has completely dissolved.
- Keep the container heated to 145°F for approximately 30 minutes. This will cook the mixture to create the mash.
- After 30 minutes, take the container off the heat and begin cooling it.
You can do this by placing the container in a tub of cold water.
- Once the mixture has been cooled, add the malt and yeast. If the mash is thick, you can add warm water to the mash to thin it out.
- Store the container of mash in a warm, safe area for approximately 5 days. On the 5th day, the mash has now turned into a sour mash.
The sour mash is what you will pour into the pressure cooker. Strain the sour mash with a cheesecloth to remove any debris that may have entered the mash during fermenting.
- With your pressure cooker still set up, fill the pressure cooker about ¾ full of the sour mash and heat the pressure cooker to 173°F.
The steam will be created and will move throughout the copper tubing and finally into the collection bucket. At this point, you will need to collect about ½ of a cup of the liquid in the collection bucket and discard it. This first distill is highly toxic and can be fatal.
- Finish distilling the sour mash and collect it in the bucket.
Once you have completed the first batch, it will need to be distilled one more time. The first batch will contain too much water and have a low alcohol content. Before you add this batch back into the pressure cooker, clean the pressure cooker and dry completely. Then you can add the batch.
- Repeat the distilling process one more time, including discarding the first ½ cup that has been produced. Then continue until all the moonshine has been collected in the bucket.
- Test the proof. It should be somewhere around 140 proof.
You can test this by taking a small amount of the moonshine in a sealed jar and shaking it to see how many bubbles are produced. If the bubbles are large and disappear quickly, the proof is too high and will need to be taken down. You will do this by adding water to the moonshine until the bubbles are small and do not disappear for several minutes.
This method indicates you have taken the moonshine down to 100-proof.
Now that you know how to make traditional corn mash moonshine using a pressure cooker setup, the possibilities are endless! Flavor the moonshine with your favorite fruit or even place it in your own personal whiskey barrel to create a caramelized color and mellower flavor.
Can you make moonshine in a pressure cooker?
Yes, making instant pot moonshine is doable. All you need is a pressure cooker, copper tubing, a drill, a metal pot, a large plastic bucket, cheesecloth, cornmeal, sugar, and yeast. When making moonshine, a byproduct called methanol is made.
Consequently, Can u make moonshine in a aluminum pressure cooker?
As can be seen, moonshine can easily be produced in a pressure cooker be it an electric one or a stovetop cooker. … The best cooker to use is a stainless steel one as aluminum may pit after a while and it can also give a metallic taste. However, it’s not dangerous to use aluminum and you will get the same results.
Also question is, How hard is it to make moonshine?
Technically, moonshine is a homemade, unaged high proof grain alcohol, typically around 190 proof. The process to make moonshine from scratch, starting with a corn mash to distilling is quite difficult and illegal without a license.
Besides How much does a gallon of moonshine cost? As with most liquor, the price you’ll pay for moonshine depends on the quality, amount, and where you get it from. “Street” moonshine is more commonly sold by the quart or gallon. You can expect to pay $30 to $100 for a gallon. Moonshine is a high-proof, unaged alcoholic beverage otherwise known as white whiskey.
Also, Can you distill water in a pressure cooker?
Yes. You can actually make distilled water with your Instant Pot! Distilled water is great for so many different purposes for your home. The distillation process helps to remove impurities from the water.
What proof is moonshine?
In the United States alcohol proof is twice the percentage of alcohol by volume. This means your average bottle of 40% ABV moonshine will be 80 proof.
22 Related Questions and Answers Found
What is the largest pressure cooker you can buy?
The Biggest Electric Pressure Cookers: Large Enough For Big Families
- GoWISE USA GW22637 4th-Generation , 14 QT.
- Power Pressure Cooker XL 10 Qt.
- Della 12 Quart 1600-Watt Electric XL.
- Elite Platinum EPC-1013 Maxi-Matic 10 Quart.
