BG's hooch thread.
Discussion
Warren, I've read with interest on the whisky thread about your moonshine and specifically, how cheap it is to produce. I quite fancy getting the kit together and making a bit to take over to the in-laws in France (big whisky fans). Any chance of a quick 'how-to' for me?
Cheers matey.
Cheers matey.
Very interested on this.
Right, got some time to do this now 
This is the kit I purchased:
Bottom left are six sachets of flavouring essence, above those are three little bottles of flavouring essence, top left are the canisters for the filtering system. In the middle of the pic are five packets of the yeast mix, five packets of carbon, and five packs of the clearing agent. Then there are two large tubs for the mash (or wash) to ferment in, with a couple of airlocks on top of the lids. On the right is the still, looking like a big electric kettle or a radio controlled toy Dalek. Not the sort of huge copper worm thing you might expect, deep in the woods by a stream
My kit came with five packs to do five washes and five runs. Your local brew shop should sell all you need, either separately or in a job lot.
Link to the manufacturers web site here...
http://stillspirits.com/wawcs0141823/ln-turbo-air-...
Lots of videos on you tube too, have a search around and click on a few.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfAjzXlsmTY&fea...
This guy is using a bigger, different still, but the same process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_1C0kM7lkI&fea...
How to make Hooch/Moonshine.
Put 21 litres of warm water into one of the big tubs.
Stir in 6 x 1kg bags of sugar, this takes you to 25 litres.
Stir in 1 packet of the special Turbo yeast.
Stir in 1 packet of the Carbon (this makes for a cleaner wash and purer spirit).
Put the lid on and fit the air lock.
Leave for 7-14 days until it stops bubbling.
(Not much different from making home brew beer).
When the wash has done, you give it a good stir to de-gas it, and it's a black sweet sugary mess, which needs to be cleared of the carbon, and the yeast.
The clearing agent is in the form of a twin pack, one part goes into the wash, and you wait an hour. Then you add the other part and wait 24 hours. All the crud sinks to the bottom, and you siphon off the clear wash into the other big tub.
Then you put about 4-5 litres of the wash into the still, and turn it on.
After an hour or so, you get alcohol dripping out of the nozzle of the still.
The first 600-800ml is at about 60% or more.
Repeat until all the wash is gone.
You end up with several litres of clear, odourless, colourless alcohol.
This then needs to be cut back to about 40% with distilled water (which you distilled and collected several litres of earlier with the still, whilst you were waiting for the wash to ferment).
Then you filter it through the carbon filter, just a matter of pouring it in at the top, and collecting it as it comes out at the bottom.
Add whatever flavouring essence you fancy. Whisky, Rum, Gin, Liqueurs, anything. There are cream additives too for things like Baileys.
Many of the flavourings are hit & miss and a bit rubbish, but some of them are outstanding, so it's trial and error, see what works, and what you like.
This is a demi-John of clear spirit, and my Whisky chemistry set.
Some of these are really rubbish, whilst others are unbelievably, spectacularly good. Like the Laphroaig, one of the most authentic recipes.
If you are really super fussy about it (as I am), instead of just using your run of distilled spirit right away and making something up with it, you can double or triple distil.
I collect all the first run, mix it with distilled water and then put it back in the still and re-distil it, it comes out higher proof and cleaner. Then I do it all again, and it comes out even higher and cleaner.
At 86%
Then I multiple filter because I'm really fussy and anal about it.
I end up with triple distilled, ten times filtered (heard that before somewhere
)
You can cut it back to 40%, or as I prefer, with my fake Malts, 60%.
Having tried lots of the flavouring essences, I have now settled down to just making the ones that I like, and are as good as the real thing. Such as a few Malt clones, and some of the Bourbon copies.
Seriously, this stuff is far, far better than it has any right to be, for something that has been knocked up at home in the kitchen, and has cost about £1.50p a bottle.
I have had friends around who have tasted the stuff, some of whom actually know their whisky, and whilst it won't fool an expert, comments are nonetheless favourable, as a form of whisky in it's own right.
It is also more reliable and more consistent than say home brewed beer or wine, whether the wash goes well or not, this just boils off the alcohol from it each and every time.
PS, it is also safe, don't believe the old tales about it making you blind, it's just alcohol, what comes out of the spout drip by drip is no different to a big commercial still up in Scotland. My flavourings come from chemical essences, taste technology. Their flavours come from 'terroir' and the air, the sea, and the casks it's matured in.
Good UK forum here...
http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/
This is the kit I purchased:
Bottom left are six sachets of flavouring essence, above those are three little bottles of flavouring essence, top left are the canisters for the filtering system. In the middle of the pic are five packets of the yeast mix, five packets of carbon, and five packs of the clearing agent. Then there are two large tubs for the mash (or wash) to ferment in, with a couple of airlocks on top of the lids. On the right is the still, looking like a big electric kettle or a radio controlled toy Dalek. Not the sort of huge copper worm thing you might expect, deep in the woods by a stream
My kit came with five packs to do five washes and five runs. Your local brew shop should sell all you need, either separately or in a job lot.
Link to the manufacturers web site here...
http://stillspirits.com/wawcs0141823/ln-turbo-air-...
Lots of videos on you tube too, have a search around and click on a few.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfAjzXlsmTY&fea...
This guy is using a bigger, different still, but the same process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_1C0kM7lkI&fea...
How to make Hooch/Moonshine.
Put 21 litres of warm water into one of the big tubs.
Stir in 6 x 1kg bags of sugar, this takes you to 25 litres.
Stir in 1 packet of the special Turbo yeast.
Stir in 1 packet of the Carbon (this makes for a cleaner wash and purer spirit).
Put the lid on and fit the air lock.
Leave for 7-14 days until it stops bubbling.
(Not much different from making home brew beer).
When the wash has done, you give it a good stir to de-gas it, and it's a black sweet sugary mess, which needs to be cleared of the carbon, and the yeast.
The clearing agent is in the form of a twin pack, one part goes into the wash, and you wait an hour. Then you add the other part and wait 24 hours. All the crud sinks to the bottom, and you siphon off the clear wash into the other big tub.
Then you put about 4-5 litres of the wash into the still, and turn it on.
After an hour or so, you get alcohol dripping out of the nozzle of the still.
The first 600-800ml is at about 60% or more.
Repeat until all the wash is gone.
You end up with several litres of clear, odourless, colourless alcohol.
This then needs to be cut back to about 40% with distilled water (which you distilled and collected several litres of earlier with the still, whilst you were waiting for the wash to ferment).
Then you filter it through the carbon filter, just a matter of pouring it in at the top, and collecting it as it comes out at the bottom.
Add whatever flavouring essence you fancy. Whisky, Rum, Gin, Liqueurs, anything. There are cream additives too for things like Baileys.
Many of the flavourings are hit & miss and a bit rubbish, but some of them are outstanding, so it's trial and error, see what works, and what you like.
This is a demi-John of clear spirit, and my Whisky chemistry set.
Some of these are really rubbish, whilst others are unbelievably, spectacularly good. Like the Laphroaig, one of the most authentic recipes.
If you are really super fussy about it (as I am), instead of just using your run of distilled spirit right away and making something up with it, you can double or triple distil.
I collect all the first run, mix it with distilled water and then put it back in the still and re-distil it, it comes out higher proof and cleaner. Then I do it all again, and it comes out even higher and cleaner.
At 86%
Then I multiple filter because I'm really fussy and anal about it.
I end up with triple distilled, ten times filtered (heard that before somewhere
) You can cut it back to 40%, or as I prefer, with my fake Malts, 60%.
Having tried lots of the flavouring essences, I have now settled down to just making the ones that I like, and are as good as the real thing. Such as a few Malt clones, and some of the Bourbon copies.
Seriously, this stuff is far, far better than it has any right to be, for something that has been knocked up at home in the kitchen, and has cost about £1.50p a bottle.
I have had friends around who have tasted the stuff, some of whom actually know their whisky, and whilst it won't fool an expert, comments are nonetheless favourable, as a form of whisky in it's own right.
It is also more reliable and more consistent than say home brewed beer or wine, whether the wash goes well or not, this just boils off the alcohol from it each and every time.
PS, it is also safe, don't believe the old tales about it making you blind, it's just alcohol, what comes out of the spout drip by drip is no different to a big commercial still up in Scotland. My flavourings come from chemical essences, taste technology. Their flavours come from 'terroir' and the air, the sea, and the casks it's matured in.
Good UK forum here...
http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/
Edited by Balmoral Green on Friday 25th June 23:10
The moonshine I tried was clear and I honestly couldn't detect any distinctive flavour (which is probably why I liked it). I was told it was made with corn, but that is the extent of my knowledge.
Could it have been the pure distilled alcohol with no flavouring?. Is that OK to drink neat?. Have you tried it?.
Just trying to figure out what it was I tasted.
Could it have been the pure distilled alcohol with no flavouring?. Is that OK to drink neat?. Have you tried it?.
Just trying to figure out what it was I tasted.
Hmmmm
If I could ask...
How much did the kit set you back?
Do they do gin flavours??
What's the legality of home distilling, as I'd assumed it was, well, not
And the risk comes from methanol AFAIK which presumably distils at a different temperature so (again, presumably) your kettle is pretty precisely controlled and avoids that. Unlike Jesse's copper plumbing and an open fire
The only illicit hooch I've had was "gin" in Iran and there was a bloke sat beside you with a spoonful of yoghurt ready to shove in your mouth to take the taste away
If I could ask...
How much did the kit set you back?
Do they do gin flavours??
What's the legality of home distilling, as I'd assumed it was, well, not
And the risk comes from methanol AFAIK which presumably distils at a different temperature so (again, presumably) your kettle is pretty precisely controlled and avoids that. Unlike Jesse's copper plumbing and an open fireThe only illicit hooch I've had was "gin" in Iran and there was a bloke sat beside you with a spoonful of yoghurt ready to shove in your mouth to take the taste away
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