Corn, Potatoes, or even wheat is fermented.
Then, the alcohol is separated from the resulting mixture, distilled a few times, and tested for quality.
The goal is to get as much alcohol per volume as possible, 120 proof and up are common for moonshine.
However, if the starting fermentation isn't done correctly, harmful acids such as, ethyl acetate can form in the mixture. It is similar to acetic acid which is used in nail polish, manufacturing, etc.
If ethyl acetate is ingested in large quantities it can cause blindness, organ failure, or even death.
Making moonshine is actually illegal in most states for a few reasons.
First, during distillation there is the chance that the alcohol will react with the heat generated. This reaction would cause the alcohol to combust, resulting in an explosion.
Second, it is illegal because it is not taxable.
Moonshine is made by working off mash and then when it is fermented it is run through a still and when it is made right a clear white liquor that has a high concentration of alcohol comes out. There in the photo you can see a moonshine still.
For a while people had almost stopped making moonshine but it is now again a big business in some states in the American south and believe it or not but NASCAR has its roots in moonshine. It was those delivery drivers of the moonshine that went on to become the first NASCAR drivers and the rest is history.
If you watch CABLE TV you will see they now have a show on the History Channel about making and selling moonshine and it shows the Treasury Department still trying to track down and capture the moonshiners. My own Grandfather over 50 years ago made what they said at the time was some of the best moonshine in the world. He used a all copper still and he produced a high quality product.
A true test of how pure moonshine is that you pour a small amount of moonshine out into a spoon and you should be able to light the best moonshine and it should burn almost with a clear flame.
How is moonshine made?
I exercise my right under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
by davidkaluge 18 months ago
We have heard about the miracle where Jesus turned water to wine. People seem not to understand the type of wine that was made. Some said it was alcohol while some claim it was non-alcohol like fruit wine. I think a knowledge of the wine invoke at that time can give us an idea. Those that oppose...
by Joseph Renne 12 years ago
I'm Not Sure If This Is In The Right Spot. I Have Not Found Any Hubs (Relevant To Distilling Moonshine) I Would Like To Ask You The Hubpages Users If This Kinda Of Hub Would Interest You. My Idea Consist of A How-to Guide To Make A Moon Shine Still, A Mash Recipe, A Howto Guide On The Process Of...
by Cindy Lawson 13 years ago
How is Moonshine actually made and what is the alcohol percentage?
by Sharice 11 years ago
Do mold allergies lead to alcohol intolerance?
by Ben Zoltak 15 years ago
This forum is inspired by the following song, "Winning the war on drugs" by The Asylum Street Spankers.Take a moment to watch the video or listen to the song. I personally don't believe God makes mistakes and that the war on drugs is a war against freedom and liberty. Here's the...
by Mahsa S 9 years ago
Should we make Marijuana Illegal completely? Or use it ONLY for Medical purposes? Or make it legal?Cannabis, aka marijuana and by numerous other names, is a preparation of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or medicine. It's a Schedule I controlled Substance. Its use is...
Copyright © 2025 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. HubPages® is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Copyright © 2025 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners.
As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.
For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy
Show DetailsNecessary | |
---|---|
HubPages Device ID | This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. |
Login | This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. |
Google Recaptcha | This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy) |
Akismet | This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Google Analytics | This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Traffic Pixel | This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized. |
Amazon Web Services | This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy) |
Cloudflare | This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Hosted Libraries | Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy) |
Features | |
---|---|
Google Custom Search | This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Maps | Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Charts | This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy) |
Google AdSense Host API | This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Google YouTube | Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Vimeo | Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Paypal | This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Login | You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Maven | This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy) |
Marketing | |
---|---|
Google AdSense | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Google DoubleClick | Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Index Exchange | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Sovrn | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Ads | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
AppNexus | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Openx | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Rubicon Project | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
TripleLift | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Say Media | We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy) |
Remarketing Pixels | We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. |
Conversion Tracking Pixels | We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. |
Statistics | |
---|---|
Author Google Analytics | This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy) |
Comscore | ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Tracking Pixel | Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy) |
Clicksco | This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy) |