21–30 of 45 posts
Definitely be careful before embarking on home distilling. In many parts of the world (and many parts of the US) it's pretty strictly illegal.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any such law displays a gross disrespect for basic freedoms. The more people that ignore it the better. You'd do as well to outlaw sewing your own clothes.
Distillation, when done improperly, can result in very toxic substances. It requires care and craft and since alcohol is not only a drug but a transformed product (like LSD or meth), it is perfectly fine that some state-level supervision apply: anything ranging from plain interdiction to controlled production. Note that the level of control usually depends on potential health issues and culture, it is not usually str…
You're talking methanol right? That's a byproduct of fermentation of fruit.
>It requires care and craft
It really doesn't, it's a very basic process.
>and since alcohol is not only a drug but a transformed product (like LSD or meth),
Not sure what that means, could you clarify?
>it is perfectly fine that some state-level supervision apply: anything ranging from plain interdiction to controlled production.
It's really no different than brewing beer or wine, then discarding the water. For personal consumption it shouldn't be an issue.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
By that logic it would be acceptable for the state to regulate all sorts of common culinary techniques. Note that those are regulated in a commercial setting. I'd have no objection to similar regulations pertaining to restaurants that wanted to serve alcohol that was distilled, brewed, or otherwise prepared on site. In that context it's equivalent to the regulations pertaining to the handling of raw meat. Similarly,…
The pure process of Distillation does the concentration of something that is already there. But is it always pure when amateurs do it? Can you guarrantee that nothing goes wrong, that the product is tested for contaminations every time?
Yes. Arguably, because amateurs are not cost bound, they tend to make a less "containinated" product due to the way the collection and blending works.
You discard the foul flavors and harse volatiles that commercial folks keep for cost.
>Can you guarrantee that nothing goes wrong, that the product is tested for contaminations every time?
Life isn't about that kind of guarantee. You don't practice the same level of food safety at home as you're required to maintain in a professional environment.
Life, is about risk acceptance.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
People frequently get blind or just die from home made booze when distilling and not checking for methyl alcohol. Quite common on poor parts of the world but also ie eastern Europe and russia.
Misinformation. Unless you happen to own a GCMS you don't check for methanol. Rather you discard the heads and the tails from a fractioning still because that's where stuff that isn't ethanol comes out. In the modern era you'd use a digital thermometer for this task. Someone suffering methanol poisoning from DIY distillation is equivalent to someone landing in the hospital after failing to cook his chicken all the wa…
This is also incorrect. It comes out throughout the distillation process, with a higher % concentration in the tails, but an over all reduced volume due to lower % distillate.
> Someone suffering methanol poisoning from DIY distillation is equivalent to someone landing in the hospital after failing to cook his chicken all the way through.
It's more like taking raw packs of chicken and rubbing your eyes. That has to be intentional.
> For example, I think a lot of us don’t want to sit in front of a still for 30 minutes waiting for it to come up to temperature at the beginning of a distilling day. Idk, I find driving a still to be pleasurable. To each their own. Hot ethanol seems to have the refractive index to make it sparkle like a diamond. I recommend trying distilling if you like to brew things. It's a fun hobby.
Any way you could point me toward a reliable source for how to build and operate one? I don't trust the results from blind googling anymore.
Definitely be careful before embarking on home distilling. In many parts of the world (and many parts of the US) it's pretty strictly illegal.
I think you’d struggle to find much evidence of home distillers getting busted. If you’re not selling the stuff, you’re probably not the TTBs concern.
Again, depends heavily on the country. Some countries don't care about the theoretical/actual impact of committing a crime, and will chase and charge you regardless if it's for private use or not (which, kind of also makes sense). In my personal experience, Sweden is one of those countries, I'm sure there are more out there.
Definitely be careful before embarking on home distilling. In many parts of the world (and many parts of the US) it's pretty strictly illegal.
I don't agree with "strictly" illegal. 1 - it depends on what you're distilling. https://www.distillate.org/laws/list 2 - while federally illegal to just get a still and start churning out spirits, ... https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/d... a free permit and some paperwork (okay a lot of paperwork) lets you. Disclaimer: I don't hold any licenses or permits related to alcohol, but as a holder…
Definitely be careful before embarking on home distilling. In many parts of the world (and many parts of the US) it's pretty strictly illegal.
I think you’d struggle to find much evidence of home distillers getting busted. If you’re not selling the stuff, you’re probably not the TTBs concern.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any such law displays a gross disrespect for basic freedoms. The more people that ignore it the better. You'd do as well to outlaw sewing your own clothes.
Distillation, when done improperly, can result in very toxic substances. It requires care and craft and since alcohol is not only a drug but a transformed product (like LSD or meth), it is perfectly fine that some state-level supervision apply: anything ranging from plain interdiction to controlled production. Note that the level of control usually depends on potential health issues and culture, it is not usually str…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you’d struggle to find much evidence of home distillers getting busted. If you’re not selling the stuff, you’re probably not the TTBs concern.
This falls into the “how would they know about it?” category, but that doesn’t mean it’s not illegal or that you wouldn’t get prosecuted if they happened to find it. Sort of like growing your own personal stash of marijuana.