The Heritage and Science of Moonshine

The Heritage and Science of Moonshine BY dmh343 David Hinson Mount Olive College Moonshine has long existed as a secret part of American culture.

Most of us have probably heard of the existence of Moonshine. It is likely that some of us have had the good fortune of running across a batch here or there. In America Moonshining is somewhat of a black art. Those who know how to produce Moonshine and may have the equipment are reluctant to share their knowledge. The following pages reflect the information that can be found about the origin, production, and the science of Moonshine.Use this information at your own risk.

Origin As with a lot of things in American history, Moonshine stems from taxation. Amidst the pressures of funding an army, the federal Government found themselves needing a source of income. Although the Government had excise taxes on distilled spirits in place during the American Revolution, these taxes were repealed in the early 1800's. In the 1860's they needed to fund the union army, so the tax on distilled spirits was reinstated. "By 1868, the main source of Government revenue derived from liquor and tobacco taxes"("History of the').

By 1894, the distilled spirits tax had reached $1. 10 per gallon (Cruey, 1999). Thinking in terms of modern money, $1. 10 is not much. However, when your average yearly income is likely less than $1000 dollars; $1.

10 per gallon seems excessive. In comparison, today the federal tax on distilled spirits is $13. 50 per gallon("Tax and fee," ), but today the average American likely makes at least 20 times as much. This means effectively the tax level on distilled spirits today is roughly half of what it was in 1894. The level of taxation on distilled spirits led to discontent amongst consumers and producers alike.

Many of the legitimate retailers of distilled spirits found themselves unable to make a profit elling their products legally. This caused a surge in underground distilled spirit production and sales. At the same time you have average people taking matters into their own hands. People began producing spirits for their own consumption and to sell on the side.

This had a snowball effect on the sales of the legitimate retailers. Moonshining in America was born. Moonshining for many Americans was a necessity. Lots of American farmers found themselves unable to make enough money to support their families.One of the main ingredients of Moonshine is corn. A farmer could take a subpar corn farm and turn it into a goldmine.

Obviously the Government did not approve of this practice. There are a couple good reasons for the Government to oppose this practice. With underground Moonshine sales growing they were losing a large amount of tax revenue; secondly, there was no way to regulate production, and Moonshine could easily become hazardous if precautions weren't taken. After the American Revolution, the Government began sending out tax collectors which they called Revenuers.These officials would go to Moonshine producers and attempt to collect taxes owed.

Something the Government had overlooked was that the ire of revolution in America was the statement "no taxation without representation". Many Americans felt they had traded one tyranny for another. Some of the appeal of producing Moonshine was shear defiance. Many Moonshiners saw it as a protest.

When Revenuers came calling most of the time they were ran off by force. Sometimes they were tarred and feathered(Grabianowski). The Whiskey Rebellion was a major statement of defiance to the distilled spirits tax.The implications of the rebellion were vast. It was not Just a rebellion against the tax on distilled spirits, but a tatement of discontent about federal laws in general.

The rebellion received its name because Revenuers sparked the violence (earlyamerica. com). The Revenuers were attacked while attempting to collect the whiskey taxes. The Government quickly squashed this rebellion with military force. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson ran for president and won. A hot topic in the election was the whiskey tax.

Jefferson had promised to repeal the tax if he was elected.He won the election by a narrow margin, and in 1802 made good on his promise and repealed the whiskey tax along with a number of other taxes. The removal of these taxes eased the discontent in America. After Civil War in the wake of the reinstatement of the Whiskey Tax that funded the union army, violence once again erupted. Most of the fghting was concentrated in the American south. In 1917 the 18th amendment to the US constitution was the beginning of Prohibition in the US.

The intent of the Prohibition was to stifle the production and consumption of alcohol in the United States, and to decrease the violence and debauchery surrounding it.This was a good idea and it worked to a certain extent. By increasing the demand for illicit liquor the Moonshiners could not eep up. This drove the prices high enough that the average person could not afford to purchase Moonshine. Eventually the supply recovered, and thousands of underground clubs serving liquor sprung up. These Clubs were known as speakeasies.

The competition between various producers of liquor created a lot of violence. The Government was not willing to contribute the resources needed to control the production and sales of liquor. With the level of violence and the continuance of consumption prohibition had clearly failed.In 1933 prohibition was repealed by the 21st amendment. Moonshining remains illegal to this day.

Most people apprehended for Moonshining in modern America are charged with tax evasion and/or money laundering. These crimes carry a much more severe penalty than Moonshining alone. The Government may seize your property for tax evasion, and sentence to you to 15 years in prison for money laundering. Their primary concerns are still tax revenues and public safety.

Today Moonshine production is not nearly as prominent. This is mostly due to the availability of reasonably priced Governmentally regulated liquors in many varieties.Moonshining overall has faded nto history, and the people who still practice it typically do so as a hobby. One thing is for sure, Moonshine played a major role in America's history and the shaping of our tax policies. Production and Science Producing Moonshine is relatively easy. As with most fermentation processes it is all in the technique.

Much like a bread baker fermenting and shaping his/her dough, careful attention must be paid to timing and handling of your product. Perspective Moonshiners must be conscious of contaminants, temperature, and quality of food service supply and purchase the equipment you need; you have to build it.We ill start with the equipment. You will need the following equipment: Fermentation Tank, Heat Source, Homemade Still, and Containers for the Product.

All of these are fairly self explanatory with exception of the Still. Provided is a simple illustration of a typical still. Looking at the diagram you see that there are 3 main sections of a Still. From left to right you have: the Evaporation Chamber, Thump Keg, and Worm Box. The function of the still is pretty simple but precise.

First, place The Mash(after fermentation) into the evaporation chamber. This is where the precision comes into play. The Mash must be heated to 780C.This is the temperature at which the alcohol evaporates. If the mash gets to hot undesirable and dangerous things will evaporate into your final product. Your mash should never reach 1000C because this is the temperature at which water evaporates.

Another reason to carefully monitor the temperature is the danger of the still exploding from excessive pressure. As the alcohol evaporates it travels into the Cap Arm, and into the Thump Keg. The Thump Keg is essentially a basic filter. The advantage is, should any solids from the Mash make it through the Cap Arm they will be trapped by the water in the Thump Keg.The Thump Keg is kept warm to allow the alcohol to vaporize again, and pass into the Worm Keg.

The Worm Keg constantly has cool water circulating through it. A coil of pipe goes from the top of the Worm Keg to the bottom. The goal of this pipe is to have as much contact with the cool water as possible. As the alcohol vapor passes down the pipe it is cooled and it condenses. At this point you have highly concentrated liquor flowing from the Tap.

This liquor is affectionately known as Moonshine. Typical Moonshine is around 150 proof or 75% alcohol. The major difference between Moonshine and Modern liquors is aging.At this point Moonshine is ready to drink.

Most modern liquors are aged for many years in barrels to produce a smoother mellower flavor profile. Moonshine is clean and crisp with a serious bite, and that is the way we like it. Recipes vary greatly depending on who you ask. Some people seek to make Moonshine more palatable by including things like grains, fruit, juices, vegetables, and different types of sugars. Mixing the elements of a recipe together produces The Mash.

Every recipe will consist of a few basic elements: Starch, Sugar, Yeast, and Water.If you have knowledge of other fermentation based ookery, you know this set of ingredients can make everything from bread and tofu to wine and beer. Traditionally the starch used in Moonshine came from corn. This was because a lot of producers of Moonshine were corn farmers. As white sugar became available this was used as the initial food source for the yeast. When Moonshine began being produced white sugar was not widely available.

To replace this, producers would use malted grain. Malted grain is made by roasting sprouted grain to produce a sugar. If producers did not have access to yeast they may have to cultivate their own from the air.This is done by placing the starch, sugar, and water mixture outside where the yeast can colonize and multiply.

This process is identical to sour dough bread production. After you get all of your ingredients together and mixed, you place them in a container to ferment. Place this container in a warm place and cover it with a towel. Leave it alone for 2 to 3 weeks.

By this time the yeast should have thoroughly processed the starch and sugar into alcohol. Yeast produces the standard alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. As stated earlier this recipe can be modified to suit an individual taste.Some Moonshiners add fruit like peaches or apples to their mash in place of the sugar and starch. It would also be possible to use honey, molasses, or Juices in place of the refined sugars or malts.

The possibilities are truly endless. Moonshine was at the root of many changes in America. Many people know of Moonshine, but most likely they do not realize the effects that Moonshine had on American culture. Moonshine had a huge effect on American tax policy, and Small wars were raged in its wake. Many used Moonshine as their livelihood, but Moonshine developed into a political statement of defiance against the