[Trumpet 1]

I had been wanting to make my own moonshine. Then I heard a rumor that the 1st 20% of the liquid was poison. How do I know how much is 20%? And how do I test moonshine to see if it is safe?! Therefore, I am back to store bought. Plus, the idea that the mash has to sit for 6 weeks before the still gets fired up. It just sounds too dangerous.

[Deaf Smith]

Methanol has a lower boiling point than enthanol.

The first pint/quart of distalltion is sacrificed to the fire.

[BipolarBob]

20% is an exaggeration. About 3 shot glasses from a home still.
https://homedistiller.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

[jdsteel]

“ I had been wanting to make my own moonshine.”

There’s a lot of good info online. The first bit (poisonous)is called the “heads”. The last bit is not poisonous but tastes bad. It is called the “tails”.

Moonshining is made of 2 steps, the fermentation to create what is essentially beer and the second step to distill it into liquor.

It’s a neat science experiment but step 2 is illegal in the US.

[Svartalfiar]

I had been wanting to make my own moonshine. Then I heard a rumor that the 1st 20% of the liquid was poison. How do I know how much is 20%? And how do I test moonshine to see if it is safe?! Therefore, I am back to store bought. Plus, the idea that the mash has to sit for 6 weeks before the still gets fired up. It just sounds too dangerous.

Get started brewing beer, there's no methanol or other death-drink stuff produced. Or, start with wine or mead, they're even simpler, no grain/mash needed. And mead is delicious!

Then, once you get used to the process, it's even easier to learn about and move to distilling. Plus you already have some of the equipment.