Posted on 02/10/2005 5:22:29 AM PST by franksolich
Airport security nabs moonshine
A man in central Norway tucked five liters of home-brewed alcohol into his suitcase and checked it on board a flight from Trondheim. Airport security officials confiscated the canister, claiming it could have blown up the plane.
The incident occurred last week, when the man, in his 30s, checked in for a flight to northern Norway. The web site for local newpaper Adresseavisen said the home brew was removed, but the man was allowed to continue his journey.
The alcohol, according to Arne Hofstad of the Nord-Trøndelag Police District, "can be compared to gasoline, only it burns even better." Just a small leak from the canister of home brew could have sparked fatal consequences on board a jet, Hofstad said.
"We're taking this case seriously," he claimed, even though the passenger wasn't taken into custody.
Hofstad said police will investigate the circumstances around the case, since home-brewing of alcohol is illegal.
I have always wondered if the translation "moonshine," as used by Europeans, is somewhat incorrect; surely there is a better word. The real "moonshine," as made by mountaineers in Kentucky and North Carolina, is a distinct item, and generally better-tasting (and less dangerous) than that made by European amateurs.
In Russia and Ukraine, "summahon," also probably incorrectly translated as "moonshine," of course is the national drink, and pure poison. It does not make one simply drunk; it makes one stark raving mad.
Yeah, I hate to admit it, but I had "summahon" while there--one cannot avoid not having it--and yes, this stuff burns better than refined petroleum.
What!?!?
What a bag of MOONSHINE!!
Pun intended.
"Ping" for the Norway ping list, for news about our allies in the War against Terror.
So does men's aftershave, but...really...this is just too much to swallow. Oops. Another pun. Sorry.
REALLY, REALLY slow day for the terminal terror police.
or
This guy's booze is famous for being a tasty treat.
Right, sir; whenever I showed up in a Ukrainian village, my luggage was pillaged not for American gadgets and toys, but for things that would aid in fermentation, such as shaving lotion, cologne, toothpaste, rubbing alcohol.
Ukrainians can make alcohol out of old shoe leather and rotten bread, even.
Here's a link to a design for a still that costs next to nothing, and a handy-dandy recipe for using it.
Which is illegal of course, so I'm just posting this for information purposes only. [wink goes here]
A Quick Recipe for Making Moonshine
The basic ingredients:
* corn meal
* sugar
* water
* yeast
* malt
The basic process:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a large container. After mixing, move the mixture, called "mash," into a still and leave it to ferment. How quickly this process occurs depends on the warmth of the mash.
2. Heat the mash to the point of vaporization at 173 degrees. The mash will produce a clear liquid, often the color of dark beer. You must watch this process with careful attention.
3. Trap vapor using a tube or coil. The vapor will be transferred into a second, empty container. The resulting condensation is the moonshine. It is then ready to drink or sell.
4. Keep mash in container. It is now called "slop." Add more sugar, water, malt, and corn meal and repeat the process.
5. Repeat the process up to eight times before replacing the mash.
Right; that is it, sir.
The difference, it seems, between authentic "moonshine" and that poison brewed by European amateurs is the great care and solicitude with which the mountaineers of Kentucky and North Carolina make their product.
They use only the finest-quality products, and if a batch does not come out "right," or fails their quality-control, the whole thing is dumped out, and one starts all over again, until he gets the "right" blend and flavor.
Compare that, please, with the amateur European breumeisters who just want the liquor, and they want it yesterday. They give no thought to quality or taste; they just want the thing with as much alcohol-content as possible, and as quickly as possible.
How much sugar?
I'll send you the "real" recipe, check yr. mail
On second though, here's the complete recipe with measures:
MOONSHINE
For about a quart:
1.25 pounds of grain
1.25 pounds of sugar
3.4 quarts [US, liquid] of warm water
1/3 oz. bakers yeast
1 gallon drum
77 degree Fahrenheit
You will require 1.25 pounds of corn meal, 1.25 pounds of of sugar, 3.4 quarts [US, liquid] of warm water. Wash your grain well to remove all of the dust. 1/3 oz. bakers yeast will be sufficient. Also a 1 gallon drum will be needed to ferment this all out.
Add the sugar to the fermenter and dissolve it in at least 6/10 of a quart (1.2 pints) of hot water ie- just before it boils. Tip the grain and the rest of the water into your fermenter and mix in thoroughly. Let the wash cool to around 77 degree Fahrenheit and add the yeast, mix well. Loosely cover the wash with the lid to keep bugs and other unwanted insects.
Leave the wash to ferment out for about 2 weeks. When the activity in the bin subsides you can drain the wash through a fine sieve to remove any fine particles
The wash is now ready to distill.
Family stories alway had that the revenuers always watched who bought the most sugar. That was the tell tale.
Ummm...I think I'm going to stick with my Becks Beer...
That makes sense, sir.
Whenever I was going to a Ukrainian village--way out in the boondocks--I was always instructed to forget this, forget that, no reason bothering with this other thing.....but just to bring lots and lots of sugar, which was a rare commodity under "central planning and distribution" at the time.
And in no way is that more obvious, than in drinking--especially for an American like me, who tends to be stonily silent, withdrawn, a wallflower.
I found this true most of all on the isolated islands north of Scotland, and in Russia and Ukraine, where it is de rigeuer that one drink, and one drink all that he can; otherwise the hosts take offense.
I do not care much for drinking, but well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.....
There was one night in a village with a whole bunch of Ukrainians, who thought they could get this shy American drunk, and they did their best, filling up glass after glass of that loathesome summahon.
I must say, sir, Europeans cheat.
Whereas my own glass was always filled clear up to the brim, theirs were never quite so full, or perhaps they were even substituting a weaker liquor for the ones they took.
Since I thought it was all a silly preposterous ridiculous "game," this perhaps fortified me.
I suggested we toast all 42 American presidents, and they were game.
By the time we got to Andrew Jackson, most were already under the table. By the time we got to the King of Norw--oops, Franklin Pierce, I was still standing, while all these hale and hearty sons of Europe were passed out, in various states of disarray.
Bah, humbug.
The reputation of Americans as people who can hold their liquor better than wimpy Europeans, remained intact.
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