Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

hi guys,

I think I have read every topic on this forum and have a good idea about how I would like to start my stilling hobby.

Lately I have heard a few reports in the media about how bad moonshine had killed or harmed people both in Australia and overseas.

My question is, I know the foreshots is the bad stuff but it seems so easy to cut that and get rid of it. are these poisonings a case of stillers who are just careless/incompetent or is there some other way that product can go bad? maybe a stuff up with their wash or a problem with the still.

I am guessing careless/incompetent is the answer but I would just like to ask the question.

cheers

If you say you read this forum YOU should on cuts are the most important thing to do.

So simlpy read and read if not sure read again. I read this forum for 6 months before joining to make sure I did my distilling right

Did I say read so read and read before you post again

ok, so maybe I missed something, I said in my question that I know the foreshots are bad, is there another cut that can harm you that I haven't picked up on. my understanding is apart from the taste aspect the first 50-200ml are dangerous depending on batch size and almost everything else is mostly taste and headache driven.

I was more asking if they could have done something else wrong. it seems that you would have to be pretty silly to drink the foreshots so maybe there is something else I need to watch out for. I was just curious.

Welcome mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Careless, incompetent and un educated.
All three traights are a recipe for disaster not just with methanol poisoning. Have a look in the saftey discussion, there's some good info in there.
We all start somewhere so if you hit the ground running with the saftey aspect, the process and the right mindset you will be making a quality shine in no time :D

Edit after your next post.
I have read that fruits have a high pectin amount which leads to a high methanol content within the mash. Yes the methanol has a lower boiling point so you will find anyone that deals with fruit (that knows what h
They are doing) will discard more from the fores and heads.

The "cure" for methanol poisoning is ethanol. Discard ur fores and u will be safe :handgestures-thumbupleft:

The main thing that ends up killing people is methanol.
More often it is not from distilling of the wash but from later addition.
The latest story about the father killing his kid and his mate was from very poor storage and labeling, maybe he was fitshaced at the time but its no excuse.

Most of the stories you hear from bali are from people mixing metho in with the booze.

Some silly people dont know to remove fores due to ignorance.

The stories you hear from back in the prohibition era about how hundreds died due to home made moonshine, most of that was government sanctioned poisoning to teach the "crooks" a lesson.

Its easy not to poison yourself, make good washes, make harsh cuts and discard more foreshots thank you think.

rumdidlydum wrote:Welcome mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Careless, incompetent and un educated.
All three traights are a recipe for disaster not just with methanol poisoning. Have a look in the saftey discussion, there's some good info in there.
We all start somewhere so if you hit the ground running with the saftey aspect, the process and the right mindset you will be making a quality shine in no time :D

Edit after your next post.
I have read that fruits have a high pectin amount which leads to a high methanol content within the mash. Yes the methanol has a lower boiling point so you will find anyone that deals with fruit (that knows what h
They are doing) will discard more from the fores and heads.

Good point on yr edit there Rumdidly. There's no science behind this comment but after spending some time in the really really poor parts of Bali ie Kintamani Volcanic area, where the locals brew alcohol out of anything that grows ( lots of fruit)is fairly indicative of the high methanol content and what is peddled to local bars n restaurants which is an ever present danger if yr foot loose and drinking freely there. $5 a day is a good gig up there.
Getting back to here, and a recent episode in Warwick, ( 3 simultaneous deaths ??) Qld I think it would be a safe bet to say the old fella had a lot of Fores collected and unlabelled which collided with his son, his mates and boredom. It was pretty tragic, but highlights the need to be informed, read read and read again. So to the OP, the question IS a valid one, an it all come down to being educated and responsible. This is a good place to be to get that info. :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

thanks guys
it seems as long as I am careful with the cuts I will be fine.
I just wanted to check that I was on the right track, cant be too carefu.

cheers

I'm glad some started a thread on this topic

I was going to start a thread in relation to all the Bali Methanol Poisonings and deaths
It also made me wonder if i am careful enough.
As our homebrew does have a different effect on me than the retail product
And i way over cut, then double distill, then do a final fussy cut.

But it has made me wonder non the less.

After a recent trip to Bali (not by my choice, i hate the place)
And we left 2 days before the recent Police Death.
It was obvious not all Alcohol is equal over there.
A quick Google found so many cases of blindness and death.
A bottle of Imported Vodka costs $200-$300 AUD for 700ml
JimBeam is $300 AUD

Yet there are night clubs that offer all you can drink beer, wine and vodka for $15AUD for the first 3 hours
Clearly you are not drinking Smirnoff.... But more likely another case of the Geelong Publican :)

post distilling greed

I've read that some unscrupulous people in Bali etc add methanol to the drink as it "tastes" more like alcohol. Meaning that if you are a drunk young teenager, the addition of methanol makes the drink taste more alcoholic than one made from properly distilled / cut ethanol that we make. If this is the case, it's not that they are brewing their own and getting it wrong, it's that they are buying a bottle of commercial Jim beam and then refilling it with cheap industrial methanol to save money.