How does a still work and what significance did it have in the 1920's of America?

Answer 1

Look up "Prohibition" in Google and you'll find all the answers you need.

Answer 2

A still is basically a crude batch distillation device. That's why it's called a still (di-STILL-ation). It work by separating ethanol (alcohol) from water based on difference in boiling point. Ethanol is more volatile, so it evaporates faster than water does at a given temperature. You also usually see a goofy looking coil coming of the top of the still. This is a crude condenser. It is used to capture the vapor coming off the still pot and turn it back into a liquid. It's long and coiled so the air surrounding it has enough time to cool the vapor to a liquid. Some stills will also have a long pipe coming strait off the top. This allows for something called reflux. It's a complicated concept, but the result is a product that has a higher alcohol concentration.

The moonshine is NOT pure alcohol. It just has a higher concentration of alcohol than the originally fermented mash. The better the still and the person is at using the still, the higher proof the alcohol will be.

Answer 3

Prohibition began in 1920 and lasted till 1933. This gave rise to a huge bootleg alcohol industry and people making gin and other alcohol in their bathtubs or in stills in their garages. Bootleg liquor is made by yeast fermenting any number of sugar sources to produce ethanol and then separating the alcohol from the fermenting mixture (the mash) through distillation using a still. A still works by heating the mash and allowing the ethanol to evaporate and become liquid again as it travels through a tube into another container. This is called distillation. As the ethanol forms into liquid again, the impurities and non-alcholic liquids stay in the original container.

Answer 4

much more profound effect in colonial america.

wilderness farmers (western Pennsylvainia) found that it was easier to transport distilled sprits to market than grain. The"wiskey rebellion" was the first instance of federal troops used to enforce the law when they refused to pay the tax on distilled sprits.

This moved some farmers to the new wilderness in Kentucy and Tennesee, where they further refined turning corn into wiskey (or wisky--but that's another bit of trivia).

Many specifications for wiskey, Burbon, sour mash wiskey, corn wiskey, scotch, ...etc were refined there.

Now, figure out how they discovered the desireability of aging it in charred oak barrels.