1/1/2015 last updated
It is legal to own a still in West Virginia as long as you do not use it to distill moonshine. West Virginia does require a license to manufacture your own fuel, or to manufacture your own essential oils, etc. WV Code § 60-6-10 (2015) A person who unlawfully owns, operates, or maintains a plant for the manufacture of distilled spirits, or aids or abets in the operation or maintenance of such a plant shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or confined in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than five years.
- A still can be used for the production of distilled water, essential oils, etc.
- If a $5.00 license is requested.
- WV Code § 60-4-8 (2015) The commission shall license a still used by a commercial chemist for laboratory purposes only, and not used for the purpose of the manufacture of alcoholic liquors for resale, at a fee of five dollars.
Residents can manufacture their own alcohol fuel for personal use if they apply for a $5.00 license. West Virginia does offer licenses to run a distillery or micro distillery. There are several licenses you need to request to legally manufacture spirits.
- Below are the federal licenses only.
- Additional state requirements will need to be followed as well.
- You must submit a request for a license to manufacture spirits: TTB 5110.41 Basic permit,
- This license only allows you to produce spirits.
- You also need a license for the distilling equipment / distillery: TTB 5100.24 Distilled spirit plant For manufacturing ethanol fuel you will need to submit a request for a TTB 5110.74 for a federal license,
WV Code § 60-6-10 (2015) A person who unlawfully owns, operates, or maintains a plant for the manufacture of distilled spirits, or aids or abets in the operation or maintenance of such a plant shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or confined in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than five years.
WV Code § 60-4-8 (2015) The commission shall license a still used by a commercial chemist for laboratory purposes only, and not used for the purpose of the manufacture of alcoholic liquors for resale, at a fee of five dollars. WV Code § 60-6-11 (2015) A person who, while engaged in the unlawful manufacture, transportation or sale of alcoholic liquors, or while aiding or assisting in any of such acts, has in his actual or constructive possession a firearm or other lethal weapon, shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be confined in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than ten years.
Current federal laws allow citizens the right to own a still and operate it for non-alcohol production. This means legally you can:
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Can you make moonshine in WV legally?
What is the Penalty For Selling Moonshine in West Virginia ? – Producing moonshine without a license in West Virginia is considered a misdemeanor and the person may be subject to a fine and/or jail time. : Is It Illegal To Make Moonshine In West Virginia ?
Is it legal to make your own moonshine in Virginia?
In order to legally distill spirits in the Commonwealth of Virginia, prospective distillers must obtain a Beverage Distilled Spirits Plant permit from the Alcohol and Tobacco and Trade Bureau (TTB) and a distillery license from Virginia ABC. The production of spirits cannot begin until both documents have been issued.
- A Virginia ABC distillery license allows for the manufacture of distilled spirits and the sale of the manufactured spirits to Virginia ABC, the government or any entity outside the Commonwealth of Virginia legally authorized to receive the product.
- Virginia ABC is the wholesale distributor and sole retailer for all distilled spirits sold in Virginia.
A distillery licensee may be appointed as an independently operated agent of Virginia ABC for the purpose of selling distilled spirits manufactured by or for, or blended by such licensee on the licensed premises at ABC stores established on the distiller’s premises.
Are moonshine stills illegal in Virginia?
§ 4.1-314, Keeping, possessing, or storing still or distilling apparatus without a permit; penalty. – No person shall keep, store, or have in his possession any still or distilling apparatus for the purpose of distilling alcohol without a permit from the Board.
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How much moonshine can you legally make in Virginia?
Is it Legal to Distill Alcohol in Virginia ? – Yes, but you need a Distillery License that needs to be renewed annually. This license I will cost you $450 (if the production is less than 5000 gallons), and $3725 (if the production is more than 5000 gallons). There is a $65 non-refunable fee that must also be paid.
Are there moonshiners in West Virginia?
3. Hatfield & McCoy Moonshine Distillery – Looking for moonshine in southern West Virginia? You can find the Hatfield & McCoy Moonshine Distillery in Gilbert. This drink of the devil 90-proof moonshine is handmade, bottled, and labeled on site. If you are interested in the moonshine making process, this distillery also offers behind-the-scenes tours!
Is grain alcohol legal in West Virginia?
The label looks like something a master distiller might slap on a bottle of small-batch vodka. Its color scheme is elegant and spare: midnight blue with gold trim. Every description on the label is spelled out in imposing, uppercase letters, including “DISTILLED FROM AMERICAN GRAIN” and “HIGHEST QUALITY,” as if to emphasize the spirit’s authority over mere mortals.
Gone are the two electrified rectangles that seemed to float on the edges of the old label, their words dire: “CAUTION!! EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE HANDLE WITH CARE” and “WARNING!! OVERCONSUMPTION MAY ENDANGER YOUR HEALTH.” The radioactive ear of corn is AWOL, too. Clearly, Everclear wants to ditch its image as the go-to juice for every frat boy who wants to go from zero-to-blotto in 6.8 seconds.
In the #MeToo era, when celebrity chefs and future public servants alike have been accused of some wretched acts while under the influence, it’s a smart brand refresh. But will anybody buy it? It seems like the spirits equivalent of Darth Vader dressing in a power suit and trying to convince everyone that he doesn’t really want to destroy your planet.
- The new label, according to press materials, will appear on bottles nationwide later this year.
- At least in the states where legislatures allow the sale of 190-proof Everclear.
- More than a dozen jurisdictions, including Maryland, West Virginia and North Carolina, have banned the grain-based spirit, which is 95 percent pure alcohol.
The District allows the sale of Everclear and any other 190-proof spirits, such as Diesel. Last year, Virginia reversed course and allowed many of its ABC stores to sell Everclear’s 151-proof version, which is 75.5 percent alcohol, but prohibited sales within three miles of a college campus,
(The safeguards didn’t impress then-University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan, who compared the odorless and colorless Everclear to a “date rape” drug for creating conditions in which sexual assaults can occur.) Everclear would like to put the past — the Jungle Juices, the shot-chugging dares, the underage fights — behind it.
The company wants consumers to equate Everclear with the craft cocktail movement and to think of the spirit as a “blank canvas” for your home-bartending creativity. (Just don’t smoke next to this canvas, okay?) Everclear’s parent company, the St. Louis-based Luxco, has even developed an old-timey website that looks like it might sell Anthropologie shirt-dresses or Ladurée macarons.
Instead, it offers recipes beyond the predictable (take one trash can, add eight bottles of Everclear, eight cans of Hawaiian punch, stir), including Pomegranate Green Tea Vodka, Pineapple Cherry Infusion and Plum Gin, (These recipes are cut with generous amounts of filtered water, I should note.) The Everclear site also has a recipe for aromatic bitters, which seems to be the preferred use for the grain spirit among the mixologists and bartenders that I surveyed on Facebook.
These mixologist-level uses of Everclear are laudable, I guess, but 190 proof is still 190 proof. And college students, I suspect, are still college students. I don’t foresee a day when Pomegranate Green Tea Vodka will be the go-to blotto-maker at pledge parties.
- Which made me wonder if Everclear was required to put those electrified warnings on its current packaging,
- Which also made me wonder if those warnings weren’t, in some way, counterproductive: They serve only to challenge kids who want to say that they danced with the devil named Everclear and survived.) So I called the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, known informally as the TTB, and asked about the warnings.
Spokesman Thomas Hogue said that only the standard surgeon general warning is required on beverages with 0.5 percent or more alcohol by volume. You can probably recite it by heart: (1) According to the surgeon general, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects.
Can you make moonshine in PA for personal use?
1/1/2015 last updated
Pennsylvania does allow state residents to own a still and can use it for the manufacture of essential oils, vinegar, distilling water, etc. But the production of moonshine is illegal. It should be noted that Pennsylvania does offer compensation to informers for reporting people seen using a still or in possession of moonshine or distilling equipment or materials Pennsylvania residents are allowed to produce their own beer and wine for personal and private use but not for resale.4-492.
Unlawful acts relative to malt or brewed beverages and licensees (1) Manufacturing Without License. Except as provided herein, for any person, to manufacture malt or brewed beverages, unless such person holds a valid manufacturer’s license for such purpose issued by the board. Malt or brewed beverages may be produced by any person without a license if such malt or brewed beverages are produced not for sale and total production does not exceed two hundred gallons per calendar year.
Malt or brewed beverages produced in accordance with this paragraph may be used at organized affairs, exhibitions, competitions, contests, tastings or judging provided it is not sold or offered for sale. I was unable to find any information on fuel alcohol for this state.
- Pennsylvania does offer a license to manufacture, store and transport distilled spirits Pennsylvania license for a distillery,
- There are several licenses you need to request to legally manufacture spirits.
- Below are the federal licenses only.
- Additional state requirements will need to be followed as well.
You must submit a request for a license to manufacture spirits: TTB 5110.41 Basic permit, This license only allows you to produce spirits. You also need a license for the distilling equipment / distillery: TTB 5100.24 Distilled spirit plant For manufacturing ethanol fuel you will need to submit a request for a TTB 5110.74 for a federal license,1 1.4.
(a) The efficient administration of the Liquor Code requires the suppression of the unlawful manufacture of liquor, and to that end the Board may, in its discretion, pay for information leading to the location and seizure of illicit stills and the arrest and conviction of persons engaged in the operation of the stills. (b) Compensation to informers shall be based in each case upon the gallon capacity of the illicit still seized by reason of the information furnished. The amount of the compensation will be fixed by agreement between the Board and the informer, but will be paid only after the seizure of the still by the Board.
Current federal laws allow citizens the right to own a still and operate it for non-alcohol production. This means legally you can: