Brewhaus America Moonshine Still Equipment

The oldest hobby distilling company in North America, Brewhaus America was founded in 1992 by Rick Morris. Rick is the author of the book "the Joy of Home Distilling" and founder of the Hobby Distiller's Association. All Essential Extractor series quality moonshine stills are his own unique design. After 25+ years, we still make the highest quality stainless steel alcohol stills in North America.

"Moonshine Still" vs "Essential Oil Distiller"

What's in a name anyway? Our units are made to do a lot more than make moonshine! Our moonshine still kits (also known as "fractionating columns") can also be used to distill water, essential oils, and fuel alcohol. Fractionation is when you separate a mixture into several smaller fractions, or components. This is how you can get such a high proof from doing a run. You're just separating the alcohol part from the rest of your wash (which is mostly water) and collecting the concentrated alcohol from the condenser. So you're not MAKING anything new when you distill; you're just separating and concentrating what's already there.

Brewhaus stills are made from high quality, dairy grade 304L stainless steel tubing. We build our columns here in our Texas warehouse, but we don't have the equipment to build the kettles here. We have our own unique kettle molds that are exclusive to Brewhaus pots. These are not milk cans, which are not made to withstand the high temperatures that distilling requires. Our kettles are assembled in China and shipped to us for our welder to customize the lids and couplings per order. We hope to be able to make our kettles here in our own warehouse someday, but we're not there yet!

Why We Like Stainless Steel

When you think of distilling, you probably picture the old-time copper stills. If you're distilling alcohol, then you have some nasty sulfur compounds in your wash that formed during fermentation. You'll want copper to help neutralize those sulfur compounds and improve your final product's taste and smell, but you actually need very little copper in order to get this benefit. Copper mesh, scrubbers, or rings in a stainless steel column will give you the same results.

There are other benefits to copper, too. Copper is better at conducting heat than stainless steel, which can save time on initial heat up, however, it also means equally increased heat loss. Copper is easier for the novice to build with because it's a much softer metal than stainless steel, and more readily accessible.

As pretty as it is, there are some reasons why an all-copper still may not be the best option. First, copper is much more difficult to clean than stainless steel. If you're not diligent about cleaning your still, you'll taste it in your product--and it's not good. Copper is also considerably more expensive than stainless steel, and not as versatile. You can distill essential oils or water in a stainless column by removing the copper column packing, but you may not like your results if you do this in a copper still. Copper's reactivity can be of benefit in some distillations, and a drawback in others.

We Make Our Own Turbo Yeast, Too

Brewhaus America is also the sole American importer for The Original Prestige turbo yeast and alcohol essence flavors from Sweden. We also make High Spirits turbo yeast and essences right here in our Texas warehouse. We do not private label our turbo yeast or distillers yeast.

Other companies use private labeled yeast, which means that they pay to (legally) put their label on another brand's yeast and resell it as their own. That's fine, but it's not what we do. High Spirits yeast is made in-house from Rick's unique recipes and is exclusive to Brewhaus and stores who buy from us.

What sets High Spirits turbo yeast apart is that High Spirits does not contain urea. In fermentation, urea helps produce ethyl carbamate, which has been found to cause cancer. It has even been banned in beverage alcohol production in some countries. If the label doesn't specifically say that there's no urea in it, then your yeast might contain urea.

Can I Legally Buy a Still?

In the United States, people of legal drinking age can make their own wine or beer at home legally. But producing spirits at home remains illegal according to Federal law. There are permits you can apply for online on the Alcohol &Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau's website. You can also learn more on the TTB's website in their FAQs.

It's up to our customers to use their equipment in accordance with their local laws. Brewhaus America is not liable for illegal use. Moonshine distilling is illegal in certain countries, and our stills and yeast are intended for legal use. We do not wish to promote illegal use of your still.

Order Online and Pickup at Our Warehouse

Locals can pick up fulfilled orders, but we don't have a retail store for in-person shopping. Order online and request "Pickup" in the order comments, and we'll call you when your order is ready. Most orders are ready for pickup by the next business day.