Welcome and how the course works

Welcome. I'm Happy Still Moonshine, and this is the course I wish I'd had when I started. Nobody handed me a clear, honest walk-through of how a still works, what to throw away, and how not to burn the shed down. So that's what this is.

What you'll be able to do

By the end you will be able to make a clean sugar or grain mash, ferment it properly, run a pot still safely from the first drip to shutdown, make sensible cuts by nose and taste, and proof your spirit to a known strength with the same tables the federal government uses. You'll also know exactly what the law says where you live, because that part matters as much as the copper.

How the lessons are laid out

• Before you start — fermentation, sanitation and making a mash. This is where most bad spirit is actually made, long before the still is lit.
• The run — how distilling works, the parts of a still, your first run, cuts, and proofing.
• After — safety, the law, cleaning, troubleshooting and a walk around Fort Wilkins.

Every lesson has a video, the written notes below it, and where it helps, a calculator you can use on your phone while you work. Nothing is locked. Go in order the first time; after that, jump to whatever you need mid-run.

The quiz and your certificate

When you've been through the course, take the quiz. It's short and it's built from the lessons. Pass it and you'll get a certificate signed by me. In-person students also get their copper at the end of class.

Where and who

Classes happen at Fort Wilkins, 1009 Upper City Road, Pittsfield, New Hampshire, right on Route 28. This course is for adults 21 and over. Bring a photo ID to class.

One rule above all

Never leave a running still unattended. Not to answer the phone, not to grab a jar, not for a minute. Everything else in this course is detail. That one is the deal.