A message to Indiana moonshiners: Don’t sell your equipment online. Not quite yet.
Because it’s still illegal to sell your ‘shinin’ equipment, and yes, that includes putting it on Craigslist.
Police arrested Curtis A. McNutt, 30, for offering what he called a “moonshine still,” on the online classifieds side, according to local news station WLFI. McNutt included everything one needs to convert a low-alcohol mash into mountain dew: a 20 liter pot, a five-gallon bucket, air locks, and most importantly, copper wiring.
While it’s legal to produce limited quantities of beer and wine in the U.S., distilling—the act of heating up fermented mash and capturing alcohol as it evaporates—is still prohibited without a commercial license. Indiana is actually trying to fix that law; the state House just passed a resolution to offer an artisan’s distilling permit. But it’s not passed yet, and it might conflict with federal law.
Police said they began their investigation of McNutt after receiving an anonymous tip.
Perhaps, if they’re interested in busting potential moonshiners from their Craigslist posts, they should go to the source. As of this writing, the state has five stills for sale on Craigslist nearby.
Photo via Moonshine still – $1200/Craigslist