This is how we make the moonshine.
Come on. Way up here to check a mailbox.
Supposed to be having a package from Brazil.
It should have been here already.
Looks like we got a package.
I was recently down in Brazil on a mission to find out about making some coffee infused
moonshine. But while I was down there, I learned so much more.
I've been really excited to get this package right here.
This is what I think it is. And it is.
Hell, yeah. Look at there.
This is a jar of some freaking goodness right here.
Golly, I can't wait to show Henry this.
This package I've been waiting on from South America is going to totally change the way we
make liquor here in Appalachia.
Hey. Hey. What's happening up?
Joshua finally showed up, man.
I got a surprise for you.
Christmas present. You've been running a little late.
Here. We got pizza.
It looks like a Brazilian return address to me.
I've been waiting on this for months.
Man, it's a game changer.
Fermento. What is that?
We got a milkshake mixed up or what?
Dad? What? It smells like yeast.
That is a strain of very, very special wild yeast.
My buddy Zabala down in Brazil that they make out of sugarcane.
Real good, don't it? Yeah. You got a strong smell.
What are we supposed to do with this?
They make her liquor in less than 16 hours with that.
And that's what they use to eat the sugarcane juice to convert it from sugar into
alcohol.
Damn, 16 hours.
You've seen it do that, though.
I did it with them.
We got cane cut.
Mash made mash ready mash cooked off alcohol and two damn days.
That's amazing.
Oh, my God. You can make seven runs a week.
Think about it. Here in the United States.
It's unheard of for alcohol to work off that fast.
And they use that same yeast for six.
Months over and over six months.
Right. They're saving money. A lot of money.
It's going to cut out on the time and it's going to turn up the profit.
All right. So how are we going to get sugar cane?
We don't have sugar cane grow around here.
But one thing does grow around here is sorghum.
Sorghum, We've seen it and it feels back in the.
Day, man, that's what pioneers used for sweetener.
They didn't have the sugar cane here.
They didn't have it available.
They was out of sugar. What are they going to do?
Yeah, you use whatever you got.
I want to test this out on sorghum molasses just to see if it'll work off and how fast it
works off.
Sorghum is a type of grass that contains high levels of sugar originating in Africa.
It was introduced to America by Benjamin Franklin, who saw its potential for broom
making and roof thatch.
Farmers quickly discovered it was an alternative source of sugar for both cheaper
and easier to grow than sugar cane.
Liquor makers turned to sorghum during the Civil War when union blockades on southern
ports prevented goods, including Louisiana grown sugar, from leaving the docks During
prohibition, sorghum once again became the choice for moonshiners who knew government
revenuers were keeping close tabs on sugar sales, bolstered by the fact that it's an
abundant and environmentally friendly crop, rums and whiskeys made from sorghum are
gaining in popularity.
If it works, it'll be a game changer.
I think it's well worth trying.
I really thought she was going to talk when I come in here because every time I come up
with something you're like, Son, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
The talking will come if it don't work And how it tastes, well.
I mean, we don't know if we're not so sure the sorghum molasses is going to work, but if
it does, it's going to be a life changing thing.
So it's worth a shot.
Smash it in. I've been waiting to do this for a while.
Well, you know it's going to fall on you if you don't work.
It always does.
Got us fixed up.
Big Dawg got the sorghum.
You got it, buddy.
With is wild yeast and sugar cane molasses down in Brazil, it only took 16 hours for the
mash to work off.
Let's keep on. Got here. It's heavy, man.
We really don't have an abundance of sugar cane here in frickin Virginia.
But one thing we do have an abundance of is sorghum.
This sorghum molasses, it's over 50% sugar content.
I just hope it works half as good here.
That's the only job you got sent to us.
We got one shot at it.
Don't want to kill it for sure.
I want to try to keep some of it and keep it alive.
So when we're done with this, we still got some.
Maybe a big time money saving.
Damn deal right there.
I like that idea. The cool thing about yeast is it's alive.
All you got to do is keep feeding it.
If this works out, the last thing I want to do is let something happen to this precious
strain of yeast that I have.
All right. How are we going to do this without getting sticky everywhere?
Carefully. The sorghum molasses is way thicker than the sugarcane juice that we were
using in Brazil.
We're going to have to heat it up to be able to break it down.
Whoa. Let's do half one at a time.
Holy.
It looks like motor oil.
Hell, yeah.
I'm telling you what that smells like.
Rum, baby. Rum.
I'm hoping this works.
You ready to dump her?
Liquid would here. Easy, Easy.
Oh, yeah, It's all good.
Warm water. Man, that's going to make some excellent whiskey.
All right, I'm going to go and get a bucket of water, and we'll put some of this mash
over in it, and then we'll float it.
Used to it.
Oh, yeah, That's good.
I'll save some of culture.
It'll kick off much quicker if you get it started in a smaller container.
Let this get raging and we'll pitch it.
We'll wait and let it work off.
We'll see what happens. Now we got to check our sugar content.
Well, we're at about 20%.
Henry.
We need to get 17.
Just add a little water to it.
If you put too much sugar in a mash barrel, it actually kills off your yeast.
That's it right there. 17% sugar content.
Right on the money side.
That's perfect.
That's damn good. I mean, that's got to.
Be hard to beat that. Let's make a run here.
I'll just put the yeast in it.
Aren't we? Yep. Let's rip.
This is a super yeast.
This stuff sure took off fast in the bucket.
Man, I cannot believe the bowler finally sent me this yeast all the way from Brazil.
If this works in America like it does in South America, we are going to be in
business. This is going to be a game changer for our business, man.
Think about it.
I sound like a sizzling.
It is. You hear it?
You might be on something, son.
I can't wait to see what happens here.
Frank Converse pool.
We've got a sorghum mash made now just waiting on Henry to come back.
Hopefully it's MASH is going to be ready to go.
She'll get the oil and stuff changed.
In that.
Side Up first pull.
It's good she's ready to go.
That's good news. But I've got some bad news.
What? Had a buddy of mine hit.
Me up a few minutes ago?
He found a.
This picture that a guy.
Had on social.
Media. I promise.
I didn't do nothing.
Of a steal.
And sure enough.
It's ours. Damn, man.
My buddy saw it and he knows the area that the guy was.
Hunting in, and he knows that we work that area, and he just shot it to me.
You know what that means?
That means we need to go and bust our steel side apart.
It ain't gonna be easy. It don't matter.
Thousand gallon steel.
The longer it's sitting there, it's on social media.
Social media travels like wildfire.
It's instantaneous.
We need to go get that out immediately.
Let's get it out of there.
Man. This side here, we worked our butts off trying to get everything cam mode in.
We did everything we could possibly do to keep him getting found.
When you were in Franklin County, if you run up on a steel site, you turn your butt around
and you leave. It had to be somebody from out of town or some young punk wanting to
brag about he saw this steel site.
You know what he's doing? He's causing us a pile of money.
Just keep your mouth shut and damn sure don't put it on social media.
Anything in it is.
Yeah. How much is in it, Josh?
15 gallons.
Probably 15 gallons.
That's a lot of wheat.
Yeah, The thousand gallon pot was the son of a gun to get loaded in the truck.
And that was before we put mash in it.
Oh, my God.
And we had Tickle Page, Henry, Kenny and me.
I told you, we need a page.
I knew that thing was heavier than I thought it was.
Our only hope is those boards and come along it on there.
Hook it to a tree right here and pull it up the board.
All right. We'll give it a shot.
Come on, let's get this unloaded.
We got to do that first.
Well, one thing's for sure about me, Henry.
Kenny, when we're together, I don't really think there's too many jobs that we can't get
done. But this thing is big.
It's huge. It's heavy.
It's waterlogged.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We're just going to have to get it done and get it the hell out
of here. All right, fellas.
Ready to rock? Ready when you are.
That's pulling it.
Looking good.
That's good right now.
Go a little bit more. Looking good.
Oh, a little bit more.
So I got. Told you?
Did I not tell you you.
Would have a tree mount around?
Let's go back and check on that map.