Though backyard stills have been in existence since Prohibition, it seemed unlikely that any of the underground operations would ever be condoned by the President of the United States of America. A few years ago, however, George W. Bush did just that when he announced that his White House was looking into a number of alternative fuel sources for the automotive addicted population of America. All of a sudden, the closet moonshiners are being celebrated for their forward thinking.

Ethanol is also known as ethyl alcohol and grain alcohol. According to the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, it can be defined as a "clear, colorless liquid with a characteristic, agreeable odour". It is also a high-performance motor fuel that produces far cleaning burning exhaust emissions than standard gasoline or diesel fuelled engines. In yet another example of his forward thinking (he also pioneered soy as a sustainable fibre for clothing), Henry Ford designed the first version of his Model T Ford to run on ethanol.

Though oil and gas interests defeated Ford’s proposal to make ethanol “the fuel of the future” its use has never totally disappeared in our society. Countries like Brazil and South Africa rely heavily on it for their fuel needs and even in the oil hungry United States, the total usage has increased to over 15 billion gallons per year.

Though the production of ethanol is slightly more labour intensive and equipment heavy than the production of bio-diesel, it is still relatively easy for backyard fuel producers to master. Quite simply, ethanol is made by fermenting and then distilling starch and sugar crops including maize, potatoes, wheat, sugar-cane, even cornstalks, fruit and vegetable waste.

The first thing that amateur ethanol producers need is a good source of raw fuel or feedstock. Feedstock can include high sugar molasses, corn, sugar beets, potatoes, or other fruit and vegetable waste. 100 gallons of the distilled material will yield approximately 10 gallons of fuel.

The five steps to ethanol production are conversion, fermentation, distillation, filtration, dehydration. Conversion involves the breaking down of carbohydrate sugars through grinding, crushing and enzyme introduction. In fermentation, yeast is added to encourage the production of alcohol. Distillation extracts the alcohol from the solution. To distill the feedstock, you need a still. Blueprints for homemade contraptions are widely available on the web and for the less structurally inclined, manufactured stills are also for sale. Filtration removes excess organic volatiles and dehydration removes excess water.

Though ethanol is becoming increasingly popular in the US and Canada, the positive effects of the fuel are not without a negative corollary. Critics of increased ethanol production in North America are mindful of the heavy burden government subsidized grain and corn place on ranchers. Subsidized crops mean an increase in price for the products leaving many ranchers struggling to find another way to feed their cattle.