Last I heard it was legal to make a certain amount for personal consumption. If they only found a few glass jugs that person was probably within their rights. Cops however don't seem to know the law as much as they pretend to...
Shows I don't know what I'm talking about - apparently things have changed or not as I understood.
Spirits
Quote:
You cannot produce spirits for beverage purposes without paying taxes and without prior approval of paperwork to operate a distilled spirits plant. [See 26 U.S.C. 5601 & 5602 for some of the criminal penalties.] There are numerous requirements that must be met that make it impractical to produce spirits for personal or beverage use. Some of these requirements are paying excise tax, filing an extensive application, filing a bond, providing adequate equipment to measure spirits, providing suitable tanks and pipelines, providing a separate building (other than a dwelling) and maintaining detailed records, and filing reports. All of these requirements are listed in 27 CFR Part 19.
Spirits may be produced for non-beverage purposes for fuel use only without payment of tax, but you also must file an application, receive TTB's approval, and follow requirements, such as construction, use, records and reports.
Fuel - that's it - making my own ethanol blend because the stuff at the pump isn't strong enough!