Moonshine

Legality

Moonshine in basically pure alcohol depending on the maker. The process of brewing the alcohol is not, in fact, illegal. Moonshine is only illegal because, by the very nature of it going straight from brewer to customer, it cannot be taxed. Therefore, the only people who will hunt down "moonshiners" are IRS agents. 
 

Health Concerns

Because moonshine must be created in secret, it is usually created without regard to health. Moonshiners will use anything at their disposal to distill their product, the most dangerous being a radiator. Traces of methanol and glycol, coming from the antifreeze in the radiator, have been found in several moonshine concoctions.
 

Flame Test

A common quality test of moonshine is called the flame test. Basically, a spoon is filled with the moonshine in questioned and set alight. The theory holds that safe moonshine will burn blue, while contaminated moonshine will burn yellow. However, any methanol contained in the spirit will also burn blue. Also, if there is any lead in the moonshine, it will burn red, leading to the expression "Lead burns red and makes you dead"