The hard stuff. Stills were plentiful in Penn's Trust were they also as commonly found among German=speakers in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries? Of course breweries and wineries were well known, but how about the hard stuff? I know some members of my German-speaking family's paid too much attention to their apple orchards and their beloved stills. Seems to help explain the failures of one or two family members. MY QUESTION IS Was the still and the abundance of readily available fruit and grain something new to these early colonials. Later of course Hamilton found it an easy way to raise money - tax the distillers. It was the first of a tax pattern which has become inbred in our society.