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funkyjunky
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Mash to Alcohol without distillation?
#14009207 - 02/22/11 06:51 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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I've been trying to distill my own alcohol, and realized I'll have to buy a still or at least buy the proper material to make one. But my difficulties bore an idea... What if one took a simple fermentation (water, sugar, yeast, & nutrients) and progressively filtered it to nearly pure alcohol and water? If possible, this would be equivalent to proper vodka cut to 50% strength (assuming a high-yield yeast ~20% ethanol v/v). My crude tek would be let mash settle, decant (and repeat, maybe including fridge decanting), then filter through cheese cloth, coffee filters, charmin filter plugs, and finally a few runs through a brita filter.
I realize this would be more work than using a still, but has anyone tried "purifying" a fermentation to drinkable quality without distillation?
Since my rigged stills are poor at best, I'll try this anyways, but I appreciate any comments to help me out.
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Raven Gnosis
𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔦𝔡𝔞
Registered: 02/10/11
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: funkyjunky]
#14009276 - 02/22/11 07:05 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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Shit, I've always just kinda did the same thing, given I typically don't have the money to spend on a still. Except I only ran it through coffee filters a few times to get rid of the substrate.
Shit is potent and if I don't drink plenty of water it gives me a horrendous headache. But, nothing beats a 'lil home made booze with the bro's and buddies.
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Asante
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Registered: 02/06/02
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: funkyjunky]
#14016585 - 02/23/11 09:29 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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go back to basics:
What I do.. I put a soup kettle on the furnace. In it I put 3 1qt cans with the top and bottom taken out with a can opener. I pour 4 liters of wash in (13-14%). On the cans, above the wash, I put a bowl (stainless steel doggie bowl, bought that new at the petstore). Instead of a lid, I put a wok roundbottom pan on top of the soup kettle, and I fill this wok with water. I turn the gas on high. In 15 minutes, the mash boils and I turn it down a bit. From then on, every 10-15min I siphon the water from the wok and quickly replenish it with cold water. In about 45 minutes I turn off the gas, remove the wok, and take the bowl out with a pair of pliers, and pour it in a bottle with a funnel. I pour the spent mash down the toilet and put it on the stove again, to begin a new cycle. My wok only holds 2 liters of water. If I had a roundbottom pot holding 10 liters, I wouldnt have to change water during the distillation. In 1 hour, from 14% mash, I can make 1 liter of 50-55% alcohol - a full cycle in 1 hour from putting in the mash to putting in the next mash. In 6 hours I have completed processing a 25 liter Turbo Yeast brew into 6 liters of 50+% = 100+ proof alcohol, representing about 250 glasses of booze. This alcohol is still yeasty so either you can fine it using activated carbon (brew supply store) or simply distill it again to a higher proof of more neutral tasting alcohol. (for instance 3 liters once distilled into 2 liters twice distilled at 75%/150 proof) The wash? 6kg of sugar, add lukewarm water to make 25 liters, stir in a packet of turbo yeast, cover with a cloth, ready in 2 days. Sugar and yeast cost me 6.50 euros = $10 for what will become 250 glasses of vodka (8 liter bottles at 37.5%/75 proof) The single-distilled 50-55% alcohol is storage stable and can conveniently be stored in 2 liter C*ca cola PET bottles where it awaits further lulz, such as steeping herbs in it and redistilling to make absinthe, pastis, ouzo and similar liquors.
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daussaulit
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: funkyjunky]
#14016718 - 02/23/11 09:49 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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Mike's Hard Lemonade and Zima are very similar to what you are trying to achieve. Due to the taxation, it is cheaper to make a "beer" than to add hard liquor to a product, from a regulatory standpoint. That is why those drinks are called malternatives, because they are essentially beer, which has been filtered of nearly everything, and then reflavored to spec. Can it be done at home? Doubtful, I'm not even sure what kind of equipment they would use, but it I would guess it would be a specialized reverse osmosis filter.
Anyways, there is a way you can distill without building a still, and that is freeze distillation. You freeze the fermented product, the water will freeze and turn into ice, and then you can drain off the remaining liquid. BrewDog did this to their beer and bottled their "Sink the Bismarck!", which was at 41% ABV. From there you could filter it to remove the remaining sediment, but I'm not sure if you will end up with an aesthetically pleasing product.
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ABC
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: daussaulit]
#14026369 - 02/25/11 04:36 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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If you can siphon it, you can avoid the yeast sediment at the bottom.
I've gone straight from the primary fermenter into bottles with some of my meads and they are pretty much clear.
If you let fermentation finish and then stick the entire fermenter in the fridge, everything will settle to the bottom, making the initial siphoning easier. I would siphon rather than decant to avoid oxidation. I would spend the extra money on brewing something you know will taste good without all the additional work.
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jokefox
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: ABC]
#14030759 - 02/26/11 02:34 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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theres alot more to stilling then what you guys are saying
at the start of the run you get menthonal that is not good for you and the end you get bad stuff as well
dont kill yourself , either stay away from it , or put in the money a simple still can be made for under 200$ , just research
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daussaulit
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Registered: 08/06/02
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: jokefox]
#14034789 - 02/27/11 08:27 AM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
jokefox said: theres alot more to stilling then what you guys are saying
at the start of the run you get menthonal that is not good for you and the end you get bad stuff as well
True, which is why you toss out the "heads" and "tails" of the run, however it will not kill you or cause blindness or anything like that, it just won't taste good. The amount of methanol is a tiny fraction of a percent, and the antidote to methanol poisoning is ethanol.
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jokefox
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: daussaulit]
#14035748 - 02/27/11 12:33 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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You can keep the heads. Heart and tails for the next batch
unless you use a relux still then there's really no point for another batch
even if you used a pot still with a thumper on it that would give you a nice 85%
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Peterthinks
(Caulking) gun for hire
Registered: 11/10/04
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: jokefox]
#14045599 - 02/28/11 09:48 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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A still is easy...
Silicone fish tank air hose, 2 liter bottle/frozen, copper tubing, bucket, thermometer, a couple rubber stoppers.
-------------------- Give a man a fire and he will be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life. NEWB NEWBIE NEWCOMER IGNORANT? QUESTIONS? Click HERE HERE HERE HERE For detailed instructions with pictures on how to grow mushrooms. There is a lot of info on the Shroomery and this is what you need to know.
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Peterthinks
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: Peterthinks]
#14045646 - 02/28/11 09:56 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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-------------------- Give a man a fire and he will be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life. NEWB NEWBIE NEWCOMER IGNORANT? QUESTIONS? Click HERE HERE HERE HERE For detailed instructions with pictures on how to grow mushrooms. There is a lot of info on the Shroomery and this is what you need to know.
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Therian
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Registered: 03/04/09
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: Peterthinks]
#14046204 - 02/28/11 11:44 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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The Op's original recipe is the same as a sugar wash used to create vodka. It tastes pretty shitty, esp. if you ferment to a high alcohol content as more by products are created from the yeast the higher the gravity (the stronger the mash) There are some homebrew websites you can go to where they sell the turbo yeast packs along with the flavorings which should mask the taste of your mash. You can purchase isinglass cheaply which should aid in clarifying your mash. I would then freeze it, and make a cheap carbon filter tube to help remove any flavors prior to drinking it. It usually has a rank, somewhat cidery/vinegar taste to it.
I've seen solar still that have been made very cheaply from common household items and can distill to relatively high alcohol contents.
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Shins
Fun guy
Registered: 09/15/04
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Re: Mash to Alcohol without distillation? [Re: Peterthinks]
#14046257 - 02/28/11 11:54 PM (13 years, 1 month ago) |
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Wok still or freeze precipitation! Freeze you need the right temperature though, look it up.
The methanol in any batch should not be sufficient enough to harm you short term.
You would certainly die first of ethanol poisoning before methanol.
Most methanol poisonings have been because rednecks purposely collect the methanol and purposely add it for "kick"
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