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Primo
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A question for those who have wok still and know a little something something
#9671780 - 01/24/09 04:01 PM (15 years, 6 days ago) |
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I have been using a Wok still for a little while now experimenting and trying out different things and recipes. And i have heard that some people say that this way of distilling creates alot of methanol others say say it leaves more methanol in then other types of distilling but its so small it really doesnt matter anyways. Others say that if the recipe you have doesnt have that much methanol to begin with it wont in the end. Who is right in this? Also i had a theory. I do not know the exact numbers so please do not burn me at the stake but doesnt methanol cook off at 150degress and Alcohol around 175 and water around 200 something. What if you found that the low setting on your stove got the mash to around 155? Wouldnt when you take the wok off the top after a little while, wouldnt it be Methanol in the bowl instead of alcohol? Then couldnt you discard that and then turn up the heat just a touch so that you can then start concentrating the alcohol? If thats silly my apologies for the stupidity but if any one knows any chemistry or science to back this let me know.
Also i heard once on another board somewhere that even if you turn your heat up to around 180degress that the temperature will remain at 150 until all at that level is cooked off. This seems absurd because im sure theres iron or salt or something else in the water, and the water can not stop rising in heat just because a element cooks off at that point but this person seemed to be the big guy on the board and knew what he was talking about. Maybe he was just describing what he meant wrong.
Anyway if anyone could lend a opinion on this i would appreciate it, thank you!
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CptnGarden
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Re: A question for those who have wok still and know a little something something [Re: Primo]
#9671995 - 01/24/09 04:46 PM (15 years, 6 days ago) |
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if your cooking a decent sized mash, just fire it up to a distilling temp, and discard the first little bit of your collection
it will greatly reduce any methanol in the mash
this is by theory though, i brew cider, im not into making alcohol distillates.
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Primo
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Re: A question for those who have wok still and know a little something something [Re: CptnGarden]
#9672601 - 01/24/09 06:49 PM (15 years, 6 days ago) |
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Thats interesting that you brew cider, i am trying a recipe but it has this very strange smell. Its almost like a beer smell which ive been brewing for a while now but just recently i am trying other things out. Does your cider have this kind of smell to it? OR is it suppose to have a more fruit smell to it?
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daussaulit
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Re: A question for those who have wok still and know a little something something [Re: Primo]
#9672684 - 01/24/09 07:08 PM (15 years, 6 days ago) |
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Quote:
Primo said: I have been using a Wok still for a little while now experimenting and trying out different things and recipes. And i have heard that some people say that this way of distilling creates alot of methanol others say say it leaves more methanol in then other types of distilling but its so small it really doesnt matter anyways.
Distillation never creates methanol.
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Primo
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Re: A question for those who have wok still and know a little something something [Re: Primo]
#9672843 - 01/24/09 07:37 PM (15 years, 6 days ago) |
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My mistake i meant it concentrates the methanol like it concentrates the alcohol. So the amount of it in the drink is more "there" i guess you would say
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daussaulit
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Re: A question for those who have wok still and know a little something something [Re: Primo]
#9673384 - 01/24/09 09:08 PM (15 years, 6 days ago) |
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During regular fermentation, there is so little methanol produced by yeast, that the methanol risks consumption of your own distilled spirit are so low that the ethanol would kill you many times over before you'd have to worry about it.
As for just pulling off the wok when it hits 155F in hopes of just discarding the "heads" doesn't work either. If you take a pot of water, heat it to 100F, and then throw a lid on, water condenses on the lid. The evaporation occurs at nearly all temperatures(example: leaving ice cubes in your freezer), and just because methanol's boiling point is 148.6F doesn't mean that you'll be able to collect only methanol at that temp. You'll be pulling off water and ethanol as well.
The point of cutting the "heads and tails" when you distill is to create a cleaner alcohol. Those higher alcohols are also known as fusel alcohols and can have flavors that you do not want in your final product along with increases the chances of a hangover(supposedly).
As far as the mash remaining a certain temperature because the minute amount of methanol that could possibly be there has no found basis. You can take a bottle of something alcoholic(like mash), or beer, or wine, and then boil it in a pot. The temperature of that liquid will eventually reach the boiling point of water because that's what your mash, wine, or beer is mainly composed of. It will hit whatever the boiling point of water is(depending on elevation and whatnot), however, the alcohol will remain as long as there is liquid left, because the water and the alcohol combine into an azeotropic mixture.
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Primo
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Re: A question for those who have wok still and know a little something something [Re: daussaulit]
#9678320 - 01/25/09 06:16 PM (15 years, 5 days ago) |
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Actually i didnt mean that one would pull off the wok at 155degrees i meant you find the point at which your burner gets the pot up to 155 then you let it cook for a little bit with the Wok on top and then discard the by products of the cooking at 155 or whatever the temperature is that methanol cooks off at. Now obviously when you take the wok off there would be some water and ethanol in the bowl to but would it not mostly be whatever part methanol is in your mash? At least a good part of it? Thats my question.
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