8 replies to this topic

[Wagenknecht]

Alright, I think I know the issue but I need help

Cut up and crushed (not powdered) 3.5-7g dry.
190 proof everclear.
Boil everclear for 5 minutes with mushies inside.
Let sit for 24 hours.
Strain and repeat process.

I'm ending up with TOO much alcohol at the end. If I try to double boiler evap. it off I end up with a very weak tincture. I do not get crystals if I do not boil the alcohol first.

A few questions:
Does it really need to boil? I can't get crystals any other way.
Does the alcohol need to cover all the mushies or do I need to just make sure they are all soaked for a period of time?
Can this be done with fresh mushies? (i had some half frozen and blackened mushies that have been thawed and sitting in everclear for about 2 months).
How do people get 1g into such small ml amounts?
Will powdered mushies be better and how do you powder them?

Edited by Wagenknecht, 05 February 2018 - 03:12 PM.

[coorsmikey]

No boiling is unnecessary. So is trying to get Crystals.

The alcohol only needs to barely cover the mushrooms. Just enough that there is still liquid that can be squeezed from the mushroom sludge.

Yes it’s can be done with fresh mushrooms but the water in the mushrooms will lower the ABV of the alcohol. Also make sure to allow adequate soak time for reverse osmosis to occur.

10gr Dried Mushrooms in 150 ml alcohol, filter and strain alcohol from mushrooms. You will have approx 110 ml at the end. Evaporate the 110 ml until you have 20 ml left. 2ml= 1gr.

Powdered mushrooms work just as well if not better, but make it much more difficult to filter and strain.

Measurements and math is your friend. If you use 250 ml of alcohol and 3.5gr you will need to drink all the alcohol for a 3.5 gr dose. A couple of drops will not do the trick. If you put 28gr into 250 ml then that a nice party that can be shared with small shooters with friends. I wouldn’t use any heat at all. In fact take a look a Paul Stamets cold water extraction process and consider swapping the water with alcohol if you want a really clean ride.

Edited by coorsmikey, 05 February 2018 - 04:01 PM.

[Wagenknecht]

No boiling is unnecessary. So is trying to get Crystals.

The alcohol only needs to barely cover the mushrooms. Just enough that there is still liquid that can be squeezed from the mushroom sludge.

Yes it’s can be done with fresh mushrooms but the water in the mushrooms will lower the ABV of the alcohol. Also make sure to allow adequate soak time for reverse osmosis to occur.

10gr Dried Mushrooms in 150 ml alcohol, filter and strain alcohol from mushrooms. You will have approx 110 ml at the end. Evaporate the 110 ml until you have 20 ml left. 2ml= 1gr.

Powdered mushrooms work just as well if not better, but make it much more difficult to filter and strain.

Measurements and math is your friend. If you use 250 ml of alcohol and 3.5gr you will need to drink all the alcohol for a 3.5 gr dose. A couple of drops will not do the trick. If you put 28gr into 250 ml then that a nice party that can be shared with small shooters with friends. I wouldn’t use any heat at all. In fact take a look a Paul Stamets cold water extraction process and consider swapping the water with alcohol if you want a really clean ride.

So, if Paul's method (and I like that video a lot, I nearly have it memorized) uses ice cubes to slowly melt how can we do that with alcohol?

[coorsmikey]

The alcohol doesn’t freeze so literally just get it as cold as possible in the freezer. It will be the same temp as the ice cubes but liquid. I just started playing around with this method Myself. I can say it works but couldn’t tell you if it’s any better than room temp. My point mainly is that heat is unnecessary and can also be dangerous mixed with High Percentage Alcohol.

[Juthro]

Like Mikey said, heat and high proof alcohol are a recipe for a fire.

The greater the percentage of water to alcohol the higher its flash point. To keep the flash point safely above waters boiling point you need to be at 40%ABV (80 proof) or less.

So in other words, a double boiler is no guarantee of not reaching the flash point for concentrations of alcohol above 40%.


Stay safe.

Edited by Juthro, 05 February 2018 - 05:11 PM.

[Wagenknecht]

The alcohol doesn’t freeze so literally just get it as cold as possible in the freezer. It will be the same temp as the ice cubes but liquid. I just started playing around with this method Myself. I can say it works but couldn’t tell you if it’s any better than room temp. My point mainly is that heat is unnecessary and can also be dangerous mixed with High Percentage Alcohol.

So, my thought was that the slow melting ice cubes ended up letting the water permeate the mushrooms (which is why it wouldn't work with dry) and replace the moisture contained inside the fresh mushies. It's the slow process the makes it permeate. I wonder if there i a way to slow drip the alcohol on and over the fresh mushies in a freezer.

[Juthro]

I think your over complicating this. And I should point out that using flammable solvents in a fridge or freezer is also a risk for fire and explosion.

For an alcohol extraction follow these directions.

https://mycotopia.ne...thanol-extract/

For a water extraction (its actually a decoction), follow these directions.

https://mycotopia.ne...hoopin-tea-tek/

I know there is a desire to make a better mouse trap, but try not to burn your house down while doing it... pretty please?

Good vibes, and good luck to ya ;)

[coorsmikey]

I think you saw my alcohol extraction method in my thread, that is really geared for the simplicity while having good efficiency. https://mycotopia.ne...thanol-extract/
I use that same method with chilled alcohol and also with room temp. Both ways really knock my socks off but without the proper equipment to measure the exact content of alkaloids I really couldn’t say if one is better than the other. I do believe what makes the cold water extract work better than a hot water is the preservation of the alkaloids with the cold temps. If your goal is to get the maximum amount of goodies and the least waste, a Soxhlet extractor is the best tool available to the average hobbyist.

[Wagenknecht]

I think your over complicating this. And I should point out that using flammable solvents in a fridge or freezer is also a risk for fire and explosion.

For an alcohol extraction follow these directions.

https://mycotopia.ne...thanol-extract/

For a water extraction (its actually a decoction), follow these directions.

https://mycotopia.ne...hoopin-tea-tek/

I know there is a desire to make a better mouse trap, but try not to burn your house down while doing it... pretty please?

Good vibes, and good luck to ya ;)

Thanks, yes, that was my basline for all my other attempts, but I still ended up with too much alcohol to actually consume a single dose. I want to condense it down. 300ml is too much even for 7g dry.