Boiling off the methanol for freeze distillation

Question

Boiling off the methanol for freeze distillation

Him

2021年12月1日 20:00

I would like to freeze distill some hard cider I've brewed to up the gravity. However, it is well known that freeze distillation concentrates the methanol present in the booze.

My question is, since methanol is the "first" thing that boils off during regular distillation; can I boil my cider for just a very short time to remove the methanol, cool it down, then proceed with freeze distillation? If so, what would be the best way to go about it without losing all of my ethanol?

Topic distillation homebrew

Category Mac

Neil Meyer · Accepted Answer · 2021年12月1日 20:00

What you are making is Apple Jack. Because you are freeze distilling all the bad stuff that you remove from first runs of your boil remains. What you end up with is the most treacherous alcohol known to man. Apple Jack goes down smooth. It is amazing on its own, it is nice with soda water or some sparkling apple juice.

You have to drink it like rich people drin cognac because you are going to want to keep drinking it but if you do it is going to hurt you. I don't lie when I say the hangover you get from this is bad... There is a reason why the hangover you get from this is called apple palsy

jim · Accepted Answer · 2021年12月1日 05:17

My information has the boiling temperature at 144 degrees F. Heating your distillate to 144 will boil the methanol and tend to slow heat rise until it has finished evaporating and before the evaporating temperature of ethanal. This is basically what happens with every still run that I've watched on moonshiners. If methanal doesn't evaporate first how is it always first out of the still. This is how they removed the methanol on the only freeze distillation show moonshiners did in 2021.

farmersteve · Accepted Answer · 2018年1月24日 15:53

Methanol in cider can be a problem. It's much higher in apple juice than beer. The boiling point of methanol is 148°F(64.7°C) so if you want to boil it off before the Ethanol, boiling point 173°F (78.37°C) you could do that. Bring up to temperature for a few minutes should be enough to blow off the methanol leaving most of the ethanol behind. But this might cause a pectin haze problem. In the future, doing this before fermentation will significantly reduce the levels of methanol.

I'm adding this to my answer so you all can read it at the top level

Methanol is a result of pectin breaking down into galactose units. Pasteurizing the cider and not adding any pectinase enzyme generally reduces the methanol in hard cider. Here is a peer reviewed paper on the subject

Evil Zymurgist · Accepted Answer · 2018年1月21日 04:21

1

Evil Zymurgist answered at 2018年1月21日 04:21

I wouldn't worry about it. The methanol concentrated by freeze concentration of your cider wouldn't even be close to the acceptable amounts of methanol that's in commercial vodka.

Boiling off the methanol for freeze distillation

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