1st go at tincture, something ain't right

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brylldo

New Member
Any guesses what's going on here? This is my 1st attempt at a tincture. Used 151 everclear. 2oz and 750ml. Dried in the toaster oven and used a coffee grinder. Had problems getting it to filter with paper filters but went fine with reusable metal mesh coffee filter.

Biggest difference between the cloudy jar is I tried to hasten evaporation by giving it a warm water bath. Got no hotter than warm, I stuck my hand in the water periodically and same as warm/hot bathwater. Only thing I can think of is I contaminated it with some splashed oil as I made some popcorn nearby. I ran it through a coffee filter again and it pulled out some dark colored oily substance but still cloudy. And the oil seems to be forming again on the bottom, a little of the same in the clear jar but small drops and suspended, not on the bottom.

How/why is it cloudy? What's the dark oil? If it was just the water from the alcohol (I'm in a 151 state) should be same in both jars.

Thanks for any help. I'm mainly concerned the cloudy is something that could make someone sick but I know the etoh content is still high enough it
 

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brylldo

New Member
151+ is not available in Michigan, mail order or otherwise. I'll be sure to grab some next time I'm in Indiana, but even Michiganders fly over Indiana.

Plenty of people claiming success on 100proof, vodka, brandy, etc. But either way, that wouldn't explain the difference in the two jars as they both were poured off the same batch. And what is precipitating out?
 
Thundercat

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
@Fadedawg so what do you think this guy did? I’ve been trying to figure it out. I assumed the cloudy alcohol was from moisture in it, but wasn’t sure what the deal was with the separation. Maybe the oil and water splitting again as it settles?
 
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JC5066

Member
I'm guessing it contaminated. Either the popcorn oil or something else. I would chalk it up to being more careful and tossing it. I know this is not the same things, but from someone that used to brew beer and make wine sanitation is everything.
 
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brylldo

New Member
Right, 151 is available not the high grade (200) that is available in other states. Some people stated water concerns.
 
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brylldo

New Member
JC5066 said:
I'm guessing it contaminated. Either the popcorn oil or something else. I would chalk it up to being more careful and tossing it. I know this is not the same things, but from someone that used to brew beer and make wine sanitation is everything.
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This isn't beer. I agree sanitizing is everything for beer, you don't make beer in high proof alcohol, it's self sanitizing
 
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brylldo

New Member
So while I don't KNOW what happened I wonder, maybe, I overloaded it, too much weed for the quantity of ETOH. So not too much water but not enough alcohol. I started with well over 3oz of well trimmed bud, not trimmings.

I gave some of the precipitate to a buddy that dabs and he said it definitely got him high and likened it to BHO although different consistency.

Also, I'd say the tincture itself, doesn't have that strong an effect (if at all). I attribute that to me not decarbing properly. I was too afraid of over cooking it but after some more research I needed hotter longer. I think this ties in to it worked for him but obviously the vape pen heats it in the process.

I could try heating all the tincture up to 200+, letting it set for 20min and then trying it. Maybe that would be a good experiment?
 
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DaFreak

Well-Known Member
With other types of methods I've always noticed that if you shake it too long you start to dissolve the nasty parts of the plant itself and the end product can get nasty. Same THC content with nasty. Wonder if you shook it took long.
 
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brylldo

New Member
DaFreak said:
With other types of methods I've always noticed that if you shake it too long you start to dissolve the nasty parts of the plant itself and the end product can get nasty. Same THC content with nasty. Wonder if you shook it took long.
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I honestly don't remember my exact process but it was the short version, 24 hrs in the freezer, agitating every now and again. Not the week on the shelf version. Still smells boozy although not too much of an alcohol "bite". I probably should have evaporated longer but lost wood when it got cloudy. Everyone else's looked so nice and clear.

Think the water content of 151 could also have stripped some of the undesirables?
 
Fadedawg

Fadedawg

Well-Known Member
brylldo said:
Any guesses what's going on here? This is my 1st attempt at a tincture. Used 151 everclear. 2oz and 750ml. Dried in the toaster oven and used a coffee grinder. Had problems getting it to filter with paper filters but went fine with reusable metal mesh coffee filter.

Biggest difference between the cloudy jar is I tried to hasten evaporation by giving it a warm water bath. Got no hotter than warm, I stuck my hand in the water periodically and same as warm/hot bathwater. Only thing I can think of is I contaminated it with some splashed oil as I made some popcorn nearby. I ran it through a coffee filter again and it pulled out some dark colored oily substance but still cloudy. And the oil seems to be forming again on the bottom, a little of the same in the clear jar but small drops and suspended, not on the bottom.

How/why is it cloudy? What's the dark oil? If it was just the water from the alcohol (I'm in a 151 state) should be same in both jars.

Thanks for any help. I'm mainly concerned the cloudy is something that could make someone sick but I know the etoh content is still high enough it
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The cloudiness is a mixture of water, alcohol, and terpenes. The water may also have some water solubles included.

150 proof has excess water and so extracts more non targeted polar elements. If you can't get azeotropic 190 proof or better, you can remove excess water before extraction using a desiccant like Drierite.
 
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