An idea....a dream

[Frothwizard]

Okay, I was doing some reading regarding this: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2 ... -one-week/

Which put simply for those that don't want to read it, is aging a whisky by putting it in a small barrel for 6 months. Then chopping up that barrel and putting it in with the whisky in a big pressure vat and changing the pressure constantly over a week to age it considerably more. It doesn't state to how long as that would be subjective, however I'd guess the more you can force the whisky through the wood pores, the sooner it tastes like it's aged longer.

Well without all the fancy equipment I'm sure this guy has access to...does anything think that it'd be a possibility to do this in a pressure cooker? Shove some chips in with a litre or two of your whisky....cook it up....let it cool....cook it up...etc

Do that randomly for a week or more and see what it comes out like when it's all cooled down and recombined.

Anyone see anything wrong with this method?

I'm new to all this, but definitely not a purist and love ideas like this.

[kiwikeg]

Sure, its been talked about plenty of the forums, at its most basic, put booze in strong jar ie agee, mason or whatever you guys call a preserving jar add oak, put in freezer, next day put on bench, freezer,bench, repeat ti satisfied,

But honestly the aeration meothod championed by doc works better.

[Frothwizard]

Surely the pressure cooker would create greater pressure than the freezing method?...and thereby a greater penetration of the oak etc...

[MacStill]

Surely the pressure cooker would create greater pressure than the freezing method?...and thereby a greater penetration of the oak etc...

Alcohol, heat and pressure, you think the combination of them is ok ?

[Andy]

Surely the pressure cooker would create greater pressure than the freezing method?...and thereby a greater penetration of the oak etc...

Alcohol, heat and pressure, you think the combination of them is ok ?

only if you use the pressure cooker inside a gas stove :wtf: and there you have it. how to explode your kitchen.


I know that people have used corks and air pumps to create pressure in bottles. time and patience is the easiest set up for the hobbyist

[Frothwizard]

Surely the pressure cooker would create greater pressure than the freezing method?...and thereby a greater penetration of the oak etc...

Alcohol, heat and pressure, you think the combination of them is ok ?

Awww c'mon Mac. You take all the fun out of it!!!

[MacStill]

Surely the pressure cooker would create greater pressure than the freezing method?...and thereby a greater penetration of the oak etc...

Alcohol, heat and pressure, you think the combination of them is ok ?

Awww c'mon Mac. You take all the fun out of it!!!

We have always taken safety seriously here, it's not about to change ;-)

[Frothwizard]

Surely the pressure cooker would create greater pressure than the freezing method?...and thereby a greater penetration of the oak etc...

Alcohol, heat and pressure, you think the combination of them is ok ?

Awww c'mon Mac. You take all the fun out of it!!!

We have always taken safety seriously here, it's not about to change ;-)

Rightly so...

[db1979]

The idea of a pressure cooker is to increase the boiling point of the water inside it which means that the food gets hotter and cooks faster. If you put some of your aging stock in there and heated it you may end up with adverse degradation reactions happening to any number of the complex flavour molecules in your spirit. If you want to play around with pressure, don't mess with heat at the same time. But then you can always go ahead and prove me wrong but my money is on foul tasting product.

I would try some other way of increasing pressure rather than heat, you could try pressurising a pressure cooker with CO2 from a CO2 cylinder, a pump, or putting some dry ice inside the pressure cooker along with your spirit. Just make sure the pressure relief valve is working first! The last option is the only one that wouldn't require modifications to your pressure cooker.

[Aussiedownunder01]

Or go the other way put it in a suitable container and pull a vacuum
a simple refrigerations mechanic s one will pull - 25 easy
Pull a vacuum then release it a few times just a thought

[db1979]

A vacuum will vaporise the spirit but won't force it into the oak any faster.

[Muppet]

The idea of a pressure cooker is to increase the boiling point of the water inside it which means that the food gets hotter and cooks faster. If you put some of your aging stock in there and heated it you may end up with adverse degradation reactions happening to any number of the complex flavour molecules in your spirit. If you want to play around with pressure, don't mess with heat at the same time. But then you can always go ahead and prove me wrong but my money is on foul tasting product.

I would try some other way of increasing pressure rather than heat, you could try pressurising a pressure cooker with CO2 from a CO2 cylinder, a pump, or putting some dry ice inside the pressure cooker along with your spirit. Just make sure the pressure relief valve is working first! The last option is the only one that wouldn't require modifications to your pressure cooker.

Pressurizing gasses is not a game I'd play with, there's a reason gas pressure vessel are very over engineered. The amount of stored energy in a compressed gas is huge, the amount of compression and therefore decompression (stored energy) warrants specific specialized equipment and a trained, experienced operator. Adding a flammable solvent to the mix is a bad idea.

[db1979]

Pressure cookers are usually designed to hold 1 atm above atmospheric pressure. Or 15 psi. So yeah won't need to be serious pressure if you want to use a pressure cooker. But if the pressure needs to be higher for this technique to work then a pressure cooker won't do.

Also, not sure if a pressure cooker will handle a vacuum, they are designed to keep pressure in not out. I've just had a quick read of a few sites that detail converting a pressure cooker into a vacuum chamber and so far they all mention getting rid of the lid, changing the seal and using a flat, strong and hard board as a lid.

Muppet, I agree that this isn't something to be done without concern for safety but I don't see how the spirit that is being aged is supposed to ignite if there is no increase in temperature. Further if the dry ice idea works then it'll involve an unmodified pressure cooker that will release pressure if it gets over 15 psi and at a temperature lower than room temp. Also, ethanol is made industrially by reacting water vapour and ethene gas at 300 C and between 60 and 70 atm (15 psi rating of the pressure cooker is equivalent to 2 atm of pressure or 1 atm above atmospheric pressure). If ethanol is a product of this reaction at those conditions then it is stable at those conditions and there is no way a pressure cooker that isn't being heated is going to cause ethanol to spontaneously ignite. Once again, if CO2 (from dry ice for example) is used then the amount of oxygen in the pressure cooker will be reduced (especially if the lid is left off for a little while to allow the generated CO2 to displace the air). Ethanols Autoignition temperature in air is reported between 363 C to 392 C. Ethanol won't burn in CO2.

[Muppet]

Muppet, I agree that this isn't something to be done without concern for safety but I don't see how the spirit that is being aged is supposed to ignite if there is no increase in temperature. Further if the dry ice idea works then it'll involve an unmodified pressure cooker that will release pressure if it gets over 15 psi and at a temperature lower than room temp. Also, ethanol is made industrially by reacting water vapour and ethene gas at 300 C and between 60 and 70 atm (15 psi rating of the pressure cooker is equivalent to 2 atm of pressure or 1 atm above atmospheric pressure). If ethanol is a product of this reaction at those conditions then it is stable at those conditions and there is no way a pressure cooker that isn't being heated is going to cause ethanol to spontaneously ignite. Once again, if CO2 (from dry ice for example) is used then the amount of oxygen in the pressure cooker will be reduced (especially if the lid is left off for a little while to allow the generated CO2 to displace the air). Ethanols Autoignition temperature in air is reported between 363 C to 392 C. Ethanol won't burn in CO2.

The problem arises if the vessel decompresses to atmosphere in an uncontrolled environment. Even pressurized with co2 it will mix with oxygen after decompression. In the average house without e10 rated intrinsicly safe electrics. There is a risk of unidentified ignition sources. Small chance I know but the risk is there.

[drunkmore]

Sorry I think there is safety and there is paranoid please how many times do you cross the road E10 intrinsically safe wired house? :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: Chances are extremely slim


Mac good point about heat pressurised flammable liquid
Db Cool idea But costly don't you think
LX great bit of research on cheap parts

Gauge to get safe level of pressure and repeatable results
Bicycle pump reduces the chance of over doing the pressure.

My suggestion is Stainless steel pressure cooker and swap out the rubber ring for Teflon.

This could work


Or you could just put oak staves in a demijohn and leave it in a cupboard for a few months .

[Konzo]

Stick with aeration. It is simple and it works! I have seen and taste it first hand.

[db1979]

Db Cool idea But costly don't you think

Didn't think much about cost...just the chemistry nerd in me taking an idea and running with it :smile: :-B

Or you could just put oak staves in a demijohn and leave it in a cupboard for a few months .

Agreed! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[db1979]

Stick with aeration. It is simple and it works! I have seen and taste it first hand.

I'm yet to try this, but it's high on the agenda!

[Moonshine Millar]

Aerations works.....check this out :obscene-birdiedoublered: :obscene-birdiedoublered:

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=5213

[bt1]

howdy,

Stick with aeration. It is simple and it works! I have seen and taste it first hand.

+1 :handgestures-thumbupleft:
and safe, easy, cheap, min effort

bt1