MJC Science Colloquium Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Mead, beer and wine have been around for thousands of years. Distilled Spirits have possibly been around for 2,600 years. Alcohol has been traded, bought, sold, used for currency, used for medicine and to power vehicles. History of Alcohol

ethanol especially when considered as the intoxicating agent in fermented and distilled liquors C 2 H 5 OH – Ethyl Alcohol Alcohol

Beer – fermented grains with hops Starch converted into fermentable sugars by use of enzymes and heat, fermented with yeast Hops are added for aroma and bitter taste Wine – fermented grapes Sugars in grapes fermented with yeast Mead – fermented honey and malt Sugars in honey and malt fermented with yeast The Science of Alcohol

Hops – Humulus Lupulus (female flowers) Malt – grain allowed to germinate Starch – (amylum) is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. The Science of Alcohol

Enzymes – Alpha, Beta and Gluco Amylase break glycosidic bonds of starch Sugar – edible crystalline carbohydrates, i.e. Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose Yeast - Saccharomyces cerevisiae converts carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and alcohols The Science of Alcohol

Specific Gravity - the density of a substance compared to the density of a reference substance Vaporization point – (boiling point) of an element or compound is a phase transition from the liquid or solid phase to gas phase The Science of Alcohol

Mashing - is the process of combining a mix of milled grain and water, and heating this mixture. Mashing allows the enzymes in the malt to break down the starch in the grain into sugars, typically maltose to create a malty liquid called wort. There are two main methods – infusion mashing, in which the grains are heated in one vessel decoction mashing, in which a proportion of the grains are boiled and then returned to the mash, raising the temperature. [2] [2] Mashing involves pauses at certain temperatures (notably 45 °C, 62 °C and 73 °C), and takes place in a "mash tun" - an insulated brewing vessel with a false bottom. The end product of mashing is called a "mash". The Science of Alcohol

Ethanol fermentation - also referred to as alcoholic fermentation, is a biological process in which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose are converted into cellular energy and thereby produce ethanol and carbon dioxide as metabolic waste products. Because yeasts perform this conversion in the absence of oxygen, ethanol fermentation is classified as anaerobic. The Science of Alcohol

Distillation - is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in their boiling points. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction. The Science of Alcohol

Simple Distillation Lab distillation Column Basic Pot Still

Fermentation of sugars by yeast Produce many different types of alcohol Heads ( boiling point starts at 156d F ) Acetaldehyde Ethyl acetate Methanol Diacetyl Acrolein Hearts ( boiling point 173.6d F ) Ethyl Alcohol Tails Iso butanol Iso amyl Propanol The Science of Alcohol

I told you Science was SEXY

In the beginning

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November

Cold House Vodka

MSB Outlaw Moonshine

September 30