CalwiseSpirits Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 Does anyone know how to make non-alcoholic distilled spirits (e.g. Seedlip)? What do you use as a base? My initial thought is to use a mix of water and glycerin but one of the main issues I see is the lack of solubility and stability of oils in water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 I thought seedlip was non-oil containing hydrosol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalwiseSpirits Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 2 hours ago, Silk City Distillers said: I thought seedlip was non-oil containing hydrosol. It may very well be. I don't know and I haven't been able to find much information on the production process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexCF Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Can't help you there, but if you're not already making any non-alcoholic products, remember to review your FDA registration and see if it needs updating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTC Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 I found this while researching this same question. “It takes us six weeks to make Seedlip,” says Branson. “We effectively use the same equipment and ingredients as our alcoholic counterpart but we use them in different ways and for different reasons.” Seedlip starts out as neutral grain spirit (NGS); each botanical is macerated in a specific style of NGS, with abv strengths and base grains differing from one ingredient to another. After maceration, each botanical is distilled twice: once to remove the alcohol through evaporation, and a second time to “bring everything else over and capture and concentrate the fantastic flavour of the plant”. That equates to 36 distillations before the distillates are blended, filtered and bottled. https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2018/11/is-greater-transparency-needed-in-non-alcoholic-spirits/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalwiseSpirits Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 17 hours ago, BTC said: I found this while researching this same question. “It takes us six weeks to make Seedlip,” says Branson. “We effectively use the same equipment and ingredients as our alcoholic counterpart but we use them in different ways and for different reasons.” Seedlip starts out as neutral grain spirit (NGS); each botanical is macerated in a specific style of NGS, with abv strengths and base grains differing from one ingredient to another. After maceration, each botanical is distilled twice: once to remove the alcohol through evaporation, and a second time to “bring everything else over and capture and concentrate the fantastic flavour of the plant”. That equates to 36 distillations before the distillates are blended, filtered and bottled. https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2018/11/is-greater-transparency-needed-in-non-alcoholic-spirits/ Thanks for sharing this. I'm trying to wrap my head around this method. When the alcohol is distilled out of the herbs I would think that it strips the flavor out with it too, like making gin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzDistilling Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 Reverse osmosis can effectively remove most if not all ethanol from a spirit or gin. Commercial rigs are common in the wine industry for lowering the ABV of certain wine styles. However, any method used to remove the ethanol from say a gin will impact the gin's flavour, as many of the flavour components are filtered/distilled out with the ethanol. The process above puzzles me as well, as many of the botanicals will be removed with the ethanol. Do some research into the THC oil scene. They are using a lot of CO2 extraction methods, as well as messing with various other food grade solvents. Here is a list of approved food grade solvents (some are utterly scarey) https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/food-safety/food-additives/lists-permitted/15-carrier-extraction-solvents.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaChascona Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Hi, This is a kind of old but interesting post. Has anyone done any experimenting on this? I'd like to give it a try, but I am confused about the processes above. If you are using NGS or Hydrosol , you would have color in the finished process...No? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 Flavored water... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaChascona Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 On 7/3/2020 at 9:18 AM, Silk City Distillers said: Flavored water... ......at $40.00 a bottle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrate Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Hey Guys, this discussion is a bit older but the topic is more and more a thing. Any developments regarding non-alcoholic spirits around here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 Yeah, I've been playing around a bit. Mostly screwing with emulsifiers to see if you can increase oil/terpene content while maintaining a stable emulsion. Pectin, xanthan, and other hydrocolloids to enhance mouthfeel without needing to add sugar (which would create shelf stability issues). Mouthfeel of spirits is so very different than the current batch of non-alcoholics, I want a higher viscosity and a longer finish, otherwise it just seems like flavored water. Add in preservatives, and it's a chemistry set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic.Distiller Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 I've played around with these for awhile. Essentially you macerate botanicals for a couple weeks in water and a little alcohol, distill (tossing the alcohol), and add a tiny bit of citric acid. Interesting to add some xanthan and other gums. If I was to try it again, I'll probably add a touch vegetable glycerin to give that feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 Glycerin in low concentrations is problematic, as you are basically adding sugar for bacteria to consume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrate Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 @Silk City Distillers your approach is to develop something deeper and better than what's out there at the moment. But I guess there is a downside with emulsifiers? Otherwise there would have been brands that use it. Sugar at a low level seems problematic, but at a higher level it would be able to carry aromas and to be stable like a sirup. Am I getting it right? Most producers use concentrated alcoholic distillates and dilute down with water until they reach <0.5% ABV. I think that is the most common way to produce alcohol free alternatives today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic.Distiller Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 On 4/4/2022 at 7:56 AM, Silk City Distillers said: Glycerin in low concentrations is problematic, as you are basically adding sugar for bacteria to consume. Right, which is part of the reason you add citric acid which doubles as a flavor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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