Psilo extract in Everclear

[Doctor D]

Yesterday, I started a psilocybin extract in Everclear. As I have more shrooms than I will ever be able to eat, I decided to grind them all up and make an extraction to preserve as much magic as possible. I ended up with just over 4 ounces (113g) of shrooms (mostly B+ and EQ) in a 1-quart jar. I poured in nearly an entire 5th of Everclear, enough to cover the shrooms about an inch after settling.

Today, I stirred once. After stirring, I noticed the mixture is a slurry with the consistency of mud. Does this sound about right, in your experience?

Some reports in the Vaults suggest adding Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to prevent oxidation / preserve potency. What sort of ascorbic acid should be added? I don't believe I have any in the house; what else can be used? I found another 3 ounces or so of mushrooms that I will be grinding up at a later date. If the ascorbic acid is a vital step, I will try to add some to this next batch prior to mixing.

[the_chosen_one]

the mud is normal when you grind them first.. one of the reasons i use whole or only broken dry fruits. filtering will be the next step in a few weeks so don't worry about it too much.

storing in alcohol does cause some oxidation, but a freezer will slow it down quite a bit. i have had extractions last for over a year in a freezer with little loss in potency.

[Nzo]

good luck pal

[Doctor D]

I was thinking about using a french press for the first filtration; has anyone ever tried that before?

[golly]

The ascorbic acid in this case , is more to help with the extraction than with preservation.

It's not nessessary though [it does give a pretty color to the final product]..You want to let the extract sit for a month with occasional shaking..

U can then filter finely and evap down to around 1gram dry to 1cc liquid..
A good extract is about 80% efficient at a maximum ime...

[bugs]

I can't find everclear around here, will Bacardi 151 do the trick?

[Sunstar]

Yes it will work. I used 70 proof rum which went down smooth.

[bear]

adding ascorbic acid (get 1 vitamin C 500mg tablet and crush it up and toss it in) is a fine thing to do - and is something that I do with every extract I plan on keeping for extended periods of time

[Doctor D]

Welp, I tried doing a shake today with that plastic lid on the jar... I found out they don't create an air-tight seal! A small amount of shroom-flavoured Everclear leaked out. Guess I'll have to switch out the lid for a metal one.

There seem to be conflicting reports on what the ascorbic acid actually does. Is there any science behind this, or just guestimation and good intentions?

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by bugs

I can't find everclear around here, will Bacardi 151 do the trick?

often you'll find that you can acquire it from your local liquor store, it just may require a "special license" (which is usually about $10) to purchase it

they can't just hand it out to anyone, you know

[CoyoteMesc]

Thats the good part about this state. I can get Everclear 190proof all day long. I was in MI once and was making some Hooch. I shopped all day until one dude told me that MI you can only buy 151 thats the limit...I was shocked.

[bear]

""There seem to be conflicting reports on what the ascorbic acid actually does. Is there any science behind this, or just guestimation and good intentions?""

There really isn't any conflict as the answer is 'all of the above' - typically adding an acid helps with the extraction of actives and vit. c is also an excellent anti-oxidant to protect the magic from oxidative damage.. whether or not having acid in the mix helps with the extraction of psilly is a matter of discussion...

Feel free to stop reading at any point:

To hydrolyze psilocybin to psilocyn dilute acidic conditions are best (i.e. add some vitamin C) - Psilocin is most soluble in pure ethanol whereas psilocybin is best extracted by 70% alcohol.

Due to the molecular structure of psilocybin we can't acid/base extract it - normally alkaloids are weakly basic but psilocybin is not this way because it has an acidic phosphate group. Because this group donates a proton and the basic amine accepts one we more or less cannot get psilocybin into a freebase for extraction with a nonpolar solvent - i.e. you can't have psilocybin freebase but you can have psilocin freebase

chemical literature reports that dilute acetic acid - household vinegar - is a good solvent for psilocybin/psilocin (you'd get it all as psilocin, I think)

[bear]

Oh shit, citations...

More information on psilocybin/psilocin in the body...
MAPS: Re: Psilocybin-and the blood brain barrier

archive of a psilly extraction thread with good primary experimental literature included
psilocybin-extraction [Archive] - Edot forums

[golly]

I myself cannot speak to the preservative power of Vitamin C in alcohol, because the alcohol alone keeps the magic quite well..
I can definately say thru my own experiments - that the addition of the acid makes for a faster/stronger extract..
So there is really no conflict of info...It may well be, that psilly is further preserved by it's presence..

I would like to add, that if you are extracting for the purpose of preservation then the alcohol should be 190 proof..
When u evapourate down using 151 or similar - the water content will increase in relation to the alcohol content...Ascorbic acid may help some with the preservation but don't count on it for the long term..

[chimp]

I talked with my hillbilly cousin(lives in the appalachians) He is gonna bring me some blueberry and some blackberry moonshine next time he visits me..he sais the shit is so smooth that its like drinkin water(I have my doubts..lol..after all he is a redneck). More than a shot or 3 and you may have some troubles though. The shit is extreeemly potent. I am gonna use it for extraction, I have quit drinking for the most part ..since i quit smokin cigarettes(2 months ago) I just don't drink much anymore..makes me want to smoke cigs.

YEah I know

[Doctor D]

Originally Posted by oibchip

I talked with my hillbilly cousin(lives in the appalachians) He is gonna bring me some blueberry and some blackberry moonshine next time he visits me..he sais the shit is so smooth that its like drinkin water(I have my doubts..lol..after all he is a redneck). More than a shot or 3 and you may have some troubles though. The shit is extreeemly potent. I am gonna use it for extraction, I have quit drinking for the most part ..since i quit smokin cigarettes(2 months ago) I just don't drink much anymore..makes me want to smoke cigs.

DAMNIT I wrote this long reply, and then I lost my wireless connection prior to hitting "Submit".

Yesterday as I was stirring my extract, I noticed quite a fragrant shroomy bouquet from the Everclear. I got a little on my fingers, and the smell was very sweet, almost fruity. I bet shrooms would go really well in a blackberry or blueberry alcohol base. But would the moonshine be strong enough, I wonder? Surely not as potent as Bacardi 151...

Congrats on the cigarette cessation! I am going on 9 months myself. The public smoking ban in bars/restaurants has been a great benefit to me.

[chimp]

I would venture to say that the moonshine is damn near as strong as Everclear. Supposedly my extended family has been makin the shit for a few generations and they know what they are doing. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that it is at least 90% alcohol.

[prism]

This is true bro... Moonshine prepared correctly with corn and not sugar... is very smooth.

Especially if you mix with fresh fruit!!

Originally Posted by oibchip

I talked with my hillbilly cousin(lives in the appalachians) He is gonna bring me some blueberry and some blackberry moonshine next time he visits me..he sais the shit is so smooth that its like drinkin water(I have my doubts..lol..after all he is a redneck). More than a shot or 3 and you may have some troubles though. The shit is extreeemly potent. I am gonna use it for extraction, I have quit drinking for the most part ..since i quit smokin cigarettes(2 months ago) I just don't drink much anymore..makes me want to smoke cigs.

YEah I know

[fontaine]

off subject,but we age our shine in chared oak barrels...talk about smooth...its like drinking smooth bourbon....sorry for the interruption...

[Doctor D]

Well, it's been about 40 days. I started another jar about a week after the first, this one holding about 2 ounces. I've been stirring every day that I remember. Think it's time to strain?

One thing - hope it's not a really big problem. I haven't been able to keep them on ice. I put them in the freezer when possible, but due to others living in the house, I have to remove the jars from the freezer on occasion. Will room temps seriously affect potency? Once I strain, I'll be able to keep the alcohol in the freezer with less chance of anyone saying anything about it.

1,000th post!

[camMyco]

Originally Posted by bugs

I can't find everclear around here, will Bacardi 151 do the trick?

There are sevral brands of 190 proof out there. I used to by graves grain alch in the NE US.

[bear]

Seriously... if you leave it sitting out and exposed to light and room temperatures you will lose potency. If you cant do the freezer keep it in a DARK cool place

[Doctor D]

Originally Posted by bear

Seriously... if you leave it sitting out and exposed to light and room temperatures you will lose potency. If you cant do the freezer keep it in a DARK cool place

I keep it in a dark closet. We'll see how the potency is. :-\

[floppypeter]

foaf did this once w an oz of cubes. ground let it set for a month and filtred.


if you go a month or so u may have crystals in the bottom, u may want to heat the liquid in a water bath to ~100 degrees f. stir. this may help crystals dissolve but still remain active. When filtred this warmed extract gets more psilly out cause less crystals are left behind when filtering the bio mass. Coffe press worked well for me. Beware plastic presses might be affected by the booze.

my .o2

[bear]

I dont know why everyone soaks so long, it isn't needed. Srsly. There isn't any reason to heat it to 100deg. either, or at least I wouldn't do it. Filter out the biological mass early then let it sit if you want crystals. Psilly crystals are fine as long as they are still in the mother liquor and in a cool, dark, place.

[orchid]

so if your doing an extract using a 5th of everclear whats the highest
dry weight of cubes you can use before wasting product? what is the
ratio of acid to everclear? ie, how much acid per 5th? and can you use
lemon juice like cactus juice?

though i'd add this as it fit. wonder if this would be better to add than lemon juice...

Pomegranate fruits contain polyphenols, tannins and anthocyanins - all are beneficial antioxidants. Interestingly, the pomegranate juice found in poga moonga, contains high levels of antioxidants - higher than most other fruit juices, red wine or green tea.

Research done about the benefits of pomegranate juice suggests that drinking a glass of pomegranate juice a day for one year reduced blood pressure (particularly systolic pressure) and slowed down LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) oxidation. Pomegranate juice, a rich source of a potent flavonoid antioxidants, was tested for its capacity to protect nitric oxide against oxidative destruction.

Pomegranate juice was much more potent than Concord grape juice, blueberry juice, red wine and ascorbic acid. Pomegranate juice, a rich source of a potent flavonoid antioxidants, was tested for its capacity to protect nitric oxide against oxidative destruction.

From research they have determined that natural pomegranate juice can block enzymes that contribute to osteoarthritis. It may prevent prostate cancer or slow its growth and during pregnancy, it may help reduce the risk of brain injuries in babies. It improves lipid profiles in diabetic patients with hyperlipidemia.

It can suppress proliferation (growth) and invasion of human prostate cancer cells. It inhibits low-density lipoprotein oxidation and cardiovascular diseases. With all the benefits of pomegranate juice, consider poga moonga as a great source of a super-antioxidant for your health.

Pomegranate natural restorative powers have been talked about for hundreds of years and more and more scientific studies are finding the legendary claims of the pomegranate are very essential to everyone’s general health. More potent than other fruit juices such as blueberry, cranberry, and orange, as well as red wine. Poga moonga is a great source to obtain pomegranates restorative powers.

It contains a super-antioxidant, a flavonoid, which is much more powerful than normal antioxidants. Studies have found it to have at least three times the antioxidant of other fruit juices. It is also quite high in potassium and fiber, and contains vitamin C and niacin.

There are many great benefits from taking pomegranate juice. Thinning the blood, raising the good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol), which controls the free radicals that can be harmful to your body. It reduces fatty deposits on artery walls. It also lowers blood sugar and reduces cell damage. It also slows cartilage deterioration and osteoarthritis.

It may prevent the return of prostate cancer after surgery. It also helps in the prevention of heart disease and stroke. It may also help people with anxiety and insomnia. It has been used to treat inflammation, sore throats and rheumatism. This has been done for centuries in the Middle East, India, and Iran. These are all pomegranate natural restorative powers.

There are four different varieties of the pomegranate fruit. There are many products today, like poga moonga that contain pomegranate juice. Studies are showing that pomegranate juice should be an important part of everyone’s health regiment. Everyone can benefit from the pomegranate natural restorative powers. Men should especially take pomegranate juice, if for nothing else but for it’s ability to help prevent prostate cancer.


Pomegranate vitamins are a good way to get the essential antioxidants your body needs. It comes in many forms from capsules to concentrate. Each manufacturer has there own blend and combination of ingredients. First you have the capsules. They remove the moisture from pomegranate juice and which leaves just powder.

The powder form has a high degree of hygroscopicity (water absorption character) that renders these powders incapable of full dissolution (the process of dissolving a substance into a liquid). When digested, the powder forms a shell around because of its lack of water. Which makes it almost impossible for absorption at a cellular level. The phytochemicals (non-nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties) are not released and cannot be absorbed into the body. These are the least effective forms of pomegranate.

Another form of pomegranate vitamins is in a gel form. These are much better than the powder form. They do not lack the moisture, thus the body absorbs the phytochemicals. The only drawback is that the gel form usually contains Vegetable cellulose (vegetable capsule), dicalcium phosphate, magnesium stearate, and silica. (Pills). The gel form is better than the powder form but contains ingredients you don’t need.

Then there’s the juice itself which can be bought mixed with other juices, sweetened or unsweetened, in a concentrate form or in it’s original state. The juice, in any form has the best pomegranate vitamins available. The calories, carbohydrates, sugar, potassium, iron, fiber and protein vary in each product. There are 3 main ingredients in pomegranate juice.

Ellagic acid (is a proven anti-carcinogen, anti-mutagen, and anticancer initiator), Anthocyanins (they are a flovanoid pigment that produce the color for the fruit) and Phytoestrogens (non-nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties). The amount of juice concentrate varies with each manufacturer. It varies from 2 to 8 teaspoons a serving. The powder and gel form are already pre-measured for you.

[floppypeter]

orchid,

normally we link to big pieces of text we dont write.

it helps with continuity imo. Like, give a paragraph teaser and then a link maybe. Maybe, Im full of shit. whatevs...

IMO adding acid to the everclear isn't as important IMO as when doing a water based extraction. Everclear by itself works fine.

There are no set in stone ratios for alcohol and biomass. I like to have enough everclear in the jar that it is easy to work with. I try not to waste it. I'm not a real booze hound so I use very little booze. Just enough to make it an easy to work with.

I wonder if you evaporated the alchol in a glove box full of co2 if the crystals would remain stable and dry ? Possibly then they could be transfered to a small container full of co2 and the crystals would remain stable and most/all of the alcohol could be evaporated off ? This would leave you with a jar full of nice crystals.

[orchid]

i'll be sure and do that next time
good idea.

[golly]

I use enough everclear in a Qt jar to cover the powdered mush by an inch or two at most..
If you want to preserve for any length of time then best not to dilute with water based juices..
Ascorbic acid crytals will bind with any remaining water in the everclear and may help with prolonging its active life...

[Doctor D]

Hmm.. I just tried to strain. There wasn't a whole lot of liquid to strain out, maybe 300ml? Maybe 4 ounces was too many shrooms for a quart container.

I'm also thinking I shoulda worn gloves. I got a little bit of shroom particles on my hands (10 minutes ago). I'm starting to feel a bit woozy. We'll see what happens.

[golly]

You can always do a second pull..or even a quick rinse of the remains, which is what i did...

[Doctor D]

I think there is a lot of alcohol still tied up in the dry-looking shrooms. I need some cheese cloth or some method of squeeze-straining further. Cheese cloth? Is that what I want, or just an old t-shirt?

[orchid]

hose works well, better than a tshirt

[TVCasualty]

A moonshine extract would be really cool; you can take some grains, vermiculite, spores, yeast and sugar (plus some equipment) and create one hell of an intense cocktail entirely from scratch in your own home. And unless someone dilutes their 'shine, it blows Bacardi 151 away in terms of strength and if done right, smoothness too (not hard since Bacardi is crap, relatively speaking). I also prefer the stuff aged in charred oak barrels like fontaine mentioned, but I would save that kind for drinking, not extracting!


BTW: Those crystals you see forming when you reduce the volume or put the extract in the freezer are carbohydrates, not psilocybin or psilocin. In other words, sugar. Taste them sometime. They are sweet, but not trippy.

[orchid]

could you post a recipe for moonshine? maybe we could try to make a "trip shine" would be interesting...

[lionelfire]

Originally Posted by orchid

could you post a recipe for moonshine? maybe we could try to make a "trip shine" would be interesting...

20lbs corn; 5 gal water; 1 tbsp yeast. grind corn to powder, mix in water, bring mixture to 154 deg F, steep at 154F for 45 min., let cool to room temp., add yeast, mix well, place in fermenting vessel for at least a week, distill.

[Buzztea]

Originally Posted by Doctor D

I think there is a lot of alcohol still tied up in the dry-looking shrooms. I need some cheese cloth or some method of squeeze-straining further. Cheese cloth? Is that what I want, or just an old t-shirt?

t shirt did not work very good for me...i tried to filer with it it snd the t shit soaked up alot of extract

[SilvrHairDevil]

Try using a salad spinner lined with paper towel.

[Soliver]

A lot of weird info in this thread....

Extract is easier than falling off a log. You don't have to keep it in the freezer,
or add crystals, or try to even GET crystals (the crystals you see aren't psilly
crystals, they're either sugars or some sort of waxy residue, but they're not
psychoactive, of that I'm sure).

Usually I just crush my shrooms a bit, toss 'em in a jar with everclear, and let it
sit on the counter for several weeks.
From my experience, at least two weeks is beneficial, I usually shoot for three,
and then don't get around to straining it for four or more...

I had some extract in the freezer that was as good as the day I made it
THREE years later, and that's no joke.

BUZZ - too late to tell you this now, but, as you've seen, powdering the
shrooms isn't a great idea, unless you're dealing with small amounts.

I'd just do several pulls with everclear and count on evaporating the shit
out of it. I use a few stacked coffee filters and a tamale press to squeeze
my extract usually. I like to do a second, smaller pull, and I put the coffee
filters from the first squeezin' in with the shroom, and they get squeezed
on the second run, just to be sure it's all in there.



Whatever you do, it's all good... just keep track of how much you started with
so you know how much to evap down to for dosing... I like to evap mine down
to 5cc's per gram dose.

soliver

[TVCasualty]

Originally Posted by Soliver

Extract is easier than falling off a log.

Funny you should say that. I made some extract last year, and took a bunch out in the woods. I fell off a log. So, not only is making it easier than falling off a log, consuming it makes falling off a log a lot easier!

[chimp]

[Doctor D]

Originally Posted by Soliver

You don't have to keep it in the freezer...

Usually I just crush my shrooms a bit, toss 'em in a jar with everclear, and let it
sit on the counter for several weeks.
From my experience, at least two weeks is beneficial, I usually shoot for three,
and then don't get around to straining it for four or more...

That's essentially what I did, except that I did grind my mushrooms. While stewing and evaporating, I left it in a sealed jar in a dark closet. The original mushrooms were potent; the extract, not so much. I don't know why I've even held onto it, as it's now pretty much worthless except for making some really foul shroom-flavored Everclear and Cokes. The only guess I have in regards to the potency loss is that the long periods at room temperature harmed it. In all honesty, it was probably two months before I finally strained and evaporated. Sol, you don't think the time at room temperature was the problem?

The one and only time I tried this extract, the come up felt nice, like I was in for a good mushroom trip. I started to get faint "echos" of the sort of CEVs I see when I've taken about 5-6 grams of mushrooms. I closed my eyes to focus on them, expecting them to improve in strength. Instead, as quickly as they appeared, they faded into nothing, and the trip dissipated. The whole experience took about an hour and a half, and I was asleep within two hours.

[floppypeter]

I had a flask full of extract that I decided to get into last night.

I had 2 shots and tripped balls for near 6 hours.

The extract is almost 2 years old.

I'm amazed it lasted this long.

[Shadowlord]

Originally Posted by bear

Oh shit, citations...

More information on psilocybin/psilocin in the body...
MAPS: Re: Psilocybin-and the blood brain barrier

archive of a psilly extraction thread with good primary experimental literature included
psilocybin-extraction [Archive] - Edot forums

Thanks for adding your sources bear!
There is tons of great info here at 'Topia but I have to say I was pretty impressed w/ the Chem info on Psilocybin/Psilocin and extraction.
I still have a lot more experimentation to do but am very interested in extraction and,considering all the DMT experts here, am surprised I haven't heard of smoking/vaporising the crystals b/4 reading the Edot thread.
Everyday it seems a whole new world opens up for me in this hobby of ours!

[TVCasualty]

Originally Posted by Shadowlord

Thanks for adding your sources bear!
There is tons of great info here at 'Topia but I have to say I was pretty impressed w/ the Chem info on Psilocybin/Psilocin and extraction.
I still have a lot more experimentation to do but am very interested in extraction and,considering all the DMT experts here, am surprised I haven't heard of smoking/vaporising the crystals b/4 reading the Edot thread.
Everyday it seems a whole new world opens up for me in this hobby of ours!

I've filtered out a nice pile of pretty crystals from two everclear extracts. One was straight everclear, and one I mixed a teaspoon of citric acid crystals into at the same time I added the crushed fungi. After the mixture had been sitting around a few weeks, I reduced them a bit and the crystals started forming.

I took a pile of crystals from each batch and separated them into four piles (this was done on several consecutive weekends) I dried one pile from each and consumed the straight extract crystals on Saturday and the everclear/citric acid crystals on Sunday. Both tests tasted the same; pleasantly sweet.

I got the same result when I consumed them right after filtering (while still 'wet'), which I did just in case drying them oxidized the psilocin too quickly.

That thread about extracting for vaporizing or other ingestion methods was from 2006, and if a simple extraction (or even the less-simple methanol/acetic acid recipes) could yield a smokable/vaporizable product that is on par with DMT then IMO it would be widely used and commonly known by now.

My take is that I extracted some kind of sugar, and that's all it was. I didn't try smoking/vaping the crystals since burnt sugar stinks. The everclear (from both extractions after the crystals were filtered out) was potent as hell, though. Adding citric acid to it is probably pointless or may even inhibit the extraction somewhat since it seemed weaker than the other but these weren't controlled conditions or anything.

However, soaking dry fungi in lemon or lime juice for 20-30 minutes without any alcohol involved is fantastic, and has become my favorite way to dose (no body load, rapid onset, shorter trip -just take more to keep going if it's too short-).

[Oblivion]

Originally Posted by TVCasualty

However, soaking dry fungi in lemon or lime juice for 20-30 minutes without any alcohol involved is fantastic, and has become my favorite way to dose (no body load, rapid onset, shorter trip -just take more to keep going if it's too short-).

That's bound to come in handy. How much shorter? You filter out the shrooms right?

[TVCasualty]

Originally Posted by Oblivion

That's bound to come in handy. How much shorter? You filter out the shrooms right?

No filtering. I just powder the mushrooms in a coffee grinder, or smash them into small chunks (powdering them is optional and makes no difference for this, just a smaller mass to swallow) then put it all into a shot glass. I cover it with just enough fresh-squeezed key lime juice (tastes better than lemon) to make a slurry and let it sit on the counter for a half hour or so. I then chug the whole mess, chase w/ some water, and immediately brush my teeth (the acidity isn't good for them and I don't like brushing my teeth while tripping).

On an empty stomach I've felt the first effects in 8 minutes, sometimes it takes a good bit longer. Two grams prepared this way lasted about 2.5 hours. One third of a gram prepared this way made for a mild but worthwhile movie enhancer that lasted about exactly as long as the movie (90 minutes).

Another thing I like is that the comedown is light as a feather. I just suddenly notice I'm not tripping anymore, and the time from post-peak to baseline is MUCH shorter than the slow tapering-off feeling I get with straight fungi. Once back to baseline, there is no fatigue unless I did it in the middle of the night or was canoeing or otherwise exerting myself during the trip.

[Oblivion]

Thanks TV, you da man!

[DrDee]

Hey...
I haven't tried Everclear extraction on shrooms, but it sounds interesting. I do use it with ganja though, and I think when I do extract with shrooms, I may throw a few buds in there just to provide a little balance.

I can't buy Everclear in my state but I did a search and found 191 Everclear by the case shipped to my door by Fedex. There just needed to be an adult there to sign for it. The place is called the Wine Chateau and it was just under $18 a bottle. Clean and simple.
Peace,
Dee

[jbud]

Has anyone tried this with Absinthe? Would the excessive sugars cause a problem? Any wormwood interactions?