The Definitive Green Dragon (Revised, Updated, Combined)

[disoriented]

I'm currently brewing a fairly high alcohol content, american style, IPA. I've become obsessed with trying to somehow incorporate THC into the brew. From the research I've been doing it seems like the most efficient method would be to introduce a high quality cannabis, Everclear, green dragon mixture prior to the bottling stage(I don't want to ruin the beers flavor). If done at 1 ml per bottle do you think this should work and produce pronounced effects? Will it ruin the flavor of the beer?

[cuttle]

Hi everybody. I've read everything in this thread & done some experimenting. I think the most important thing is getting the oven temp constant and getting the time for baking just right.
The suggestion of a pizza stone or brick(s) is good. Put the oven thermometer on the stone & when the temp settles (between 250F and 290F), put the tray on the stone as well and bake for the time specified on the excellent graph (pdf earlier in the thread). Watch the temperature carefully and adjust the time if the temp shifts.
Master Wu's suggestion of a second extraction is an excellent addition. The higher percentage alcohol the easier it is to keep the bath temp right.
A most rewarding experience and don't my lungs appreciate it...

[JadeBud]

I tried this with bout 3.5 grams of mixed meds i had, oven was at 250 and backed chopped up meds for 20 mins. i couldn't get it fine but it was really broken up. then i did the water bath with Vodka for about 30 mins. it took a bit for it to reach temps in the 160s so i didn't want to over cook it i tried to keep the temp between 160f to to 169f for bout 30 mins.

this yielded bout 1 oz. oh yea i used 2 oz of the vodka 40 %.

to my surprise the liquid came out to be like a brown color. odd i think. well eather way i put bout half a dropper in my Mt Dew. so far just took one drink and am starting to feel some slight relaxation.

Im thinking this is from a little of it been absorbed in the mouth. ill check back in when i get more results as i drink the rest of it. the time here is 11:27 am

[JadeBud]

its now 2:41pm and it did do the job of helping ease my pain, without getting the head high. So im guessing that's a success.

[Oscar_Madison]

Just wanted to thank Master Wu and everyone else that contributed to this excellent thread. I've been looking for a way to use cannabis without smoking and this seems to be the easiest way to make a potent concoction that medicates quickly. After finding this thread and reading it all the way through I was able to create a potent Green Dragon on my first try.

I used very dry, very good, cannabis. I put 3.5 grams through the Notch grinder. I decarboxylated at 255 for thirty minutes in my toaster oven. I heated 4oz. of Everclear in a one cup Pyrex measuring cup in a water bath to 170º F then added the cannabis. I simmered that for 20 minutes. I strained the liquid into a different measuring cup. I then added about 2oz. of Everclear to the mash. I brought that up to 170º F and simmered for about five minutes. At that point the Everclear had evaporated below the top of the mash so I moved the water bath off the stove and added just enough Everclear to cover the mash. Probably about 1/2 oz. or so, just to keep all the mash in liquid. After another five minutes I strained this into the initial batch. It came out a beautiful emerald green and it smells like cannabis with a hint of alcohol. lol

I add two droppers to a glass of orange juice about a half hour before dinner. I find the effects really set in about forty-five minutes later and I'm fully medicated at about seventy-five minutes. The effects last me a good three and a half to four hours.

I'm going to pick up a Pyrex lab beaker and a hot plate so I don't have to do this over the stove.

This thread has really helped me a lot. Thank you all.

[rudy2010]

I finally read some of this thread. I will have to give this a try to see how it compares to my regular just soaked tincture.

Thanks to Master Wu and all for the helpful updates. It looks like the lower decarb temp 250 - 255 is the way to go.

[StoneMeadow]

Now, the reason I'm writing is b/c of what happened while making my second batch using 32 g. manicured bud, 12 oz . 184 pr. shine. Everything was perfect until I lifted the Mason jar from the hot water (about 10 oz. gd).

Just as the bottom of the jar cleared the water, the bottom of the Mason jar fell out, dumping my gd into the 6 cups of water in my kettle. I had a very accurate test thermometer in the Mason jar at all times and used it to stir during the 20 min. extraction period.

Does any one know why this happened? I have idea, but I'm not sure. Any ideas or reasons would help b/c this could have been a nasty burn if it happened 1 second later.

Best Regards

Since this thread seems to still be somewhat active I thought I'd add a few comments. First, if what happened to gerodent hasn't yet happened to you, it sort'a did to me this morning while making my very first batch of GD, only I got a little luckier than he did. All the jar did was crack, with a loud popping noise, about three-quarters of the way around the base of the jar just above the thick bottom.

In my case it was a wide mouth pint Kerr jar (same as a Mason, just different brand). I followed the instructions to the letter...inserting the cold jar into the simmering water. Within maybe 10 seconds I heard a loud pop, so I turned off the flame and grabbed a handy drinking glass. Lifting the jar I poured the mix into the glass without losing a drop. Whew! Lucky me, eh!?

Here's the science: putting a cold (room temperature!) jar into near boiling water sets up very high thermal expansion stresses in the glass, and I am confident this was the cause of gerodent's broken jar. I was concerned about this issue while reading the recipe, but since there was no mention of it on the first page, I figured my concerns were overblown. Not so! Like I said above, though, I got luck and didn't lose any of the magic elixir. The correct procedure, and any home canning enthusiast will tell you, is to put the jar in the water while the water is still cold, and to let them come up to temperature together. In my case, I didn't have a spare jar, so used a Pyrex (thick, heat-treated glass) measuring cup, which worked fine.

Okay, now here's the kicker. I didn't have any high-proof alcohol, so used 6 oz of Smirnoff Raspberry flavored 70-proof vodka. I haven't tried it yet, but it smells great! After about 40 minutes at 160-170 degrees F the solution had reduced by half to a medium brown color. No hint of green. After supper tonight I'll try in and post tomorrow about how well it did or did not work. I saved the residue for smoking if this doesn't work...

Cheers!

[StoneMeadow]

I drank a teaspoon of the tincture last night after supper...about 7:30. Nothing. Nada. El zippo.

Good thing I saved the residue!

[misslilly]

I drank a teaspoon of the tincture last night after supper...about 7:30. Nothing. Nada. El zippo.

Good thing I saved the residue!

I would not want to smoke it because of the stuff left in it from the flavored vodka. Not sure but it doesn't sound good.

[StoneMeadow]

Thanks for the suggestion, misslilly. I'll give that some thought, but since I drink the vodak, I must admit I'm already ingesting the witches' brew of whatever's in it.

Tonight I took a tablespoon of the tincture after work. We'll see if more is better...