Anyone think running your beer, wine or cider through copper would make it better?

[CanadianBacon]

I have been wondering for awhile about using copper in brewing to get rid of off tastes. I understand it can strip sulfides out so why not run it through 20-30 feet of copper tube during racking into carboys? Dose anyone know if this would work? I understand this is the concept of why places making liquor use copper.

For example Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS), a sulfur compound produced during fermentation of beer.... Copper strips sulfides getting rid of nasty tastes and possibly rhino farts?

 

[Cathedral]

If you're talking racking from the boil kettle into the carboy through copper tubing... well, almost anyone who has a home-made CFC does that everytime they brew. It makes zero noticable difference from when I was using an immersion chiller.

 

[Yooper]

No. While it's true that copper can get rid of H2S in wine, it's done only as an extreme measure to save the wine.

There is a reason that breweries don't have copper serving vessels- copper is good for the yeast prefermentation (they use it) but afterwards it is poisonous in large amounts.

 

[jmccraney]

Right, check out the Brew Strong episode on metals for an interesting discussion, but long story short the copper-sulphate oxidation product is toxic, but using copper prefermentation can in fact pull out sulphates.

 

[CanadianBacon]

I was unaware that copper can make liqour somthing toxic in large ammounts, that good to know.... I have some friends that use copper boilers for fermenting.....

 

[Yooper]

I was unaware that copper can make liqour somthing toxic in large ammounts, that good to know.... I have some friends that use copper boilers for fermenting.....

Copper during a boil is great; afterwards it's toxic. No one should ferment in copper vessels.