A conscientious owner understands well how cleaning moonshine with charcoal affects the quality of the final product. Most often, to improve the condition, the distillate is re-distilled, after which even the characteristic smell of beet moonshine disappears.

But this option is laborious and time consuming. To eliminate these inconveniences, the use of activated carbon will be the most optimal solution to the problem.

Harmful components of moonshine and the best way to remove them

When the fermentation liquid is heated, complex organic compounds in the form of sugars and proteins are split into volatile components.

They, precipitating in the cooler, form alcohol-containing substances, fusel and essential oils.

Particularly dangerous is methyl alcohol, which can be from 2 to 8% in the primary yield of moonshine. It is necessary to get rid of it immediately.

Fusel oils affect not only the taste of the drink, but also have a negative effect on health.

Fusel and essential elements remain until the end of the mash cracking process. There are many of them in the fraction that comes out at the last stage of distillation. Isoamyl alcohol is especially harmful, the amount of which can reach 60% of the total dry matter of impurities.

To minimize their number, the heating of the mash is stopped when the strength of the drink reaches 30º.

Real practices for cleaning moonshine use several types of substances:

• bread;
• baking soda;
• milk;
• potassium permanganate.

However, special charcoal attracts the components of fusel oils as much as possible, forcing them to fall out in the form of a dark sediment. The resulting product has a mild taste and neutral odor. But not every coal is effective. For more information on what fusel oils are, see this video:
For example, woody samples used for barbecue can give a brown hue and a bitter taste. The structure of the substance ensures the absorption of molecular compounds of harmful impurities and the absorption of the unpleasant odor of the distillate. Thus, there is a significant neutralization of moonshine.

Which coal should you choose?

Why is not all coal suitable for removing harmful impurities? The sizes of micropores are individual for each sample. For this reason, large molecules of fusel oils are unable to diffuse into the molecular lattice of the sorbent.

Charcoal for cleaning home drink has several alternatives:

• birch - BAU-A;
• coconut - BAU-LV;
• activated medical;
• activated for gas masks.

The activated charcoal sold in the pharmacy is made from bone tissue of animal origin. It also contains starch as a binder. Such an activated agent is not capable of absorbing fats due to the discrepancy between the sizes of micropores and molecules of fusel oils. This product is used in gas masks or water filters. It may contain ion exchange elements.

When a warm liquid passes through them, an undesirable reaction occurs, as a result of which there is not a purification of the product, but additional contamination. For more information on purifying the distillate with coal, see this video:

Coals for the barbecue are used as a last resort, when there is no other possibility. For their manufacture, an iron barrel is used or a hole is dug up to 50 cm deep and more than 70 cm in diameter. A fire is made from non-resinous trees. Placing birch logs, bring them to decay. Then the coals are transferred into a container closed from air access. Then the substance is ready for cleaning.

Birch or coconut charcoal is ideal.

These types are made specifically for alcoholic beverages or alcohol production. Such raw materials will be of very high quality, since the pyrolysis process is carried out in a vacuum.

Filtration of liquid

A clear understanding of how to clean moonshine comes after applying all knowledge in practice. Immediately before cleaning, the coal is crushed into small pieces and thoroughly washed. Without this, fine coal particles will settle at the bottom of the drink.

To filter 1 liter of liquid, you need to take from 50 to 60 g of sorbent.

First, gauze is placed on the bottom of the watering can, then cotton wool, and a filtration substance is placed on top. It is advisable to cover the coal with cotton wool so that the soaked particles do not get into the moonshine when changing the material.

Moonshine is passed through a charcoal filter placed in a funnel

Activated charcoal from coconut shell waste is used in the mass production of wine and vodka products, such as whiskey. After filtration, the drink will have an exquisite aroma and taste.

When brewing beer, a characteristic feature of natural filtration is a stable foam that does not contain any tanning ingredients.

It is not advised to use charcoal as a sorbent if the mash contains fruit additives or jam. Moonshine will come out neutral in taste and aroma. Particular attention should be paid to the duration of contact between the particles of the coal sorbent and moonshine. With a long filtration procedure, alcohol gradually oxidizes and turns into aldehyde, and the absorbed harmful substances can return to the drink. For how to make a filter, see this video:

In this regard, the reuse of used coals is unacceptable. If the unpleasant smell still remains, then re-cleaning the moonshine with charcoal or additional distillation will help get rid of it.

The filtration rate depends on the thickness of the layers of cotton wool and coal matter.

Sometimes it takes a whole day to filter 1 liter of homemade vodka. But at the same time, the quality of the drink will not raise doubts. In addition to the main cleaning of fusel oils, coal is also good for preventing accidental mechanical impurities from entering the liquid.

Moonshine must be cleaned. There are different ways for this, the simplest of them is the purification of the moonshine with charcoal, both wood and coal. In feature films, you can often see the characters drinking muddy moonshine. Such an alcoholic drink is obtained when the mash is distilled in an ordinary bucket, placing a saucer with snow or cold water on top. Its strength is low, it contains a lot of fusel oils. In a good distillation apparatus, moonshine turns out to be the purest and strongest.

About the preparation of the adsorbent

How to clean moonshine? To prepare charcoal, birch firewood is taken and burned on a fire or in a stove. When they burn out and hot coals remain, they are poured into an earthen pot (it is also possible in a tightly closed iron container, as is done for a samovar). The main condition for this process is that there is no access to fresh air. The coals will go out after a while. Then they must be removed from the pot and pounded, but not finely, then rinsed with water and dried.

About cleaning methods

Mineral Adsorbent

Filtration subtleties

When filtering moonshine in the second way, you must have a high room. If you use the basement of a private house, you can drill a hole in the floor, and pass a hose through it with a diameter two or three times smaller than that of the tube. Moonshine will flow over it into the tube. Here you definitely need a faucet on its bottom, it will be difficult for one person to control the filtration process. The alcohol-containing liquid from the container at the top will go by gravity; in order to avoid overflowing it through the top of the copper tube, you can put any kind of clamp on it on a polyethylene hose, using it from time to time.

Features of use

Why is activated carbon able to remove fusel oils from moonshine? It does this through adsorption. It absorbs harmful substances. (Walnut shells and coconut shells have the same property). After one filtration, the coal is thrown away; it is no longer suitable for further use.

Where to buy a filter

Today, activated carbon is also used in filters for purifying drinking water. You can buy such a device (or its cartridge) for cleaning moonshine in a hardware store. The cost of a filter for fine water purification is today from 330 rubles and more. There are cartridges on sale, both with charcoal and coal. They are designed for water filters installed in main pipelines.

About using pills

Cleaning moonshine with activated charcoal tablets (sold in pharmacies in black or white) is also suitable, but only as a last resort, because such a substance is made from animal bones. Where else is activated carbon used? It is in cans of gas masks, aquarium filters. It purifies the air in ventilation systems, oil and its derivatives, and even sewage.

About health

To clean moonshine with activated charcoal - to protect yourself from poisoning when using this alcoholic drink. This substance is also useful for hangovers, relieving pain and removing toxins. The pills are simply swallowed. And cleaning the moonshine with charcoal at home will just make the hangover much easier if you take a drink in excess of the norm.

Is alcohol filtration always necessary? even if you cut off the tail? and "head", and the distillation itself is carried out fractionally, you still need to get rid of fusel oils and other heavy fractions. The most affordable and simplest way is activated carbon. The larger the pores, the larger the molecules can be adsorbed in this way.

Do you need to take a pharmacy for this purpose? it contains starch and talc, as well as salts and some chemical elements, with which the substance is now treated instead of steam. All this affects the taste and the drink will taste bitter.

If you made moonshine from grain raw materials (barley, wheat), which has a pronounced aroma, choose another method of cleaning at home, as otherwise you risk losing this wonderful smell.

What is coal made of?

It is practically pure and free of impurities carbon, outwardly similar to graphite, which is mined in nature. There are many varieties: bituminous, charcoal, bones of cattle, coal coke. The material consists of many pores, due to which it has a high absorbency (up to 60% of a toxic substance).

Its high adsorbing properties make it widely used in many fields for the separation, purification and recovery of substances. Interestingly, the total area (including all pores) of a 50 g piece of coal is equal to 10 standard football fields.

In industrial production, any coal is first charred (up to 1000 °), and then the pores are opened on it. This is done by heating without air or by steam, carbon dioxide.

We make absorbent at home

Our ancestors knew the beneficial properties of activated carbon and knew how to make it. The main thing? you need to heat the wood without oxygen. In industry, such an oven is called pyrolysis and we will try to make it an analogue at home. Even now, cooking coal at home will cost you several times less than buying it in a store. Average proportions: you need one and a half kg of wood to get 250 grams of activated carbon.

The easiest way

Street way

1. Punch 10 to 20 holes in the bottom of a flat tin. Place the birch chips inside and close the top very tightly.
2. Place a metal weight on top that completely covers the surface. Thus, the wood will be charred without air access, and all organic matter will immediately burn without residue.
3. The final stage? activation with steam. Place the charcoal in a sieve colander or gauze bag over a large boiling pot without touching the water.
4. Place the wet coals in a tin can, closed on all sides, and dry them over a fire. When will steam stop emitting? the activation process at home can be considered complete.
5. Transfer it to an airtight, odor-free container and keep sealed.

Method for placement

1. In the cast and massive pot lid, drill a threaded hole 8-10 cm in diameter.
2. Take a tube of a similar diameter and twist it inward. On this so-called fitting, you need to put on an elastic band and bring its end into a jar of water to block the access of oxygen.
3. It is best to coat the joints of the lid with the pan with some kind of sealant (or clay).
4. Put the saucepan on fire and light the coals. After a few hours, your active carbon will be ready. Hold the charcoal for testing? the easier it is, the more correctly you did everything.

Choosing coal for cleaning moonshine

Purification of moonshine with activated carbon at home between two distillation stages

recommended by everyone. It is he who is able to absorb all harmful organic substances.
The best materials for charcoal are beech, linden, alder and birch. Last? the cheapest and most affordable, since you can always find birch logs for barbecue on sale. But when buying them, carefully examine the label for any foreign impurities that will greatly affect the final result (conifers are not suitable due to the presence of resins in them).

On sale there is birch coal of the BAU-A grade, GOST 6217-74. It is calcined by hydrolysis, without oxygen and has large pores, well suited for cleaning. It is easy to buy and low consumption.
Good results at home can be achieved by mixing charcoal with coconut in a ratio of 3 to 1. Coconut carbolene, due to its strength, is considered one of the best, another thing is that you need to look for it on the free market.

Vietnamese coconut charcoal is popular due to its price and lack of coniferous impurities. It is most suitable for intermediate filtration.

Cleaning moonshine, or how to use coal

Are there two ways to clean at home? immersion directly in alcohol mixture and through a charcoal filter.

Immersion

How to make a filter?

Method one:

1. Cut off the bottom in an ordinary plastic bottle, and make holes in the cork with a hot awl.
2. Place cotton wool wrapped in cheesecloth in the neck, and put coal on it. How much to take? For 1 liter of water-alcohol mixture? 50 grams of regular and 12 grams of BAU-A grade.

Method two:

1. Place the neck of a 1 liter plastic bottle in a plastic cap and slide it onto a 3 liter jar for stability.
2. Place the bottle with gauze, a thin layer of carbon on top of it, then a few layers of toilet paper and more charcoal.
3. Thus, you need to fill a third of the bottle. For one or two days, the alcohol mixture will flow through all layers, gradually clearing.

Filtration plant

If you have a high volume of alcohol, you should consider this option. How much will it cost and how much is needed? it all depends on the amount produced and the time spent on filtration. Under the influence of gravity, such an installation is able to clean the drink at home in the best possible way, the main thing is that the height of the ceilings in the room contributes to this.

The second life of activated carbon

Carbolene from coconut shells is recognized as the highest quality and most regenerable carbon due to its special strength. Not everyone advises to regenerate charcoal, since with its cheapness the question: “How much does the material cost and how much time is spent on the recovery procedure?” Inclines to the answer that it is easier to throw it away and buy a new one. But for lack of available material, you can try calcining in a cast iron pan without a lid. Anything collected by the pores will evaporate from the hot temperature.

Pour over used coal with a 2% solution of hydrochloric acid, then rinse, dry and ignite in a closed container over a fire.

Old charcoal cartridges from water jugs are very good to use after they are finished. To remove the tar, it must be soaked in clean boiled water for 24 hours. The alcoholic beverage should be dispensed 3 to 10 times and each cartridge is quite capable of withstanding the filtration of 20 liters of alcohol.

Moonshine is a fairly popular homemade drink that contains alcohol. It can be made with or without yeast, or with honey, corn, or potatoes. An experienced moonshiner pays most attention to the purification process. After all, the taste, color and aroma of the product will depend on this. In addition, having carried out high-quality cleaning of moonshine with charcoal, vegetable oil, violet root, soda and so on, you can forget about a hangover forever.

Raw materials for mash

Baker's yeast or spirit yeast? It is best to take the second option, as it will provide a very fast mash preparation with a minimum amount of foam and no unpleasant yeast odor. If you use ordinary baker's yeast, then the color of the mash will be cloudy, and the drink itself will acquire a sour smell of fungus. Alcohol yeast is bought in specialized stores.

The water must always be clean. The best option would be the key from the well. You can use tap water, but then it will have to be defended for three days.

Sugar is sometimes used brown, but more often it is just the usual white. Sometimes they put sweets or jam instead of sugar in moonshine. It should be borne in mind that caramel candies should only be with the same filling.

For cleansing, activated carbon is most often taken, which is purchased at the pharmacy. Cleaning moonshine with charcoal at home is the best option.

Recipe

In order to make high-quality moonshine, you should acquire the necessary tools. You will need a container in which the mash will ferment, a distiller, an electric stove, a hydrometer and a bottle dryer.

The simplest and most popular way to make a drink is to knead the mash with sugar and alcohol yeast. Usually for ten liters of heated and purified water, two kilograms of granulated sugar and two hundred grams of yeast are taken. First, the sugar is dissolved, and only then the yeast is introduced. They are preliminarily diluted in water and poured into an already prepared liquid. The container in which the mash will be prepared must have a neck. A water seal in the form of a rubber glove is put on it. It will be by her that it will be possible to determine the readiness of the mash. Initially, the glove is inflated and stays that way for several days. As soon as it falls, it will mean that the mash is ready.

After a week, drain the residue from the container and remove the top of the drink. The rest is called the body, which will be used in the future to prepare an alcoholic drink. If the mash starts to produce too much foam, then a piece of rye bread crust is thrown into it. You can try pouring in a small amount of vegetable oil instead.

Very often, novice moonshiners ask: how much alcohol can you get from one kilogram of sugar? It's easy to calculate. Usually, from three kilograms of granulated sugar and ten liters of ready-made mash, three liters of a fairly strong moonshine are obtained. Further, it is slightly diluted with water to achieve an acceptable strength of forty degrees, and then the moonshine becomes even more.

How to make a coal filter

You will need a regular plastic bottle. It should be absolutely clean and not too big. The ideal option would be a one and a half liter container. Carefully cut off the bottom with a sharp knife and drill a small hole in the lid. The cap is screwed back onto the bottle. After that, a sufficient amount of cotton wool is taken and tamped tightly in the neck. Lay out double cheesecloth on top and put coal. Thus, when the liquid passes through the gauze with cotton wool, all fusel oils will remain on the compress.

Cleaning without filter

Some moonshiners prefer not to waste time filtering, but simply add charcoal to the drink. Usually, no more than fifty grams of sorbent is used for each liter of liquid. Within two weeks, the container is occasionally taken out and shaken. On the fifteenth day, the composition can be passed through a piece of cotton wool packed in gauze. The cleaning of moonshine with charcoal for the barbecue, which is also often added directly to the alcoholic liquid, has proven itself quite well.

There is an opinion that this method does not give good cleaning, since the sorbent, after absorbing the waste, after a while gives it back to the liquid.

Activated carbon composition

Using this sorbent is not the best option for moonshine. It contains excess impurities in the form of starch or talc. But it can be purchased at any pharmacy, which is important for a city dweller. Not every person is able to prepare charcoal on their own so that there is enough of it for a sufficient amount of moonshine.

In addition to pharmaceutical charcoal, you can use a product used for distilling. And also a regular filter, located in a device for water purification, has proven itself well. Some people purify moonshine in the following way: they pass the liquid through a plastic container designed for water several times. Such devices can be found in every kitchen.

Birch or coconut

Onyu is considered one of the best charcoals for making moonshine. You can get birch coal by burning branches in a fire. Then the coals are sent to a metal container and tightly closed with a lid. Without oxygen, the coals stop smoldering and quickly go out. Similarly, the material is obtained from walnuts or coconut.

The latter product has small pores and very low consumption. Therefore, it is quite beneficial to use it. The only drawback is that purchasing coconuts and making sorbent from them is quite an expensive pleasure.

Cleaning with birch charcoal

Large pieces of burnt birch must be crushed into smaller pieces. Then they are used, like activated carbon, to purify moonshine with charcoal at home or added to a column for filtering a drink.

The finished device can be purchased from a specialist store. This equipment is quite inexpensive and affordable for any moonshiner. Approximately one liter of beverage flows through this column per hour.

Quick way

As soon as the time is right to cleanse the drink, a stump of trees such as beech, cedar or birch is found. Making charcoal for cleaning moonshine with your own hands is pretty easy. Parts of the tree should be barked off and unneeded branches cut off. Next, the wood is set on fire and, as soon as coals are formed, they are pulled out of the fire. Burned wood should be put into the container very quickly and covered with a lid. Thus, there will be no access to oxygen, and the coals will cool down rather quickly. Then they are kneaded to a powdery state and poured into an alcoholic drink. Coal powder should be in the moonshine for at least seventy hours. Then the liquid is filtered through gauze with cotton wool.

Other methods

In addition to cleaning moonshine with charcoal, you can use other fairly popular methods.

• Sometimes moonshiners use milk powder. It perfectly removes the smell and makes the drink soft.
• Baking soda and salt effectively remove fusel oils.
• A beaten egg works just as well as dry milk. It also makes the liquid softer and brightens it well.
• The crusts of rye bread can color the moonshine a little and give it a pleasant aroma.

And nevertheless, the best way is still considered to clean the moonshine with coal at home.

Terms of use

Before proceeding with the cleaning with wood sorbent, some features of this method should be taken into account:

• Its quantity should be limited. If you overdo it with coal, it will affect the taste of the moonshine not for the better.
• It is this type of cleaning that is very suitable for grain moonshine made with ordinary baker's yeast. As a rule, such a drink has a rather specific smell and cloudy color. Thanks to charcoal and activated carbon, its quality is noticeably improved.
• It is extremely important to use a quality sorbent for cleaning moonshine with charcoal. For example, you can buy a product from a pharmacy that is of animal origin. In this case, the drink is obtained with a specific taste and smell. To prevent this from happening, the sorbent should be checked on a small amount of moonshine.
• Do not keep charcoal in the drink for too long. It has the ability to return back all the resin that has previously been filtered.
• Before using charcoal, it should be rinsed under running water to remove dirt and dust.
• When placing whole, poorly crushed tablets in liquid, it should be borne in mind that the composition will have to be constantly removed and shaken, otherwise complete cleaning will not work.
• If for any reason the sorbent did not help, then a second distillation should be done.
• The cleaning of moonshine with charcoal for barbecue has proven itself excellent. The resulting drink will have a light smoked aroma and a fire smell.

Thus, you can use any coal that is only at hand. In addition, there are other methods, in addition to cleaning moonshine with charcoal, that have also proven themselves quite well among fans of home brewing.

It is possible to clean moonshine in a very environmentally friendly and natural way, namely, with ordinary activated carbon. Of course, not all coal is suitable for this process, for example, pharmacy coal is strongly discouraged. This material perfectly absorbs all harmful substances and absorbs them into itself. If you can find a suitable coal, it will do all the cleaning work for you. The main task of coal is to remove fusel oils from moonshine. They are harmful to the human body, they can give the drink a characteristic bitter taste and even color. Pure moonshine is always more in demand, especially if you are preparing it for personal use. Find out how to clean your moonshine with activated charcoal the fastest.

Which coal is suitable for cleaning moonshine

As mentioned above, put the pharmacy activated carbon aside: it is great for our body, but not for moonshine. In addition, such charcoal may contain starch or talc, but its absorption properties are insufficient. You can pay attention to the following types of coal:

• Special coals for water filters. Open one of the container charcoal filters and remove the charcoal from there. It has a high absorbency. Carefully read the composition of such a filter on the packaging - if it contains resins, then it does not suit you. It must contain 100% coal.
• Charcoal from a gas mask filter. The gas mask should never be used, otherwise, you will run into the moonshine all the harmful substances that the coal has absorbed. Disassemble the filter and take out the activated carbon.
• Homemade charcoal works just fine. You can see for yourself that it is clean: pick up wood and control the process. Such coal also needs to be cleaned of very small particles, as well as heavily charred ones.
• Carbon filters for the aquarium. They, too, come with impurities, but they are pure from charcoal. You need to find a filter with only charcoal and get all of its share from the filter.

Please note that the carbon from the filters is pre-washed. It needs to be rinsed 3-6 times until the water becomes clear. Otherwise, it will give a bitter taste and strongly color the moonshine. Place the charcoal in a bowl and chat continuously. Drain the dirty water and repeat the procedure.

How to clean moonshine with activated charcoal

Once you have got hold of clean coal without impurities, you need a kitchen scale and, in fact, the moonshine itself:

• Grind the coal as hard as possible, it should resemble black dust. A mortar or two large spoons works well for this.
• Add charcoal to moonshine at about fifty degrees of heat, stir it well and shake it well. Apply 50 g of coal dust. for 1 liter of moonshine.
• Place the moonshine in a cool, dark place. Better to cover it with a dark cloth that does not let light through.
• Leave it like this for two weeks. Shake the container at least twice a day, maximum five times.

As soon as the period of two weeks has passed, start filtering the charcoal: pass the moonshine several times through cheesecloth, and then through a cotton pad from a sterile roll of pharmacy cotton wool. As soon as it becomes transparent, the procedure is over.

Charcoal cleaning is the easiest and most environmentally friendly way. Of course, there is a method of re-distilling moonshine, but with coal it will turn out much cleaner, and you will spend a minimum of your strength and energy. Remember to check the composition of activated charcoal from tablets, filters or other sources before using it for cleaning. Otherwise, you will only spoil the moonshine with bitterness, unpleasant odor and color, as well as harmful substances.