Proper cleaning of moonshine with coal

Choosing coal for cleaning moonshine

The process of purifying moonshine with coal is considered the most effective and environmentally friendly. The benefits and harms of this method are known to many moonshiners:

Coal is an excellent odor absorber.
Cleanses the drink from fusel oils and other harmful substances.
Prevents the development of hangover after drinking moonshine.

Charcoal has pores that allow it to effectively absorb molecules of a specific size. Therefore, it is very important to choose this product correctly - for example, filtration with pharmaceutical carbon will not be able to rid moonshine of fusel oils that have a large molecular structure.

But this method of cleansing also has a drawback. With prolonged contact of coal with the alcohol base, the latter oxidizes, which causes the formation of harmful components - aldehydes.

Incorrectly selected charcoal can cause side effects - the appearance of an unpleasant aroma, changes in the taste of the drink, prolonged and difficult filtration.

Tips for filtering moonshine

It is possible, but not recommended, to run moonshine through water filter cartridges. Moonshine is poured into a vessel and undergoes purification. The disadvantage in this matter is the loss of strength (up to five degrees).
The coal coke must be replaced with each cleaning. Long-term interaction of alcohol-containing drinks with carbon oxidizes the alcohol and contributes to the formation of aldehydes in it.
To clean moonshine with activated carbon in tablets, if nothing else is at hand, you will have to filter it through a funnel with layers of carbon and cotton wool. In fact, this is not worth practicing, if only because of the bitterness of the purified product.
The right type of coal chips promotes quick and high-quality cleaning.
Don't be afraid to overdo it with the carbon element - it won't affect the quality.
The remaining odor after the first purification is removed by a second distillation.
You cannot filter the entire volume at once. The product is cleaned only in small portions.

Choosing coal for purifying moonshine

To clean moonshine with charcoal, it is best to use a product obtained by decomposition of wood, which occurs at high temperatures without air access. Pharmaceutical tablets are, in most cases, a purified product made from animal bones with the addition of starch and having minimal absorbent properties.

To clean moonshine with charcoal at home, it is recommended to use activated coconut or birch charcoal, which is widely used in the alcoholic beverage industry.

To properly clean moonshine with charcoal, you must use only a product without foreign, synthetic additives. It is strictly not recommended to charcoal using harmful coals extracted from industrial devices or gas masks.

High-quality coal for cleaning homemade moonshine can be purchased in specialized wine stores, on Internet sites, or you can make it yourself.

Activated

Myths and reality when charcoaling moonshine must be taken into account in order to get an impeccable result. Most common myths are associated specifically with activated carbon, sold in pharmacies.

Among many lovers of homemade alcohol, there is an opinion that the absorbent preparation has miniature pores, due to which it has an insignificant cleansing effect. It should be noted that for a long time this was indeed the case, since the tablets were made from the burnt bones of cattle.

Today, most pharmaceutical companies offer coconut or charcoal with increased absorption levels. The only problem when using pharmaceutical tablets may be the presence of talc, starch and other auxiliary components, which can have a negative effect on the taste and smell of the drink.

Woody

One of the most popular options for charcoal purification of alcohol is coconut or birch charcoal. They are often used to light barbecues and hookahs; they are affordable and environmentally friendly.

You can prepare birch coals for cleaning moonshine yourself or buy them. BAU-A coals, prepared from birch according to GOST (6217-74) using the pyrolysis method, are very popular among lovers of homemade alcohol.

Coals for barbecue

You can quickly and effectively clean moonshine with charcoal for barbecue, barbecue or hookah. Such products are available in any supermarket. But before using such a filter, you need to make sure that it does not contain harmful substances that help speed up combustion.

If you are in doubt about a product, its quality can be noticeably improved by using the re-burning method. For this purpose, the coal must be poured into a large fireproof vessel with a tight-fitting lid and set on fire, excluding air access.

Coconut charcoal for cleaning

Purifying moonshine using coconut charcoal is widely popular among connoisseurs of homemade alcoholic beverages. And if earlier it was considered an exotic product, today coconut charcoal is part of the absorbents presented on the pharmacological market.

It is not recommended to use hookah charcoal made from coconuts to filter alcoholic beverages, as this product contains additives that speed up the ignition of the hookah.

Main advantages of coconut coals:

High absorption capacity.
Economical consumption - no more than 10 g of product compared to 50 g of charcoal.
Due to the minimal amount of dust in the product, the prepared drink can be easily strained.

When choosing coconut coals, it is best to opt for category A products that do not contain synthetic impurities and additives.

Terms of use

Before you begin cleaning with wood sorbent, you should consider some features of this method:

Its quantity should be limited. If you overdo it with coal, it will affect the taste of moonshine in a negative way.
It is this type of purification that is very well suited 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 high-quality sorbent for cleaning moonshine with charcoal. For example, at a pharmacy you can purchase a product 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 tested on a small amount of moonshine.
You can't keep charcoal in your drink for too long. It has the property of returning back all the resins that were previously filtered out.
Before using charcoal, rinse it under running water to remove dirt and dust.
When placing whole, poorly crushed tablets into liquid, it should be taken into account that the composition will have to be constantly taken out and shaken, otherwise complete cleaning will not be possible.
If for some reason the sorbent did not help, then re-distillation should be done.
Cleaning moonshine with charcoal for barbecue has proven itself to be excellent. The resulting drink will have a light smoky aroma and the smell of a campfire.

Thus, you can use any coal that you have on hand. In addition, there are other methods besides purifying moonshine with charcoal, which have also proven themselves well among moonshine fans.

Moonshine purification technology with coal

Cleaning alcohol with charcoal for moonshine is very easy and simple. Correct filtering method:

the coal must be crushed in any convenient way and poured into a pan;
Moonshine is best filtered through coal when its strength reaches 45-55°;
the product is added in a proportion of 50 grams per liter of alcoholic drink;
the vessel with moonshine must be tightly sealed and left to infuse for 6-8 days;
The container with the drink must be shaken systematically - morning and evening;
moonshine should be filtered using a cleansing layer of cotton wool.

Cleaning can be done in another way. Cut off the bottom of a regular plastic bottle and make several punctures in the cap. Pour crushed coal of any type into this container, pour in moonshine and filter several times.

By purifying moonshine with birch charcoal, you can obtain a high-quality distillate with a pleasant taste and light aroma, which reduces the likelihood of a hangover to a minimum.

Filtration is carried out after the first distillation. If low-strength alcohol was used before the second distillation, a double procedure will help obtain the purest possible product.

How to choose coals for cleaning?

is most suitable for cleaning moonshine. They are produced precisely for these purposes. To clean moonshine from oils and impurities, use birch charcoal. The raw material is easy to find; it is used to light hookahs. You can also clean moonshine with birch charcoal for the barbecue. Just make sure that they do not contain third-party chemical components.

You can make coals yourself; for this you need birch firewood, which must be burned on a fire. After this, coals from the firewood remain; they need to be placed in a clay container so that there is no access to air. When cooled, they must be crushed, but not into powder, washed and dried.

There is another way to make birch activated carbon to clean moonshine. Take an iron vessel and make sure it closes tightly. It is advisable that the width of the container be greater than the height. Make several small holes in the bottom and place dry birch branches in it. Close and put on fire. Next, gases will escape from the holes. This structure should be heated until steam stops escaping. Then remove from heat and cool. Let's move on to the next step. We take it out and pour it into a saucepan, then pour clean water. Place on the stove, bring to a boil and remove after 25 minutes. During this process activation occurs. Boiling water washes out the pores of the coal from various substances. But this is not the end. We put it all back into the container with the holes and send it to the fire. We dry it, wait for the water to evaporate, after all these manipulations the activated carbon is ready.

Common Mistakes

When purifying alcohol with charcoal, moonshiners encounter various errors. The most common ones include:

During contact with water, charcoal absorbs a significant part of the liquid, so before use it can be washed with 4-5 glasses of water - this will help reduce the loss of alcohol.
The use of coal for cleansing purposes requires strict adherence to proportions - reducing the dosage specified in the recipe will lead to an increase in the amount of fusel oils in moonshine.
The sorbent instantly accumulates harmful substances, so it only needs to be used once.

High-quality purification of homemade alcohol is a guarantee of its purity and lightness, as well as the absence of a severe hangover. To filter moonshine, it is best to choose charcoal, natural coals without synthetic additives.