Brewers Choice PRO-CLEAN CARBON

Which Carbon Should You Use?

Brewers Choice has done extensive study across all of our Carbon Suppliers to obtain the correct information about Filtering Carbon. In the end, we went straight to the horse’s mouth, and asked an Industrial Chemist the truth about Pellets versus Granules when filtering distillate.

Now, Brewers Choice has a new Carbon – Pro-Clean Carbon. The difference in taste is huge. Come down to your local Brewers Choice Store and experience the difference this great new Carbon will make to your products.

What the Industrial Chemist Said:

Carbon for filtering comes in many forms and is generally made from either Coconut Husks (Granular) or Anthracite (Extruded Pellets). Powered activated carbon, which is very small in size, can be made from either coconut or anthracite.

Carbonisation of the husks or anthracite is performed at approximately 800°C in an oxygen free atmosphere. This process drives off all the volatile organic compounds and leaves behind Carbon and some minerals (ash).

There are three main factors that must be considered when looking at which Carbon to buy:

Activation
Pore Size
Cleanliness.

Activation

All filtering carbons must be Activated Carbon. Carbon is activated by passing oxidizing gases though it at extremely high temperatures. This produces carbon with millions of tiny pores that attract impurities in your spirit and holds onto them with “Pi Bonds”. This phenomenon is similar to how a balloon or comb charged with static electricity holds onto a piece of paper.

Pore Size

Pores in the carbon are holes into which the impurities in your carbon fall. Different Carbon materials have different pore sizes – Granular Carbon, made from coconut, has small (Micro) pores or absorption holes. Pellet carbon, made from Anthracite, has small (Micro) and larger (Meso) pores, as well as a relatively few large (Macro) pores.

The size of the pores is important in determining the effectiveness of the carbon. If you can imagine a small molecule of some impurity falling into a small (micro) absorption hole, there is a lot of contact between the sides of the molecule and the walls of the hole. (Think a tennis ball falling into a tennis ball-sized hole) The Pi Bonds (static charges) of the carbon can easily bridge across to the molecule in many places, and hold it tightly in place. If the pore size is larger, and the molecules are small (think tennis ball in a medicine ball size hole), there are few points of contact on the walls of the pore, less bonds holding the molecule in the hole and it is easier for the molecule to fall out again.

The question for home distillers is –What size are the molecules of impurities in my distillate? If you are using a good quality spirit yeast in your wash, and if you are distilling correctly, at the correct temperature (79-80°C), and removing the heads, then any impurities your distillate has should fit inside small (micro) pores. This includes Fusels, which can be very bad for your health. The impurities would also fall into larger (Meso) pores but will not be held tightly in the pore and could “fall” out again.

So any carbon used by distillers must have Micro pores. Both Granules and Pellets have similar Micro pores and therefore both are suitable for filtering good quality distillate.

Cleanliness

There are two aspects to Carbon cleanliness. The first is dust. Pelletised carbon generally is a cleaner carbon and easier to wash to ensure there is no dust falling out into your distillate. Granulated carbon, as a rule, is dustier and needs better washing.

Secondly, Granulated carbon, unless especially pre-treated, can leach out mineral ash (Calcium, Iron, Potassium) which will contribute a metallic taste to the distillate. Granulated carbon needs to be acid treated and neutralized to prevent the bad after-taste.

So What Carbon Do We Recommend?

As a result of the research we have been conducting, we have finally located a highly suitable carbon – Pro-Clean Carbon. It’s currently used commercially in water treatment plants and bottled beverage plants due to the cleanliness of the final product, and is ideal for home brewers. The properties of Pro-Clean Carbon are:

Activated;
Granulated (which is cheaper than pelletised carbon, but equally effective);
Acid washed, so it is cleaner than standard granular carbon;
pH stabilised, to prevent metallic aftertaste from regular activated granular carbon;

Our new Pro-Clean carbon is extremely efficient at capturing the typical fermentation by-products but without releasing any water soluble minerals that would taint the flavour of the product.

Some Additional Notes

Dilute your distillate to approximately 40-50% before filtering. Using undiluted alcohol can result in impurities being leached from the carbon. As well, when diluted, the fusels are less well dissolved, making it easier to separate them from the alcohol. Use distilled or filtered water where possible, to reduce the load on the carbon from dirty water as well as the distillate.
Although Pro-Clean carbon is very clean, it still may carry some dust. Flush some water through your filter before filling with distillate to ensure maximum cleanliness.
There is still a need to filter out the microscopic particles and dust that make it through to the end of your filter. Use a filter paper to remove the last tiny particles.
There is NO need to keep Pro-Clean carbon moist between uses.
Re-using Carbon – Activated Carbon, with a surface like a sponge, is only able to absorb so much before its pores are full. Once the carbon pores have “filled up”, the carbon will no longer be effective for filtering. Carbon can be re-activated, but this occurs at 550°C or higher, in an oxygen-free atmosphere, the same as the original activation. Carbon can be “cleaned”, losing some of the impurities caught in the pores, but its ability to attract new impurities is reduced and therefore will not pull impurities out of your distillate as effectively, resulting in a drop off in purity and taste.

For the best results, we recommend you change your Pro-Clean carbon after every two washes (20ltrs of diluted distillate). After all, you are only looking at about 30c a litre for the freshest Carbon and the best taste.

1kg bags of our new Pro-Clean ultra-clean, pH stabilised, Activated Carbon is just $15.00, a massive saving of $8 a bag over the old price!!!