Charcoal/carbon

[Fin420]

Has anyone ever used activated charcoal/carbon?

I'm about to add some to a sloe gin kit as per the instructions but I'm not exactly sure what it does!

 

[terrym]

Has anyone ever used activated charcoal/carbon?

I'm about to add some to a sloe gin kit as per the instructions but I'm not exactly sure what it does!

Activated carbon is widely used to clean up fluids (both gases and liquid) by adsorbing (not absorbing) unwanted chemicals into microscopic pores which it contains. It is, for example, widely used in the water treatment industry, especially for removing organic chemicals. Your home water filter may possibly contain some.
I have made sloe gin and vodka from hedgerow sloes without even thinking of using it, and have never heard of its use in homebrewing, so I can't see what value it adds.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Are you using it to clear your wine?

I have had a look round and can only find this which doesn't sound good, i use KwiK Clear and it is the best and fastest fining i have used.

ACTIVATED CARBON (CHARCOAL)
Derived from burnt animal or plant matter, carbon fining is often used as a last resort to remove off-odours and colour. It is best used in conjunction with 50 mg/l ascorbic acid, as otherwise it may provoke oxidation. Often used at low doses for final pressings.

http://www.wineskills.co.uk/winemaking/winemaking-knowledge-base/fining-agents

Carbon (activated charcoal) is used to remove colour - decolorizing carbon, and to remove off-odours such as oxidation - deodorizing carbon, and is usually used in conjunction with PVPP as oxidized white wines generally show a brown tinge. Use at the rate of 0.025 to 0.6 grams per litre. It is best to make lab tests before adding to the entire batch, as too much carbon will strip the wine of both flavour and colour. Since carbon is a very fine powder, it may be desirable to use bentonite also in order to compact the sediment.

http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/fining.htm

 

[IainM]

Presumably this is a kit where you use a turbo yeast to make a sugar wash, which you then flavour. Never used it myself, but the idea of the carbon is to clear it and remove unwanted flavors from the sugar wash. By all accounts it works well.

 

[Robin54]

Used to use on anaesthetic machines way back when, for removing spent halogenated hydrocarbons. That doesn't help with brewing I know.

 

[Tau]

I remember using charcoal for white wines back in the late 70's and early 80's, then it went out of fashion with kits.

 

[Fin420]

@Ianm you're right it's a 'prohibition' kit with turbo yeast etc. I can't really see the benefit of using the charcoal...I'm pretty sure finings would do just as good a job, but after a solid month of fermenting I thought I'd better follow the instructions! It advised I add it with the stabiliser then shake for a few days...but I degassed first then added it just to be on the safe side. Cloudy white to jet black instantly!

The only reason I can think for using it in this situation is perhaps the yeast will start give produce some off flavours later in the fermentation when the alcohol content is too high for the yeasts liking, which wouldn't be removed from finings alone.

 

[IainM]

@Ianm you're right it's a 'prohibition' kit with turbo yeast etc. I can't really see the benefit of using the charcoal...I'm pretty sure finings would do just as good a job, but after a solid month of fermenting I thought I'd better follow the instructions! It advised I add it with the stabiliser then shake for a few days...but I degassed first then added it just to be on the safe side. Cloudy white to jet black instantly!

The only reason I can think for using it in this situation is perhaps the yeast will start give produce some off flavours later in the fermentation when the alcohol content is too high for the yeasts liking, which wouldn't be removed from finings alone.

Exactly right. Finings, depending on what they are, are good at removing large molecules like proteins and polyphenols, as well other aromatic compounds and sulphides. Charcoal, on the the other hand, will bind and remove most other volatile compounds which contribute to the flavour, pretty much anything with a nitrogen atom.

 

[Tau]

@Ianm you're right it's a 'prohibition' kit with turbo yeast etc. I can't really see the benefit of using the charcoal...I'm pretty sure finings would do just as good a job, but after a solid month of fermenting I thought I'd better follow the instructions! It advised I add it with the stabiliser then shake for a few days...but I degassed first then added it just to be on the safe side. Cloudy white to jet black instantly!

The only reason I can think for using it in this situation is perhaps the yeast will start give produce some off flavours later in the fermentation when the alcohol content is too high for the yeasts liking, which wouldn't be removed from finings alone.

It's coming back to me, used to look like this before clearing to leave it very clear and a thick black sediment. Would rack before adding finings used to work well. But understand it striping flavour, but on a wash cant see a problem before you add the flavouring.

 

[Fin420]

Thanks for the info @ianm it's looking good after a couple of days, just need to rack off the black layer and add a bit more chitosan before adding flavouring