Still Spirits Finishing Carbon 500g is a fine-grain activated carbon designed for the final polishing stage of home-distilled spirit. Its small grain size gives a much larger contact surface area than standard carbon, delivering superior filtration power that strips out off-flavours, off-aromas, residual colour and congeners - leaving you with a cleaner, smoother, more neutral base spirit.
Why use finishing carbon?
Even a well-run distillation carries trace impurities - fusel oils, sulphur compounds and other congeners - that give raw spirit its harsh, "hot" character. Passing your diluted distillate through activated carbon adsorbs these compounds, so the spirit tastes cleaner and takes on flavouring far more evenly. It is the difference between a rough homebrew and a genuinely smooth result. For a full walkthrough, grab the free Still Spirits Pocket Guide to Filtering Spirit.
How to use
- Dilute your distillate to around 40-50% ABV before filtering - carbon works best on diluted spirit.
- Rinse the carbon with clean water to remove any fine dust before use.
- Load the carbon into your Still Spirits Filter Pro or other gravity-fed filter system.
- Use one bag per filtration run with the Filter Pro.
- Allow the spirit to pass through slowly - a slow drip gives the carbon maximum contact time and the best result.
- Discard the spent carbon after use and flush the filter with water.
Key features
- 500g bag of fine-grain activated finishing carbon
- Small grain size for superior polishing and filtration power
- Removes off-flavours, off-aromas, colour and congeners
- Designed for the Still Spirits Filter Pro and compatible with other gravity-fed filters
- Ideal final step before adding Still Spirits Top Shelf essences
Goes well with
- Still Spirits Filter Pro - the vertical gravity-fed filter this carbon is designed for
- Still Spirits EZ Inline Filter and EZ Filter Carbon Cartridge - a quick inline alternative for smaller batches
- Alcotec 48 Turbo Yeast - for a clean, fast-fermenting wash before you distil
- Alcotec Pure Karbon 1kg - a larger-grain carbon for treating the wash before distillation
Browse the full distilling and spirit making range at BrewCo UK - everything from turbo yeast and Air Still equipment to filtration and flavourings.