Distilleries are one of the most polluting industries generating enormous amount of wastewater from which an average of 10–15 L of effluent is released with the production of 1 L of alcohol. The distillery wastewater known as spent wash is characterized by its dark brown color, high temperature, low pH, and high percentage of dissolved organic and inorganic matter. It also contains nearly 2 % of the dark brown recalcitrant pigment called melanoidin which imparts dark brown color to the effluent. Various physical, chemical, and alternate treatment methods have been adopted for the removal of color from this wastewater. But these methods only change the form of contaminants rather than degrading them completely.