How do big breweries get such clear beer?

Cpsurfer · 01-30-2009, 01:52 PM

As we all know, the last 1/4 inch or so of our bottles have a layer of sediment that we don't want to pour out, and in the bottom of the kegs a layer of "crud" typically accumulates too. My question is, how do the commercial breweries produce such clean beer? You never have to worry about slurping down some yeast at the bottom of a budweiser (although some would argue you wouldn't have to worry about taste when drinking one either!).

flyangler18 · 01-30-2009, 01:55 PM

Filters. Macro beers are dead; the beer is pasteurized and the yeast filtered out.

chumprock · 01-30-2009, 01:56 PM

Large commercial filters and isinglass.

Cpsurfer · 01-30-2009, 02:04 PM

I sort of had a hunch. Thanks!

madewithchicken · 01-30-2009, 02:11 PM

I knew the macros filtered but i did not know they pasteurized too.

There is 100 different ways to minimize the sediment in your bottles besides filtering. The easiest thing to do is leave the beer in the secondary for a long time, though it it may be hard to tell how long is a long time.

When i care i go with a month or so. And be careful not to shake up the yeast in the carboy. Once a beer makes it into the secondary i do not move it at all. I place it on a shelf so i can siphon from it without moving it again.

**Revvy** · 01-30-2009, 02:19 PM

Not all commercial beers are dead, or don't have sediment in the bottles...it's only a limited amount of breweries and the majority of those that produce BMC' like beers, and a few micros that also produce pilsners and lagers...

I enter contests...and placed decently last summer....in fact the biggest comments I got this summer was on the CLARITY of my beer..one of my beers was describes as being jewell like...and ruby like...I believe it comes from the fact that I leave it in primary for a month..use finings to clear it, and give it a nice period of bottle conditioning, make sure I cool the wort quicky and chill long enough to eliminate haze.....

If you work on you beer process, AND pour properly yeast sediment is not really an issue...it's a tiny bit of beer left behind in the bottle where there is a glass of uber clear beer. There's no yeast in this beerglass of mine, what little there is is still in the bottle.

This list is out of date, but it shows the huge amount of bottle conditioned beers.

Yeasts from Bottle Conditioned Beers

It's mostly new brewers who grew up drinking macro swill that think yeast is bad...The rest of us, like great parts of the brewing world, worship it.

Read this http://www.homebrewtalk.com/1045967-post3.html

Maybe it will convince you to join the yeast are our friends brigade!

**remilard** · 01-30-2009, 02:29 PM

Most microbrewed and pub beer is filtered.

I can rattle off a list of breweries I have been to that sterile filter the beer and then add yeast at bottling, so bottle conditioned beer certainly does not mean no filtration.

menschmaschine · 01-30-2009, 04:48 PM

Many commercial breweries also centrifuge the beer.

carnevoodoo · 01-30-2009, 05:10 PM

Clear beer can be attained without filtering or even fining. I will have to take a picture of the Stone 2004 Vertical Epic clone I made. Good process, careful racking, and a little time in the cold is all you need.

lmg95 · 01-30-2009, 05:16 PM

+1 to the Cold

At least 2 days in the fridge and the little bit of yeast you still have from bottle conditioning will be clinging to the bottom of that bottle.