Filterd Cider

**muse435** · 12-12-2011, 05:05 PM

I want to have carbonated semi-sweet, this is my tentative plan.

What I have so far:
On July 17th I started my cider, 3 gal juice + 4.5oz brown sugar. It sat for 26 days in a primary, 90 days in a secondary, and has been in a keg for the last 32 days. To keep the keg sealed it has been under 5psi.

My plan:
Freeze slightly less the one gallon of fresh cider, then thaw 1/2 way and pour off the concentrated cider and add to the empty keg. Purge the keg of O2. Attach my spunding valve to the air in valve on the empty keg and close it. Connect two filters inline (course then fine). Push the cider through the filters into the empty keg. Since the cider has been under slight pressure I plan on doing this all outside with chilled kegs, lines, and filters to reduce foaming. I will slightly open the spunding valve to allow the cider to slowly transfer between kegs under slight pressure (~2-4PSI). Then just carb in my keezer.

Questions:
If I filter do I still need to use Potassium Sorbate and Campden Tablets to prevent further fermentation?
If i do need to use chemicals to prevent fermentation, how much?
Any flaws in my plan?

ajbram · 12-12-2011, 05:52 PM

If you use a fine enough filter, you shouldn't need to use any chemicals to prevent fermentation. All the yeast should be filtered out. What mesh size do you intend to use? I gravity filtered my last batch through 2.7 micron mesh, and that seemed to work well. It will end up being very slow going though if you intend to filter small enough to get all the yeasties out.

**IXVolt** · 12-12-2011, 05:55 PM

Depends on how fine your filters are. 5 microns will remove the majority of yeast, especially if you chill before, so they clump together, making filtering easier. i.e. "Cold Filtering"

If you filter, I wouldn't add any Potassium Sorbate.

Question: Why try to concentrate your cider and then add it to the fermented cider? Why not just add actual frozen juice concentrate? It's like a $1.50 a can.

**muse435** · 12-12-2011, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IXVolt

Question: Why try to concentrate your cider and then add it to the fermented cider? Why not just add actual frozen juice concentrate? It's like a $1.50 a can.

I have a fresh gallon of cider in the keezer, but I might just buy concentrate. It mostly depends on when I kill a keg and have time to filter/transfer.

**muse435** · 12-12-2011, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajbram

If you use a fine enough filter, you shouldn't need to use any chemicals to prevent fermentation. All the yeast should be filtered out. What mesh size do you intend to use? I gravity filtered my last batch through 2.7 micron mesh, and that seemed to work well. It will end up being very slow going though if you intend to filter small enough to get all the yeasties out.

5.0 and 1.0 micron disposable filters

ajbram · 12-12-2011, 06:55 PM

1 micron should clean it up pretty well. yeast cells are 3-4 microns in length, so 1 micron should get most of them out. 0.5 um is considered a sterilizing filter. It might be worth passing it through that if you want all the yeast gone. Anything that small will flow really slow...

**muse435** · 12-12-2011, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajbram

1 micron should clean it up pretty well. yeast cells are 3-4 microns in length, so 1 micron should get most of them out. 0.5 um is considered a sterilizing filter. It might be worth passing it through that if you want all the yeast gone. Anything that small will flow really slow...

will 0.5 um "strip" flavor?

ajbram · 12-12-2011, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muse435

will 0.5 um "strip" flavor?

I don't think so, especially since your beverage has been kegged and conditioning for a while. Alcohol works as a solvent during the conditioning phase, so it's essentially extracting oils and esters from the suspended material. After a while of aging, the flavours are associated with the alcohol and distributed throughout the liquid. Even if you bottle condition, this is what happens. The off flavours associated with the lees drop to the bottom with the solids, but the dissolved esters and oils impart flavour to the beverage. Since yours has been conditioning for a while, most of what you want should already be dissolved as opposed to adsorbed onto the lees. Filtering small shouldn't negatively affect flavour.