What's your opinion on filtering?

I'm finally brewing again, yeah! Since my last batch, over a year ago, I've upgraded my system and have dove head first into all grain. I have an Alaskan amber clone brewed with some Hugh Baird in ferment at the moment and I'll be brewing a Kolsch this weekend. I'm thinking I'd like a clear product, especially the Kolsch. I'm considering a plate filter; for about $100.00 I'd have a complete set up. I'm not sure I want to introduce another step in the process. It's a lot of work as is, but, of course, a labor of love. How many of my homebrewing brothers bother with filtering?

I have one I have never used yet. I have not seen a reason to as I let my beers sit in the keg a few days and they are remarkably clear.

I've found a bit of irish moss in the brew kettle and a week to cold crash a beer makes most my beers nice and clear. Not as clear as a sam adams but as clear if not clearer than some of the micro brews I've tried.

Not many of us do any filtering at all. Almost all beer will drop clear if given enough time. I've been thinking about filtering lately as a cure for my impatience, but I'm going to go with a simple, cheap household sediment filter with an element somewhere between 2 and 5 microns. Or I may just keep waiting.

I use two household filter housings with $40 absolute filters in them. One is a 2.5 and the other a .3 (though a .45 or 1 micron works great).

I get mine from http://beerandwinefilter.com
My 2.5 is a Amazon Supapore PPG 2.5 micron. Can't remember who made the other one, I've had it for 2 years now.

You can back flush these with hot water then soak 'em in oxyclean and they come out as good as new!

Of course you have to force carb so you need a kegging system.

As many have said ...... if you let it sit at 34F to 38F a few days it will become really clear. Use finings in the last 15 minutes of the boil. This helps to prevent all kinds of solids in the beer which cause haze. I use Whirlfloc tablets which are available at www.morebeer.com.

I don't even use finings anymore. Everything in the keg ends up crystal clear after a few weeks.

Well, if you're planning on strictly bottling, you can filter for clearer homebrew. But if you're bottle conditioning, you don't want to strip out the yeast so you don't want too small a filter.

If you want to bottle from a keg, though, as the others said, you get clear force-carbonated beer without filtering. I've been doing that, and been very happy with it.

I used to use gelatin, but rarely do that anymore. I let it sit in the keg for a month, and it's very clear after the first couple of pints.

I don't really see the need for filtering. Between kettle finings, letting the beer sit long enough in the carboy and/or cold crashing I find that the sediment layer in the bottle is generally thin and compact enough to easily decant the beer with out disturbing it.

Back when I would rush beer into the bottle, it was a different story.

hoffie38 said:

I'm finally brewing again, yeah! Since my last batch, over a year ago, I've upgraded my system and have dove head first into all grain. I have an Alaskan amber clone brewed with some Hugh Baird in ferment at the moment and I'll be brewing a Kolsch this weekend. I'm thinking I'd like a clear product, especially the Kolsch. I'm considering a plate filter; for about $100.00 I'd have a complete set up. I'm not sure I want to introduce another step in the process. It's a lot of work as is, but, of course, a labor of love. How many of my homebrewing brothers bother with filtering?

Click to expand...

I would not filter at all. As mentioned in the other posts use Irish Moss in the brew kettle and rack to a secondary. Two weeks in the secondary drops my beers very clear. This leaves a very fine sediment of yeast in the bottle when bottle conditioning.

The other problem with filters is depending on the filter size you'll be taking some flavor out of the beer. Especially for something like a german helles. I've had very few helles styles from microbrewers that have the same flavor as their draft. This is because when they filter the beer you are filtering out some of the nice pils grain flavor.

I never have filtered, and I doubt I will. Just like the others, a bit of Irish moss and time clears my beer just fine. All come clear within several days or a couple weeks or so of cold storage.

Then, there is just the economics. For anything that I care to age, I want the yeast with the beer. For anything I want to drink young, I find it difficult to judge any extra expense.


TL

I purchased a filter, but hardly ever use it.

I'm mixed on the results...

If your beer is hazy, the likely answer is that you're drinking it too soon. Also, if you're beer is well aged and well bottle conditioned but it's being stored at room temp, do NOT go flash chilling these bottles and drinking them right away. If you store the bottles cold for a week or more, you'll be amazed at the clarity.

Here's a beer that's properly aged for a couple months, most of which was in the cold, no filtering, no finings, no hurry:

Bobby_M said:

If your beer is hazy, the likely answer is that you're drinking it too soon. Also, if you're beer is well aged and well bottle conditioned but it's being stored at room temp, do NOT go flash chilling these bottles and drinking them right away. If you store the bottles cold for a week or more, you'll be amazed at the clarity.

Here's a beer that's properly aged for a couple months, most of which was in the cold, no filtering, no finings, no hurry:

Click to expand...

Nice! Ok. I'll forgo the filter. the feedback was great. I'll certainly use the suggestions everyone provided. Thanks again.

+1, what they said. everyone's suggestions are right on, i just thought i'd brainstorm on all the things i do throughout the brewing process to make my beer clear. i don't own a filter and don't see a need for one.

vorlauf: i vorlauf a lot. i don't let my sweet liquor run to my kettle until it's crystal clear. it takes some extra time but leaving behind everything you can is a good start.

good hot break: the faster and more vigorous your boil is in the beginning the more protein you'll coagulate. i usually turn my boil down to very gentle after 20 mins or so.

kettle finings: i always use irish moss.

good cold break: similar to hot break, the faster you can cool your wort to pitching temp the more protein you coagulate.

whirlpool: even though i have a bazooka screen in my kettle that breaks things up, i still give my cooled wort a good swirl, and i definitely manage to focus a lot of the hops and trub in the center.

patience: i usually get within 2 points of my FG in about 4 days from pitching. i don't usually rack to a secondary carboy for about 7-8 days. why? why not.

clean racking: i ferment about 5.75 gallons to be able to rack a full 5 gallons into a keg at the end. i don't have a problem leaving that much beer behind because it's full of yeast and crud.

patience: . . .

cold conditioning: i don't often cold condition in secondary because they're usually clear enough. but, if i want to get a lighter beer, like a kolsch, really sparkling, i'll usually do a little gelatin with the cold crash.

Another vote for not filtering. "Time clears all beers."

Bobby_M said:

If your beer is hazy, the likely answer is that you're drinking it too soon. Also, if you're beer is well aged and well bottle conditioned but it's being stored at room temp, do NOT go flash chilling these bottles and drinking them right away. If you store the bottles cold for a week or more, you'll be amazed at the clarity.

Here's a beer that's properly aged for a couple months, most of which was in the cold, no filtering, no finings, no hurry:

Click to expand...

Nice props for HomeBrewTalk.com!