Filtering my Beer

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Zywo

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Hey everyone,

So I'm a chemist which leads me to believe that the only way to filter something is with a big ass filter paper and funnel. I think if I pass my beer through filter paper into the bottling bucket that this might be a good way to filter it, BUT, I was curious if I could filter out all the yeast as well and then not get carbonation in my bottles...is this a concern or are yeast way too small to get caught up in filter paper??

Thanks,

David
 
Howdy, I am also a chemist. I would think I you use a fairly porous paper like a Whatman no. 4 you shouldn't have an issue getting most of your yeast through the paper. You probably would want to use ashless paper as well to reduce the chance of getting anything from the filter into your brew. Of course I am also speaking as a chemist and not a brewer I am sure the is a more efficient way to filter.
 
I use a fine mesh strainer to pour the wort & top off water into primary. That gets out hops & grainy small stuff just fine. But not the real fine floury stuff. Given time,the beer will settle out clear or slightly misty in primary. Filtering aftarward might oxygenate it.
 
Unionrdr,

Good point about the oxygenation, didn't think about that...perhaps a mesh screen around the end of the racking cane will work, that shouldn't oxygenate it much but would still filter...?
 
I'd be interested to find if anyone has gone this route ever since this discussion? I can't afford a filtration system since I'm not CO2 capable yet, but goddamn, my dry hopping is ****ing cloudy and vegetal. Anymore thoughts?
 
Dry hopping isn't the same as boiling the hop oils into the beer. It does cause some cloudiness from the hop oils mingling with the beer slowly vs boiling. They don't mix in the same way, so you get more arma, but not clear like late boil hopping.
 
If your dry-hopping is vegetal:
1. How much dry hopping?
2. What form, leaf or pellet?
3. How long?
 
I don't dryhop everything, but when I do, I dryhop for a week, then cold crash for a week or so, sometimes with gelatin. Results= clear beer. And I didn't even stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. ;)
 
Cold crashing is easy, no filter worries, no extra o2 to worry about. My beers come out clear enough to read the label on the glass thru the beer.
 
Zywo said:
Hey everyone,

So I'm a chemist which leads me to believe that the only way to filter something is with a big ass filter paper and funnel. I think if I pass my beer through filter paper into the bottling bucket that this might be a good way to filter it, BUT, I was curious if I could filter out all the yeast as well and then not get carbonation in my bottles...is this a concern or are yeast way too small to get caught up in filter paper??

Thanks,

David
Click to expand...

What level of filtration are you aiming for? If you are looking to keep yeast rafts, trub, and hop gunk out, then I think a mesh bag around your siphon/racking cane will work fine (that's what I do). If you want to get your beer sparkling clear you'll need to use a plate filter and use CO2 to push it through. You won't be filtering out the yeast in suspension and can still bottle carbonate unless you start getting down into the .5-1 micron size filters.
 
I've got an APA that had 3 oz of hops in the boil and 2 oz in dry hop, cold crashed for 3 days at ~39° and came out pretty darn clear.

I knew that there would be some hop haze in the finished product... this does not bother me. If I would have fined this batch with gelatin, I know it would've came out very clear, but didn't want to strip out hop aroma.

Really a trade off when lots of hops are involved.
 
I don't have a controlled fermentation, so I can't perform a cold crash. And even if I did that still wouldn't answer the question which is 'do paper filters work or not?'
 

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