Filtering

Can I get some advice please?

First,a disclaimer:
I am aware that the use of Irish moss and other clarifiers helps eliminate the need for considering filtering homebrew.
I am aware that long term conditioning of beer promotes clarity and further reduces the need to filter.
I am aware of the benefits of cold crashing.

Disclaimer over.

Now,my question.Could I use a 5 micron home water filter with my kegging setup and filter a batch that I plan to serve Thursday but which is still WAY to cloudy and has floaters (hop junk) in it? It has been in a keg in a very cold refrigerator for a week, but two glasses I poured looked like a very cloudy wheat (it ain't) with leaf bits. I'm thinking that matter that settled to the bottom wouldn't have been two glasses full... am I wrong?
My guests are not homebrew drinkers,but are beer drinkers so it's this or go buy beer for me.

If no one knows if this will work I'll do the experiment and report back. I do need some advice re sanitizing the filter though. I'm thinking of running Star San through it first, but how would I get most of that out of the filter itself before pushing the beer through? Remove and shake as dry as I can first perhaps? I am planning on the filter medium being a one-time use deal so am not concerned about cleaning or sanitizing it after use.

If you just tapped it you're probably just sucking up the sediment. Few more pints it might be gone.

That said, I would just soak it in starsan, disassemble and drain most of it out. A little won't hurt. I read a thread on it before, and I think 5 micron should be alright. Are you pumping or siphoning?

Pushing through the filter with co2

5 Micron would be pretty ideal. Your best bet would be setting up the filter between two kegs, one with the beer in it and one that is empty, flushed with CO2, and has the poppet vent open on the top. Then push the beer out of the one that is full, through the filter, and into the "out" side of the empty one so it fills from the bottom up.

Could it be that since you did cold crash it in the keg. you're just picking up a lot of goop from the bottom? What if you do like some people mention on here and shorten your dip tube so it doesn't touch the bottom?

If you do experiment, grab a camera and takes pics...if it works you might have a great DIY.

Good luck either way.

Tonedef131 said:

5 Micron would be pretty ideal. Your best bet would be setting up the filter between two kegs, one with the beer in it and one that is empty, flushed with CO2, and has the poppet vent open on the top. Then push the beer out of the one that is full, through the filter, and into the "out" side of the empty one so it fills from the bottom up.

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Just need to make sure the keg you are filtering too, has the pressure release open.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/chill-haze-i-think-i-fixed-89036/

That's my rig for filtering. It would be easier between two kegs as you'd pressurize the one it's in now, transfer through the filter and into your other keg (which has of course been sanitized and C02 purged). It works nicely! I ran about a gallon of water/Starsan through the lines and filter, pausing in-between the transfer to let the sanitizer sit a bit, and then continued and dumped what was left in the filter at the end.

My filtering rig:



I invert the filter towards the end to minimize waste.

david_42 said:

My filtering rig:

I invert the filter towards the end to minimize waste.

Click to expand...

Is that red cylinder your CO2 - I thought red was always used for oxygen?

Aren't Oxygen cylinders Green?

People color their tanks all sorts of colors based on what they are doing. I painted my CO2 cylinder a nice shade of dark blue. I also have one that is red. I've also seen oxy in different colors. Only difference I ever see is the mating end of the valve.

David 42, that is very similar to the rig I am setting up. Wel, I actually have it set up but have yet to use it. I bought one with a solid white element holder because it was $15 and the other one was $32. I also found that WalMart carries the filters for these things for like $4 for a two pack. I figured most sediment could be eliminated using a 30 micron filter but also have some of the 5-10 micron filters.

It's possible a couple pints more will fix it. You could also try transferring to a clean keg and see if that leaves the sediment behind.

Just about any filtering should get rid of hop junk, but if you want to polish your beer you're probably going to have to get down to 5 microns, but I'd stop there. Under that and you start stripping yeast and things you may want.

I've never filtered, but have thought about it for similar reasons. The wineries around here basically filter most everything and I'm told that 5+ micron filtering shouldn't cause any problems in terms of flavor, but I've yet to try it. If I get some time I'm thinking of splitting a batch and doing the "filtered v. unfiltered" taste test with my R&D department and see what happens.

Gordie.

I think MoreBeer must have readmy mind before I even thought of this idea! Check this out... MoreBeer | Beer Filtering Kit
I priced stuff at Home Depot today and came within $5 of this without even finding all the adapters and not counting the tubing or tank connectors. It won't be here in timefor this brew, but I'm ordering it I think.

kirscp said:

Just need to make sure the keg you are filtering too, has the pressure release open.

Click to expand...

Correct, if you reread my post that you quoted you will see that it was covered.

Well, I brought this back up because I never did buy the filter or filter this batch, and I wish I had. I have totally left it alone for the past few weeks. Poured a mug tonight and it was ugly! Bazillions of floaters and chunks. So I figured that it had settled and the next mug would be clear. Wrong. Mug 2 was horrible too...mug 3 a bit better, mug 4 better and mug 5 doesn't have large floaties and just simply looks like mud. It tastes ok though (the first 4 were a happy new year drink for the basement sink). So, the filter is still in my future for any brews that come up looking this crappy.

Did you rack this beer to keg too soon? It should be clear going in.

It very likely was too soon. It was only 15 days old, but I fell to the pressures of impatience. However, now it is 60 days old, been cold, kegged and carbed all that time and is still muddy looking. Is absolutely the least attractive brew I've evr done, and not the best tasting either, though it is drinkable. It'll kick soon, and I won't ever be so impatient again.

That's the price we pay for impatience. Once you have a cloudy beer in the keg, the diptube is likely always going to be underneath the sediment layer. If that's the kind of schedule you think you'll keep up with, you'll want to cut off 1/2" of the dip tube. It's not the best solution, but cheaper than filtering. Even a week in secondary, then two days cold before racking to keg would work wonders for you. Keep the pipeline going.

If it's that cloudy and chunky, it may clog your filter.

I have made wine with my family all of my life, and we have been filtering for the last 20 or so. 5 micron filters will still clog if the wine has not cleared. I wouldn't filter it until finings were added and it had set for a long while.

I, too, have looked at the Morebeer filter, and will most likely buy one in the future. 90% of my beers clear just fine, but some just don't. I don't mind, but...

I think that a water filter could be a good thing.... most of the time I'd use it as a water filter, but for that once-in-a-while brew that just doesn't clear I'd be willing to try filtering it with a new cartridge in the housing.