Beer Filters, Do you use one?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
At best it's a crutch for impatient brewers, at worst it's an unnecessary cost, oxidation and contamination risk if you don't know what you're doing.

In case it wasn't obvious, you definitely need to keg to use this.
 
I do not use them on my beers, they strip flavor that you worked hard to get into the beer ... out, along with the other stuff. I haven't really needed a filter. Primary, a couple weeks in the secondary (or longer with a big beer) and everything has usually fallen out.

I do use a filter with my still meads though, as I bottle them and like them to be sparkling clear.

~r~
 
There are so many techniques for making clear beer that do not involve filtering. No reason to use one for me.
 
I considered it when I recently tapped my simcoe IPA which was dry hopped with pellets in the keg using a mesh bag. Hop dust escaped the bag and made the first few pints rather harsh. I was worried that it wouldn't clear, but it has, so I'm not worried about filtering any more.
 
Nope. Thought about it when I first started but after asking questions at LHBS decided against it.
 
There are a few people who are allergic to yeast. My son-in-law for instance. Filtering will not strip out flavour if beer is only polished, and is not a crutch for folks who have allergies. They like beer but the yeast does't like them. Your beer can sparkle, but yeast is still in there. The BMC bunch doesn't filter their swill to make it clear, they want everyone to drink it without problems. Only a stirile filtration will reduce flavour. Cold filtering is a process whereby most all of the yeast falls out due to chill, then the beer is filtered to get rid of almost all of the rest of it. The process works well and allows most folks to drink beer without the GI probs of homebrew and certain imports and micros (big homebrew).

The filter the OP showed wold probably work for those unfortunate few, but a better filter for all around use can be found at http://www.buonvino.com/P_SuperJet.shtml
 
No filter, but often use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag to help keep the trub out of primary/secondary/keg. Just be careful not to oxidize the brew.
 
Yeah I myself have never used one, I was just surfing the AustinHombrew website and came across this. I wondered how many people actually use these.
I cloned a Red Ale that is actually brewed by Ice Harbor in WA, it is fantastic but I have historically had a problem with chill haze. What I found is after some cold conditioning, ie a month, the chill haze settles out.

Just curious......
 
I have homebrewed for two years. I have never yet seen any need to filter, and don't now. It is simply unneeded expense, complexity, and time from my perspective.
 
So the comment about folks with yeast allergies was helpful, I think. There are good reasons to filter, so take that into consideration. I've not filtered any of my beers, as I don't have any beer-related allergies, and my beers end up clear enough to make me happy after spending a few days chilling in the fridge.
 
I agree there are some situations that may warrant it but by far the kinds of folks that ask about filtering are either impatient or trying to reduce sediment in bottle conditioned beers. I was certainly assuming that in THIS thread.

To understand where my bias comes from, there were 11 "no I don't need to filter" responses and one unique situation that benefited from it. I think if the OP said "I'm allergic to yeast, will filtering help me?" the responses would have been pointedly different.
 
I agree there are some situations that may warrant it but by far the kinds of folks that ask about filtering are either impatient or trying to reduce sediment in bottle conditioned beers. I was certainly assuming that in THIS thread.

To understand where my bias comes from, there were 11 "no I don't need to filter" responses and one unique situation that benefited from it. I think if the OP said "I'm allergic to yeast, will filtering help me?" the responses would have been pointedly different.

Fair enough, Bobby- my comment wasn't meant as a retort or anything, but in looking at it now I can see that I could have worded it better. What I meant to say was:

Really, only if you feel a compulsive need to have sparkling beer as soon as possible, or if you or a loved one are allergic to yeast, do you need a filter. Otherwise, you could spend the cash on more helpful pieces of equipment that make your beer better or easier to brew.

Back to figuring out the cheapest way to make something that will get me drunk...:mug:
 
Personally, I don't see the need for one. But I can see that if someone is giving their beer out to others, who are not accustomed to Homebrew, or unfiltered beer, the yeast sediment could be a turn-off, as well as the cloudiness of some beer in the glass.

As far as losing flavour, I believe I heard that if the beer is properly conditioned, before filtering, then you won't lose flavour. The filters are not fine enough to actually strip out the flavour, but can strip out some things, like yeast, that can affect the flavour profile over time. Not sure about head retention particles though...
 
I have been filtering all of my beers (especially the dry hopped ones) through a canister filter with a 3 micron element (nominal/cheap). It adds about $1.10 to each brew, but I have found it very worthwhile. Especially if you like to drag your kegs to parties, like I do. No worries about letting them settle. The first beer is ready to drink. I push from Corny to Corny with CO2 at about 5 psi through the filter. Recipient keg pre-purged. No worries about oxygenation.

I did a couple of before/after tests for how the filter affected the taste/color. The only difference I found is that the beers tasted a little cleaner and crisper, which I really like. I think that may be from the yeast removal.

So, contrary to most of the posts here, I love filtering my beer!
 
I have been filtering all of my beers (especially the dry hopped ones) through a canister filter with a 3 micron element (nominal/cheap). It adds about $1.10 to each brew, but I have found it very worthwhile. Especially if you like to drag your kegs to parties, like I do. No worries about letting them settle. The first beer is ready to drink. I push from Corny to Corny with CO2 at about 5 psi through the filter. Recipient keg pre-purged. No worries about oxygenation.

+1, this is the only time I filter a beer. If I go the the bother of making a nice, clear, delicate cream ale, I don't want the flavor ruined by yeast sludge getting drug back up when I cart the keg off to a party. Filtering is the only way to remove enough yeast that it won't cloud up when you move the keg turning into a hefe. :eek:

Cream ale and American lagers are the only styles I see the need to filter.. though maybe someday I will try making a crystal wheat which also must be filtered to remove the permanent chill haze.

BTW in case it isn't obvious... you need to de-gas the beer AND chill it in the keg before filtering. If you don't de-gas you will have severe foaming and end up with a keg of foam rather than a keg of beer. Chilling it for a week before filtering drops out enough of the yeast the filter won't clog.
 
FiltersFast.com has quite a few filters under $5 that fit a standard 10" whole house housing. BrewMastersWarehouse sells a filter kit with the standard housing for keg-keg filtering. I use a 1 micron filter, it will remove almost all of the yeast but without stripping body. .5 micron will remove all yeast and bacteria but will also strip out long chain dextrins causing a decrease in SRM and body.

I also have a MiniJet filter I use to filter wines at bottling, but I found it oxidizes beer slightly. This isn't a problem for wine because you can add sulfite to the bucket right before filtering. (Well, I suppose you could use sulfites in your beer too, but I don't like the idea too much)
 
You can also do a pressurized keg to keg transfer without filtering to take the risk out of re-suspending crashed sediment during transport. I know you filtering guys know that already but some may not.

I think walmart has 5 micron two packs for $5 but it doesn't sound fine enough to make it worth it.
 
Do you reuse the media for more than one batch or do you try to run a few beers through in one sitting? If not, where did you find $1.10 filter carts?

I only use it for 1 filtering session, which might include multiple beers. It is usually a single 10 gallon batch in two corny's. That is about all the filters can handle before they start getting too clogged to work. This depends on the amount of sediment in the beer from yeast/dry hop/adjuncts, of course. I soak the housing and the filter in a Star San solution before use, and usually push some Star San through it from a corny too.

Ace Hardware was carrying the filters in two packs for about $2.20 for a while. I haven't purchased any for some time now, though, so I am not aware of their current pricing. The "nominal" filters are the cheap ones. If you want the ones built to higher standards, you will pay up.

They are only $3.95 at morebeer.com. Your local hardware or home improvement store (LHIS?) will definitely have them cheaper.
More Beer 3 Micron
 
+1, this is the only time I filter a beer. If I go the the bother of making a nice, clear, delicate cream ale, I don't want the flavor ruined by yeast sludge getting drug back up when I cart the keg off to a party. Filtering is the only way to remove enough yeast that it won't cloud up when you move the keg turning into a hefe. :eek:

Cream ale and American lagers are the only styles I see the need to filter.. though maybe someday I will try making a crystal wheat which also must be filtered to remove the permanent chill haze.

BTW in case it isn't obvious... you need to de-gas the beer AND chill it in the keg before filtering. If you don't de-gas you will have severe foaming and end up with a keg of foam rather than a keg of beer. Chilling it for a week before filtering drops out enough of the yeast the filter won't clog.

A note on de-gassing the beer: This is definitely true. I usually keg the beer, top it off with only a couple pounds of CO2, chill it, filter it, and then carbonate it. HOWEVER: I have filtered a fully carbonated keg before and it does indeed work. At least with my setup. It will take quite a bit longer, though.
 
philc - can you share which filter you use or share a link to one that is similar?

They came in a two pack at Ace Hardware for that price. I haven't purchased more for quite a while now, though, because I stocked up. Check your local hardware or home improvement store. I have had difficulty locating them on the websites, but they all carry them in store. Look for a 3 or 5 micron nominal filter. There are small and large filter housings, also. I don't know the exact dimensions, but for affordability you want the smaller of the two.
 
FiltersFast.com has quite a few filters under $5 that fit a standard 10" whole house housing. BrewMastersWarehouse sells a filter kit with the standard housing for keg-keg filtering. I use a 1 micron filter, it will remove almost all of the yeast but without stripping body. .5 micron will remove all yeast and bacteria but will also strip out long chain dextrins causing a decrease in SRM and body.

I also have a MiniJet filter I use to filter wines at bottling, but I found it oxidizes beer slightly. This isn't a problem for wine because you can add sulfite to the bucket right before filtering. (Well, I suppose you could use sulfites in your beer too, but I don't like the idea too much)

I have been very satisfied with 3 micron. Interesting to hear about your results with 1 micron.
 
They came in a two pack at Ace Hardware for that price. I haven't purchased more for quite a while now, though, because I stocked up. Check your local hardware or home improvement store. I have had difficulty locating them on the websites, but they all carry them in store. Look for a 3 or 5 micron nominal filter. There are small and large filter housings, also. I don't know the exact dimensions, but for affordability you want the smaller of the two.

In looking at some sites, there are apparently more housing size options then I was aware of. Most describe the one I have as "10 inch large filter housing". There is apparently a short 10" housing also that I didn't know about. What I have seen mostly in the stores are the tall (large) 10" and 20" housings.
 
I keep thinking of other things...

I also highly recommend a clear filter housing. It enables you to see the condition of your filter element, and the level in the filter housing. For some reason, mine doesn't like to fill all the way when it is right side up, so I flip it back and forth until I can see the level fill all the way to the top.
 
Be aware of the difference between a nominal micron rating and an absolute micron rating. I really wish they'd just ****can 'nominal' micron ratings.
 
I have been filtering all of my beers (especially the dry hopped ones) through a canister filter with a 3 micron element (nominal/cheap). It adds about $1.10 to each brew, but I have found it very worthwhile. Especially if you like to drag your kegs to parties, like I do. No worries about letting them settle. The first beer is ready to drink. I push from Corny to Corny with CO2 at about 5 psi through the filter. Recipient keg pre-purged. No worries about oxygenation.

I did a couple of before/after tests for how the filter affected the taste/color. The only difference I found is that the beers tasted a little cleaner and crisper, which I really like. I think that may be from the yeast removal.

So, contrary to most of the posts here, I love filtering my beer!

I guess I should back up a little, this is the primary reason I OP'd and started this thread. I have been asked by my place of employment to brew some seasonal winter brew for our brewfest. This requires me to transport my kegs and kegerator but I was worried about stirring up the sediment during transport.
So Phill you just transfer between two cornies under about 5psi with the filter in between? Interesting, I like it, perhaps I will give it a go, and see what happens.;)
 
Unless your beer is already carbed to say 2.5 volumes via 12 psi or something. If so, you want to pressurize BOTH kegs to 12psi, then vent the "to" keg just enough to make it flow. It's the only way you're going to keep it carbed.
 
Unless your beer is already carbed to say 2.5 volumes via 12 psi or something. If so, you want to pressurize BOTH kegs to 12psi, then vent the "to" keg just enough to make it flow. It's the only way you're going to keep it carbed.

Correct, as usual. You will need to keep a pressurized environment in place if you wish to maintain carbonation when filtering an already carbed beer. When I did it, I had an extra day between filtering and serving, so I just brought the carbonation levels back up.
 
I guess I should back up a little, this is the primary reason I OP'd and started this thread. I have been asked by my place of employment to brew some seasonal winter brew for our brewfest. This requires me to transport my kegs and kegerator but I was worried about stirring up the sediment during transport.
So Phill you just transfer between two cornies under about 5psi with the filter in between? Interesting, I like it, perhaps I will give it a go, and see what happens.;)

You got it. Good luck!
 
I know someone already said it, but I would like to reiterate. If you have beer in a corny and you want to move it, you can just transfer it to a purged empty keg and leave 95%+ of the sediment behind. You don't even need a filter to do so. You just make an out/out jumper and push the beer slowly into the empty keg. At the very end, the sediment will start to get pushed and you simply disconnect it from the keg. Using about 6 feet of line gives you more than enough time to pull it off before any major sediment gets through.
 
I'm looking for a way to have no sediment at the bottom of my bottles. Could I filter before it goes into carboy by placing a filter into a funnel, that is connected to my 3/8" tubing before it goes into the carboy?
And what sanitation precautions should I take? Just soak funnel and filter in Star-Sans?
 
Kegging is supposed to work pretty well for this, and from what I've read of the cost and PITA of filtering, I'd do that. But since I don't mind the sediment, I do neither.
 
Back
Top