Filter?

I am in the middle of a partial-mash brew which is my first batch. I have been reading several books plus checking out/lurking on threads here as well. A couple of books that I have mention running the brew thru a filter setup as it is kegged/bottled. Does anyone here do this? If so, what is your setup and how do you keep the filter system clean between filters? Is the filter option even needed?

 

this all depends on how clear you want your beer to be. i have seen lots of people with super clear beers that have done so without using a filter. they whirlock or use a clearing agent like iris moss or gelatin

 

If clarity does become an issue I would rather tackle it from a filter perspective than an additive perspective. I am just curious what others are doing If I encounter a need for it.

 

No need to filter and Ben didn't say that.

Start with Irish Moss. That and conditioning time will get you a beer just about as clear as you will want it.

 

Multiple on-line references say that Ben DID say that. But I am not 100% I just thought it was neato.

So what you saying? If I manage the process right then I won't have the need to filter.

 

Yeah, I have never needed a filter and end up with damn clear beer.

Although I don't use pellets as I have had problems with pellet material in my bottles.

Yeah, I was very disappointed when I found out about the Ben quote too. But the fact of the matter is he lived a lot in France and was a wine drinker. He did say something very similar but it was about the grape and wine, not beer.

 

Yes that is exactly right. Take a look in the thread entitled "post a picture of your pint" and you'll find plenty of crystal clear pints with no filtering.


Also Ben definitely did not say that.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2008/09/15/misquote-ben-franklin-on-beer.htm


In fact, as I recall from his autobiography, Ben Franklin was pretty derogatory about the frequent beer drinkers he worked with at the printer's when he was living in London. Let me see if I can find a choice quote...

 

Here is where it originated from:

 

And back to the original question -

additives, such as Whirlfloc (a form of Irish Moss) settle out and are not part of your beer. They do help coagulate the proteins and cause them to settle to the bottom layer, which you leave behind when transferring to bottling bucket or keg.

But many brewers do not even use the coagulants and still achieve clear beer.

Filters will filter out the yeast, and so you must pre-carbonate your beverage, and bottle under pressure, or keg.

 

Only if you use a micron filter. Yeast cells will fly right through any other kind.

 

Correct. I was making an assumption - OP never specified for hop particulate, yeast, etc...

 

Get over your fear, if you haven't had bottle conditioned microbrews, then you are missing out on the world's greatest beers.

Even with month long primaries, or using a secondary, you will have some sediment in the bottles It's in all bottle conditioned beers, homebrew and otherwise.

That is the yeast sediment from carbonating your bottles. It is nearly impossible to avoid, and so what? It is some of the most healthy stuff on the planet. The belgians worship it.

It's just that for the last 150 years or so Americans have been conditioned by the BMC brewers to pretty much know only about fliltered crystal clear light lagers. With little or no flavor.

Until the 80's with the rise of craft breweries and great import availability of beers from around the world, you didn't see many commercial beers with sediment in it.

And if you've only been exposed to BMC's then you're not going to know or understand about bottle conditioned or living beers. Especially also if you've consumed said beers in the bottle.

We get folks like that on here all the time, who think there is something wrong because their beer has sediment in it, or want to filter it out. It's really a culture thing, you don't so much of that in the rest of the beer world. Like the hefeweizen...that is swimming in yeasty beasties...

Read this for more info On bottle yeast. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/anyone-using-filter-bottling-123758/#post1379528


And then watch this video;

Once you learn to pour to the shoulder, it really doesn't matter.



My beers pour crystal clear, AND have a little yeast in the bottles.....I win contests, and the judges inevitibally comment on it's clarity. And half the time I forget to use moss.

 

If you don't want additives, just cold crash your beer before you bottle for about a week. Typically that will clear it up pretty well if that's what yo uare looking for. Although, I would recommend irish moss in the boil no matter what.

But, to answer your question, filtering takes some special equipment, and you typically do have to replace the filters sooner or later.

 

He also never said this either...

From Maureen Ogle's Book, Ambitious Brew, the story of American Brewing.

Maureen Ogle cleared that myth up in Ambitious Brew

Her website on the book is cool as well Ambitious Brew - The Story of American Beer by Maureen Ogle

So is her blog...Maureen Ogle - The Official Site

She dispells a lot of myths that we beer snobs believe about why Budweiser is so popular. And other myths about brewing through US history.

You can als hear a great 2 part interview with her on Basic Brewing Radio.

 

See post #8 Revvy

 

I did, I was just providing additional source matter to back you up.

 

I appreciate that.

I found out the horrible truth about that quote when Cha Cha was first getting started. My friend and I wondered if Cha Cha could tell us what kind of beer Ben drank. Their response was:

"Ben Franklin drank wine not beer."

Not believing them I researched and found that they were exactly right.

Then I cried.........

 

Well he did drink beer, he just never said that quote. He did make references to beer and brewing in his own journals and in Poor Richard's.

Franklin’s own writings refer to, “the type of strong, harvest-time ale, or October ale.”

Despite the mis-quote there is plenty of info that Benny liked hooch of all types, not just vin.

In fact the whole Poor Richard's Ale experiment/contest was based on writings of his that did reference beer.

Here's some info http://www.benfranklin300.org/etc_article_ale.htm

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art36104.asp

 

I appreciate and understand sediment. I was curious about clarity than anything else. I love the links and such. It is my duty to ask stupid questions as I learn to craft my own beers. It is why I joined the forum. I was merely hashing out something I read. You guys rock.

 

Revvy. It sounds as if you are pretty experienced. Which bottling method do you prefer or do you switch it up depending on the style your are working with?

 

There's really only one bottling method, it's not style dependent, unless you mean carbing to style, which all that means is adding more or less sugar to the priming solution dependent on the style of beer you are brewing. But the mechanics are the same for each beer, and those "mechanics" are I believe up to you the brewer to determine what works best for you.

Successful brewing is about developing "processes" that make each aspect easy and fun to do. It's not about cutting corners (like some folks think in terms of sanitization) but it's about doing each step in the process of brewing in a way that is easy for you.

I've nailed my bottling process down til I can do 5 gallons of beer in about 45 minutes, and that includes boiling the priming solution, and sanitizing my bottles. It doesn't include cleanup of the fermenter and bottling buckets

I go into great detail about developing your own bottling process in my sticky http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

 

I'm pretty sure he did drink beer, a local brewery has a line of beers that is based off recipes that some of the founding fathers used and have been gleaned from their various writings, Franklin being one of them. That said, I'm fairly sure he enjoyed wine much more than beer.

 

I am getting very clear beers, even practicing the sacrilegious BIAB, No-Chill method, dumping all of the keg trub into the fermentor, never using a secondary, and dry hopping in primary.

I do, however, use Irish Moss in the boil kettle, cold crash, use gelatin, and rack carefully to keg.

 

I was searching for "filter press" and found this thread. I also would like to know if anyone here has found a small filter press setup to experiment with in order to try different processes and assess impact on their beers using one path or another.

Chimay supposedly runs there beer through a centrifuge 3 times and then adds fresh yeast before bottle conditioning. Many craft brewers use plate and frame heat exchangers and then either add fresh yeast or, much more common, force carbonate in a bright tank before bottling or kegging.

Centrifuges are too large and too expensive for a homebrewer (I can't think of any way to make your own affordable centrifuge.) But, there might be affordable, small-scale plate and frame filter presses...anyone know of a homebrewing setup that they have seen or used or heard tales of?