Filtering before primary - OG reading off!?

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Braumeister

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Hey guys,

this is my first post here - cheers to all! :mug:

I've brewed quite a few beers so far, but I thought I'd try some other ideas...

So I went to the next hardware store and got a 5 micron filter and filtered the wort right out of the kettle into the primary.

Before the boil, I had 7 gallons at an OG of 1.035.
After the boild (but before filtering) I had an OG of 1.043.

The I ran it through a 5 micron filter (maybe here is the problem!) and the wort came out REALLY clear... I am aware I've removed quite a bit of nutrients and the hot break and the hops, but somehow I ended up with 5 gallons of 1.023...

I wanted to have a really light beer (will be a green beer, so it can't have too much color), so that is why I thought of doing it...

I guess my real question is, have I over-estimated the alcohol content all the time (using the SG difference) or did my 5 micron filter work too well??

It is a CF1 filter, so no activated carbon but a simple ceramic sediment filter...

Cheers again!
Jochen
 
I would figure that you would filter after fermentation...maybe some of the sugars got filtered out as well...filtering before the boil is new to me. Now when you said "light" beer you ment in color...correct? Sounds like you may have gotten it "light" is ABV too...not that that's a bad thing...
 
Hi...

Sorry, I think I haven't expressed myself clear enough...

I filtered AFTER the boil to remove the remaining hops and hot break...

And I meant colorwise a light beer - so the green comes out better... :)

I aimed at about 4.5% ABV but so far this would be a 1.5% ABV... Given my reading is right...

Again, if I measure the OG before filtering, I get 1.049, which is what I targeted...
 
I'm interested in finding out what is said on this. I have thought about filtering for very clean lagers before.

WM: I use boiled rice hulls to runoff the lager wort to a 3 micron beer filter, then to primary. The wort is very clear. The SG is uneffected. I used to use a settling stage in the cooler, but this cuts off two days in the process.
 
Hi...

Sorry, I think I haven't expressed myself clear enough...

I filtered AFTER the boil to remove the remaining hops and hot break...

And I meant colorwise a light beer - so the green comes out better... :)

I aimed at about 4.5% ABV but so far this would be a 1.5% ABV... Given my reading is right...

Again, if I measure the OG before filtering, I get 1.049, which is what I targeted...

No...you did explain well...I just didn't understand well...this damn work thing gets in the way of the beer thing...I'll be alright!

And I knew what you were talking about for the green beer...I was trying to be cute:D

Interesting problem...weird that you get the 2 diff. readings...
 
Ok, after having it sit over night, there is absolutely no activity (Wyeast 2112 California Lager) whatsoever, maybe when I come back from work later there will be, maybe the yeasdt is just missing some extra nutrients...

I know what you mean by the work thing gets in the way.
I think I'll brew again sometime this week (yay for being a grad student) without filtering...

The difference in reading is really interesting... I think I'll do a bit of an experiment with some of my beers (and this one later), I hope we have some potassium dichromate in the lab to do some ethanol concentration assays! :D

Might do a protein assay, too... But the foaming is good when I shake the carboy...

Cheers
 
I saw something else here... The fermentation has finally taken off! there is a good 1 1/2" layer of dense white foam on top...

However, despite my experiences with this yeast, it is not 'going wild' in the broth...
it rather sits on the bottom - well, what can I say? A true bottom fermenter I got...
 
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