Filtering

[Chaser]

So...if you do it, how do you filter your beer? I'll accept answers about filtering at any point. Lautering is of course filtering, but do you filter at any other step, and how?

 

[Bach7210]

Lots of lautering, whirlfloc tablets and a few days of cold crashing at the end of fermentation. Every beer I've had has been crystal clear with this method.

 

[Chaser]

Two questions for you Bach, what are whirlfloc tablets? They sound like an additive that helps yeast floccuation, but who knows, I could be wrong? When do the whirlfloc tabs go in?

Secondly, what is your FV like and how do you cold crash? Is your FV temp controlled or are you sticking a carboy in a bucket of ice for two days? Also, wouldn't just reaching cold temps for a short amount of time be enough to crash the yeast to the bottom of the FV? Cold crashing for 2 days seems like a real short lager period.

 

[Bach7210]

Whirlfloc tablets go in at 15 minutes left in the boil. I can't tell you all the science behind what they do, but its like Irish moss, helps to clarify the beer.

For the cold crashing, I throw my carboys into my keggerator for 3 days. That seems to do the trick. I don't lager either, these are all ales.

 

[Chaser]

I use Irish Moss in my boils. Do you filter your yeast out before bottling/kegging?

 

[Bach7210]

I use Irish Moss in my boils. Do you filter your yeast out before bottling/kegging?

When I rack from the carboy to the keg, I use an auto-siphon and I make sure the bottom of the siphon does not touch the yeast cake. I know you can just drop it all the way in, but I hold it in place just above the cake and tilt the carboy, slowly, towards the end of the siphon.

 

[Chaser]

lol, that seems pretty common.

 

[johnmcc]

I use an auto-siphon to transfer the wort also but I have a sanitized hop sack at the bottom of the siphon.