Homebrew Beer filter. No more secondary Ferm?

[San Jose State University]

Wow. I got a tour of Pyramid Ale House and saw they used a filter for their beer. I looked online and found this little beauty:
http://www.filterstore.com/beer.htm

Anyone have any thoughts on the impications of what this could mean? Does anyone use one? Does anyone not use one but know about them? It sounds really interesting.

I imagine secondary fermentation phase could be reduced or avoided this way.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

I use a filter. actually 2 inline filters. You still need to let age in the secondary (though I tend to just age 3-4 weeks in the primary now) because there are small chemical reactions and yeast activities besides fermentation that go on in that time period that makes beer taste better.

A lot of breweries ferment for 7 to 10 days then filter and store in the bright (cold) tanks until they're ready to bottle. Doesn't mean it's the right way to do it.

I personally think that one of the reasons micros have jumped on the huge hoppy beer trend is that with a hoppy beer they can skip the aging and hope the hops mask out the inadequacies.

I use a rainfresh house filter cartridge style. I have 2 inline. Usually a 1 micron (nominal) wound (cheap) cartridge and a .5m (actual) polypropylene (expensive) filter.

If you are going for a single housing then get the 1 micron (actual) polypropylene filter. Make sure it's not a nominal or it will let pass a lot larger than 1 micron. You really need a snd filter if you are going to use a .5 since it will clog fast.

Don't use less than a .3m actual or you will strip a lot flavor from your beer!

 

[San Jose State University]

Crazy. It seems that filtering is a rare process among homebrewers based on my inconclusive searches of the forum and the low response to this thread.

I'd wonder what kind of difference it makes and if it's worth investing into....

 

[FlyGuy]

IMO, filtering your beer is a cosmetic step only. It may improve the aesthetics of your beer, but at the potential cost of flavour. I think to most homebrewers, it is just not worth the bother.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Filtering is mostly unnecessary. It will not only strip sediment, yeast, and bacteria from your beer, but it will also strip a bit of flavor. In addition, if you filter at 1 micron or less, you will remove all of the yeast from your beer, making bottle conditioning very difficult. Most beer will clear given enough time. Most beer is also better with a bit of age, filtered or not.

My advice: spend the $100 on a few batches of homebrew, and be patient.

RDWHAHB!

One more thing - "secondary fermentation" is a misnomer. When you rack your beer off of the yeast/trub cake, you are not affecting a secondary fermentation. You are simply transferring it to another container where it will clear and condition without the fear of yeast autolysis. Better terms are "clearing" or "conditioning." The "secondary fermenter" is better referred to as a "clearing tank" or a "bright tank." True secondary fermentation must be initiated by pitching another yeast strain or by adding more fermentable material to your beer.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Yeah. Filtering is for kegging or bottling carbed beer (pain in the ass on a large scale)

.5m (actual) and above will NOT strip out flavor. Below that will.
A 1m (actual) will strip out most, if not all, the yeast.
To strip out all bacteria you have to go .3 or lower. (about what a lot of breweries use and yes even most micros for beer stabilization purposes..aka..shelf life at room temps)

IMO beer should be left 2 weeks in the primary. 3 week being optimum before racking to a secondary and cold conditioning it. This lets the yeast eat up some of the nastier substances created during initial fermentation.
Cold conditioning will clear your beer faster.

Note: Lagers need diacytel rest (warm the beer to room temp) for a couple of days before or after lagering.

I've been letting my beer age 3 to 4 weeks in primary then filtering to a keg where it sits pressurized in the fridge for about 10 days (when I have not ran out of beer).

If you do decide to do the cartridge filter route.. buy some quick disconnects (garden hose kind cheapish and makes life much easier) and back flush your filter with water after filtering. Take the cartridge and soak in a strong solution of oxyclean and water till next filtering session. On or before next filtering session, back flush for 5 min or more then soak cartridge in sulfite/water. then back flush (Iodaphor will stain and chlorine will leave, well.. chlorine...) I guess you could just take it from the oxyclean bath and soak in sulfite then back-flush. I've done that a few times.

 

[D*Bo]

$100 is pretty high to me. I picked up a shorter filter housing ( less waste volume) for $20 at a local hardware store. Forget about the mega marts.

Haven't gotten around to using it yet. I'll only be filtering beer that will be going into kegs, unless it's a hefe or dark beer of course.

 

[Drunkensatyr]

Yeah, 100.00 is a rip off. I built mine for under 30 including the Bev hose and fittings. Just pick up a whole house filter at 1 micron. I crash cool all my beers (cept the obvious ones) then run them through the filter at about 20 psi. Amazingly clean clear beers that you can throw in the car, take camping, take to a friends house... and never have to let it sit for a few hours before drinking! That is the true beauty of filtering.

 

[EdWort]

You can get one of these at Morebeer.com for $62.

Plate filters are disposable and much cheaper. Cleaning is easier too.

 

[Evan!]

Once I have everything else I need to make great-tasting beer, then I'll worry about spending a chunk of coin on making my beer look pretty.

 

[david_42]

Sometimes I'll filter, probably less than once a year. More often than not, it's a berry cider that is being difficult.

For beer, it does absolutely nothing to reduce aging requirements, just removes the floaties. Commercial brewers have other systems that remove most of the yeast AND they use bright tanks. The filter is just there to polish, because Americans (even craft beer drinkers) expect crystal clear beers. That is starting to change with all the rahrah about hefes.

 

[joebou4860]

Not to mention a one meter filter wont even filter out your carboy... now a 1u filter on the other hand....sorry it's the Chem teacher in me coming out.....

 

[EdWort]

Filtering is mostly unnecessary. It will not only strip sediment, yeast, and bacteria from your beer, but it will also strip a bit of flavor.

I experienced that in Germany last year during my tour throught Deutche Hopfenstrasses. I stopped here at the Schlossbrauerei in Au, Hallertau.

I had a krug of their Auer Hell on tap. The menu said it was Natur Trub which translates into Naturally Cloudy, ie not filtered. What a bier. I wanted to spend the night in the biergarten :cross:

Anyway, I bought some of the same beer in bottles to bring home. I was so stoked till I poured it. It was sparkling clear. They filtered it. It was good, but it was not as good as what I had at the brewery's beergarden.

Naturally Cloudy is a good thing. It means naturally flavorful and full of vitamins.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Not to mention a one meter filter wont even filter out your carboy... now a 1u filter on the other hand....sorry it's the Chem teacher in me coming out.....

Actualy it's "µ", but whose being picky.

 

[delboy]

Actualy it's "µ", but whose being picky.

Hoist on his own petard, classic, the standard of teaching must be slipping these days

 

[zoebisch01]

Naturally Cloudy is a good thing. It means naturally flavorful and full of vitamins.

In all honesty I do feel this lends something to the health aspect of beer. Personally, I see no need to filter.

 

[WOP31]

Why, oh, why would you want to do that?
These guys are outside your house right now watching and waiting for you to come out:
http://www.camra.org.uk/

Cheers

 

[user 574]

The brewpub I frequent filters to lessen the time spent settling and reduces the trub in the serving tanks when they move it from the fermenters. As soon as he hits FG he racks/filters. Cloudy beer (unless hefe) might freak out the patrons as well.

I bought the one that Ed showed the image of. Thought better of it and returned it w/o using it. Waste of time. You'll drink my sometimes cloudy beer and LIKE IT .

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Actualy it's "µ", but whose being picky.

I'll be picky. Actually, it's who's.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Hey, Give a guy a break. I had just watched a 6 hour hocey game when I posted that.

 

[shizzle]

midwest has one for 49.95. comes with corny disconnects, 1 and 5 micron filters

 

[Juppies]

Much, much cheaper at northernbrewer.com, just fyi

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

OK, old thread but for filters I buy them from Beer and Wine Filter in Canada.

 

[vthokie98]

unfortunately i'm going to have to look into filtering my homebrew because i have been diagnosed (not confirmed) to have gout. Apparently brewers yeast is one of the top no nos for people who have gout. Let the research begin!

 

[avanmakai]

I found that filtering with a 5 micron filter on cold beer is best for some of the beers that I use that call for fruit puree. Otherwise, I end up with over active yeast that destroys the flavor of the brew. Just sayin' sometimes, it IS a necessicary evil.

 

[doobliebop]

I'm thinking about usng a 5micron filter on my beers. I feel this would let some yeast through, but strain out enough to give my homebrew that polished look.

There's a nice thread about it with pics here: http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/Beer-Gadgets/Krotchrott-s-Filter-Project

Specifically this filter: best price ($12 shipped) I could find, and I like that it's washable, although it's not glass fiber which I would like better.

Ebay item number 400032488713

Any thoughts on this filter?

 

[Brad]

Whole House OMNI filters are the way to go for filtering between two kegs. I got mine from menards with the fittings for around 15 bucks then all that was left was two corny liquid connects which I already had. Works great for clarifying my beer even with just a 5 micron filter. After I filter I use the empty keg to backflush my filters which is simple and store in very little vodka to keep clean.

 

[kylesmoney]

I know its an old thread, but its been dug up a few times before. I was curious if anyone else stores the filters in vodka? Seems like you would have to store it in more vodka then the filter is worth?

 

[AWKBrewing13]

where do you connect the filter when using one?

This is just for kegging.



Im a newer homebrewer and I thought my recent Pale Ale was a bit yeasty. I thought that having a larger filter (meaning micron size) would filter some of that out without comprimising flavor...


Thoughts?

 

[Brek81]

how long did you let your beer sit? Have you tied irish moss, whirlfloc, or cold crashing before transfer?

 

[kylesmoney]

where do you connect the filter when using one?

This is just for kegging.



Im a newer homebrewer and I thought my recent Pale Ale was a bit yeasty. I thought that having a larger filter (meaning micron size) would filter some of that out without comprimising flavor...


Thoughts?

Any filtering down to 1 micron shouldn't cause any flavor issues (assuming its not a wheat beer or something where you want the yeast). Some people even go to .5 micron but anything below that is going to remove things that add to the flavor profile.


When you use a filter you generally transfer your fermented beer to a keg, then use co2 to push the beer from the keg through the filter to a second keg. For a single filter system if you want to go down to 1 micron you usually have to push through a 5 micron, then switch to a 1 micron filter and push back. There are some dual beer filters that let you do both in one swipe.

 

[AWKBrewing13]

what do you guys recommend for the size. I was thinking 5 micron. Just the one filter more than likely and add another if I felt that I needed to filter it out more.

Do you rack to a keg pressurize then immediatley push through a filter to a second keg?


Can you do the same with Cider for clarity improvement?

 

[Bob]

what do you guys recommend for the size. I was thinking 5 micron. Just the one filter more than likely and add another if I felt that I needed to filter it out more.

5 micron is usually sufficient to polish. Don't bottle condition, though, or you'll end up where you started, as far as turbidity goes.

Do you rack to a keg pressurize then immediatley push through a filter to a second keg?

Got it in one.

Can you do the same with Cider for clarity improvement?

And wine, and tea, and and and. Filtration removes solids which adversely impact clarity (turbidity). It really doesn't matter what you're pushing through the filter, as long as it's liquid and you want it to be bright/shelf stable.

Filtration is something homebrewers can safely ignore, because it's true that patience is a virtue, but it's unwise to completely poo-poo it, as some do. It doesn't strip flavor, not that I've ever been able to notice, but then my experience wasn't blind sampling (anyone know of a blind tasting experiment?). If you do notice flavor stripping, factor that in your recipe design. Simple.

Things to keep in mind:

1. Chill your green beer. Chilling precipitates yeast.
2. Fine your green beer. Fining precipitates damn near everything, depending on your choice of fining agent.
3. Force-carbonate the result. The main reason you want to filter is for bright beer. If you filter, then bottle-condition, all you're doing is building the yeast colony back to visible turbidity! Self-defeating.
3a. It's easier to carbonate cold beer in the keg.

Cheers!

Bob (who filters All. The. Time.)

 

[kylesmoney]

Pretty much what he said Personally I have a dual filter and go down to 1 micron because its the same amount of work for me to filter down to 1 micron as it is to 5. If your going clear, why not go completely clear. Ill add a link to my filter if your interested and that is allowed.

One last note, hes totally right about not bottle conditioning at that point, dont even try on its own as there may not be enough yeast to even carbonate the beer.

Only exception to this, I have heard rumors that some Belgian breweries will filter the yeast out of there beer and then bottle condition with a different yeast. Some say its for flavor reasons, some people say its to protect someone from harvesting there proprietary yeast strains. Maybe some home brewers use the same practice, I haven't ever heard of someone doing it though.

Couple tips when filtering, it goes from the liquid port to the liquid port, make sure you have the right keg couplers Other then that just like you said, add some pressure and push your cold beer from one keg to the next. Just do it before you carbonate

 

[aajpnony]

I wanted to filter a brew a couple months back, so I went to the LHBS, and asked the guy if he had filtering stuff...he got all snotty with me, saying that I don't need to filter ales and why would I want to do that, etc, etc... he was a total dick about it. needless to say, I try and spend my money with online vendors after that experience. I still want to filter, though. do you guys who filter a lot reuse the filters, or is it a new filter media every time?

 

[KuntzBrewing]

I still want to filter, though. do you guys who filter a lot reuse the filters, or is it a new filter media every time?

You can wash gently with bleech and thenrinse with low pressure water for a few times maybe 3ish times depending on how dirty the beer your filtering was, but don't use high pressure it can tear the filter by trying to get too much junk through the 5 micron holes, basically if you use high pressure you'll have to buy a new pne

 

[Bob]

Back-flushing works. Gently, not a lot of pressure, with the hottest water you can find.

With the expensive spun or poly cartridges, you'll want to clean and re-use. I use a plate-and-frame filter with disposable pads. A local winemaking shop rents them.

Bob

 

[AWKBrewing13]

Thanks guys. Cider is more where I am concerned about clarity.

With the beer it was a uh heavy yeast taste. So my object is to try and cut down on that by filtering.

 

[ocluke]

Ill add a link to my filter if your interested and that is allowed.

Can you post the link to your filter? Thanks.

 

[pigroaster]

WE are talking a wine filter (Yes, I hope) Then use largest plates of three available?