Homebrew Beer filter. No more secondary Ferm?

[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?

 

[SigsNanoBrew]

My take on filtering is that stripping out every bit of live yeast "kills" the beer. You don't want to do that. The whole point of home brewing is to end up with a healthy, vital, living beer. Whenever I drink even a single pasteurized, filtered commercial beer, I have a hangover the next day. Even decent commercial beers like Guinness and Batch 19 Pre-Prohibition Style Lager.

Completely filtering out the yeast and then force carbonating produces a different carbonation than bottle or keg conditioning with yeast. With natural yeast conditioning, the CO2 is more highly dissolved and the bubbles are smaller, creating a better mouth feel and taste.

The way to produce a clear beer that's naturally carbonated is to use a highly flocculant yeast for the conditioning phase, such as Safale T-58. After racking to secondary and cold crashing out the main yeast, bottle or keg with your priming sugar and pitch with a small amount of a highly flocculant yeast strain.

The highly flocculant yeast will settle out fully giving you a clear beer and the other advantage is that carbonation will occur much quicker when you re-innoculate with fresh yeast. Your beer may not be as crystal clear as the over-processed junk that comes from the big commercial breweries but your living beer product will have more flavor and better health qualities. When conditioning in a keg the first slug will contain most of the yeast and the rest of it should be relatively clear.

My wife and I are vegetarians so I won't use isinglass or gelatin in my beers. Agar and pea protein are two vegetarian fining agents that I may experiment with in the future for light beers. But for most ales using Irish Moss (or Whirlfloc) in the boil plus cold settling is enough to produce an acceptably clear homebrew that tastes great and retains all the vital nutritional qualities.

 

[chris2012]

Can anyone show any pictures of before/after filtering with a 0.1 micron filter?

The lack of clarity in my beer is rather frustrating. I've used gelatine and Kieselsol recently to no avail. Cooling to
0.4 C.

Leaving gelatine for 1 week and Kieselsol for 3 days. 10ml gelatin 20% and 10ml Kieselsol in around 15 or so litres of beer.

 

[chef1978]

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.

In my own experience,this type of filter didn't work at all,I was cool crushing the beer for a week,then filtered it through 1 micron ,and no difference at all,the only filter that works for me is the plate filter folks used for wine ,sometimes it is called the Ferrari wine plate filter.

 

[chris2012]

Not sure if this is of any interest or not but I got a cheapish .1micron filter to play with - https://www.anfractuosity.com/homebrewing/filtering-beer-with-0-1-micron-absolute-filter/

It does effect the taste noticeably though.