Pumping finished beer

[davou]

Can beer thats finished being fermented be pumped; Say pushed through a filter? Or does it need to be pushed on gas at that point?

Either way, why?

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Well, considering most people use an auto siphon to rack their beers into either a keg or a bottling bucket. I would definitely say it can be pumped. Carefully however not to oxidize the beer.

 

[davou]

yeah, thats my question. Does a pump hurt finished beer?

I'm sure it can be done, but I wanna know if its a bad idea.

I want to pump beer from my fermenter through a filter setup and then into the keg or bottling bucket. Otherwise I will have to use gas

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

why not push with co2? I mean you're going to want to purge the pump/lines with co2 in any event in order to prevent oxidation, so why not just push with it in the first place?

 

[davou]

I don't drive, Pulling juice out of the wall rather than gas from the tank is ideal. Having to go refill c02 is a bit of an ordeal.

 

[IslandLizard]

Un- or low-carbonated beer can be pumped, just make sure all the lines and receiving vessels are 100% CO2 purged to avoid oxidation. You'll need a pretty strong pump to push it through a filter. Why filter? Fining with gelatin and cold crashing can also get you very clear beer, and is a lot easier.

 

[davou]

yup, I gelatin fine beers I want brilliant; I'm just trying to gather information here. I'm also using Irish moss during the boil to get beer a bit clearer during cold break and gelatin as well.

Filtering is just another process, and I'm curious about it. I'll probably have the pump around anyway, so it would be nice to know that I can use it to accomplish X,Y and Z rather than just X. I'm having a hell of a time getting straight answers though >.<

Are commercial pumps purged with c02? Can I prime the pump with some liquid first and then push beer behind that liquid?

 

[IslandLizard]

You could prime with Starsan for example, then run beer. But once the beer hits the pump head some Starsan will get mixed in. Brewers who use the 10" cartridge filters run Starsan first, then purge all that with CO2. Still, some Starsan gets mixed in with the beer, whatever remains in the filter material and pump head. Even a pint of Starsan in a 5 gallon batch is hard to detect, but it's best to keep that extra "ingredient" as low as possible.

Commercial breweries have whole different setups, and given their volume, they don't mind wasting a keg (15 gallons) or more on priming their pumps, filters or centrifuges. The key is to keep the O2 level in packaged beer below 0.1 ppm for improved stability and prevent staling/oxidation during its targeted lifespan.

Do you have any (beer drinking) friends or family who could drive you or get your CO2 filled/exchanged? Get a 20# tank, you'll be good for a year or longer. I just exchanged my 20# after using for almost 2 years, losing the last 4 or 5 pounds from a possible small leak in a keg. Still looking for the exact source of that leak...