Should I filter my homebrew why/why not?

[bnewmane]

I've been doing some research about filtering homebrew once it has finished fermenting. From what I've read it seems that if you filter you get beer that conditions faster, clearer, and can drink it quicker. What's everyones thoughts on filtering?

 

[poptarts]

If you use whirlfloc, cold crash and use gelatin I feel its completely pointless.
No filter

 

[bnewmane]

That does look really clear and nice. What about from an aging stand point. Does filtering make the beer age quicker where you can drink it faster? Aka the beer won't be green as long.

 

[Roundhouse]

I personally believe that filtering can be a very good thing. There are some caveats to that though. An argument against filtering is that you lose some body and flavor by filtering. To that I respond by saying yes and no. The first question is how tight do you intend to filter it? Tight enough to just remove any yeast particles or tight enough to remove chill haze particles? The finer the filter, the more things that are removed.

The assumption that you are removing flavor assumes that you only remove good flavors. The reality is that you also remove the bad. Not necessarily all of them so don't look at filtering as a cure all for bad beer. It isn't. If you filter and remove the unwanted things that you didn't like but lost some of the character that you did like, you can always reformulate the recipe to add the good back in. This may mean adjusting your hop quantities or potentially even adjusting your grain bill. Did you lose a little body? Color decrease slightly? Fix them in the recipe. This is the real source of the issue that many have with filtering. They have a beer they love unfiltered. On the next batch they filter it and lose some of what they loved about it. A recipe that is formulated around the understanding that it will be filtered can be fantastic. The converse of the above may be true to. Someone may have a recipe for a beer that is intended to be filtered but if left unfiltered they may not like it as much. Then again maybe they'd love it. Again, how finely you filter will feed into this as well. You could theoretically filter out all the color and almost all of the flavor if you tried. Miller Clear in the 80's is a good example of this. It was terrible btw.

What are your goals with filtering? Is it just to help get the beer from brew day to drinkability faster? To a point that is possible but understand of course that the final product may be a bit different. You may or may not like that. I personally like filtering for many beers. I don't use it on beers like IPA's or obviously Hefes but I'm not a bit hefe fan anyways. Other times I'm lazy. Don't be scared of it or deterred to try it. It's yet another technique in brewing. There's no wrong or right way as long as you like the result. If you try it and hate it, you still learned something.

 

[Gameface]

I filtered for a while...Now I use gelatin. I've spoken to several homebrewers who used to filter.

I stopped because it was a major PITA. Had a few filtering experiences that were aggravating as hell as the filters would just clog over and over. Even when done right you'll lose some beer, when it goes wrong you start losing even more beer. Not only that but done incorrectly and you'll oxidize your beer. I make 10g batches so when I keg I have to get 2 kegs ready to go. When I also filtered I had to get 4 kegs ready to go.

But there are positives. It does allow for a quicker turn around. I filtered one 5 gallon keg and not the other keg a few times and I liked the flavor of the filtered beer better, but have also found that with an additional 48hrs and gelatin I can get to pretty much the same place without the frustration and extra work.

Keep in mind that if you're needing to age your beer for a considerable amount of time to clean up off flavors then the best place to start is to address where those off flavors are coming from. It is not a given that beer needs a month or more in order to taste right.

 

[harry_the_face]

I do not filter because I don't see the point of removing naturally occurring substances that contribute to what makes a beer a beer just so it can be clear. Most filtered beers I have had lack the depth you get with unfiltered. If having it ready is the point then just make batches more often up front to get a supply going so you can wait for them to age properly.

 

[Gameface]

I do not filter because I don't see the point of removing naturally occurring substances that contribute to what makes a beer a beer just so it can be clear. Most filtered beers I have had lack the depth you get with unfiltered. If having it ready is the point then just make batches more often up front to get a supply going so you can wait for them to age properly.

One of the naturally occurring things in beer that make it beer that I absolutely don't like to drink is yeast. I'm pretty sure in my side by side comparisons with eh same batch filtered and not the reason I REALLY liked the filtered beer better is because I wasn't tasting yeast.

That said, yeast will eventually settle out. But without some sort of help it can sometimes take a long time. And, well, some people seem to like the way yeast tastes. I'm definitely not one of them.

For me I sometimes brew a lot for a while then don't brew for several months. I like having my beer ready quickly and just brewing more up front so I can wait on it isn't how I roll.

 

[jbaysurfer]

No. Why? Because it's unnecessary (at least on a homebrew level).

Because there's way better, lower risk ways to improve your beer. Because filtering can also hurt your beer if you screw it up (easy to do, I know from personal experience).

I use temperature, time and a tablet of Whirfloc in the last 15 minutes of the boil. My beers come out crystal clear. I even had a Hefe once (didn't use whirlfloc obviously) that eventually became so clear in the keg, I entered it into a contest as a Crystal-Weizen. If I had to clear a beer quickly I'd use gelatin, but in general, I don't.

 

[paperairplane]

Cold crash and siphon carefully and totally unnecessary. As for conditioning out a green beer - just don't put flaws into your beer in the first place.

Almost all my beers are 3 weeks primary, cold crash at least 48 hours, keg, burst carb 2 days and then on service pressure for 5 days if I can wait. That's just over a month grain to glass.

 

[MindenMan]

I am not very handy with siphoning devices. I gave it a few tries, and the only thing I ever did was waste beer. In a way I am a fan of filtering, well actually straining. I add Irish Moss at 15, and get the wort as cool as is practical, before racking into my fermenter. I use two paint strainers stacked one on the other, in a half round SS strainer.When I rack onto the strainers, a little bit of "silt" gets through, and the trub starts to create it's own filter layer, and by the time the BK is empty, the fermenter is well aerated, and the only loss I have is held in the strained trub it's less than 1/2 cup. That helps amazingly when I cold crash. When I rack to the bottling bucket, as before, there is very little loss,
once again 1/2 cup or less. Yes, it is an extra step that is worth the effort to me, to not pour my nectar of the gods down the drain anymore.

Please forgive my long post, I am 4 hours late in taking my ADHD meds.

 

[hunter_le five]

I filtered for a while...Now I use gelatin. I've spoken to several homebrewers who used to filter.

I'm one of the "used to filter" camp. I still get just as clear of beer, but through better techniques instead of filters. :rockin:

Don't get me wrong, filters absolutely do work, but to me they are more trouble than they are worth and there are better ways to achieve the same results (my opinion only).

And filtered "green" beer is still "green" beer, just clearer. Better practices are the only thing that will fix that.

Irish moss/whirlfloc, hot break/vigorous boil, cold break/rapid chilling, correct water chemistry, good fermentation practices, cold crashing, gelatin, etc can all help produce clear beer without filters

 

[MindenMan]

I have no doubt clear beer can be made w/o filtering, and just by using fining agents. The question I should ask is: how do you rack from your BK to your fermenter? Do you have a pot that will whirlpool when the Immersion Chiller is in it, before racking into fermenter?

 

[rhythmsteve]

Yes or no, it's all up to you. Don't filter dark beers but any ale would be great to filter


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[bnewmane]

Thanks for all of the responses. I've gained a lot of insight after reading all of your comments. I've still got a lot to learn but if there is anything else I should know let me know.

 

[MaddBaggins]

I've never filtered a beer. There's no point IMO. 9 times out of 10 my beers are completely clear anyway. Irish moss at the end of boil and careful siphoning. Then they cold crash in the keg. First glass may get a little crud, the rest is clean. When I bottle, it's only ales that are meant to bottle condition and everything settles to the bottom over time.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I filter from time to time and don't mind it at all. I have the Vintage Shop plate filter, which is easy to use, doesn't leak, and is very reliable. These days I usually filter to remove things like Polyclar or Fermcap-S (which I rarely use), or to give additional polish to something like a Koelsch or Pils. I usually use the medium or coarse filter (sterile filtration strips some flavor). Filtering can accelerate turnaround time from brew day to serving IF the beer is brewed cleanly but the yeast is slow to floc (I am looking at you, US-05!). If you produced off-flavors during the ferment that the yeast has to clean up, filtering will prevent that process from happening, and you'll end up with an inferior beer.

When I don't filter, I may use a liquid Isinglass packet from LD Carlson if I am in a rush (faster, better, and easier to use than gelatin), or I'll just let things settle out by gravity followed by careful siphoning. I don't usually cold crash my beers due to personal preference; doing so will accelerate clarification, but will reduce yeast activity to near-zero (compared to a slow-ramp, where the yeast will still be minimally active).