Which Beer filter?

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dougjones31

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I looked at several setups to start filtering my beer. I have a 10" water filter housing and I was looking for cartridges to fit it. I see most of the advertised Beer Filters have .5 micron filters, but others have 1 micron. I have heard people say that the .5 micron filter is great, but I have not heard anyone compare .5 and 1 micron filters as they pertain to beer.

Does anyone know if the .5 is necessary? I know that if you go much smaller the filter will remove tast and color from the beer and we definately do not want that!

I was looking at the pleated and spun filters but I hate the waste of only using them once. I opted to look at washable Ceramic filters in hopes of cutting expense of having to buy replacement filters.

Almost every Ceramic filter that I looked at goes down to .2 microns which is too small....I think. I found this 1 micron filter that is the only 1 micron ceramic filter that I can find. http://www.waterfilters.net/Pentek/wholehouse/Sediment_Filters/CRE-1.htm

Do you think 1 micron is sufficient?

Does anybody have any other options that I have overlooked?
 
One micron will remove about 90% of the yeast and some of the bacteria. I've been using 1 micron polypropylene spun fiber filters for the same reason, re-usable. I'll probably replace them with 0.65 micron filters once they clog up.
 
I use 1 micron myself, and it is good enough for me. Still ens up with good clear kegged be, no sediment. I also use the filter to add leaf hops to, then hook up the filter to the keg and serve fresh hopped beer from it.:cross:
 
Most haploid yeast strains run about 3-5 micron in diameter but remember that this little wonderful beasts are not static. These little guys are doubling and can be somewhat larger. I have both the plate filter and a water filter housing and have had very good success with a 5 micron filter. I felt that at 1 micron I was beginning to strip away some of the flavour profile; maybe in my head but I never noticed a difference with a 5 micron poly-spun filter. Hey David_42, how is it that you can re-use a poly filter? I'd like to try but I'm afraid of not thoroughly cleaning it. Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.
 
I would think the spun poly or pleated filters would be too much of a PITA to clean and store. That is why I wanted to find the right Ceramic filter. You just backflush it and pull it out and wash it with a scotchbrite pad and some star-san. Then store in ziplock bag in the freezer to keep any moldies off of it.
 
I just back-flush the filter until the water is clear, then soak it in sanitizer & dry.
 
quick question on this subject. if you filter the beer to take out the yeast particles would that affect the carbonation process in bottling?
 
Absolutely. You can filter all of the yeast out then add a small amount of yeast and sugar enough to carb the bottle or filter only some of the yeast out with a larger micron filter.

Good luck,
Wild
 
thanks for the reply. what size micron filter would you suggest to leave enough yeast to carbonate with but not so much to have the particles in the bottles?
 
Nothing smaller than 1-micron and push the beer through slowly at about 2-2.5 lbs.

Good luck,
Wild
 
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