# Filtering Beer By Gravity Before Bottling?



## BjornJ (16/2/09)

hi there,
sorry for my ignorance as I am new to this but I am trying to understand a bit around filtering beer:

I see those who "keg" beer use CO2 from a tank to carbonate and therefore do not have to deal with carbonation drops, yeast sediment in each bottle, etc.
Is it possible to filter beer to say a second fermenter and then bottle with carbonation drops as normal?

-will the filter (say 2 micron) for arguments sake remove so much yeast there will be nothing left to carbonate the beer?
-will the beer splashing down in the second fermenter be bad? 
-could we say give the second fermentor a burst of CO2 from say a paintball tank to give it a nice layer in the bottom of CO2 to stop any oxydayion from happening?

Or am I on the wrong track completly, is filtering the beer not necessary to get a clear beer?





Would appreciate any input )
Thanks guys.

Bjorn


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## muckey (16/2/09)

You'll always end up with some sediment in the bottles from priming. Filtering will reduce the amount of yeast in suspension so will minimise the amount of sediment that ends up in the bottle.

If you have the time and space, rack from the fermenter to a second container (cube) leavint the yeastcake behind. Crash chill your 'cube' and leave it cold for as long as possible to drop out lots of yeast and then bottle.

I do have a filter but no longer uses it to clear the yeast before kegging. I crash chill and use finings and then leave it for a few days before kegging.

So not neccessary to have a filter

hmm I wonder who beat me to the post

Edit: got in first surprisingly


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## raven19 (16/2/09)

Welcome to the forums firstly.

I could also suggest in addition to Muckeys good response above, is that there is no real need to filter unless the sediment is really bothering you. Personally I dont mind a cloudy beer, its more the flavour I am interested in.

I simply rack to secondary fermenter then keg (& bottle left over portion) without crash chilling - due to not having a spare fridge!


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## chappo1970 (16/2/09)

Welcome,

As both raven and muckey have already wisely said. I myself rack to secondary, fine with gelatine and crash chill (Granny was nice enough to leave her fridge in the will). Beers come out nice a bright most of the time. I also don't mind a cloudy beer, as long as it tastes good then I am happy. You should still have yeasties after filtration to condition the beer but that depends on the gear you are using from my limited understanding.


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## muckey (16/2/09)

Chappo said:


> You should still have yeasties after filtration to condition the beer but that depends on the gear you are using from my limited understanding.



Absolutely correct. depends on the type of filter (nominal or absolute). You need some yeasties left after filtering or the beer wont carbonate in the bottle.


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## buttersd70 (16/2/09)

As far as cartrige filters such as pictured are concerned (as opposed to depth filters, which are a totaly different animal), 1micron absolute does still leave enough viable yeast for bottle carbonation, even though it doesn't look like it. I did a few batches (bottled, before I got kegs) with this type of filter, and they all carbonated fine. It took longer to carb, and was a pita though. It did greatly reduce the sediment in the bottle, however you can get a similar result by cold conditioning and fining with geletin to clear the beer prior to bottling. IMO, the improvement that you get between fining, and filtering, is not worth the additional pita. Not when it comes to bottling. Kegs are a different story.


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## BjornJ (17/2/09)

Thanks for all your replies, guys!
Brilliant answers, leaves me with some food for thought.. hmm..

But if I "crash chill" to a second fermenter, won't that oxidyse (or whatever it was called) the beer?
If I crash chill to a second fermenter and add finings, will this be enough to create a clear beer?

I have just bottled my first batch and of course have no idea how cloudy it will be, but by bottling it and tasting from the hydrometer glass last night it was pretty "muddy".

Already started thinking what to try next, Coopers traditional draught or the other "cheaper looking" coopers draught perhaps? I want to learn to make "standard beer" first before trying to much fancy, exotic stuff 

thanks again, this is a great site.
Bjorn


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## muckey (17/2/09)

BjornJ said:


> Thanks for all your replies, guys!
> Brilliant answers, leaves me with some food for thought.. hmm..
> 
> But if I "crash chill" to a second fermenter, won't that oxidyse (or whatever it was called) the beer?
> ...




Shouldnt oxidise if you are carefull.
Obviously make sure everything is clean and sanitised. connect some tubing between the taps on the fermenter and cube. all the beer to transfer slowly so as not agitate it too much


your bottled batch should clear OK. As it carbonates and the pressure builds during carbonation, the yweast should drop and leave the beer quite clear

edit: spelling (fat fingers  )


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## buttersd70 (17/2/09)

BjornJ said:


> But if I "crash chill" to a second fermenter, won't that oxidyse (or whatever it was called) the beer?


Only if you're ham fisted with it.....treat it with love, and it will treat you the same way.


BjornJ said:


> If I crash chill to a second fermenter and add finings, will this be enough to create a clear beer?



I just finished a keg (granted the bottle won't be _quite _as good, because of the sediment) of an Irish red that you could lterally read a newspaper through.....
Can you get clarity in the bottle? Answer is yes, you can. if you have a read through a case swap tasting thread, for example, you see many comments relating to clarity.
link, and post 35, 39 etc...

Its a matter of getting technique right, and also yeast choice helps. Some form a firmer sediment than others.


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## Pumpy (17/2/09)

Bjorn ,

Whilst of course you can get clear beer if you follow certain procedures without filtering 

If you go to a lot of trouble to make some nice beer 

Why not take a bit of trouble presenting some 'consistently clear beer' to you and your mates they will love it 

The trick to good filtering is giving the filter as much help as possible dont put the biggest load of yeast gunk through the filter it and expect it to run smooth. 

You should get 1 liter a minute, its better if you have the 1 micron Absolute pleated fiter ,

I picked one up from 'Clarence filters' recently 

Theyare not cheap I paid $ 46 but it will last you a couple of years if you look after it .

have all your pipes and connections in a tray with sterilising solution in it so you are organised .

Give the beer a few days chill to drop out as much yeast out of suspension .

run the first yeasty bit from the fermenter tap to waste .

dont use Co 2 it may rupture the membrane 

I use filtering for kegging my beer it cuts down the handling the beer 

Cant say about bottling but I think you will be OK 

Just dont give up easily sometimes with all processes there is a knack t doing things that only comes with a few goes 

Pumpy


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## adraine (17/2/09)

buttersd70 said:


> IMO, the improvement that you get between fining, and filtering, is not worth the additional pita. Not when it comes to bottling. Kegs are a different story.



Butters, How is it a different story with kegs.
I brew into kegs and i am very fussy about the appearance of my beers. I have been wrestling with weather or no a filter is worth the clams

Ad


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## buttersd70 (17/2/09)

adraine said:


> Butters, How is it a different story with kegs.
> I brew into kegs and i am very fussy about the appearance of my beers. I have been wrestling with weather or no a filter is worth the clams
> 
> Ad


Ad
with a keg;
you filter into it. It's as bright as a shiny new sixpence. You then put it on the gas. Or;
you rack it, fine it, wait for it to drop, then keg it, then gas it, then it might not be _fully _bright, so you need to give it a couple of days for the yeast to drop, then you pour off the first cloudy pint and you're good to go.

conclusion for kegs....filtering and getting immediately clear beer can be considered less of a pita than fining and waiting. Its certainly quicker.

But with bottles;
you filter it, it's bright, but then you add priming sugar to it, the yeast regenerates in order to carbonate, and you _still _end up with sediment at the bottom. Granted, it's much less sediment than if you hadn't filtered, but it is there nonetheless. It does however require more time to carbonate....so the time that you saved at the start of the process, is lost by the extra time required to carbonate. or;

you rack it, fine it, let most of the yeast drop, then prime it and bottle it. The yeast regenerates in order to carbonate, you end up with less sediment than if you hadn't fined, but more sediment than if you filtered.

conclusion for bottles.....many of the advantages that filtering gives you are either lost or reduced, due to the fact that you will certainly end up with sediment in the bottom of the bottle anyway. It's unavoidable. To me, as far as bottling is concerned, the improvement you get from filtering compared to fining isn't a big enough difference, because of the bottle carbonation. It's a much smaller advantage than if kegging.

IMO, if you're _kegging_, and want bright beer....fining will give you that. But filtering gives you that much quicker, and more consistantly....if it wasn't for the fact that I ruptured my membrane, I would filter all my kegged beers. (although, I would probably still fine as well, as a process aid to prolong filter life. Life's full of little ironies like that....I only started fining in the first place cos I broke my filter, then I read several articles that reccomend fining in order to prolong filter life. :lol: )

IMO, if you are _botting _and want clear beer, I would just be fining, not filtering.

2c only.


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## muckey (17/2/09)

I think the main difference is that you can filter to keg and force carb meaning that your clear beer stays clear. If you bottle you have clear beer with sedioment at the botte which can be stirred up during serving or transporting


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## buttersd70 (17/2/09)

Muckey said:


> I think the main difference is that you can filter to keg and force carb meaning that your clear beer stays clear. If you bottle you have clear beer with sedioment at the botte which can be stirred up during serving or transporting



Thats what I said.... h34r:


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## adraine (18/2/09)

My wife aint gunna be happy about this.

now i have to go get a filter  
Gotta have the brightest beer in the street. B)


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## BjornJ (18/2/09)

thanks again guys.

I thought finings only worked if you did the whole boiling grains and hops thing, but will definetly try it for my next "kit & kilo" project.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.
Bjorn


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