# Filtering after cold crashing. Do you bother?



## Crusty (24/6/13)

Hey guys.
Now that I have got the fermenting fridge up & running, I am just wondering how many of you bother to filter from keg to keg after a 5 to 7 day stint at 2deg for cold crashing. I've just filtered in the past but I might look at doing away with filtering if cold crashing is the way to go.


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## Byran (24/6/13)

I have friends that filter, and friends that dont. I dont have a filter so I just crash chill then secondary if I want to clear the brew up quicker. Otherwise a crash and keg is a pretty good way to go. You just seem to always get a few specs of yeasty stuff in the keg which takes a while to drop out sometimes. That said filtering would just allow you to force carb and drink straight away without the lag time. But I kinda like tasting how the beer changes as it slowly clears. If you secondary with this method the beer is clear without filtering pretty fast.


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## slash22000 (24/6/13)

1/2 tsp gelatin into primary at 0ºC for 72 hours + a week or more cold in the keg carbonating = literally crystal clear beer. It couldn't get any clearer unless it was water. Only trouble is that some vegos don't like beer with gelatin in it, never been a problem for me though.


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## Yob (24/6/13)

Nope, nuthin.. Crash, keg, carb and drink


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## brewologist (24/6/13)

I have recently purchased a filter and really like it. 

I researched on AHB and google before I got the filter and there are differing opinions on filtering. Stripping out the hop aroma etc. I haven't noticed any of that. This is what I have done with the 3 kegs I have filtered so far.

Primary to keg and cold crash close to 0c for a couple of days. You can dry hop in the keg at this stage too.
Filter it into a spare keg.
Force Carb and enjoy a couple of hours later.

The beer does get better with age though. The Stone and Wood Pacific clone I'm drinking is getting better everyday.

Off to the kegerator for another right now


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## Yob (24/6/13)

Dont they always get to their best just before they blow?


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## brewologist (24/6/13)

Ain't that the truth. Speaking of, I only have about two kegs left all up. Better get a brew going on the weekend.


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## Camo6 (24/6/13)

Yob said:


> Dont they always get to their best just before they blow?


I always get sad when a tasty beer gets crystal clear as I know the end is near, (not an attempt at poetry).

I recently bought a filter but am yet to use it as the beers I putting out using just whirfloc and extended crash chilling have been clearing perfectly.


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## Florian (24/6/13)

Haven't used my filter for over a year, used to religiously filter everything from primary to keg. 

Now I use one of those cask pickup thingies from Ross and it works perfectly, leaving all aromas and flavours but taking the clear beer from the top.


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## Crusty (24/6/13)

Thanks guys.
I've got a DSGA that's been in primary for 10days ( fermented @18deg ) & gravity test last night was 1.013 from 1.048, expecting 1.012 so I'll leave it for another 4 days & measure again.
I'll then just turn down the STC to 2deg & leave it be for another week, transfer to keg & leave @ serving pressure.
What's the usual time for cold crashing @2eg, 3,4,5 or 7 days?
Hanging to get this on tap, I'm thirsty & have been out of beer for a while.


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## Florian (24/6/13)

As long or as short as you like. 

I lager my Pilseners in the keg while drinking them.


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## Yob (24/6/13)

if Im patient, min 4 days, max 7.. have been known on occasion to set to 0 for 2-3... varies on the beer I guess.


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## givemeamash (24/6/13)

no filter, just another thing to maintain and clean imo


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## ratchie (24/6/13)

Yob said:


> Nope, nuthin.. Crash, keg, carb and drink


Same here and crystal clear,


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## Crusty (24/6/13)

Yob said:


> if Im patient, min 4 days, max 7.. have been known on occasion to set to 0 for 2-3... varies on the beer I guess.


Cheers Yob.
The Florytes need a workout mate.


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## slash22000 (24/6/13)

Florian said:


> Now I use one of those cask pickup thingies from Ross and it works perfectly, leaving all aromas and flavours but taking the clear beer from the top.


What thingies? I am intrigued.


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## QldKev (24/6/13)

I got a beer filter from Ross a couple of years back, with BrewBrite I still have not got around to trying out the filter.


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## Bribie G (24/6/13)

What is this filter you speak of?


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## citizensnips (24/6/13)

CC at about 3 degrees, add gelatin whenever, leave for 48 hours after gelatin then bottle = crystal clear


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## Phoney (24/6/13)

I can never, ever manage to get a hoppy beer (IPA, APA) clear without filtering.
Case in point, here is what is on my desk right now. AIPA. Was in primary for 2 weeks, dry hopped with 2oz for the last 5 days.
Chilled down to 1C for about 7 days, with gelatin, Polyclar added to keg, then kegged & force carbed.

And it looks like this:





If I brew anything else such as a not-so-hoppy APA or ESB, or mild etc it's clear with or without filtering..


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## 431neb (24/6/13)

No filtering. Never tried.

For ales I ferment for nine days at 17 degrees, then 2 or 3 days at 20 degrees followed by 2 or three days at whatever the beer fridge is at - must be about 2 degrees.

Not that fussed as you can see but that gives me a 14 or 15 day turnaround from Keggle to Kegerator.

I've not been doing AG or kegging for long enough to be 100 % confident with this method but so-far I have no evidence to change. I will read the replies here with interest.


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## mikec (24/6/13)

I have a filter but it's a royal pain in the arse to use. Just not worth the hassle.
Cold crash, leave for a few days, keg. 
Clears up even more in the keg. 
More than acceptable for me.


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## RdeVjun (24/6/13)

slash22000 said:


> What thingies? I am intrigued.


These, well just the pickup part, retrofit a cornie by replacing the rigid beer pickup tube. CB sells them but they're not listed on the website yet, cost about 30 clams. IMO the most awesome piece of kegging kit I've laid my hands on in years- I've never filtered, now don't plan on starting.


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## mckenry (24/6/13)

Usual answer - it depends. While I can just gelatin and CC (and have posted pics of beers that that's all they've had) I still get the filter out when I can be bothered. Even though in the keg they will clear up perfectly, if I take the keg somewhere, it gets all cloudy again. I appreciate the look of a clear beer, so if its going to go somewhere, I'll filter so it still looks good when served at the destination. I think the filter is worth the effort, but sometimes I skip it. Hate to be a fence sitter, so I say yes, I bother with it.


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## Crusty (26/6/13)

I get great results from filtering but it is a bit of a pain to do.
I was looking to just cold crash & hoping to get crystal clear beer without too much mucking around.
If the result is clearer beer using the filter, I'll just stick with it.
If cold crashing is identical, I'll give the filter a little rest.


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## Rocker1986 (27/6/13)

I don't even own a filter. I normally cold crash ales for two weeks, lagers for 5-6 weeks. I don't keg though, I just bottle at the moment (no room at all for a kegging system). I've found with the ones I have brewed since I've had a fridge and been cold crashing that if I leave the bottles in the fridge for a day or two, they are a bit cloudy, but after at least a week, they pour very clear. The ones I didn't cold crash don't seem to improve much with time in the fridge so in my experience the cold crashing helps with clearing them. That's good enough for me given there's enough room in the fridge to store them for a week or two before drinking. 

Cheers :super:


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## Goose (28/6/13)

Jury is out on the benefits of filtering for me.

Yes you do get clearer beer alot faster, but have heard complaints from my panel of mates tasters about slight unfavourable tweaks in flavour that are hard to pin down. Some mentioned a small hint of oxidation while others commented just something is missing. I could perhaps attribute this to the fact that I had filtered ex primary and not filtered post conditioning... which suggests that residual yeast plays a fair beneficial part in conditioning post racking, especially for lagers.

Given the extra risks and hassle involved (one more piece of kit to sanitise, purge and clean) I would probably lean toward two ingredients, patience and brewbrite or whirlfloc for a crysta, clear beer.


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## argon (28/6/13)

RdeVjun said:


> These, well just the pickup part, retrofit a cornie by replacing the rigid beer pickup tube. CB sells them but they're not listed on the website yet, cost about 30 clams. IMO the most awesome piece of kegging kit I've laid my hands on in years- I've never filtered, now don't plan on starting.


Interesting, I want. Will have to check it out in store perhaps.

Edit: I filter all my beers after either Brewbrite or Polyclar and a week of 2°. But wouldn't mind eliminating that step.


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## Florian (28/6/13)

RdeVjun said:


> These, well just the pickup part, retrofit a cornie by replacing the rigid beer pickup tube. CB sells them but they're not listed on the website yet, cost about 30 clams. IMO the most awesome piece of kegging kit I've laid my hands on in years- I've never filtered, now don't plan on starting.


Thanks Ralph, somehow missed Slash's question.

Agree, best kegging bit ever.

Last time I spoke to Ross about them he said he will eventually get them back, but it might take a while. That was about six month ago though.
He was kind enough to offer me one from his personal stock.

I'd definitely pick up two or three once they're back in. Might actually shoot him an email to see where he's at with them.


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## RdeVjun (28/6/13)

No worries Florian & argon. The cask widges aren't a universal fix- it for clarity issues but its a darn sight easier than filtering to make some difference. For really, really pale or aggressively dry hopped beers you might struggle to get a noticeable effect right away but worth trying anyway (YMMV), but on the whole, I've been well pleased with the results. I'm not overly fussy about clarity however I find most beers are clear enough to serve when they are carbonated at serving pressure, while it only gets better after that. Transferring to another keg is always possible if is going to be moved around and any settled sediment disturbed. So, a handy tool to give us some flexibility and speed things up a bit in certain circumstances.
I believe CB just landed a shipment, they were in stock last weekend (might be listed on the infamous "new" website.  ).
HTH!


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## Crusty (29/6/13)

What's the go with liquid in the airlock when crash chilling?
I read somewhere it can get sucked back into the wort but can't find that info.
What's the go in avoiding that situation?
I went out & checked the fermenter this morning & sitting beautifully @2deg & the airlock seems fine, still water in it.


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## RdeVjun (29/6/13)

Dispense with the airlock completely and use clingfilm from the start! 
Seriously, I'd recommend removing the airlock to prevent any potentially icky backwash, cover the top of the fermenter with a sheet of clingfilm to exclude any drips, or leave it in and replace the liquid with vodka. Sounds like its done though, so maybe next time.
HTH! :icon_cheers:


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## Crusty (29/6/13)

Thanks mate but I am sticking with the air lock for now.
The air lock has the same amount of liquid in it so nothing has gone into the fermenter.
There's no liquid in the tube of the air lock either so pretty certain nothings gone in.
I just stumbled across some info on liquid making it's way into the fermenter & hit the panic button.


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## Rocker1986 (29/6/13)

The water in my airlock normally freezes when I cold crash a brew, so probably not much chance of it being sucked anywhere. :lol:


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