# My First Filtering Attempt



## Tony (11/6/06)

Well i have had a filter fitting here for about 6 months now but havnt been game enough to use it.

Its a bit like AG........ too scary to try til you finally dive in and ....... oh that wasnt so bad.

I have an old 10" cartridge that came off the centrifuge that made most of the daxtrose you all used over the years  

I bought a 1 micron filter for about $10 at Big W and hooked in this arvo.

worked well but the beer isnt "bright"

will have to liik into a better filter i think and a clear housing so i can see whats going on

pics.


----------



## Ross (11/6/06)

Tony,

Not only is that cartridge not clear, it doesn't appear to have a relief valve. Without the relief valve you're in serious danger of oxidising your beer (unless you fully purged it with CO2 first). 

cheers Ross


----------



## Tony (11/6/06)

Yeah i ran CO2 through it mate 

I am going to get something better if im going to do this full time.

Other questiuon i have.

What is the best way to clean and steralise the filters for re-use?

cheers


----------



## Ross (11/6/06)

Tony said:


> What is the best way to clean and steralise the filters for re-use?



tony, 

Unless it's a pleated type filter you can't clean it. Assuming it is - fill the open canister with hot tap water add a teaspoon of napisan & leave overnight - rinse & repeat. Will come up like new.

Edit: final rinse with a non-rinse sanitiser on brew day

cheers Ross


----------



## Zwickel (11/6/06)

Gday Brewmates,

Ive made many attempts recently to filter my beer.

Finally I do as follows:

Take an empty keg and preload it with the same CO2-Pressure as a full one.
Connect both CO2 valves with eachother.
The beer tube is leading from the full one to a pump, to the filter and then to the empty keg.
Just switch on the pump and the beer runs from the one to the other keg, very clear and without losing any CO2.

Pic:








The outside of the equipment is very hazy, because the beer is around 0C, thats why you cant see the clarification, but it looks like that:






Cheers


----------



## Tony (11/6/06)

ahhhhh another use for the march pump 

Ross.

I know there are thousands of pages on filters if i search but why go to the trouble when your here to tell me 

whats the best filter to use?

Pleated? is that spun gradient, string wound bonded gradient?

ahhhh im confused now

cheers


----------



## Pumpy (11/6/06)

Nice One Zwickle  

Pumpy


----------



## Pumpy (11/6/06)

Tony ,

I am a bit like you I get the bits then take ages to pick up couragebefore I use it .

But Ihave been using the "Ross Filter method " as previously posted 

otherwise known as the "No Secondary method " he! he! 

and It works a treat I am not going back it turns my beer around into kegs much quicker .

Pumpy


----------



## dicko (11/6/06)

Tony said:


> whats the best filter to use?
> 
> Pleated? is that spun gradient, string wound bonded gradient?
> 
> ...



Hell Tony,

I know what you mean.

I tried three filters when I first got my clear filter housing with the bleed valve and I had extremely variable results.  
The first one was a pleated "black end" ( good way to ID these things ) which is aparently a 1 micron filter and the result - IMO a waste of time.

Then I tried a pleated filter with a pinky / purple end and this is as I am lead to believe, a 1 micron "absolute".
It was slightly better than the black one but the beer was still cloudy. :unsure: 

I then tried a pleated filter with a dark brown end and this one is supposed to be a .35 micron filter.
Well, this filter produced a beer every bit as clear as a draught of West End / VB down the pub.
I noticed no difference in taste, in fact I think, because it has removed all the yeast (assumed) and the excess trub that the beer tastes as good as it ever can. 

When i serve this filtered beer to the general public ( read friends and hangers' on ) they can't believe how clear it is.

I have been cleaning this filter by filling a 5 litre jug with hot (tap ) water and napisan and dropping it in for 24 hours and it comes out spotless each time - just give it a good rinse and store dry for the next job.

I have now had conflicting comments compared to results regarding all these filters and it is difficult to know which way to go.

BTW I have a plate filter from Ibrew in Qld and it filters as well as the .35 micron, but you can't clean the filters and therefore it works out a bit more expensive than the cartridge type. h34r: 

Another thing that is confusing is the use of finings as I have always been lead to believe that if you use finings then the beer doesn't need filtering as it should turn out very good if left to settle out.

According to recent PM's to me, Ross is going to update his site to include the sale of filters shortly and he has got me a couple of these .35 micron jobbies although he tells me that they will not be available full time and I will have to go back to the 1 micron purple / pink / absolute critters when I have used the .35 micron ones.
I have checked his site a few times over this weekend and the filters have not appeared as yet.

Ross,
When your site includes the new items I will take those two .35 filters that you got for me - as ordered.

Cheers and clear beers! :beer:


----------



## Zwickel (11/6/06)

Yes, I have to endorse to dickos post. Ive been searching for the right pore size and found, that the 0,3m ceramic filter that Im using, does the job best.


----------



## Batz (11/6/06)

The brew I am drinking tonight
It's a Kin Kin ale but clear as any other beer I brew..no filtering

Batz


----------



## Pumpy (11/6/06)

I do not have a lot of time or space to hold heaps of beer in secondary and I dont like adding that jelly made from horses hooves ,i like to drink my beers young but then perhaps that suits the beers I make more .
so after seven day in primary filter and in the keg !!

Pumpy


----------



## Tony (11/6/06)

I have found some beers need it and some beers dont.

The Classic American Pils in the keg was bright on the 2nd schooner, only about 110 to go 

The american brown ale before it was hazy till the last 20 schooners and it was brewed with wyeast 1338 european ale which is rated at HIGH for the flocculation spec.

I do tend to rack a couple of times to get the beer clear but if i can just run it through a filter and be done with it i will.

thanks for the advice folks.

Will have to do some filter searching

cheers


----------



## Ross (12/6/06)

dicko said:


> I have checked his site a few times over this weekend and the filters have not appeared as yet.
> 
> Ross,
> When your site includes the new items I will take those two .35 filters that you got for me - as ordered.



Sorry Dicko,

Friends over for the w/e that interfered with work  - i'll have the beer filters online today - complete filtering systems (beer & water), hopefully up later this week.

cheers Ross


----------



## Ross (12/6/06)

Tony said:


> ahhhhh another use for the march pump
> 
> Ross.
> 
> ...



Tony, not spun gradient or string wound - both hopeless for filtering beer & one use only.
i'll have pictures online later today.

Cheers Ross


----------



## Screwtop (12/6/06)

What fittings are required to connect to beerline. Will yours be complete with fittings.


----------



## Ross (12/6/06)

Screwtop said:


> What fittings are required to connect to beerline. Will yours be complete with fittings.



Will come complete with everything . I'll start a retail thread when I've put it all together - as I said, hopefully later this week.

++++

1 micron filters now online.

cheers Ross


----------



## Pumpy (12/6/06)

Yay ! pleated absolute filters to make your beer sparkle and get it into the kegs quicker fresher and can dry hop too  

Pumpy


----------



## Tony (12/6/06)

have been looking on ebay.

will hold off till you post prices.

cheers


----------



## Darren (12/6/06)

Zwickel,
Ceramic filters sound a good option. Can you post a pic? How much are they? Are they easy to clean?

One of the biggest problems with filters is that if you clog it too quickly and then apply too much pressure (ie a huge co2 blast) you can damage the membrane. Once that is done the unit is rooted.

I was just thinking ceramic might be stronger and a more natural product.

cheers

Darren


----------



## Ross (12/6/06)

Tony said:


> have been looking on ebay.
> 
> will hold off till you post prices.
> 
> cheers



Went online 2 posts before you yours  

cheers Ross...


----------



## FNQ Bunyip (12/6/06)

O T but I used to have an International truck that had a ceramic fule fillter  wow it was great reuseable endlessly... I dont have the truck but I still have a spare fule pump and the ceramic fillter for it .. Ha Ha Ha .. the shit you keep ..... or is it just me ... 

Sorry h34r: 

:beer:


----------



## jgriffin (12/6/06)

I was planning on using a filter for 3 purposes
a) filtering beer
B) filtering yeast out of cider to halt fermentation, before sweetening
c) filtering yeast out of wine to reduce amount of sulphur needed.

From above, does this mean i need a 0.35 micron?


----------



## sam (12/6/06)

Anyone every tried a 3um filter? Most of texts I've read recommend this level of filtering to remove yeast and other particles, cleaning up the beer.

I've used a 1um, but I would like to try a 3um. 'Spose I could just use finings though.

Also...



Zwickel said:


> Gday Brewmates,
> 
> Ive made many attempts recently to filter my beer.
> 
> ...



Zwikel, why do you use a pump, when you can just run the beer through the filter by pressure differential? Is it to keep the beer carbonated? Sorry, I just don't like pumping beer around to much and was curious as to why you use a pump.

Cheers,

Sam


----------



## Tony (12/6/06)

are these ceramic filters any good?

found 0.9 micron ones on ebay for $20 for 2 of them.

yours looks the goods too ross. if it lasts a year its cost is not really a concern hey.

Sam..... i think he uses the pump to save on CO2 loss from pushing it through the filter. 

cheers


----------



## Darren (12/6/06)

Just so you know, yeast are about 8 microns in size. If you are not cleaning your beer with a 2 micron filter, either it has been damaged, or you are not filtering yeast.

cheers

Darren


----------



## Tony (12/6/06)

cheers mate.

Good info


----------



## Zwickel (12/6/06)

Hi folks,



> Ceramic filters sound a good option. Can you post a pic? How much are they? Are they easy to clean?



Its not cheap, but Ive used the filter for about 25 Kegs so far, there didnt occure any problem yet.
After usage, Im rinsing the filter backwards and blow it dry with compressed air. Store it at a dry place.

here is a description at ebay: http://cgi.ebay.de/Keramik-Filterkartusche...1QQcmdZViewItem


Very important is, that the flow direction leads from the outside to the inside of the filter. 
That way the filter can hold a delta P of 1000KPa.



sam said:


> Anyone every tried a 3um filter? Most of texts I've read recommend this level of filtering to remove yeast and other particles, cleaning up the beer.



Id say, 3m is too large, 0,3 fits much better.



> Zwikel, why do you use a pump, when you can just run the beer through the filter by pressure differential? Is it to keep the beer carbonated? Sorry, I just don't like pumping beer around to much and was curious as to why you use a pump.



The beer is normally in a saturated CO2 equilibrium. If you lower the pressure, it will certainly lose gas and anyway start foaming.
If you keep the pressure steadily, it wont lose any gas at all and wont start foaming.
Just transfer the beer from one to the other one keg.

Cheers


----------



## Tony (12/6/06)

Its not cheap, but Ive used the filter for about 25 Kegs so far, there didnt occure any problem yet.
After usage, Im rinsing the filter backwards and blow it dry with compressed air. Store it at a dry place.

here is a description at ebay: http://cgi.ebay.de/Keramik-Filterkartusche...1QQcmdZViewItem


[/quote]


Beschreibung Der Verkufer ist verantwortlich fr das Angebot. 

Artikelmerkmale 

Artikelzustand: Neu 











Keramikfilterkartusche 

Mit 0,3 Keramikfilter, filtert die Bakterien aus dem Wasser !!!

Passend fr fast alle 9 3/4" und 10" Gehuse



Welche Filterelemente werden benutzt?

- 0,3 Keramikeinsatz

Was wird gefiltert?

0,3 Keramikfilter

Dieser Filter filtert alles was grer als 0,3 also 0,0003mm gro ist aus ihrem Wasser. Bakterien haben eine Gre von 0,5 und bleiben an diesem Filter deshalb hngen. Sie filtern also gefhrliche Bakterien vllig chemiefrei aus ihrem Trinkwasser. Diese Filter sind im normalen Handel nicht zu bekommen. Sie werden in der Industrie fr die Mineralwasserherstellung genutzt. Auerdem werden sie in Katastrophengebieten zur Trinkwasserherstellung benutzt. Diese Filter knnen unter flieendem Wasser mit einem Spezialschwamm gereinigt werden.


 We speak english dude, well mast of us 

cheers


----------



## Jazman (12/6/06)

tony use babble fish to translate for u it makes it easy


----------



## Zwickel (12/6/06)

Tony said:


> We speak english dude, well mast of us



Sorry for that, wanted to show only the picture, because Darren queried for it. 

Cheers :beer:


----------



## Ross (12/6/06)

The ceramic filters being solid, don't appear to have too much surface area - Unless the beer is pretty clear in the first place I believe they would clog up pretty quick. Also how do they filter, is it by progressive reduction in hole size or do they filter just on the surface? - If progressive they could prove a bugger to clean properly - A pleated PET filter has a large surface area - approx 6 sq feet & are easy to clean with just a teaspoon of napisan. Can't personally see any advantages with the ceramic - are there any?

Darren,

Yeast may well be 8 micron in size, but I can assure you that a 5 micron filter will not remove anywhere near all the yeast, even without damaging the filter. I don't know enough about yeast to know whether it can squeeze through smaller gaps than it's size under low pressure, but that would be my guess. It takes a 0.35 micron in practice to remove all yeast.

Cheers Ross


----------



## Zwickel (12/6/06)

Hi Ross,

first I wanna say, unfortunately, I havent found a pleated filter yet for my filter housing.
You are much luckier to have one.

So I have to use what Im able to get here, please dont take it as a competition to your filter.

I just wanna tell you, what kind of experience Ive made.



Ross said:


> The ceramic filters being solid, don't appear to have too much surface area - Unless the beer is pretty clear in the first place I believe they would clog up pretty quick. Also how do they filter, is it by progressive reduction in hole size or do they filter just on the surface?


Im not sure, think it works progressive. Even if the surface is not as large as the one of the pleated, I was able to transfer 60L beer in one time, thats just a batch Ive made.
After that, I cleaned it and stored for the next time.



> - If progressive they could prove a bugger to clean properly -


so far I didnt have any problem yet, looking forward how long I may use it.



> A pleated PET filter has a large surface area - approx 6 sq feet



yeah, thats one advantage for the pleated filter!



> & are easy to clean with just a teaspoon of napisan.



thats what Im doubting, because of the pleated surface, it will be difficult to reach each corner. 



> Can't personally see any advantages with the ceramic - are there any?



yes, the biggest advantage is, it whitstands a high delta P (differnce in pressure)

a pleated filter cant hold a high delta P.


btw. the cell size of yeast can be between 2 to 5 m.

Cheers


----------



## Darren (12/6/06)

yes, the biggest advantage is, it whitstands a high delta P (differnce in pressure)

a pleated filter cant hold a high delta P.


btw. the cell size of yeast can be between 2 to 5 m.

Cheers
[/quote]


I agree a small number of the yeast cells will be that small. Yeast bud from each other so often will be found in large masses of cells rather than individual cells. 2uM should remove most, 1uM certainly. Bacteria filters obviously need to be a lot tighter.

I suspect the pleated filters here that aren't really doing the job properly have been comprimised by high load and pressure. Once it is busted there is little or no resistance or filtering.

Busted one or two filters with pressure in my time.

cheers

Darren


----------



## Ross (12/6/06)

Zwickel said:


> Hi Ross,
> 
> So I have to use what Im able to get here, please dont take it as a competition to your filter.
> 
> ...



Zwickel - no problem at all - competition is good for everyone  . My interest is in finding the best beer filter on the market & then making available for my customers to buy. By the very nature of a progressive filter, my experience is they are very hard, if not impossible to fully clean, but I accept if you say this is not a problem in your case. A pleated filter just blocks the yeast on it's surface, making removal/cleaning extremely easy.

High pressure is not needed in filtering wort prior to carbonating - 20 to 40 kpa works fine.

I find your cell size far more believable than Darren's statement, as I said, a 5 micron filter is useless for beer filtering. 

cheers Ross


----------



## Darren (13/6/06)

Ross said:


> I find your cell size far more believable than Darren's statement, as I said, a 5 micron filter is useless for beer filtering.
> 
> cheers Ross




Ross,

If you check back I said 2uM filter should clean your beer. I still say the beers I have seen here using these filters have been damaged by pressure and are not even fitering out 50uM particles.

Anyhow, if you made your beer properly in the first place you would not need to filter it  

cheers

Darren


----------



## Batz (13/6/06)

Darren said:


> [Anyhow, if you made your beer properly in the first place you would not need to filter it
> 
> cheers
> 
> Darren



I knew that one was coming !!  

Batz


----------



## tangent (13/6/06)

> We speak english dude, well mast of us


some of us speak English but most of us don't type it 

If you want to translate the German eBay page just use Google Language tools. It'll translate the whole page without cutting and pasting text. http://www.google.com.au/language_tools?hl=en


----------



## devo (13/6/06)

Batz said:


> The brew I am drinking tonight
> It's a Kin Kin ale but clear as any other beer I brew..no filtering
> 
> Batz




I don't filter either and generally get consistently clear beer so long as I give my kegs time to settle.


----------



## oneills (13/6/06)

Here is my first attempt at filtering beer. I purhased the the filter housing off Ebay from Clarence filters for $18.00. The 1 micron absolut cartridge came from Purerain in Qld as suggested by Ross for $35.00 and the beer line and disconnects came from Narre Brew Supplies for approx $30.00.







Here is the filter in action. This is my fisrt partial which is an Aussie Porter











This is the filter after use


----------



## Tony (13/6/06)

exactly the housing i was looking at getting.

My beers end up clear if they are given time to settle but sometimes there isnt time and a filter is a good way to keep the flow alive 

How well did it cleac the beer up?

cheers


----------



## warrenlw63 (13/6/06)

Was going to say the same thing Tony. :lol: 

Oneills torments us pic by pic and doesn't wind up showing the money shot. h34r: 

How about a nice filtered glass of Porter with the sun setting behind it?

Warren -


----------



## Trough Lolly (13/6/06)

If I can see the sun through my Porter, I've made an amber ale!! h34r:  

Yeah, C'mon oneills, where's the "money shot"?


----------



## oneills (13/6/06)

I will post a piccy tomorrow as its in the keg carbonating at the moment. This particular beer really didn't need filtering, i just wanted to remove hop particles and any sediment. It spent 12 days in primary and 10 days in secondary. The filter wasn't that dirty.

TL is right, this is a very dark beer that you can't see through in the glass.

The only major improvement i would consider is a couple of liquid keg posts. One to hook up to hose fitting to flush ( i used spare keg and CO2 ) and another on the other end to open ball lock valve ( i used a screwdriver ) while running water through.

To clean i hosed out housing then half filled keg with tap water, flushed through with CO2 then put cartridge in housing with napisan solution to sit overnight. Will rinse in morning and put away when dry. I will sanitise just before next use.

Any other suggestions or tips ?


----------



## oneills (14/6/06)

Here is the final result. Beautiful Yummy Porter. As you can see it is a dark beer ( and i need to clean my shed windows ). 







This is what i was trying achieve and it turned out as good if not better. I am a filter convert now as it normally takes a while for my kegged beer to be at it's best, but this was excellent within 24 hours of being kegged.






End result. Time for another.






Cheers


----------



## warrenlw63 (14/6/06)

Looks good from where I'm sitting oneills. :super: 

Warren -


----------



## Batz (14/6/06)

warrenlw63 said:


> Looks good from where I'm sitting oneills. :super:
> 
> Warren -




Bit hard to tell from where I am sitting :blink: 

Let see a pils

Batz


----------



## Trough Lolly (14/6/06)

Oneills,
:excl: *Don't drink that Porter - you have a nasty lactobacillus infection! * :excl: 
Look at that lacing on the empty glass - it's a sure fire sign that the porter has a nasty bacterial growth within and you need to deal with it immediately.
I'll PM you my address so you can offload the keg of infected beer to me for disposal in an appropriate and safe way....and, um, you better send that glass too, thanks!   
Cheers,
TL


----------



## Pumpy (14/6/06)

ONeill,

Some great step by step pictures ,I am picture person (they say a picture is worth a thousand words) :blink: .

I am sure your post will encourage a lot of people to filter their beer .

I always find my dark ales rarely need filtering ,however as a keen filterer!! I recently converted from the other order :huh: . I enjoyed your post and picked up some good ideas .

Pumpy


----------



## vlbaby (14/6/06)

yer i love the pictures also.
i'm going to be converting to the 'filter clan' myself as soon as my filter element arrives.
i have disconnects with removables tails on my kegs, so I reckon i might just buy a couple more tails to keep with the filter. That way i can connect to either the gas or the liquid post.

that porter looks real fine from here also o'neills. :beerbang: 


cheers

vl.


----------



## Darren (14/6/06)

Hey O'neil,

Great pics but why would you filter a beer that you couldn't see through in the first place?
Dark beers normally clear quite nicely too.

just curious!

cheers

Darren


----------



## Tony (14/6/06)

why not 

have filter..... will use 

hehehe

cheers


----------



## oneills (15/6/06)

I mentioned earlier that this beer probably didn't need filtering and really only wanted to try the filter out. But after soaking the filter cartridge in napisan solution overnight there was a fair bit of sediment that had come out of it.

Therfore it was definately worth doing. It will have you drinking your creation within hours of kegging -- just gas and go !

By the way the fiter cartridge cleaned up fine.


----------



## Ross (15/6/06)

Darren said:


> Hey O'neil,
> 
> Great pics but why would you filter a beer that you couldn't see through in the first place?
> Dark beers normally clear quite nicely too.
> ...



Some of us don't want a mouthfull of yeast that's why  - just because you can't see it, doesn't make it tatse any better. Filtering an ale is really no different that CCing it, just enables you to keg immediately rather than waiting for however long for it too clear - great for those that don't have room to cold condition as well. I really don't understand the anti-filtering brigade - if you have time on your hands & plenty of fridge space, cool, don't filter. But for those that don't it's a great way to get clear beer on tap quickly.

cheers Ross


----------



## hockadays (15/6/06)

Are these filters just good for final beer clarification only or can you use them for filtering chlorine from your initial brew water as well. 

matt


----------



## Ross (15/6/06)

hockadays said:


> Are these filters just good for final beer clarification only or can you use them for filtering chlorine from your initial brew water as well.
> 
> matt



Hockadays,

They can be used with a carbon filter for removing the nasty's from your water - but the clear housings arn't the best for handling mains pressure. You're better having a seperate unit for water.

cheers Ross


----------



## warrenlw63 (15/6/06)

This is the one I use for filtering brewing water.

Got it for about $30 on Evilbay. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find something similar. I believe the unit I've got is commonly used in caravans. :unsure: 

Warren -


----------



## hockadays (15/6/06)

Ok so it looks a though I'll need two..Can you get the brew water ones from camping store or bunnings etc and what micron level...

matt


----------



## warrenlw63 (15/6/06)

Matt.

Seen them at Bunnings. Expect to pay around $80 though. Not sure of the micron rating of the filter. I just use a pleated carbon cartridge (around $20). Should last you around 12 months.

Warren -


----------



## hockadays (15/6/06)

$80... but I thought bunnings was the lowest price guaranteed


----------



## warrenlw63 (15/6/06)

Matt.

They're still selling them on Ebay.

Here

I reckon you'll do better price-wise. I'm pretty certain the vendor is the one I purchased mine from.  

Warren -


----------



## Ross (15/6/06)

hockadays said:


> $80... but I thought bunnings was the lowest price guaranteed



I'll have both types online this week.

Edit: Also make sure you use a good solid carbon filter - the granular type are prone to channelling...

cheers Ross


----------



## hockadays (15/6/06)

ross, 
roughly how much..

matt


----------



## Ross (15/6/06)

hockadays said:


> ross,
> roughly how much..
> 
> matt



Matt,

Sent you a pm - I don't want to hijack this thread - I'll start one in retail shortly.

cheers Ross


----------



## Zwickel (15/6/06)

Gday mates,

a good question is certainly to ask why the heck I should filter a beer what clears by themself after storing a while.

But what about the presevability of the beer in case of not filtering it?
Does anyone knows the taste of yeast autolysis?
What if you move your keg to another place, means if you shake it a little?

Im sure, there are many more reasons to filter a beer, even if your beer gets not old enough for yeast autolysis.

Cheers, have a beer


----------



## vlbaby (21/6/06)

I had my own virgin filtering experience today. I am stoked with the results. The beer I filtered was a belgian pale ale that has been in CC for about 3 weeks and had already had finings added 1 week before.
The filtering was a little bit of stuffing around but i think the results are worth it.
Anyhow here it is....






cheers

vl.


----------



## Zwickel (21/6/06)

a beautiful pic vlbaby 

since Ive filtered my first beer, i got stuck on it.

No more cloudy beers :beerbang:


----------



## vlbaby (21/6/06)

i think i'll get hooked on this also zwickel. i know that the taste of the beer doesnt change much when filtering, but my own perception of the end product is what is important here. 
also helps when serving to other non brewing people.  

vl.


----------



## doglet (21/6/06)

Stupid question maybe but here goes...

Is any beer lost in the lines and filter housing? Those housings look like they'd hold an SA schooner or two.


----------



## normell (21/6/06)

doglet said:


> Stupid question maybe but here goes...
> 
> Is any beer lost in the lines and filter housing? Those housings look like they'd hold an SA schooner or two.


So brew an extra litre for wastage


----------



## Zwickel (21/6/06)

doglet said:


> Is any beer lost in the lines and filter housing? Those housings look like they'd hold an SA schooner or two.


only a little bit in the tubes. After filtering is done, Im anyway thirsty, so I drink what is left in the filter housing. :chug:


----------



## doglet (21/6/06)

Thanks Normell & Zwickel. Will keep an eye on these and see how the finances are going....spent too much on brew toys this year!!


----------



## Pumpy (21/6/06)

vlbaby said:


> I had my own virgin filtering experience today. I am stoked with the results. The beer I filtered was a belgian pale ale that has been in CC for about 3 weeks and had already had finings added 1 week before.
> The filtering was a little bit of stuffing around but i think the results are worth it.
> Anyhow here it is....
> 
> ...



Well done Vlbaby, I am a convert too 

Pumpy


----------



## Tony (21/6/06)

I just got my ceramic filters (0.9 micron) and have a filter housing sitting on 1 cent on ebay 

VL baby...
I am planing a belgian pale ale for the maiden voyage of the BHB. I know its off topic but what did you use in it?

cheers


----------



## Ross (21/6/06)

Tony said:


> I just got my ceramic filters (0.9 micron) and have a filter housing sitting on 1 cent on ebay
> 
> VL baby...
> I am planing a belgian pale ale for the maiden voyage of the BHB. I know its off topic but what did you use in it?
> ...



Tony,

Good luck with the ceramic filter, the surface area is too small except for a pretty clear beer in the first place. They also can be a real problem to clean, requiring scraping of the surface, from which their life is serverly depleated. A pleated filter has a surface area of nearly 6 sq feet & is good for up to a 100kegs+
Investigated every type - there's only 1 worth using  

cheers Ross


----------



## Tony (21/6/06)

maybe you will have to send me a unit for comparison mate 

cheers


----------



## vlbaby (22/6/06)

Tony said:


> I just got my ceramic filters (0.9 micron) and have a filter housing sitting on 1 cent on ebay
> 
> VL baby...
> I am planing a belgian pale ale for the maiden voyage of the BHB. I know its off topic but what did you use in it?
> ...



Tony, I'll pm you the recipe,

cheers


vl.


----------



## oneills (2/7/06)

Well Guys, here is my second attempt at filtering beer. Maybe i should have started a new post. 
The results are clearer to see - excuse the pun

This is a Munich Lager that was fermented in primary for 15 days. I would normally put into secondary for about 10 days but wanted to see if filtering would make the beer drinkable sooner.


----------



## vlbaby (2/7/06)

oneills said:


> Well Guys, here is my second attempt at filtering beer. Maybe i should have started a new post.
> The results are clearer to see - excuse the pun
> 
> This is a Munich Lager that was fermented in primary for 15 days. I would normally put into secondary for about 10 days but wanted to see if filtering would make the beer drinkable sooner.


Looks great oneills! But clear beer is not the prime reason for the long wait when making a lager. A lager beer needs the additional time for maturing. If your after a quick beer, your better off brewing ales.

vl.


----------



## tangent (2/7/06)

oneils, how much crud did you have left?
that's one hell of a difference!


----------



## oneills (2/7/06)

vl,
this beer has been kegged and will now be CCed for a month before drinking

tangent,
there didn't seem to be much left as it ends up in the filter cartridge, but after soaking in napisan solution overnight a fair bit comes out.


----------



## kwikkwaka (2/7/06)

Hi Oneills, I agree i think those results from filtering are great, (and i am not trying to be smart) but will CC'ing be of any value to you now. I was always under the impression that the yeast needed to be present when CC'ing? 

Anyway let us know the results

Take it easy :beerbang:


----------



## vlbaby (2/7/06)

kwikkwaka said:


> Hi Oneills, I agree i think those results from filtering are great, (and i am not trying to be smart) but will CC'ing be of any value to you now. I was always under the impression that the yeast needed to be present when CC'ing?
> 
> Anyway let us know the results
> 
> Take it easy :beerbang:


Your dead right kwikkwana,
The lagering process is performed purely by the suspended yeast. If you were to filter the beer before lagering, then the total amount of yeast left in solution will be reduced, meaning lagering will take a very long time to have any benefit. You much better to lager the beer first at 3-4 degC for 4-6 weeks, then after that if it still cloudy, you can filter it. But to be honest, I have done many lagers, and after 6 weeks in secondary there is no need for filtering anyway.

vl.


----------



## Ross (2/7/06)

vlbaby said:


> Your dead right kwikkwana,
> The lagering process is performed purely by the suspended yeast. If you were to filter the beer before lagering, then the total amount of yeast left in solution will be reduced, meaning lagering will take a very long time to have any benefit. You much better to lager the beer first at 3-4 degC for 4-6 weeks, then after that if it still cloudy, you can filter it. But to be honest, I have done many lagers, and after 6 weeks in secondary there is no need for filtering anyway.
> 
> vl.



This is quite an interesting subject & one I brought up quite a while back - what you state above is basically true & has certainly always been my take on lagering (Hence I used to never filter lagers). But having made 2 kegs of Schwarzbier for last years xmas case that finished at 1022 & was far too sweet. I left it CCing for over 3 months while I was travelling overseas - on my return the gravity hadn't moved one bit & it was still too sweet. So I kegged them both anyway (called it a sweet stout & made another Schwarz for the xmas case). Once carbonated, as you would expect, it didn't taste any different - However, after 3 - 4 weeks in the kegs, the sweetness dropped out & it developed into probably the nicest Schwarzbier I've ever made (competition results confirmed this). 
Using a 1 micron filter, doesn't remove all yeast, (you can easily prime & bottle), it just leaves you with a bright beer, like one that's been cc'ing until clear. A lager when "lagering" will become clear quite quickly, but the active yeast is still in suspension doing the work, my belief now, due to the feedback when I first posted this observation, is that the lager will still continue to "lager" even when filtered & carbonated. As a consequence, if I have an empty keg & a lager is ready for "lagering" I filter, carbonate & keg. If there isn't, I leave as normal in secondary, & simply keg it when one becomes free.
Enjoying an Oktoberfest & Bohemium Pils on tap at the moment, that were filtered/kegged 2 days ago after 1 week in secondary.

Cheers Ross


----------



## vlbaby (2/7/06)

ross,
I certainly would not rule out having to filter a lager, but i personally believe its best to do so after the lagering phase is complete not before. The reasoning behind this that a yeast cell as I understand is around 3-5 microns in size, so a 1 micron filter would remove a substantial quanitity of the yeast , but probably not all as you pointed out. However by reducing the yeast population so dramatically, it is going to take much longer for the few remaining yeast cells to clean up after themselves during the lagering phase.

This is just my own take, and not necessarily factual as I dont know how much yeast actually passes thru the filter. One things for certain though, if there was no yeast at all, then bottle carbonation would not be possible. So therefore some yeast is passing through the filter. The question is, is it enough for efficient lagering?


vl.


----------



## Tony (2/7/06)

Drinking a CAP at the moment. It was lagered for 3 weeks at 2 or 3 deg and is as clear as a schooner of new.

No filtering.

I have a lager in CC at the moment, been there for 2 weeks now.

Its crystal clear when i pour a bit out to try.

It was made with 80% JW pils, 10% JW wheat malt and 10% TF flaked maize. FWH with POR and 1/2g/L of tetnang at flame out.

going to be a great lawnmower beer

cheers


----------



## Ross (2/7/06)

Vlbaby,

I agree with you & all common sense would point that way as well. But with the ACTUAL results I've had, the carbonated lagering process has produced better results than a long secondary - why? is still a mystery to me & as I said, I still lager in secondary, unless I need a keg filling...

And yes, a filter is primarilly there to filter ales (or a lager that won't clear) IMO - where the CCing is simply removing the yeast.


cheers Ross


----------



## Denwa (21/7/06)

Im on the other side of the pond in British Columbia Canada. I bought a .35 micron cermaic filter that you have to have a special housing for. The filter on the surface of the cermaic and you can clean it bt sanding of a thin layer.

I had no success filtering with a .35 micorn absolute. The filter cloggs in seconds even at 40psi. In fact even using it for filtering water it trickles as compared to other filter types.

I currently filter using a 1 micron nominal filter in a normal housing type. It doesn;t make the beer bright but it does pull out a lot of yeast.

.35 micorn filters are considered "sanitary" filters as they will pull out bacteria as well. Most of the particles that are being pulled out with a .35 after filtration with a 1 micron filter are protien and tannins, not yeast.

I've been thinkning of building a dme rig but haven't had the time. I used to work at a brewery and that is what they used. Diatomaceous Erth filters are quite common in the brewing industry but I haven't seen a cheap homebrew setup yet. Anyone seen any decent plans?

I filter because in the summer I can't cold condition as I don't have the space for another fridge, but in the winter my gareage gets to about prefect lagering temps.


----------



## bindi (21/7/06)

I have now filtered 2 brews, Ok the beer I am drinking now is good [my Brumby mix] but close my eyes and it tastes the same, but, wow it is clear when I open them again.
The trouble is I am going blind and deaf [I was told IT  would send me blind <_< ] So it looks good but tastes the same.  but for Weizen it is not so????

Sorry BIG session on the 8.2% Belgian..Hic


----------

