My First Filtering Attempt

[oneills]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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