Brew UK Forum | General Brewing Discussions
Filter beer for a clear finish
Hi guys it me again
I had a thought about my latest brew sitting in the fermenter, if I used a fine nylon straining bag or even a pair or sterilised tights and strained my brew into the secondary being careful not to introduce too much oxygen and do the same into my bottling bucket will this clear my beer at all and will there be enough yeast to carbonate the beer ok ?
Cheers guys
Sam
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Carbonation won't be a problem unless you microfilter but I would be concerned about contamination/oxidation.
If you are going to do it then it would probably be better to use a proper wine filter.
Why do you want to? If you want it clearer prior to bottling then just move somewhere cooler and leave it for a week or two before you bottle.
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I would like to achieve as clear a beer as possible
The galaxy ipa I'm making has more hops and I plan to dry hop as well so I've used Irish moss 15 min from end of boil I filtered it slightly before pitching my yeast by straining the beer though a cotton t-shirt when transferring to the fermenter and plan to chill it down out in the shed for a week before or after I dry hopped (not sure which will be more effective)
I have some isinglass flakes but have been put off with the whole preparing of it and thought of putting though the nylon bag or wine filter as Greg suggested to try and get it crystal clear
Do you think this is a little over the top ? Or do you think the effort will pay off if contamination/ oxidation is avoided ?
Thanks
Sam
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
I guess like most things give it a go. I have a customer who filters all his beer but he uses a Buon Vino minijet and they are pricey.
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
As Im paranoid about all things contaminaty (is that a word???? probably not) I would primary, into secondary and dry hop for 5-7 days then chill in the shed for a week or 2 and bottle, and i'd still be nervous!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Cool, Thanks guys
What are your thought on isinglass, I understand this can be used in addition to Irish moss finings
But the prep puts off and that the fact the beer has to be drunk with in 3 months ( not that I'm expecting any to be left )
Sam
Posted 1 year ago by Member
You have pure isinglass? I would suggest just buying finings and use those. I've used Young's for years for all manner of things, not just brewing and find them very effective. Better than filtration.
Isinglass (ichthyocol) is a pretty pure form of gelatine, but is primarily used in the fining of white wine rather than beer.
If you are worried that the beer might have become slightly oxidised, I would suggest getting some PVPP (polyvinlypolypyrrolidone - okay, I admit I did have to check the spelling on Google) which is basically a form of finely ground plastic; very good at removing phenols associated with mild-oxidation from solution.
Cold stabilisation may also be of interest to you. Chilling the beer to around -2C (for your beer of ~7%, this is just above freezing) for around a week will cause crystallisation of the solid particles which then drop the the bottom. All you would have to do is syphon off the liquid, though this is not the most practical method of clearing a beer I can think of!
But yeah, back to the point - I use Youngs finings and they work very well.
Fermenting: Damson pale
Conditioning: Morello Cherry Lambic 2
Drinking: Schneider Weisse Tap 7 clone, Morello Cherry Lambic 1, Rauchbier
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Steve, I picked up the isinglass flakes from a brew shop in Edinburgh whilst on some retail therapy it was only a couple of quid and only read this is what commercial brewers use so i thought ah f*@k it and got it along with Irish moss which was recommended by the shopkeeper.
after looking into it further im dubious if its worth it as to me the cons outweigh the pro's but the cold stabilization method sounds interesting as I have a chest freezer my fermenter will fit in nicely.
Will keep you posted if i decide to try it, tried my way to Amarillo again tonight and its cleared significantly in the last two days with no finings at all so I think I may have been worrying about how clear this next brew will turn out a lil too much maybe the Irish moss and cold conditioning should be sufficient enough to clear it.
Thanks again for all your advice
Sam
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Isinglass is a very effective finnings but they do take a bit of preparation.
The reason breweries use them is so that the beer settles down quickly once its been moved around as landlords don't like to have to wait weeks for beer to clear again after its been delivered.
There is a good article here on finnings and uses.
http://www.murphyandson.co.uk/BrewingArticles/AllBright.htm
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
I prefer to do things au naturale if I can.
Isinglass is used by many brewers to fine their beers and does a much better job than gelatine and will re settle easier if disturbed. A drawback is that it works best below 15c and if you are warm conditioning at a temperatre like 20c then it will denature and wont perform as it should do.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Would like to get my beers as clear as possible. Does anybody filter their beers like this ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_pb4YyBc_Q&feature=related
Beer filtration system.
Fermenting : Spitfire Clone
Conditioning : Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
Planning : Speckled Hen Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Er. No.
What is that filter anyway and how much would that set up cost?
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
http://www.screwfix.com/p/high-capacity-water-filter-kit-10/16747
Fermenting : Spitfire Clone
Conditioning : Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
Planning : Speckled Hen Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Wonder if this can be connected to the 'out' of the corny then the other side to the dispensing tap, so that the beer is filtered on the way out.
Fermenting : Spitfire Clone
Conditioning : Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
Planning : Speckled Hen Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Don't know about carbonated beer being forced through a filter. Should have a good head of it!
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Bought a filter and connected it up to my corny........but had the wrong filter cartridge (Coconut Carbon) which converted my ale back to water ! No taste or smell amazed that it can do this. Going to change the filter for a 5 micron sediment filter which is only £ 3, which should keep all the flavour and aroma but remove micro particles that cause the beer looking cloudy.
Fermenting : Spitfire Clone
Conditioning : Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
Planning : Speckled Hen Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Id be interested to see how this develops mate as my last pale still hasnt dropped clear and although its fine to drink with a little haze it would be nice to have it crystal. I wonder how long the filter would last?
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Rich the filter you linked too says it comes with a 5 micron filter ? Was it this one that turned your beer back into water ?
Did you connect it to your corny
Sam
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
I believe the filter he used was a carbon one, hes getting the micron filter next.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Yes, the filter kit came with the coconut carbon filter which wasn't the one I wanted....I didn't know this until I got back home and opened it up. Anyway I thought I would give it a go as I wanted to see how it would work.
I connected it up to my corny just like the video I posted on here from you tube.....but I only filtered half a pint of wherry as I wanted to see what happened as I'm still experimenting. When I tasted it, it had lost all flavour and smell and the colour had changed and now looked more like dish water ! Yuk! So I now know not to use a carbon filter as this is too much. All I want to do is remove sediment only so I will change the filter on Monday to a sediment one.
By the way the wherry I'm filtering tastes bloody lovely and will make this one again.....it's just that I'm near the end of it and wanted to try filtering ready for my next brew. I find that although my brews do clear after awhile, they are never quite crystal clear.
Fermenting : Spitfire Clone
Conditioning : Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
Planning : Speckled Hen Clone
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