Brewpub Filtration

[Woolsocks]

Wondering what people recommend for filtration in a brewpub, where shelf-life is a non-issue, a few yeasties in the bright tank is a good thing for anti-oxidation, and the only reason to filter is to make pretty beer?

I've struggled through a year-long learning curve on the Velo Horizontal leaf and have found "27M" perlite works nicely for me. I recently began adding 1#/15 bbls of Divergan F to the precoat. Before the PVPP, I had to run the filter pretty slow to get all the visible haze, but I could not detect any flavor stripping in the finished product. After adding PVPP to the process, I can run the filter quicker and still get good clarity, but I think I'm getting some loss of flavor

Given that all I really care about is getting a "clear", not necessarily "brilliant" product, and I don't want to taste any difference due to filtration, should I be using PVPP? How about a coarser grade of perlite?

[gitchegumee]

I've had the best luck selling the DE filter and going with well-made fermenters, careful yeast management, low crash temperatures, pulling yeast daily, and transfer to the brights WITHOUT filtering at all. Better beer with less equipment/costs. I wouldn't do it any other way. In my opinion, the only reason to filter is for aesthetics. Your preferences will vary. Good luck!

[scott isham]

I think for 15 bbls. a simple plate and frame with 3 micron sheets is more than enough for a brewpub, although I think with finings and careful cellering, you might not need to filter.

[Woolsocks]

The "not filtering" option would be ideal, but there are some restrictions that sort of force me into it: We have a narrow brewery and, therefore, tall narrow fermenters, slowing flocculation. We also have a yeast that takes awhile to floc, and to keep up with demand, we have to turn our house ales out, grain-to-glass, in 2-3 weeks. I've had limited success with finings, but I admit I haven't pursued it all that vigorously either.

Given that I already own the leaf filter and have spent a year battling with it before getting to the point where I win most of the battles, I'd like to stick with it. Just looking for how to make the beer pretty without stripping flavor.

[Captain Mullet]

White Labs has around 13 different yeasts both ales and lagers that have a high flocculation rate and I have used most of them with great success. The last time I used a filter was about two to three years ago and most of all my beers currently are crystal clear. Another thought is using gelatin to speed in flocculation. In the past I have dissolved approximately 2 grams for every 10 bbls of Knox unflavored gelatin in a liter of boiled water and added this to the bright beer tank. It tends to take around 48 hours for every 10 bbls to drop out the yeast.

[jsvoboda]

I have not filtered a beer in 6 years. Finnings work well for me. My technique is to use Biofine (isinglass) and a zerogel that I add to the bright tanks. I am also using WL 02 that flocks so well you can hear it shack the floor when it drops. And as already stated, there are pleny of 1968 clones out there that all drop well. I also recommend break bright in the copper. I'd be happy to tell you my dosing rates if you wish. I am a Big fan of bright beers so anything under say18 srm gets a dose. What I did was remove the carb stones and place a stand pipe where the stone was. I really don't have bright tanks, they are simple serving tanks. My beers are generally near brilliant, always bright. For me, two days is long enough for the beer to drop clean. Sell your filter, save the cash and effort. The beer will be better. Let's face it, filters rip the crap out of beer. Good luck

[Bob Tyler]

Look into lenticular filters. They are easy to use and have extremly low beer losses. The filters can be rused several times and come in many micorn sizes. They are ideal for brew pubs.

Bascially these are sheet filters but an enclosed system....

bob

[JoeV]

I was in the don't filter it will strip your beer camp before I got a decent plate and frame. It is true that filtering can remove flavor from beer. I actually see an improvement using a coarse filter 13 micron. It clears the beer sufficient to meet production timelines and and actually improves the flavor of the beer. I have used a 3 micron just for kicks and it does take a lot of flavor out of the beer.