Filtration

[bwarbiany]

Two things:

1) I get annoyed at kicking up sediment in my kegs whenever I move them, then having to run off half a pint to get clear beer again. This is primarily for ales.
2) I'd like to do lagers, without necessarily having two kegs existing purely as brite tanks with the dip tubes shortened and then having to transfer to a second keg.

So I'm thinking about something along these lines for transferring from fermenter to keg:

http://morebeer.com/view_product/5676/1 ... ate_Filter

A few questions...

First, the pads say they're designed for 5 gallons. Assuming I am starting with crash-cooled beer in the fermenter that usually comes out rather clear, would the 0.5-1.0 um filter pads be able to handle filtration on 10 gallon batches?

Second, when lagering, is it an acceptable process after the diacetyl rest (and then crash cooling in the fermenter) to transfer through this filter to the kegs, lager for >1 month, then serve directly out of the same kegs? Or would I then need to filter and transfer from my lagering kegs to serving kegs?

[StarRaptor]

When it comes to lagers I've found the process does a great job in clearing the beer for you. If I had to lager I would only do it at the very end when kegging

[JonW]

I just did my first filtering a couple of weeks ago. I had an extra 10 inch water filter canister, so I went that route. I used the 5 micron spun filters. They did a decent job, but I have now bought some 1 micron pleated (more surface area) filters off of ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0625726660
I'll be doing my next ones with the 1 micron filters.

Most of my beers come out pretty clear after crash cooling and then letting sit in the kegerator for a bit, but if you kick them up at all, you'll get some of the sediment going and that is what I'm trying to avoid.

[brianc]

Not much to add, other than I just picked up the same filter Brad linked to and plan on giving it a try soon. I was going to use it for some beers I recently served at a wedding, but ended up not doing it.

[BARL Brewing]

I have that plate filter. I used it once with bad luck, it leaked and it made a mess. Its likely I just did something wrong but it was kind of a pain. I plan to just go with some finings and a bright tank with a shortened dip tube next time.

[jward]

Two things:
1) I get annoyed at kicking up sediment in my kegs whenever I move them, then having to run off half a pint to get clear beer again. This is primarily for ales.
2) I'd like to do lagers, without necessarily having two kegs existing purely as brite tanks with the dip tubes shortened and then having to transfer to a second keg.

You know, strictly speaking, you don't need to cut the dip tube to use the keg as a bright tank. Let the keg sit like you always do. Enjoy the beer as it drops clear. If you need to move it, push it to another tank first. You wont have to push it again.

[maltbarley]

You know, strictly speaking, you don't need to cut the dip tube to use the keg as a bright tank. Let the keg sit like you always do. Enjoy the beer as it drops clear. If you need to move it, push it to another tank first. You wont have to push it again.

+1

I do this with kegs I need to take somewhere, the others just R.I.P.

[bwarbiany]

Two things:
1) I get annoyed at kicking up sediment in my kegs whenever I move them, then having to run off half a pint to get clear beer again. This is primarily for ales.
2) I'd like to do lagers, without necessarily having two kegs existing purely as brite tanks with the dip tubes shortened and then having to transfer to a second keg.

You know, strictly speaking, you don't need to cut the dip tube to use the keg as a bright tank. Let the keg sit like you always do. Enjoy the beer as it drops clear. If you need to move it, push it to another tank first. You wont have to push it again.

I like this idea in theory, and when I build my keezer, it'll work for me. Unfortunately, my kegerator barely fits 3 kegs, and any time I have to access one of the kegs (or the regulator, which sits behind the kegs) I pretty much have to move them a bit.

[bwarbiany]

JonW,

So, something like this should work for me?

http://www.amazon.com/Culligan-RVF-10-R ... B0010EEVR8

I see that as potentially being easier to disassemble & clean [sanitize] between uses, and a single filter should do the job for a 10 gallon batch...

Filters might be a bit more expensive, but I don't mind that if it gets the job done.

[bwarbiany]

When it comes to lagers I've found the process does a great job in clearing the beer for you. If I had to lager I would only do it at the very end when kegging

When doing a lager, can I leave the beer on the yeast during the lagering phase? If so, I can lager it in place for ~1 month, then push through the filter to kegs, and [if necessary] lager another week or two. I only currently have one fridge for ferment/lagering, so having the fermenter tied up is no different than having kegs tied up, as I wouldn't be able to use the fridge for fermenting the next batch anyway.

[JonW]

JonW,

So, something like this should work for me?
http://www.amazon.com/Culligan-RVF-10-R ... B0010EEVR8

Yes, that would work, but Ebay has them cheaper. I think filter costs are actually less for these than the plate filters and you can easily do 10 gallons on a filter. You can also clean the filters and re-use them.

Another thought about the 10" cartridge filter housing - you can tweak it to use it as a Randall also!

[dhempy]

FWIW ... I typically do not leave lagers on the yeast for lagering ... and you may wish to revisit Brewmaster Brad's gelatin technique (I've been wanting to try it but haven't brewed in a while) as a precursor to filtering to minimize particulates caught by the filter.

Dan

[bwarbiany]

FWIW ... I typically do not leave lagers on the yeast for lagering ... and you may wish to revisit Brewmaster Brad's gelatin technique (I've been wanting to try it but haven't brewed in a while) as a precursor to filtering to minimize particulates caught by the filter.

I'm a huge gelatin proponent. I typically use gelatin and a cold crash in the fermenter before transferring to kegs normally to aid in clarity, but that's a 2-3 day cold crash, not the weeks involved in lagering.

[StarRaptor]

When it comes to lagers I've found the process does a great job in clearing the beer for you. If I had to lager I would only do it at the very end when kegging

When doing a lager, can I leave the beer on the yeast during the lagering phase? If so, I can lager it in place for ~1 month, then push through the filter to kegs, and [if necessary] lager another week or two. I only currently have one fridge for ferment/lagering, so having the fermenter tied up is no different than having kegs tied up, as I wouldn't be able to use the fridge for fermenting the next batch anyway.

When I lager I first wait to see when activity in primary is slowing then raise the temperature for my Diacetyl rest for a couple of days before racking to secondary. I think the rule of thumb off the top of my head is 1 week for every 10 points of gravity from OG to FG

[dhempy]

FWIW ... I typically do not leave lagers on the yeast for lagering ... and you may wish to revisit Brewmaster Brad's gelatin technique (I've been wanting to try it but haven't brewed in a while) as a precursor to filtering to minimize particulates caught by the filter.

I'm a huge gelatin proponent. I typically use gelatin and a cold crash in the fermenter before transferring to kegs normally to aid in clarity, but that's a 2-3 day cold crash, not the weeks involved in lagering.

Precisely ... use the gelatin as you're starting to drop the temp for lagering ... it generally takes me a couple of days to drop the temp after my diacetyl rest. I usually transfer off the yeast at lagering temps leaving as much yeast behind as I can.

Dan