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Beer Filtration
(selected excerpts)Extended lagering periods and the addition of flocculation aids both greatly reduce yeast and haze loadings. Centrifuges are mainly used in the preliminary reduction of suspended particles, primarily in yeast before sending to the conditioning tanks. Although these methods are very effective in prefiltering the beer, a final filtration is needed to remove residual yeast, other turbidity-causing materials, and microorganisms in order to achieve colloidal and microbiological stability.
If there is a significant quantity of suspended material to be removed, powder filters using diatomaceous earth or perlite must be employed. Although powder filters can produce beer of acceptable brilliance after a single filtration, a two-stage filtration process is needed for a final polish. Polish filtration may employ a sheet filter, used as an intermediate step in handling heavier loads, followed by a cartridge filter.
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