The Role of Filtration in Beer Brewing

Beer filtration is one of the most important production processes in beer production, which affects the appearance, taste and shelf life of beer. The selection of raw materials, the design of the brewery and the process adopted play an important role in the quality of the final product, but the invasion of particulate impurities and destructive microorganisms is also inevitable. This article will explore the importance of beer filtration, let us explore together.

Purpose of beer filtration

Beer is made from malt, rice, hops and water as the main raw materials, fermented by yeast, and is a low-alcohol beverage containing carbon dioxide. Filtration can remove impurities and microorganisms in beer that affect the taste and quality. Beer will produce some sediment during the brewing process. If these sediments are not removed, the beer will become turbid and the taste will deteriorate.

More important than the appearance and taste of beer is the quality. Filtration can remove yeast and other microorganisms and prevent beer from being contaminated.

Filtration Process

Filtration is the process of removing solid particles from a liquid through a porous medium. The effectiveness of filtration depends on the particle size and porosity of the filter medium. If the suspended materials in the liquid are larger than the pore size, they will remain on or in the filter medium. Most beers sold today are filtered to some degree. Particle size removal ranges from molecular level in water filtration to removing entire hops after boiling water.

There are two basic types of filtration

• Depth filtration, also called powder filtration, uses a complex maze of channels in the filter media to capture particles. Depth filtration is often considered coarse or primary filtration.

• Surface filtration uses a membrane material with a pore size smaller than the particles to be removed. Particles are retained on the filter surface as the clarified liquid flows through.

Relationship between beer filtration accuracy and beer quality

Depending on the viscosity of the material and the content of floating matter, membranes with different pore sizes can be selected to achieve the purpose of clarification and separation. The high filtration accuracy of beer can only indicate that the finished beer has higher non-biological stability and biological stability. The non-biological stability and biological stability of finished beer are only part of the quality of beer.

The higher the filtration accuracy of beer, the greater the damage to the taste, alcohol content and foam quality of the finished beer. Therefore, the filtration accuracy of beer should not be excessively pursued, and the filtration accuracy of beer should be adapted to the consumer market.

Ensuring deliciousness

Ultimately, it comes down to making sure your filtration process produces a final product you can be proud of, while also having a great taste. This unique process will be an important part of your successful beer brand. However, there is a big difference in appearance between a commercial lager and a cloudy homebrew. Many brewers prefer a cleaner-looking beer and don’t want to wait months for the last particles to settle.