How to Filter Sediment Out of Beer

A big part of the brewing process, once you get a real handle on your ingredients and just making the actual beer, is figuring out if and how to filter sediment out of beer.

And that “if” is a critical piece of this puzzle.

After all, what are you filtering out if you do decide to filter?

What Is the Sediment in Beer?

We hear a lot about sediment in beer, about chill haze, and about cloudy beer versus clear beer, but what is actually going on here?

Well, you see, beer was never meant to be clear.

From the beginning of time, brewers have harvested grain, cracked it open, boiled it, added hops, and then allowed yeast to ferment the resulting liquid – wort.

Virtually every step in that process involves releasing nutrients like proteins and polyphenols, among others, into what was once just water.

Indeed, when the yeast begins fermenting the wort, still more nutrients are created, and large molecules will gather in beer to create a cloudy effect.

That cloud effect, also called haze, is completely natural, and sometimes those proteins and polyphenols will gather at the bottom of the beer, and you might get a mouthful.

Is Sediment in Beer OK to Drink?

And yes, it is perfectly safe to drink.

If anything, the sediment in beer can be considered highly nutritious – it is yeast and protein after all!

Think of it as probiotics – the healthy organisms that live in your gut to keep your entire microbiome running smoothly – and prebiotics – the food those probiotics eat.

We see sediment in wine, in cider, and in beer, and in each case it is perfectly normal.

Indeed, we only started filtering out sediment in the 1800s when beer became commercialized at the same time French Scientist Louis Pasteur discovered germs.

The world seemingly lost its mind, and we began to hyper sanitize everything.

The demand for a super clean environment led to a demand for clear beer.

The thinking was that the clearer the beer was, the cleaner it must be.

Obviously, today we know that hyper sanitization was a big mistake; we’ve only created super bugs that can now resist all efforts to kill them.

And we know that clear beer is not necessarily better beer; at the very least, it is not better or cleaner merely based on its clarity.

Sediment is perfectly safe to drink.

Do You Have to Filter Out Sediment?

All of these conclusions leave many brewers wondering if filtering out sediment is even necessary.

After all, because sediment is natural and safe, why not just leave it in?

There is the aesthetic reason, of course.

Many beer drinkers are still convinced that clarity means better, and there may be some brewers out there still willing to cater to a crowd that simply expects to see a clear beer.

Then there is the issue of mouthfeel.

A hazy beer will provide a thicker feeling when drunk, filling up the mouth with those proteins and polyphenols.

But the reality is that an increasing number of beers need to have haze and require sediment.

For example, beers with high protein grains like wheat and oats are designed to have haze. All that extra protein would be virtually impossible to filter out and defeat the entire purpose of working with a high protein grain in the first place.

Imagine a wheat beer without its haze or an oatmeal stout without its cascading foam and settled richness.

Impossible.

Thus, in many cases, not only do you not have to filter out sediment, but also your customers may be eager for a hazy brew.

How to Filter Sediment Out of Beer

If what you are aiming for is simply a clearer beer with less sediment at the bottom of the bottle, you can always take extra steps during brewing to naturally allow the sediment to work its way out.

Add Fining Agents During the Boil

Your first option would be to add a fining agent called Irish Moss to your brew kettle about 15 minutes before the end of the boil.

Irish Moss will encourage proteins in your wort to clump together and make them easier to separate out when you move your wort to the fermenter.

Rack Twice

The second option is to give your beer time to settle the sediment out itself. The reality is that today most brewers who still filter beer do so only to speed up the brewing process and get their beer on the shelf.

If you can, take your time and move your beer through both primary and secondary fermentation.

This extra step will allow you to rack your beer twice, essentially straining out all larger sediment along the way and leaving behind only the finest properties.

It is critical to remember also that if you plan to bottle condition your beer, you will want those fine properties – most of which are going to be yeast cells, which will feed on added sugar and provide extra carbonation to your beer.

Add Fining Agents to Secondary Fermenter

Finally, if you are determined to clarify your beer, you can also add gelatin or isinglass during secondary fermentation, which will speed up the clarification process. Those fining agents will bind themselves to any remaining proteins and yeast cells to settle out of the beer.

Invest in a Filter

In the end, if you are still determined to actually filter your beer, you will need to purchase CO2 lines and a plate-style single use paper filter, which can be used multiple times in the same day, and force carbonate your beer while running it through the filter at the same time.

Your best bet is to invest in both a 3 micron filter, to run beer through first, and a 1 micron filter to run beer through afterward, ensuring the large molecules don’t clog the smaller filter and that even the smallest molecules are captured.

Cheers!

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Sources:

1. https://beerandbrewing.com/ask-the-experts-advice-on-filtering-for-homebrewing/#:~:text=To%20solve%20this%20problem%2C%20the,through%20it%20to%20flush%20it
2. https://blog.homebrewing.org/filtering-beer-before-bottling/#:~:text=Filtering%20a%20beer%20before%20bottling,%2C%20try%20beer%20finings%2C%20first
3. https://www.firestonebeer.com/whats-the-sediment-at-the-bottom-of-my-beer/#:~:text=So%2C%20while%20the%20sediment%20may,of%20an%20authentic%20hazy%20beer

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