Anyone use a plate filter from conical to keg

[jturman35]

Hey guys was wondering if anyone filters their beer straight from the conical. I have a Spike CF5 and glycol chiller and want to start filtering. Anyone do this straight out of the conical?

 

[IslandLizard]

Main problem is oxygen. It's beer's nemesis.
If you're able to prevent any O2 exposure during the priming and filtering process, it should work. We're talking about keeping residual DO levels in the final beer to only a few ppb, so keep that in mind.
You may also lose some beer due to priming and what's left in the system.

But why not cold crash for a few days to a week with or without gelatin? Instead, to free up your fermenter, you could transfer to a brite tank or kegs, and cold crash those.

 

[jturman35]

I can cold crash in my conical prior to using the plate filter. I can also purge my conical with co2 which is what I’m doing now. I see no reason I can just install a plate filter inline when I rack from my conical to keg.

I believe filtering clears beer to a whole new level compared to gelatin.

 

[IslandLizard]

I can cold crash in my conical prior to using the plate filter. I can also purge my conical with co2 which is what I’m doing now. I see no reason I can just install a plate filter inline when I rack from my conical to keg.

I believe filtering clears beer to a whole new level compared to gelatin.

It's not the conical that needs to get purged, it's your filter system. Your conical should contain near 100% CO2 in the headspace already from fermentation. You just maintain it.

Purging with CO2 just mixes the gasses present, such as O2, you can never eliminate them, leaving a reduced, but still fair amount behind even after 10-20 purges.
The larger the volume the more CO2 is needed/wasted. A 100% liquid prepurge is much closer to ideal with 100% replacement, if done right.

 

[FunkedOut]

I’m thinking of the same. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[melp]

I've made wine for years. Tried same type principles on beer. Doesn't work. I ran beer through a vino plate filter that I use for wine. It removed the hop and beer flavor. Talked to my beer supply guy. He said forget about making beer like wine. JMHO.

 

[IslandLizard]

I've made wine for years. Tried same type principles on beer. Doesn't work. I ran beer through a vino plate filter that I use for wine. It removed the hop and beer flavor. Talked to my beer supply guy. He said forget about making beer like wine. JMHO.

Many (or most) commercial breweries filter or centrifuge most of their beer before packaging to a) remove yeast for stability and prevent potential bottle bombs, b) remove haze for a clearer beer presentation. Now if flavor and aroma components are attached to the yeast and larger haze causing molecules (proteins), and are thus filtered out together with them, they will negatively impact flavor and aroma, sure.

But most flavor and aroma compounds are on a much smaller, molecular level and cannot be easily filtered out. Your plate filter won't strip those flavors out either, but can cause serious beer oxidation that ruins hop and malt sensation quickly when allowing O2 to exist within the system.