Alright. I'm having trouble with filtering and it's already cost me dearly in lost batches. I have a plate and frame filter and I've been using HS-2000 sheets. Up until a week or so ago, filtrations have been going fine. I was using Irish Ale yeast from Wyeast. However, I started having problems filtering our brown ale and ended up having to filter it twice to make it bright. We're a brand new brewery and we're only brewing two beers right now. The brown ale was the only one giving me trouble. So, I switched to British Ale II yeast from Wyeast, which is a high-flocc yeast. Problems actually got worse and now I'm having the same trouble with our amber ale. I filtered our amber ale recently, thinking it ran clear, but I ended up having to sewer the batch because about a week after filtration, it started to taste like buttered popcorn. After dumping, I discovered a thin layer of dead yeast on the bottom of the bright tank.
Obviously, I'm having a problem with autolyzed yeast and I'm making changes to our post-fermentation procedure for chilling the beer. I've also contacted a yeast supplier for some advice which I'm going to follow. So, I think that part of the problem is solved.
The more immediate problem is the beer I have to filter right now. I know that if I don't filter that dead yeast out soon, I'm going to lose another batch. However, half-way through the second filtration of this amber ale, the beer started to run cloudy again and eventually there wasn't any difference between the beer going into the filter and what was coming out of the filter. I managed to score some HS-1600 filter sheets from a local brewpub for this filtration, but it's not helping. I know I'm filtering correctly because nothing has changed in the procedure from before and I've been running our transfers pretty slowly.
Shouldn't I be able to filter out that autolyzed yeast without so much trouble? Could the cloudiness be from something else? I'm not detecting any kind of infection or off flavors right now, and I'm sure I would considering how cloudy this is. I'm pretty sure it's not a protein or chill haze because of what happened to that batch that I dumped and finding the dead yeast. I don't think there is anything wrong with the filter itself, but I'm going to inspect all the plates more closely tomorrow. Is there anything I'm overlooking?
I need some real help, real soon.
Obviously, I'm having a problem with autolyzed yeast and I'm making changes to our post-fermentation procedure for chilling the beer. I've also contacted a yeast supplier for some advice which I'm going to follow. So, I think that part of the problem is solved.
The more immediate problem is the beer I have to filter right now. I know that if I don't filter that dead yeast out soon, I'm going to lose another batch. However, half-way through the second filtration of this amber ale, the beer started to run cloudy again and eventually there wasn't any difference between the beer going into the filter and what was coming out of the filter. I managed to score some HS-1600 filter sheets from a local brewpub for this filtration, but it's not helping. I know I'm filtering correctly because nothing has changed in the procedure from before and I've been running our transfers pretty slowly.
Shouldn't I be able to filter out that autolyzed yeast without so much trouble? Could the cloudiness be from something else? I'm not detecting any kind of infection or off flavors right now, and I'm sure I would considering how cloudy this is. I'm pretty sure it's not a protein or chill haze because of what happened to that batch that I dumped and finding the dead yeast. I don't think there is anything wrong with the filter itself, but I'm going to inspect all the plates more closely tomorrow. Is there anything I'm overlooking?
I need some real help, real soon.
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