Can you FILTER Homebrew for less than $20?

[@Jamesim82]

Hey guys! I'm the one who recommended the filters. I've never tried using with such a cloudy brew, so that was interesting. I'm thinking maybe that was one of the filters that aren't actually 1 micron, and are closer to 3 microns, because I've never filtered anything and had it come out so cloudy, and it usually comes out a little slower (but, it still seems like less time than pasteurizing, racking, etc.). Maybe it's because there's smaller particulates getting through. I'm not too sure. But, I was happy to see you all experimenting with it, and appreciate you taking the time to make a video on it.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

My guess too. A 1 micron filter would run through much more slowly.

[@KetchPhraz]

I think the reason the tea wine didn't clear up very well is because tea contains a lot of pectin, and from what I read pectin particles have a size of about half a micron.

[@NemoTrostle]

My guess with this would be that the person who recommended it also uses the auto siphon which would be much slower than pouring and so in that example you probably wouldn't notice much of a difference and by the time you get to the really goopy stuff the clearer stuff has already gone through.

[@SA12String]

Suggestion: Send them one of your filters.

[@Jamesim82]

@jeremiahbullfrog9288: Always glad to meet a fellow fungi enthusiast! I use the same for those endeavors, and I've thought about trying a smaller filter size, but have had good luck with the 1 micron filter socks, so far. @SA12String: I definitely would, but unfortunately I gave away the extra one thinking I could just buy more. But, when I went to Amazon a day or 2 ago, to get a link for them, the product is no longer carried (it shows the "uh-oh" screen with a dog, and then shows similar items for sale). And, all the other filter socks I checked have customer reviews saying they aren't 1 micron, have a metal ring that immediately rusts, or some other issue. So, I'm not even sure where I'll go if/when I need to replace the one I have.

[@-Tecky-]

I asked this question and you guys delivered. This is why I love you guys. I’m in the process of making my first 4 gallons of wine, and testing 1 gallon of mead and one gallon of cider!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Awesome!

[@solarguy6043]

The fuller you fill the filter, the faster the liquid will drain out b/c you are using so much more surface area of filter material. AND the head pressure goes up substantially if the filter bag is full-ish. Super interesting episode.

[@walterbunn280]

Progressively reductive filtering tends to have better results because it makes the particle sizes more homogenous, forcing them to kind of 'crash out' of solution. It would add some time to bottling your brew though. Pasturization is still going to give better transparency though, since it will break down starch and pectin into simpler sugars, allowing them to dissolve into the water. Shaking the filters can speed up the rate at which things filter through them, but it might require a larger catchment.

[@jakobtonkin9712]

Also i appreciate you uploading what seems like a fail, at least clearing wise. Its really nice to get things debunked. I dont know why someone would use this over pasturising. Pasturising is easy, reliable and seems to only improve mead

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Exactly.

[@candyce2144]

I found that pasteurizing made my mead so much better! It really did pull some extremes together and make them less harsh.

[@jakobtonkin9712]

@@candyce2144 yup I recommend it wholeheartedly. Much better than messing around with chemicals

[@Creedlafreniere]

I use a inline filter on my tubing for this problem for sediment.

[@PatrickBuckles]

Great vid. Thanks for showing exploration and fails... not just successes with bloopers (great content by itself tho)

[@kedricwilliams5287]

I use 2 screens every time. The first is a brew bag. I strain ALL liquid and squeeze everything out. I then use a very fine filter. It's very worth it because you get MUCH more mead from the berries. Just dump the fine lees at the end. Another great video yall!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We just prefer to let it sit and rack. Works just fine.

[@kedricwilliams5287]

@@CitySteadingBrews you're right. I'm just saying I've noticed you get another bottle if you strain.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I don't even lose a whole bottle most times to loss :)

[@phillipcourtnier9556]

Very interesting. Looking forward to the next test you all do on the yeast removal!

[@KAD2]

Hey guys, first stumbled across your beginners mean video about a week ago, and tonight I made my first batch! It’s sitting in my tub right now. Keep up the great work and I’ll try to let you know how it’s coming along in a few weeks. But for now, we’re going to let it sit.

[@captainhennahead2323]

I just read the comment about this last night! I'll be darned!!! Lol. I'm getting my homebrew supplies for my birthday in December so, I'm studying up until then. I was very curious about this filter suggestion.

[@ghoppr71]

Thanks for the vid... TRBOS makes an appearance!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It does!

[@even7steven]

Ironically, pouring tea into a bag 😂

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Lol, yeah, hadn't thought of that.

[@CanadianPenguin_]

I know people who use those for the first filtering of used engine or veg oil for making their own diesel fuel.

[@charlesdevier8203]

I have started drinking some pear wine (with a few raisins) which I made last October. It has a lot of sediment; I should have racked one or two more times. However, I like it the way it is, with a lot of "body".

[@BinManSays87]

There's such a thing known as a sawyer mini or well countless other camping water filters some are pumps, I can only assume they'd do a better job and or at least keep air away from a brew. Granted it'd be one hell of a pricey experiment

[@Kyle-cq8yo]

I haven't tried it myself but I agree. The sawyer mini is meant to be inline with tubing so wouldn't be hard to add while racking. It would definitely be slow but you get 0.1u filtration.

[@PacesIII]

I wonder if a centrifugal motion would help settle lees and other sediment to the bottom of a brew...? Something kind of like what they do with blood samples it would just have to be something much bigger. Maybe a device that could do the same thing but hold 5-gallon buckets or whatever you're brewing in and it would probably have to spend much much slower. But I wonder if something like that would assist in settling for racking.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

No idea :)

[@RogerS1978]

Also thinking about it, I used to test water for bacteria using 2µm fiters and to get them to let water through you had to draw a vacuum, the flow rate you've got is a lot higher than I'd expect from a 1µm filter. I'd be interested in seeing it on a clearer mix, perhaps you could pass the lees through for one of the next clear brews to see what happens.

[@shadowcatX2000]

I would love to see this used on the lees.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We used it on the bottle sediment.

[@shadowcatX2000]

@@CitySteadingBrews Bottle sediment is not the same composition as lees.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Actually it is lees... just a smaller amount.

[@RogerS1978]

@@CitySteadingBrews agreed but the amount of tannins in the tea wine make it hard to tell what's in there. Something clearer would make it easier to see what's left.

[@zinckensteel]

I am aware of vacuum filtration funnels which will more or less sterilize the liquid passed through - these are widely available in many sizes as a standard laboratory "single use" disposable plastic item.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yup. I would think it's pricey though.

[@zinckensteel]

@@CitySteadingBrews It probably is, especially compared to standard sanitary practices, fining agents, and racking. Brew on, my ferment friends!

[@comptegoogle511]

The haze might not be coming from particles in suspension but from a white liquid in the solution like starch.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

There's no starches in a tea wine.

[@jakobtonkin9712]

Interesting. Ive found pasturising and bentonite clay have been giving me crystal clear mead, 9/10, with the only batch it failed to clear was a strawberry mead. Hoping pectin enzyme will be the last thing for that. Id worry about the bags getting damaged and clogged. Small twars over time, yeasts gets through, bottle goes bang. Still a very cool idea to significantly reduce waste. Id also worry about if you put it in the fementer, when you get low in the bottle and get near disturbed lees, itll clog up massively.

[@redbirdsrising]

Yeah, I swear by Bentonite to clear my brews. I use it in secondary. Just stir it around once a day for about 5 days, then let it settle. Crystal clear in less than a month. I know there are other clearing agents but Bentonite seems to be the most hassle free and easy to store.

[@clayrdean]

Have you ever done a beet wine? I made some years ago that was super simple and turned out great.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I made a beet juice wine once... was not a fan, lol.

[@GaBiggunn]

One thing I do for filtering. I get some of loose tea/coffee bags. I soak them in the sanitizer with the siphon wand. I then tie the bags around the end of the wand and then start the racking/bottling. This may not remove the yeast but it does remove most of the large particles and leaves me with a clearer brew.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Honestly, it's not doing much but the bigger particles. We don't do that and get clear brews. Most of what makes up lees is microscopic, but in suspension, enough of it becomes visible.

[@Skullspinx]

Maybe good for a second racking so there's not as much large sediment to clog it up?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yeah, gets larger things out is about it.

[@fustratedfisher]

In my opinion (which as you know everyone has one lol). I use bentonite and that clears up any brew I have made , it's really great. Still need to stabilize and I use campden tabs also but for the clarity it works without a doubt. And quickly

[@collinmustain1718]

I actually rigged up a system where I gravity filter through a 1 micron home water filter. it does work fairly well but is not flawless and is very time consuming. Also for one gallon I typically have to stop and rinse the filter at least once. I actually get better results from just cold shockin in a fridge for a week and then being more careful when siphoning.

[@collinmustain1718]

Additionally I believe they should be soaked first. If you start with a dry filter it seems like more large sediment gets through at the start but wetting it first reduces that

[@junethegreat2537]

Ex moonshiner here looking to see how the legal side is I wonder how pumpkin would be in mead or wine like truly tasting like pie but I like the education in these videos now binge watching getting this information I'll say the other way of making alcohol 😎 alot faster but them days for me are done

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Been told fermented pumpkin does not taste good.

[@ricksigurdson2016]

Cold crash it then filter. Take down to a couple degrees below freezing. I use a 10 inch 1 micron reusable sediment filter by Rainfresh in a clear housing. I use low pressure (2 to 3 psi) co2 to transfer. 2 64oz pet bottles with the filter between. Kegland fittings on a sodapop carbonation tee. They also have a manual air pump that fits the tee if you don't care about using air and putting a little oxygen in the brew. I do beer always and have done cider once. Works well. Seldom do I see any sediment. I use 2 litre and 8 litre pet bottle kegs and 12 litre and 19 litre steel ball lock kegs.

[@HarveyCoyle-u5v]

I just bought the Harris Vinbrite filter kit, not used it yet but looks promising but you do need to use finings first apparently.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yeah, and they tend to be messy and expensive to keep using. Most things clear on their own in time anyway.

[@SA12String]

Just like in air conditioning filters, the greater the surface area, the less static pressure produced by the filter. That's why you see some high performance furnace filters that seem like they would be the equivalent of putting a piece of plywood in the airflow. It's lots and lots of pleats, so that a MERV 16 14x25 filter, if taken apart, would be 20 feet long. A one micron filter is amazing, and would easily filter out most pollen, most smoke particles and certainly yeast. In fluids, it might take a long time, thanks to the greater viscosity of liquids. A very good filter would eventually produce an almost absolutely clear brew, with an undetectable amount of lees and no complete yeast organisms getting through.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

So you don't think it's really a 1 micron filter either.

[@dillonalseif1677]

Was wondering if "stressing yeast" makes the brew bad for you to drink? besides the bad flavors. I made that strawberry wine from your video matched the starting gravity 1.080 with 71b, but the first week it had a very strong pungent yeast with strawberry smell that could fill the whole room. The only explaination I could find says the yeast stressed and I followed your video to the tee. it fermented perfectly otherwise, nice color, 50/50 on kinda hazy, but the taste is on the bad side. it's like you ripped all the sugar out of the strawberry leaving just bitter and tart, and tastes like plain sugar water seperatly from eathother. Both flavors are seperate but there at the same time they don't blend together plus it burns your throat on the way down like you took a shot of whiskey yet it's only 12% abv. So i'm not sure if drinking it would make me sick haven't tryed more than just samples. I just started your grocery store basic mead and the first 4 days has the same yeasty smell but only 25%ish as strong as the strawberry. It hasn't finished yet so no idea if the taste did the same thing yet.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yeast can stress for a lot of reasons. Lack of beginning aeration is one and can cause smells during fermentation. Temperature can as well. Water content is another. Usually this will age out in time. Not a lot of homebrew tastes good in a week.

[@dillonalseif1677]

@CitySteadingBrews I think it might be the aeration. But that taste I explained was after 6 weeks and backsweetening. So I messed it up. Thank you for replying. Off flavors don't mean it's toxic in anyway right?

[@stevelamb5760]

hi i use a harris filter system its very good

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I'll check it out, thanks.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Do you mean pool filters?

[@candyce2144]

I would wonder if it doesn’t look clear because it’s super aerated at this point. I wonder what would happen if it sat for a time. But the aeration is an issue though, right?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It's not really aerated, or wasn't before I poured it.

[@candyce2144]

@@CitySteadingBrews I would think that the process of the liquid going through the filter and dripping into the glass would add micro pockets of air. This is wildly interesting though and would be great if it worked.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It was cloudy before we even started. :)

[@candyce2144]

@@CitySteadingBrews I saw that. Just wondering if it was clearer after it sat for some time. I promise I’m not trying to be a butt 😭

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It's over two years old in the bottle. No oxygen entered it in that time :)

[@shadowcatX2000]

One thing I think might be worth a try is using it in reverse. Put it around your syphon and cinch up the opening and then syphon into a clean vessel. Let the brew flow into the bag rather than flow out of the bag. Probably couldn't do it in a small neck but a wide neck fermenter would work fine with it like that and I wouldn't think it would give any extra risk of oxygenating.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

How would that change the filtration?

[@dhudach]

Yes, putting the siphon tube inside the bag would probably improve things. I do that when I rack now but I use two 75 micron bags and it siphons fine. With the bag around the siphon tube if things run slow, the vessel can be raised higher and the siphon tube can be moved around a bit in the liquid to try to release some of the particles that are sticking to the bag.

[@shadowcatX2000]

@@CitySteadingBrews It eliminates a lot of the problems, you don't have sediment clogging the bag because the fluid can flow through the whole of the bag, it removes risk of oxygenation because the bag is submersed while it's doing it's work. It won't make the brew clearer, but if it works it might make racking one and done.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

@shadowcatX2000 gotcha

[@LogicalNiko]

What you need to do with gravity fed filters with a lot of material is start at a much lower mesh and progressively step down. It’s the same method you do in chemistry when you can’t do vacuum filtration.

[@PacesIII]

Maybe something you could use for a first rack. I'll sink a nut bag in mine to keep the gunk out, dump the rest into the bag and squeeze it out. Still have sediment, but it's good for a first rack.

[@GOOSEYGOGGLESVR]

The liquid all seems to be coming through the....seam. Do you think the stitches arent actually 1 micron maybe?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The seam was simply the lowest point.

[@GOOSEYGOGGLESVR]

Aw for sure for sure, I more so meant do you think the filter itself is flawed because of that possibly?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

@GOOSEYGOGGLESVR I don't think so.

[@pedrorocha9629]

The amount of liquid poured in the bag influence the filtration ratio due to the weight of liquid at the top pressuring the liquid in the bottom, as the bag touching the already filtered liquid due to osmotic pressure. For a proper atmospheric filtration, that filter bag should be suspended and full for the fasted filtration possible, that's implicate in a certain height with obligatory dropping of the liquid and oxygenation. I think that in a home brew scenario only vacuum filtration is a viable option

[@pedrorocha9629]

Another thing. Yeast may be 3-5 microns, but some strains undergo autolysis after death, the hole yeast would be filtrated but not their fragments and cellular content. May be use the filter as a security measure in case of siphoning some less and any floating yeast.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Makes sense.

[@AirwolfCrazy]

I was so hoping that would have worked better. BTW, I hope you have not given up on the gardening channel. I would like to see more tips and ideas.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

She will post occasionally.

[@deathspade187]

What about using a water filter? Like a filter housing from the hardware store and a 1 micron filter

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Carbon removes flavors and tannins... not recommended.

[@rickmarshall3352]

Why don't you use clarifying agents like kieselsol and chitosan or bentonite? Why do I ask? I suspect that they would succeed at getting all that cloudiness to drop out and adhere to the agents making it a simple matter to rack off and/or filter.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I would prefer not to add fish parts to my brews. Bentonite if it's pure food grade is fine and we have some but ultimately clarity just doesn't really matter.

[@eroggero]

Nice experiment. I think if was was to try this . Probably would syphon it as my first rack, in theory it would leave a lot of the bigger gunk in the fermenter, alleviating the major clogging. Maybe it would be a one and done at that point.also Seems like would be faster than. Pasteurizing. Well keep trying😎👍

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Possibly. Still working out if this is useful or not.

[@johnlowry3057]

I am surprised that your tea wine is cloudy... been doing tea wine for ~20 years and never had a batch come out cloudy (usually just a tinge of 'tea' color and useable for 'mixing' with lower ABV products.) However, what I think would be a great experiment is to, after running this filter test, then taking the remainder cloudy tea wine and Sous Vid'ing it. As the liquid expands with heat, it becomes less buoyant and larger particles will precipitate (not sure that is exactly the right word... but lower density of the liquid can no longer support heavier particulates) out of must. Not sure your tea wine has large enough particles to fall out during sous vid, but worth a test. Sous Vid is what I use for clearing stubborn brews and it typically really helps. I believe Derica mentioned before that you have noticed sous vid helps with clearing. Again, doing the sous vid AFTER the filter would help show if sous vid is getting more out than the filter does. Just a thought for an experiment.

[@heatherford8311]

Hey!! Long time viewers!! We've watched just about every single video and have tried lots of recipes, currently have Kajit Blood brewing. We also tried your choc/pomegranate, but put our own spin on it and used Cherry juice and toasted Coconut flakes (tastes like a Cherry Ripe!). We have brewed a Cider with 100% apple juice for 1 week, then added Star Anise, Cinnamon Stick and a dash of vanilla = AMAZING And are 14%, Oops but very yummy

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Awesome!

[@heatherford8311]

​@@CitySteadingBrewsFYI Just tasted the brew with toasted coconut. It has turned out amazing with a very nice creamy flavour

[@HayesAllOVR]

Out of curiosity is it possible to use syrup over honey? I feel like it could make a really good dessert “mead”

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Syrup? What kind? Must be honey to be mead.

[@HayesAllOVR]

@@CitySteadingBrews like a maple syrup or something. I know it had to be honey to be mead that’s why I did the “”. Would syrup work the same though?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pomXlYFpbryor9Usi=9RO5m7smTeqV5X9R

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

What about a brita water filter pitcher. You always see those in videos.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Carbon filtering removes flavors and tannins.

[@DrZombie16]

Hey Brian, other Bryan again. If the day ever comes that you all need to replenish the sweet red wine reserves, could you do an updated version from start to finish? I know it's all the same process, but I feel better attempting it if I've seen it from start to finish. Thank you both for being an inspiration.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We have something like that coming in time.

[@DrZombie16]

​@CitySteadingBrews thank you very much, kind sir and madam.

[@justicemckay8582]

You should test whether it actually removed the yeast. Bottle the filtered brew and add sugar. If no carbonation occurs, it worked.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

That particular brew wouldn't ferment anyway, it's two years old, and past alcohol tolerance.

[@oubliette862]

There's a kind of apparatus that allows a vacuum to draw whatever is to be filtered through a funnel with whatever filter medium then into a flask much faster than gravity.

[@greeneyedmonstrosity]

I've used these in industrial applications behind pumps. I believe we were running 60-80 LPM. You can daisy-chain them together in their canister housings for progressively finer filtration. Seems like one could run a pressurized vessel (N2, Ar, CO2) through a bank of these. Dammit, now I have ideas.

[@Dominikmj]

If the bag is really 1 micron (given how quickly the brew went through I highly doubt that), living yeast cells won’t be able to get through, as they are about 3-4 microns. As said, 1 micron bag would probably take far more time to filter. It is also a quite strange narrative, to see how “quickly it filters” - because (at least after my understanding and experience)- the quicker something is filtering, the less through is the result.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I would think they might not be 1 micron.

[@delanododds3710]

What about using something like a brita filter? Plus my Blueberry Cider from your recipe looks to have carbonated and i am very pleased with it. thanks for your videos.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I don't believe it would work, let alone the amount of oxygenating that would happen. Best to just let time do it's thing. That type of filter would take out a lot of flavors and tannins too so it would ruin the wine most likely.

[@delanododds3710]

It would be nice to find something that would clear out the sediment for those that don't like the raw nature of home brew.@@CitySteadingBrews

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Racking multiple times, letting it sit, then bottling actually works. Even commercial wines will have sediment over time. The wine or mead or whatever is constantly changing so sediment will always be formed and will settle out over time.

[@jpowvens]

I have a 5 gallon apple mead going. Other than putting it into multiple gallon carboys, then pasteurizing that one at a time, I can't figure out how to pasteurizes 5 gallons at one time.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

That would work. Pasteurizing a 5 gallon fermenter would take forever anyway. Could even bottle and just not cap until pasteurized.

[@ekkoreigns]

This may be the solution to my quickly approaching issue. I have 3 gallons of mead in my carboy with meadow sweet flowers. I've passed it through a strainer when I transferred to the carboy, but I cannot get rid of ALL the meadow sweet particulates.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Let it sit... they should settle out. This filter is awful.

[@pboro1jawrattler]

Love your videos and I'm new heard and brewing my first tradition mead but I have also got myself a vinbrite wine filter which can clear up the liquid and should be quite inexpensive but I'm from the uk so prices may very

[@CitySteadingBrews]

They get pricey over time and make a huge mess!

[@ashcreekAER]

Red tart cherries are just out of season, can I use canned cherries in water (Oregon fruit brand) or fruit puree in a can?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Sure. Depending on your recipe nearly anything can be fermented.

[@ashcreekAER]

@@CitySteadingBrews Should I save the cherry water and use it for the mead? I figured it's less water to add and the water would have cherry sugar in it.

[@jamesvatter5729]

For one of my earliest wines I was told, "use coffee filters." Complete fail. I think you've confirmed there isn't a shortcut to filtering.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I did a video on those.... kzbin.info/www/bejne/l57Jq6CBndCra5Ysi=xxUD9cWvsCmhobjJ

[@keithmcauslan943]

My observation is the bag material may be 1 micron but how small is the stitching seam at the bottom. The seam can't be as small as the material also where the thread goes through are small holes larger than a micron. If there is a bag that is folded and seamed at the top? that might be better for filtering.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

That seems (hehe) to defeat the purpose so... I doubt that is the case. But who knows?

[@Doingitwithcharlie]

Off topic question!! I’m making some Meade/wine I’ve always used vanilla extract for flavor but I’ve found myself in possession of some very potent smelling Madagascar vanilla beans And would like to add a mild flavor to a gallon of wine/mead Does a little go a long way or do I need to use a whole bean or what?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

A little goes a long way but extraction time is important too.

[@chrismog5524]

Howdy again guys, I had a headspace question and didnt find an appropriate video to ask it on, so I'll risk it and ask here. :) Question is about headspace on secondary ferment. I only have a 1 gallon carboy and a pitcher. I know we have to leave some room for the initial ferment. My plan was to rack it out when its finished into the pitcher, then clean out and put it back into the carboy for a week for the secondary. Since we have to leave some room for initial and we lose some in the rack, is that going to be way too much space for the secondary even for a week or two?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Probably not an issue. Headspace is hugely overplayed.

[@martink9785]

How about something like a Sawyer water filter? They filter microbes out and dirt out to make water safe all over the world.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I haven't checked but most are carbon filters. Carbon will remove flavor and tannins.

[@martink9785]

@@CitySteadingBrews these aren't. They are more like a bunch of super fine fibres, kind of like what would be used in a kidney dialysis machine. Did a cursory check and they claim 0.1 micron.

[@Nefariousrouge]

I used to have a special cartridge filter that I got from a wine store decades ago, looked finer than coffee filters, but still didn’t work. Cold crash to clear and pasteurize to get rid of the live ones. Probably the only true method.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Agreed!

[@tylerstout1549]

Have you guys considered biting the bullet? I'm trying out a fiermtech mini or a buon vino filter which are both designed for micro batch home brewers? Would be interested to see how they work and if they might be a worthwhile consideration for serious small batch. Hobbyists

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Not really. I looked into it but they seem very wasteful. Clarity isn't of ultimate importance for us. They waste a lot of product via leakage and you have to keep buying proprietary filter pads. Not good things imo. :)

[@andyn3532]

Time and gravity are your friend I don't use any clearing agents etc and get lovely crystal clear brews

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Agreed.

[@Helliconia54]

can you make a home made centrifuge, and spin out the "solids"? I'd use it after racking and before bottling. Just a crazy idea.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Probably more trouble than it's worth as you still have to rack it.

[@forrestgarth1705]

Could you clarify it with milk? I know for other cocktails you make it into a clarifies milk punch and it comes super clear

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Not something I really want to try :). You also need a very acidic brew for it to even work.

[@Cariad82]

Hey there exactly one week ago I used your spiced apple wine recipe to make my own. The only two differences are I used bread yeast, that's what I had at home. And right now it is apple season and you can get fresh apple juice everywhere so I used that. It is called "Süßer" where I live. I realised that you use store bought juices so naturally they are pasteurized which mine was not. Is there anything particular I have to keep an eye out for or do you think I can go along as you did? I am a bit confused because I couldn't start the brew immediately after I got the juice and let it sit in the fridge for almost 2 days and it started to ferment even in the fridge! You could see the foam building up and slowly transforming into what we call "Rauscher". Sorry this got so long, I am just a little confused and want my first try to turn out good 😅

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Should be alright. You can heat it to 140f for 20 minutes and that will assure that any bad stuff is dead :)

[@Cariad82]

Thank you for the quick response. I will definitely do that.

[@SnuffyJenkins]

I used to use micron filters at my work and we would use either pressure or suction to pass the liquid thru the filter. Micron ratings have two classifications: nominal and absolute. One micron absolute filters guarantee that 99.9% of one micron particles and larger will be removed , while the nominal filters are only around 70 to 80% removal. Of course, the absolute filters are ten times or more the cost. I would think the ones on Amazon are nominal.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

That makes a lot of sense.

[@kevint911]

I was waiting for you to put the sock down into a wide mouth, then put a siphon down inside the sock and do it that way. Instead of pouring the contents down through the sock

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We said we would normally do it that way.

[@nicklaskoch]

How did it go with a try on egg whites clarification??

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We decided against it.

[@lbdhoyte]

I used to use those when I made homemade biodiesel. You can get them in sub-micron filtration. Those filters will clog. They get extremely slow when they fill up. Those bags never really wash fully clean. I would be concerned with oxidation, as the brew needs to displace the air in the weave of the bag. Once the bag is filled, all of the brew along the sides of the bag is being exposed to air.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Fair points. Ideally it would be inside the fermenter and submerged and we's use a siphon. Would help but doesn't seem ideal.

[@Jcewazhere]

Need a collab with Nile Red or another chemistry channel where they take half of a cloudy mead and put it through their fancy vacuum filters with the whole drip setup. Maybe do a fancy timelapse or something. Then you compare it to a standard racking and stabilizing.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

While that could be interesting, it doesn't really help that vast majority of brewers who don't own that setup :)

[@DonIzzee]

I think it would better for straining out sediments and fruit debris then removing active/inactive yeast or clarifying the wine

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Agreed, but there are a lot of ways to do that.

[@madpanda24]

Quick question here. I started a peach mead yesterday. Had airlock activity within 2 or 3 hours. This morning there was still positive pressure. I swirled the must and then all of a sudden I was experiencing "suck back" thru the air lock. It was bubbling backwards into the fermenter. I'm using s style air lock and a big mouth bubbler. I opened the lid an dont see anything weird. But am still experiencing backward air lock activity. Any thoughts?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We have seen that in the early stages of fermentation. Just break the seal every so often til it builds enough pressure again.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Leave it a moment then put the airlock on. It's fine.

[@CelticDruidTempleOfBeliefsnewa]

What brew did you use this on and did it effect the wine or mead my filter system didn't work the best on some bottles could be I had weaker filters not sure

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I do not recall what it was but it had very little effect and no change in flavor.

[@CelticDruidTempleOfBeliefsnewa]

@@CitySteadingBrews I found out recently at home that those metal plastic filters that come with cyphen holes the cap comes off I put 2 Cotton balls in per-cyphan And now most of my bottles are completely sediment free online a couple have a small amount I'm sure if I did it twice like transferring carboys before bottles it'd be free worked very well. With how bad it was my guess is 25.00 total wish I knew sooner had a Filter that was Fermtech sent and it didn't work and my second style one could've done better. I tested it out on coffee ground water first and made like a smudge with ginger and that bottle that was empty of course only had one ground in it. And it was more clear

[@lloyd359]

Love the scientific term 'goop'...

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It has many uses as well. :)

[@dcm727]

Have you ever made mead with Brazilian Pepper honey (I know it’s available in your area)? If yes, how did it come out?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We have not. Btw, that is an invasive species here so we destroy it if we see it growing.

[@dcm727]

@@CitySteadingBrews Yeah, I know. I’m a beekeeper in St Pete. Agree that it should be destroyed, but until then, my bees love it and it gives me a little something to sell. I never get honey in the spring. All I ever get any quantity of is Brazilian Pepper in the fall. As a matter of fact, Brazilian Pepper is blooming right now. Not a fan of it, so figured I’d try to make mead. We’ll see how it comes out. Wish me luck.

[@zahvage1204]

Great video

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Thanks!

[@yetna197]

A bug just climbed through my airlock!!! Honestly not too surprised, the Muscadine & Blackberry must is as wild as it gets (other than being frozen.)

[@applejames3819]

The cloudy colour looks pretty much identical to very strong tea left to sit and cool down for a while. I would wager this brew was not cloudy due to yeast in suspension a younger brew would have been a better test.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Maybe.

[@nolansykinsley3734]

You would want to use this on fresh wash where the yeast is still live and whole. Using old brew where the yeast has autolyzed will mean the cloudy particles are smaller than 1 micron.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Fair enough.

[@NeuPanda]

With water physics you should be able to hold it out of the container. the water tension will pull it all into a single stream at the bottom, not a rain storm :) in fact this is observable in the water test

[@jeremy-ez6nd]

if it was still cloudy after the first run means yeast and lees can get thru it 🤷‍♂️

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yup.

[@russellfredrick6519]

My biggest question would be does the filter bag impart any off flavors to the brew?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I don't believe it could.

[@jeraldt1649]

I think you should add sugar and put it under airlock to see if it would ferment again. That would tell you that yeast were still in there. Good test though. Keep up the great work!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

This is a finished and stable wine two years in the bottle... it's not likely to ferment with just sugar added.

[@jeraldt1649]

So, then the filter should be tried with a newer ferment? Sound like another video to me! Thank you both again for the fine work! @@CitySteadingBrews

[@MatTheArtisan]

I actually have a very cloudy brew of apple and pomegranate mead that is refusing to clear even after a long time. I was considering this as an option but it doesn't look like it will work. Does anyone have any strong reccomendations on what to try instead?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Gelatin or Bentonite if you can get pure food grade. To be honest though, clarity is not that important.

[@A1nur1]

I've read that some wine makers in Europe use 7% saline and egg whites to clearify the wine. Do you have any thoughts there??😅

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I'd rather not add eggs to my brew. I've heard it too, but have heard of very few who actually did it, lol.

[@mendy7]

It will not remove yeast. I use a .5 microns water filter (with a vacuum pump)and there are still live yeast after. Still need to pasteurize, but it gets very clear.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Thanks for the info, but if yeast are 3 microns... how?

[@mendy7]

@@CitySteadingBrews I can't say exactly how, just that I tried it and fermentation still restarted. I suppose it only takes a few live yeast cells to get through and start multiplying again. Perhaps there are some cells that are small or some that somehow get into the bottle, tubes or are in the air.

[@bromigo23]

Where do you guys purchase you 1.75gal wide mouth fermenters and the tops?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The 1.4 gal? We don't have 1.75. They are from Northern Brewer. Little Big Mouth Bubbler.

[@bromigo23]

My mistake. Thank you for the reply. Luckily I have a Northern Brewer a few minutes away from where I work! Thank you for replying. Love your channel!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

No worries! I do wish I had a 1.75 though....

[@Bugout72]

what about the brita water pitcher. That might work better.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Carbon filters will strip flavors and tannins and usually ruin wine.

[@ryansdrew]

Well I have four sets of filters coming in. A 50 micron, 10 micron, 5 micron, and 1 micron. I paid $13 for each which came in a pack of two and are reuasable. I will graduate from one micron level to another and let you know if that helps. Technically it's $52 but if they are reusable it might be worth it.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Sadly none will really stop yeast. They will get rid of much of the lees though.

[@ryansdrew]

@@CitySteadingBrews I should have clarified. I pasteurize all my brews. I am just doing this to see if I can speed or enhance the clarifying process.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Ahh. Well... probably not, just fyi.

[@AGTJAZZ]

i'd go with Super Kleer

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I would prefer bentonite if clarity is a must.

[@mastaangler7055]

Have y’all used Super-Kleer KC Beer and Wine Clarifier, it works very well. Just have to make sure no one has a shellfish allergy drinking it. Edit: y’all on twitter? “X”

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We prefer not to use that product. Personal preference. Not really on twitter no.

[@RogerS1978]

You guy's could do with a cheap microscope, as a microbiologist and homebrewer I do like looking at the yeast but it'd also be an easy way to tell if there is yeast in a brew

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Ehh... maybe? Not sure how useful it really would be though. I mean, how many yeast are needed for fermentation? Are they alive or dormant? I wouldn't know exactly what I was looking at, lol. I did find one for like $50 though. 1000x seems good?

[@7iTCH7]

Why not just use bentonite or some other clearing agent instead of filters?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

If you want to, you totally can. Bentonite, if pure food grade is fine to use.

[@7iTCH7]

@@CitySteadingBrews have you done tests with clearing agents? I would be interested to know if there are benefits or negatives to using them.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We are planning a video soonish.

[@iowalayensbeekeeping]

You would still rack it without the sediment.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

True but the claim was it didn't matter.

[@iowalayensbeekeeping]

​@@CitySteadingBrewsI was stuck on the original purpose of filtering yeast out. Thanks. Looking forward to your experiments with this product.

[@Schatten.mensch]

yeah, from the point of it being cloudy you might as well have poured it through a sock - and I doubt the yeast will be stopped either, but we'll see. I'm rather suspicious of this one micron claim of the filter, things that seem to be too good to be true usually are.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yup. I do not believe that is really a 1 micron filter, lol.

[@Troscoman]

Oh... That's sad. :( I was hoping to that work.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Me too.

[@brandonlee747]

I wouldn't mind that time at all. Much shorter than every other step.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

If only it worked :)

[@yankeeranger7148]

Well Ill just keep a rackin and rackin and rackin

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Good idea!