Hi B,

Firstly I would like to thank you for taking the time to explain some great points about filtered and unfiltered beer. Your information adds value to this post and is much appreciated.

Second, of course I am now wondering what brewery you manage and what beer I reviewed. I hope the review was well received by yourself and your brewery.

I won’t lie it is a nice feeling to think that a manager of a brewery visits my website and reads my posts. The offer for more insights into the brewing industry is very kind and I will be in touch.

Cheers
Rob

I am a manager at an independent British brewery and a regular reader of your features. You recently reviewed one of our beers in fact!

Filtration is one of those tricky topics that often gets framed as a debate between “craft” and “commercial”. In truth, many craft breweries would probably utilise a filtration system if they had the capital expenditure or site space available to them, and many traditional or commercial breweries have fantastic pilot plants that output hazy beers of many varieties to their local markets and web shops.

Most of the products of the raw materials that constitute beer pass unimpeded through a filter – the essential oils and alpha acids of the hops, the esters and phenols of the yeast, the sugars and colour compounds of the malt are all too small to be picked up by the kinds of filter mediums used in brewing. There are a multitude of fantastically hoppy beers available that have been filtered.

That said, unfiltered beers that age gracefully are a testament to their creators, and careful selection of yeast and hop varieties is paramount in these products, as they contain a much greater quantity of suspended yeast cells and plant material from raw hops. Believe me when I tell you that for many breweries in-house yeast cultures, you’d be glad that the majority of the cells have been removed!

As for health benefits, I’ll always err on the side of caution- the benefits of a few antioxidants (a wonderfully pseudoscientific term at the best of times) are vastly outweighed by the impact of consuming an elevated level of ethanol and 120 kcal per 100ml. Most breweries would shy away from trying to tout the health benefits of a product that is known to be addictive and should always be enjoyed in moderation.

As a last note, it’s worth bearing in mind that the humble British cask (in my opinion, the finest selection of beer available anywhere in the world) should always pour brilliantly bright, and is rarely, if ever, filtered, and instead relies on the centuries old practice of fining and sedimentation to create that crystal clear finish. Clean and drinkable beer is certainly not a goal only achievable through filtering!

If you would ever like any more insights into the brewing industry and these sorts of topics, feel free to get in touch.

B

Hi Andy,

I am the same, whether it is filtered or unfiltered it doesn’t matter just as long as it is a good beer. I guess some people just like what they like and prefer to stick to the same drink. We are all different, but again like you I prefer to try new beers as I come across them.

Cheers
Rob