What is a Centrifuge and how it makes clear beer.
03/01/2024
By Aditya Vichare
Some beer enthusiasts will say a beer with greater clarity that has been through proper filtration will taste better. How one filters beer has been a topic of debate for quite a long time, but one thing has remained clear (no pun intended), less additives have a positive effect on the final product. A Beer Centrifuge is one way larger commercial brewers achieve this. Either if you’re a consumer of beer, a microbrewer or large manufacturer, understanding this technology is fairly simple and I hope to help you understand in this article.
What is a Centrifuge?
To understand how a Centrifuge works, one must understand the basics of “Centrifugal Force” which is the apparent outward force on a mass when it is rotated. Imagine filling a bucket with water, dirt and handful of marbles. Then rotate the bucket up and down like a Ferris Wheel as fast as you can. The rotation will create artificial gravity and pull dense materials to the bottom of the bucket. The items with greater density such as marbles, will be pulled towards the bottom and items of lesser density, like dirt will either fall to the bottom or remain in the middle. However, with greater force and time, the dirt can also be separated closer to the bottom, see image 1 for details. If one were to quickly open and close a hole in the bottom of the bucket, some marbles would fall out while dirt and water remained. Keep repeating this method and it will completely remove dirt and eventually just water will be left in the bucket.
Image 1
How Centrifuge effects Unfiltered Beer.
The ideas mentioned above are the same when it comes to a Beer Centrifuge. Unfiltered Beer is brought into a vessel which is rotated rapidly so that all unwanted sediments such as yeast and hop materials are separated and pushed towards one end. The inside and middle of the vessel is clear liquid while the outside of the vessel are separated sediments. Once the solids are displaced where intended, they are removed through various methods depending on the type of Centrifuge. What remains is a beer product that can be made crystal clear within a relatively short period of time. This method of filtration is among the most natural ways to filter beer as the beer touches nothing that will affect its profile. The beer does not need to pass through a medium nor does it need anything added to achieve quality filtration.
Other effects of Centrifuge Filtration.
Another important aspect often overlooked is the increase in potential yield for your batch. If one uses another method of filtration such as Diatomaceous Earth, you could see a loss in yield. There would be liquids within trub that will not be separated and the batch will experience a loss, not to mention the amount of time it takes to filter equaling a loss in timeline of finished product. When a batch is put through centrifuge, the entire volume is brought through and filtered, trub and all. When the full volume is captured, you separate out the liquids that would be lost in the trub thus increasing your final yield. Even when filtering different beer styles such as Porters and Stout or Hazy IPA the yield benefit remains constant. For these styles of beer where some sediments are desired to capture the specific profile, one can apply less force to the centrifuge and retain the items needed, while enjoying the benefits of further separating out liquid from trub.
Conclusion:
Considering the amount of time that is saved and quantity of beer that is recovered, a Beer Centrifuge may be worth investing into. One should consider ROI through increased output and increased quality of the finished product. There may be some setbacks such as space and upfront capital costs, however through a solid plan to recover ROI there would be nothing but benefits to employing a Beer Centrifuge in your brewery.
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