Ceramics banish cloudy beer
15 Jan 2000
You walk into a pub, with visions of dewy pint-glasses full of crystal-clear beer. The barman pulls the pint. It's murkier than a politician's motives. A serious anticlimax, but one that's even worse for brewers. Duty must be paid on an entire tank of beer and cider, but the bottom of the tank is invariably clogged with sediment and can't be sold. Membrane specialist Memtech believes it can solve this problem.
Normally, these `tank bottoms' are treated by adding filter aids, such as bentonite, keisulguhr or isinglass, and filtered through plate-and-frame or rotary vacuum filters. These then have to be disposed of. Memtech has developed a system using ceramic crossflow membranes to filter these tank bottoms, and claims that this can recover over 92.5 per cent of saleable product.
The system has several advantages, the company claims. No filter aids are needed; and the filters remove not only suspended particles - such as bacteria, yeast and mould - but also haze and haze precursors, giving the beer or cider a `brilliant clarity' which, Memtech claims, is unobtainable by other means. The crossflow ceramic membrane system is smaller than a comparable plate-and-frame system, and costs less than the total operating cost of conventional filtration, Memtech asserts.
A nice, refreshing glass of sludge, sir? The improvement is clear
210 on enquiry card
