Ale takes less time to age than lager. A primary filtration is done with the aid of Diatomaceous Earth in a leaf - type filter. Diatomaceous earth is made up of the silica skeletons of small fossil marine organisms. The particles are rigid and highly porous. A layer of them makes an effective filter medium.
Final filtration is intended to produce a beer that is brilliantly clear and sterile.
A plate and frame sheet filter is used transfer the beer through cellular fiber micron sheets. From the final filtration, the beer is transferred to Bright Beer tanks which are holding tanks for the finished product which will be packaged into either kegs or bottles. A Keg Filler will wash the stainless steel kegs, then sterilize and fill them at a rate of 50 kegs per hour. The bottles are washed and sterilized, and then sent to an Empty Bottle Inspector. Empty bottles are visually inspected and then inspected electronically.