Beer Market Trends 2026: Filtration at the Heart of Quality, Safety & Growth

Breweries face contamination risks from air, water, steam, and CO₂ at multiple points. These utilities are essential but can introduce particles, oils, or microorganisms that compromise flavor or stability if not filtered correctly. A 2025 industry analysis highlights that final filtration is central to consistency, safety, and efficiency in modern brewing, and materials must comply with EU 1935/2004 and US FDA Title 21 CFR food contact standards.

Under FSMA and HACCP principles, breweries are expected to identify and manage hazards at critical stages. In some cases, like final filtration for microbiological stability, filtration may be considered a critical step within a consumer safety plan.

Filtration and HACCP: When Does it Matter in Brewing?

While filtration is not automatically classified as a Critical Control Point (CCP) in brewing, industry guidelines and research show that it can become a documented control step when it helps mitigate identified hazards. The Brewers of Europe HACCP guide emphasizes that brewing plans should address hazards in processing water and utilities, recommending measures for physical, chemical, and microbiological risks during brewing and packaging. Recent research by Britton and Hill highlights microbial risks in low- and no-alcohol beers, where physical controls such as filtration must be validated and monitored to ensure product stability and consumer safety.

Key takeaway: Filtration may be included in HACCP documentation when it serves as a preventive measure against hazards, particularly in final filtration for microbiological stability or in utility streams that could introduce contaminants.

What this means for 2026: 

• Map utility streams and identify contamination risks.
• Specify validated filters for air, water, steam, and CO₂.
• Ensure compliance with EU and FDA food contact standards.
• Integrate filtration into HACCP plans with auditable records.

Brewers increasingly choose cold membrane “sterile” filtration over pasteurization to retain flavor and mouthfeel while achieving microbiological stability and longer shelf life. Advanced membrane systems remove yeast and beer spoilers upstream of the filler, with pre  and post batch integrity testing to prove performance, delivering a “cold filtered” sensory profile at lower energy cost than thermal pasteurization.

Best practice guidance reminds brewers that sterile filtration is just one part of a multi-barrier strategy; upstream clarification and utility controls are required to keep bioburden within the filter’s validated capacity and ensure consistent runs.

What this means for 2026:

• Integrate sterile filtration with upstream clarification.
• Validate utility controls to maintain bioburden within filter capacity.
• Use integrity testing before and after runs for compliance.

3) What Filtration Challenges Come with Low and No Alcohol Beer?

The low/no alcohol beer category is thriving, driven by wellness trends and changing social habits. Advances in modern brewing technologies have set new benchmarks for taste and clarity, helping brewers meet consumer expectations for authentic flavor in low-alcohol formats.

As alcohol levels drop, so does its natural protective effect, making stability a critical focus. Leading producers are combining microbial stabilization with colloidal stabilization to ensure safety, shelf life, and visual appeal. From hygienic packaging to haze control, these measures deliver premium quality and consumer trust.

What this means for 2026:

• Prioritize microbial and colloidal stabilization for low and no alcohol beers.
• Implement haze control and hygienic packaging for premium quality.
• Maintain sensory integrity while meeting safety standards.

Modern brewery quality and safety programs often highlight process water, steam, CO₂, and compressed air as critical factors for product integrity. In certain HACCP frameworks, these may be documented as control points when they pose a direct risk to consumer safety.

Best practice utility filtration, often multi stage with coalescers, particulate prefilters and hydrophobic sterile membranes (e.g., PTFE), reduces risks without imposing flavor changes, and integrates with European Hygienic Engineering Group (EHEDG) style zoning to keep high care packaging areas under controlled Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).

What this means for 2026:

• Consider documenting utility streams as CCPs in HACCP plans.
• Use multi-stage filtration for air, CO₂, steam, and water.
• Align filtration with EHEDG zoning for high-care packaging areas.

Regulators and auditors expect preventive controls, documented CCPs, and records that prove filters perform as claimed. This includes integrity testing (bubble point/diffusion) pre- and post-run on final membranes, validated sanitation cycles, and food contact compliance for housings and media (FDA Title 21 CFR; EU 1935/2004).

A robust program spans utility and product filtration, with change-out criteria based on differential pressure/throughput and trend charts that help teams intervene before risks escalate.

What this means for 2026:

• Implement integrity testing before and after runs.
• Validate sanitation cycles and maintain compliance records.
• Align materials with EU and FDA food contact standards.

After DE filtration and PVPP stabilization, security filters where particles must be retained, trap filters ensure reliable particle retention in the filtrate. Trap filters typically use replaceable filter elements inserted into a base with an adapter and sealed with a hood.

Example: Pall Profile® Star TF filters installed in an inverted housing offer an economical solution for trap filtration needs. These pleated depth filters provide optimized surface area and substantial depth, designed for backflushing and multiple reuse cycles.

What this means for 2026:

• Use trap filters after clarification and stabilization steps.
• Protect downstream processes from particle contamination.
• Choose reusable, backflushable designs for cost efficiency.

How Pall Supports Breweries in 2026

Pall’s beer filtration solutions include final “sterile” membrane filtration, depth prefiltration, and sterile utility air and gas filtration which includes our Emflon® hydrophobic membranes. These systems are backed by integrity testing protocols, declarations of compliance, and technical support for HACCP and FSMA documentation. Designed for repeated hot water or steam sterilization, high throughput, and flavor preservation, our solutions are ideal for cold-filtered beers and expanding low and no alcohol product lines.