I thought I'd ask this after reading Brewchez's effects of filtering question.
I personally don't filter at home, for the most part. I generally make dark beer, and people who drink my beer understand that it's homebrew, and won't be filtered. A little yeast never hurt anyone!
I do user irish moss, whirlpool my wort at flameout, transfer at least twice, and try to leave sediment at the bottom of the bucket/carboy/whatever. What further steps could one do at home to clarify one's beer?
Before packaging drop the temperature to the thirties or forties Fahrenheit. Hold the beer here for a few days. Haze-causing proteins coagulate more easily at this temperature. I do this for almost all my beer.
This is one of the most difficult filtering methods. All that beer, nearly ready to drink.... I usually condition my beers an extra two weeks. I once left some malt liquor in a bucket for six months. It was really clear.
I use those methods exclusively and my beer comes out clear, but not brilliant.
While this part is not directly related to the question of filtering the following techniques help clarify your beer. In my percieved order of effectiveness:
(I employee all of these except whirlpool because the screen does the job.)
More Beer sells an economical filter. I have not had experience with this.
Isinglass, gelatin and other commercial products will clear up your beer. After fermentation has subsided, add one of these things to your vessel. The stuff drifts down, picking up haze proteins. I used isinglass once without much success, but that was early on when I may not have known what I was doing.
You could also use a flocculant in secondary, such as gelatin, isinglass, chitosan, or polyclar (a commercial name for the former). An easier method would be to cold crash the carboy after fermentation - drop the temp of the carboy to about 32 for a few days to drop out yeast and haze.
Drink your beer! This usually filters out everything you want and leaves it in your belly. Everything you don't want, comes out shortly after. And it's pretty clear. I find this to be the best way to filter my beer. But good luck with those other methods.
