First time brewer/poster here. I recently purchased the deluxe brewing kit with the Irish Red Ale recipe kit. So far, everything has gone smoothly. I’m a little more than a week into fermentation. My question is one that I’m not sure there is a easy answer for. Basically, I love home brewing so far. I love everything about it except one thing…the fact that there will be “sludge” at the bottom of the bottles when everything in done. I enjoy drinking out of a bottle, as do my friends, and would like to be able to do so without having to deal with the little floaties at the bottom. While I know it won’t hurt anything if I consume it, I just don’t like the idea of it. Any suggestions as to how to eliminate it completely? Or am I just out of luck?
But really, you can minimize the bottle sediment by cold crashing, and by being careful to not disrupt the yeast cake when you transfer to the bottling bucket. When you have it down, you’ll be able to get the sediment layer so minimal and compact that you can pour (and sometimes even drink) out of the bottle without disrupting the sediment.
To completely eliminate the layer you would have to do something other than bottle condition. The easiest way to do this IMO would be to force carb in kegs and then fill bottles from the keg.
Also, keep in mind that there are plenty of craft beers that are bottle conditioned, and therefore have the sediment. If your friends only drink Bud/Miller/Coors they might raise an eyebrow at the sediment, but if they like craft brews they probably won’t even notice it.
That was kind of what I was expecting to hear. Since I’m not familiar with how to force carb a keg, (when I refer to myself as a rookie, I mean ROOKIE). I suppose I’ll just have to be super careful when bottling to leave as much of the yeast cake behind. Siphon from the top down, and tilt backwards, right? Ha!
Some yeast are better than others. WY 1968 sets up like silly putty. If you leave it in the fermenter for 3-4 weeks, there will be little residue in the bottle.
You could carefully pour your beer into a clean bottle before drinking it, or gasp you could use a glass.
If you really feel like drinking directly out of the bottle, brew a german wheat or belgian wit beer. Having the yeast suspended in the beer is part of what gives you the flavor profile for those styles.
Good advice with the cold crash, do that to minimize sediment.
You really shouldn’t drink any good beer straight from the bottle, you need to pour it into a glass to properly develop head and aroma. A lot of “taste” is really smell, so you’re missing out on half your flavor.
Cold crashing helps, but with bottle conditioning you are fermenting in the bottle, so there WILL be sediment. I have occasionally been guilty of drinking homebrew straight from the bottle, and about all you can do is minimize how much you let it get swirled around, and don’t drink that last swallow.
If you want truly no sediment, you’ll have to imitate what the big boys do. Force carb in a keg, and fill bottles from there.
As previously mentioned, you will have sediment, no matter what. I brew a simple witbier sometimes, just to have as a boat beer and drink out of the bottle (swirl the sediment into suspension). Otherwise, I would cut someone off from my beer if they drink out of the bottle. You spend a lot of time to make the beer, and it can’t be properly enjoyed out of the bottle. It’s like making a great steak and then soaking it with ketchup.
Thanks for the response. See, I didn’t even realize a good home brew cannot be properly enjoyed out of a bottle. THAT’S how much of a rookie I am (along with the fact that I just had to google “cold crashing”). Is there a particular reason, other than sediment, that it can’t be enjoyed out of a bottle? I’m here to learn folks… 8)
Edit…I just saw Nate42’s post which addressed my above question. Great info!
Enjoyed is a subjective term. I mean if you want to make a beer that your friends want to drink out of bottle thats fine. Thats the way they enjoy it. That being said,
The argument for why it should NOT be enjoyed from a bottle is a good one. You took the time and bought these ingredieants, so why not give them the chance to shine? As you learn more and drink more craft beers you’ll develope an appreciation for “the right way” and even “the right glass” You’ll want to start smelling those hops and having the glass that is going to push the beer to the right portion of your palate. And you’ll want the people who taste your beer to taste it the right way too.
I did the same thing at first. The beer that got me into good beer was dogfish heads 90 minute IPA. I had it out of the bottle and a beer loving friend all but slapped it out of my hand. He said “put that in a glass or we arent friends anymore.” I never went back to drinking from the bottle EXCEPT in one case which people will hate me for. When I buy a 22 oz bottle of Stone’s Ruination, I pour myself a full imperial pint and theres a little left in the bottle. I really like the way that last bit of ruination tastes out of the bottle. Of course it doesnt beat the taste of it in the glass. Haha start the hate mail. A glass makes all the difference in the world. The malt flavor is more present the hop aroma comes through. Its a whole new world in a glass.
Exactly, see, us beer snobs treat our beer like wine. You wouldn’t dare drink wine from the bottle, there’s a reason you drink from a wine glass. I’ve even observed (OBSERVED, not participated in ) debates about which shape of glass is ideal for which type of beer.
Wow. I can tell I have a lot to learn. It seems like the more I read, the less I feel like I know! I can say that based on this thread alone that I have come around not drinking out of a bottle. Of course I have a ton more questions on a daily basis, but those are for another thread at another time. I don’t want to overwhelm myself!
I would also recommend using an auto-siphon when transferring your beer from the primary to secondary and secondary to the bottling bucket. Sometimes it can be tough to decant just the beer, the auto-siphon helps this out a lot. I don’t cold crash myself and I haven’t had a problem with sludge on the bottom. Good luck with your brewing!
What no one has mentioned is something that I think is very important. Color!.
Does anyone NOT pour their beer in a glass and hold it up to the light to observe (admire) the color, clarity, head and carbonation? Maybe I am weird, but I have done that with every pint I pull from my kegerator, every time.
I probably did not do this quite as much with extract, but with all grain, I find color very important as I try to learn how to tweak it.
[quote=“560sdl”]What no one has mentioned is something that I think is very important. Color!.
Does anyone NOT pour their beer in a glass and hold it up to the light to observe (admire) the color, clarity, head and carbonation? Maybe I am weird, but I have done that with every pint I pull from my kegerator, every time.
I probably did not do this quite as much with extract, but with all grain, I find color very important as I try to learn how to tweak it.[/quote]
Guilty as charged. Every time I have a beer (whether it’s mine or commercial) I first stick my face in the glass for the aroma, then hold it up to the light, then swirl and repeat this process a few times. After several years of doing this, SWMBO still rolls her eyes at me.
[quote=“560sdl”]What no one has mentioned is something that I think is very important. Color!.
Does anyone NOT pour their beer in a glass and hold it up to the light to observe (admire) the color, clarity, head and carbonation? Maybe I am weird, but I have done that with every pint I pull from my kegerator, every time.
I probably did not do this quite as much with extract, but with all grain, I find color very important as I try to learn how to tweak it.[/quote]
Nope you’re not crazy. I do this too. I do it so often in fact that I caught myself checking the clarity of a glass of water the other day. It was a gorgeous crystal clear. Slight haze on the glass from the cold temperature. No head whatsoever. Clean and crisp. Delicious.
If you’re dead-set on drinking from the bottle, do what others have said and be sure to cold crash.
Using WY1968 is a good suggestion. I’ve recently discovered that WLP007 makes a nice bottling yeast. It drops amazingly clear in the fermenter, and leaves a “painted on” very thin layer in the bottle. I was able to pour a whole bottle with virtually no sediment, and no beer wasted. You could easily swill from the bottle as long as you’re not sloshing them around like crazy. For English styles, S-04 could be good. I’ve used that to reyeast at bottling several times.
Thanks again for all the responses, everyone. Tons of great info! I’ve been convinced that a glass is the way to go. I’ll let you all know how my first batch turns out!
) debates about which shape of glass is ideal for which type of beer.