Question from a New Brewer!

[oligopoly]

Hello all. There are several things in life that I know a lot about and am able to help and advise others. When it comes to brewing I am a complete novice! I am on my second brew and am panicked by the state of my bottled beer and so I'd love your collective help.

It's a St Peter's Golden Ale - 2 weeks in the primary FV and then poured to 500ml bottles using a teaspoon of brewing sugar per bottle. A week and a half after bottling, I've just checked on my 40 odd bottles (i picked out a couple of clear/transparent bottles so I could see what was going on) and was horrified to see what looks like all the sugar at the bottom of the bottle! Upon further thought I deduced this is probably yeast - it looks a little 'yeasty' and when i turn the bottle up and down I have a little snowstorm.

Can someone please advise what they think is going on, whether I should be worried, and whether there is anything i can or should be doing! :hmm:

Thanks in advance.

 

[bobsbeer]

Welcome. : If they are PET bottles give them a squeeze. If they are hard it's carbonated. If glass turn then upside down. If the 'snowstorm' is cloudy then it's yeast not sugar. They should be fine. But if in doubt crack one for 'testing purposes' and try it. You will soon know if you get a hiss on opening. But by the sound of it they are fine. :thumb:

 

[gibb58]

thats normal its just sediment that has settled at the bottom of the bottle. When you pour your beer into a glass try not to disturb the sediment and stop pouring when the sediment nears coming out of the bottle. Happy drinking :

 

[carl_saint]

This is normal for bottle conditioned beer, which is what you did when you added sugar. This causes the yeast to start fermenting again and produce CO2. As the bottles are closed then the CO2 will be eventually absorbed into the beer at low temps. The sediment layer you describe is normal and bottles should be stored upright in the fridge then once opened decanted into a glass, leaving a half inch in the bottom of the bottle. It won't hurt you if you do drink the sediment, it will just mean your beer will be cloudy!

 

[boab42stout]

It sounds like you got yeast or possibly undesolved or unused sugar in the bottles.
Have you put the bottles in a warm place for a week this will cick start the secondary fermentation in the bottle producing Co2 and therefore pressure which hopefully will clear your beer through time.
Also try using malt extraxt and a bottoling bucket and batch prime your beer and you should be fine

 

[Dave1970]

Time is your friend, it will help your beer in several ways!
A tsp of sugar/500 ml bottle is quite a lot...not dangerously too much but your going to get a lager like level of carbonation. If they're too lively when you open one you could chill before serving which will get the beer to absorb more CO2 and make it easier to pour.
It's unlikely you still have sugar at the bottom of your bottles but not impossible, if it is sugar it will dissolve in time.
It's more likely the sediment at the bottom of your bottles is yeast...this is fine, it's what's meant to happen. The sugar you added to each bottle is fermented by yeast in your brew which carbonates the beer. It should be a thin layer at the bottom of your bottle, if it's a thick layer then next time you should try to get your beer a bit clearer before bottling...for example by putting the fermenter in a cool place for a few days.
Even if you do have a thick layer at the bottom of your bottles it's no major concern. Once your beer's had a couple of weeks in the warm to carbonate move it somewhere cool for AT LEAST 2 weeks (longer is better). During this time it should clear and also the sediment should compact down and become firm enough to allow you to pour most of the bottle without getting yeast in the glass. The longer you can leave it at this point the more the sediment will compact and your beer will condition and taste better.

 

[oligopoly]

Hi guys,

Thank you very much for the quick responses – very useful indeed. As per bobsbeer’s advice, I cracked one open to see. There was a hiss (hooray!), so it’s carbonating ok. I slowly poured it into a pint glass and left the last 1cm – this contained all the gunk. The taste was good – not great – but good. So I’m happy that this must just be sediment. I was confused as I didn’t appear to get any such sediment on my first homebrew. I’ll have to write down the differences in my approach to each and see if there’s something I could do differently next time... I plan to leave these bottles for another 2 weeks in the warm and then transfer to the garage for 2 more weeks – it's a nice cold temperature in there. This is of course if I can fight the urge to drink more in the meantime. :party:

 

[PD]

quote

differences in my approach to each and see if there’s something I could do differently next time...

Yep give your beer longer in the fermentation bin to let the muck drop out. 2 or 3 weeks, then using a little bottler, bottle your beer leaving most of the trub and muck behind and your beers will have only a little bit of sediment in them from the priming sugar.

 

[oligopoly]

Thanks piddledribble. It was 2 weeks in the FV - the hydro reading told me it was time, but i suppose it wouldn't hurt to give it longer to reduce the amount of sediment. The beer was poured to bottle using the tap at the bottom of the FV, so i wouldnt have thought a bottling wand would make any difference in this respect? What i think could be responsible is i only let the bucket sit for 30 minutes after moving it from a different room - i think this may have kicked the hornet's nest and stirred up the trub?

 

[lukehgriffiths]

Quite possible movement stirred things. I tend to leave it in the cold for a couple of days post ferment to really clear things out.
As.to.sediment as others say it is likely yeast settling in the bottles it can even be reserved started and used to ferment another brew.
I would avoid drinking sediment though unless you want to unleash evil from your rear end.. So leave in fridge standing up allowing beer to get crystal clear then remove allow to warm, if cold beer offends, pour slowly.and carefully leaving a mouthful behind in :drink: the bottle along with all the yeast and finally enjoy.the fruits of your labours. :drink:

 

[oligopoly]

Thanks. I think i'll transfer half a dozen to the garage fridge for a few days to see how that affects both sediment appearance and taste.