First brew, a success! (I think)

[ncoutroulis]

So i just cracked open a test bottle of my first brew—A Belgian Pale Ale. Bottled it two weeks ago and chilled the bottle for just over 24 hrs.

Good carbonation and head.

Tastes nice, my wife said she's pay money for it

question is this, (see the image attached)
there's a good bit of sediment floating around. Not sure if this is more than normal or not, and what could have caused it.

When i racked it for bottling, i did get some of the bottom from the fermenter with my auto siphon, perhaps that's it?

any thoughts would be great

cheers

 

[twistyboy]

try next time to not empty the bottle all the way, its normal to have sediment at the bottom , try to syphon as less as you can when you rack, its gonna help.

 

[russell58]

You can tip the bottling bucket slightly next time you bottle. I found this helps to keep sediment out of siphon when bottling. As mention leave a little in bottle when pouring. Enjoy...

Cheers

 

[cmcb4]

Congrats! Always exciting when a brew turns out.

 

[ncoutroulis]

try next time to not empty the bottle all the way, its normal to have sediment at the bottom , try to syphon as less as you can when you rack, its gonna help.

Thanks
i didn't empty the bottle all the way, left some in there.
will definitely try to not rack from the bottom of the fermenter next time.

guess drinking those floaters isn't bad for you, right?

 

[1977Brewer]

Trub is just hops, yeast, and proteins from the grain. You could eat it for breakfast.

 

[PatrickLS83]

This is pretty normal, as more time goes by you might notice it go away, the yeast will flocculate and leave you with clearer beer. Of course, with bottle conditioning that thin layer of sediment will always be at the bottom of each bottle and could be kicked up into your beer, but I think you will still notice over time an overall clearing off the beer because right now more yeast is naturally in suspension and will eventually drop out. In any case, it's nothing to worry about. With Belgian beers the yeast is the star of the show, some even prefer to stir up the sediment and drink it. Just tell everyone it's supposed to be that way, it's full of vitamin B, and adds a little kick of flavor. Cheers!

 

[twistyboy]

Thanks
i didn't empty the bottle all the way, left some in there.
will definitely try to not rack from the bottom of the fermenter next time.

guess drinking those floaters isn't bad for you, right?

no dont worry about it, protein , yeast and hops particle. try this next time for a sparkle clear beer: http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/06/how-to-clear-your-beer-with-gelatin.html

but for a belgian pale ale i wouldnt do that, the yeast gives a lot of flavor. Gives it 3 to 4 weeks and the sediment will compact at the bottom. belgian ale can be ages for years so dont be in a hurry.

 

[VegasBrew1]

Good advice here. I would say, if bottle conditioning is complete, maybe 48 to 72 hours in the fridge before consumption. Cheers.

 

[joshesmusica]

i think the bottle conditioning for this one could've been another week longer at least. plus chilling it for 2-3 days in the fridge before consumption. as others have already said.

in the end, it doesn't matter if you have some hops and yeast floating in your beer. there are some people who are overly obsessed with perfectly clear beer. i like beer, and especially the beer i make. i like to have the most beer possible from each batch, since i took the time to make it. leaving a good layer in the bottom of the fermenter is the equivalent of 1 bottle of beer, maybe two if you're not cold crashing and you dry hopped in the primary. the way i see it, i'm going to enjoy the beer if there's floaties, because i know they're not going to screw up the flavor of my beer. but i usually mark the bottles from the end of bottling to make sure that i'm the one who drinks those and that i don't serve those to friends or family, and that's just because it might freak them out. most of the time i'll even pour all the way down to where i might get a little of the yeast in my beer. though i do test the first couple to see how clear of a beer i made (because sometimes cloudy beer can mean i did something wrong), i honestly don't give two ****s if my beer is cloudy. i'm the one drinking it, not some bjcp judge.

 

[joshesmusica]

p.s. good job! there's not much better in this world than successfully brewing your own beer, and then to have your wife pleased with it on top of that! it's one thing for you to be addicted to this hobby, but if your wife's on board, you're set!

 

[mikescooling]

Good job on making some beer, the more you do it, the easier it gets. When you put the priming sugar in to carb up the bottles. The yeast eats that sugar, then makes more yeast, and the co2 we love so much. SOOO, to not get as much yeast cake floating around, chill the bottles for 3 days without moving them, then when you do take a bottle out to drink, don't shake it at all, when you pour off the beer, watch the yeast cake at the bottom of the bottle and try to leave it at the bottom of the bottle. Drinking yeast won't hurt you, but if you drink a lot you may get the runs.

 

[joshesmusica]

then when you do take a bottle out to drink, don't shake it at all

i personally don't shake any of my beers, whether they're filtered or not.

 

[ncoutroulis]

Good job on making some beer, the more you do it, the easier it gets. When you put the priming sugar in to carb up the bottles. The yeast eats that sugar, then makes more yeast, and the co2 we love so much. SOOO, to not get as much yeast cake floating around, chill the bottles for 3 days without moving them, then when you do take a bottle out to drink, don't shake it at all, when you pour off the beer, watch the yeast cake at the bottom of the bottle and try to leave it at the bottom of the bottle. Drinking yeast won't hurt you, but if you drink a lot you may get the runs.

All great advice, thanks everyone!

I'm just glad the stuff was actually drinkable there were several times i was worried about my sanitizing, so glad it all went well.

Now onto batch #2

 

[soccerdad]

Some folks use a 'rule of thumb' .. 3, 3, 3 (that's like Herman Cain's 'nein, nein, nein,' divided by three).
3 weeks fermenter
3 weeks bottle (or keg)
3 days fridge

one more week in the bottle may have settled out a bit more trub
2 more days in the fridge may have crashed a bit more to the bottom

Nice job !! Looks like a tasty brew !

 

[ncoutroulis]

Some folks use a 'rule of thumb' .. 3, 3, 3 (that's like Herman Cain's 'nein, nein, nein, divided by three).
3 weeks fermenter
3 weeks bottle (or keg)
3 days fridge

one more week in the bottle may have settled out a bit more trub
2 more days in the fridge may have crashed a bit more to the bottom

Nice job !! Looks like a tasty brew !

Thanks, that's a good system.

I"ve only chilled one bottle, so perhaps ill wait till the weekend, that'll make it 3 weeks in bottles.

If i chill the bottles ahead of the 3 weeks, but keep them in the refrigerator, that still would help, right?

cheers

 

[soccerdad]

I think most folks say 'bottle condition at room temp'.