Sediment Problem... Need advise.

[sittingturbo]

(Note: If you don't feel like reading to much, skip to the *** paragraph)

I brewed an experimental Sorghum beer for my GF. (By the way, I would not remake this beer this way, I will change this recipe, so please don't copy this, I'll save you the trouble.)

Starting gravity of 1.063

7# Sorghum Syrup
1# Honey (Sage/Wild Flower)
1# Beet Sugar (Dark)
8 oz Maltodextrin - 15 Minutes Left in Boil
1 oz Nugget Hops(12.5% AA) - 55 Minutes
1 oz Williamette Hops(4.5% AA) - 25 Minutes
1 oz Williamette Hops(4.5% AA) - Dry Hop

Safale US-56 Dry Yeast

3/4 cup Corn Sugar - Priming

Didn't used Irish Moss (should have, lesson learned). I did however try to fine it with gelatin (which I had never done, nor will I try again.) Didn't seem to help, in fact i feel it was counter productive. Most likely user error, because I know a lot of people like it.

But anyway, I bottled before it it totally cleared out, since it had been fermenting for about 2-3 weeks (broken my hydrometer, figured it had to be done, so I bottled. (No I didn't make bottle bombs)

So my GF opened her first bottle after 11 days in the bottle. She is very impatient, I tasted it, was horrible, yeasty, tart and super cloudy. I told her it was young and to wait. Since she can't drink normal beer due to celiacs, she said she loved it and proceeded to drink them every night.

So I was moving around some bottles in the fridge to make room for a recent batch I just brewed. I picked up one of her bottles and it was totally clear in the bottle, but there was literally 1/2 inch of sediment. So being ignorant, I thought, oh she just doesnt know how to pour this and keep the sediment in the bottom.

***I knew there was no way I should even have this sediment, but at least she can drink decent beer if she can keep the junk out of her glass. So I try to show her how to pour, popped the top, and instantly the carbonation shot all the sediment into suspension. No way around this, beer instantly turns cloudy, no matter how much care is taken, you get the same effect.

So I told here she has 2 choices, pour out the batch and count it as a loss, or drink this rank "beer". But I was wondering if I had a third option...

Do you think I can open every bottle left, about 30 or so bottles, and dump them into secondary to dry and let it clear out? My concerns are:

1. If any of those bottles are contaminated, the whole batch will go bad.

2. Once the carbonation goes away I think everything will fine out. But not sure, if it doesn't that will just be insult to injury and I'd hate to re-bottle a crappy beer... AGAIN!

3. When I go to re-prime, should there be enough yeast to just prime like normal?

Should I bother? Input? I know I can remake this batch correctly and not have this problem again, however what can I do with this batch?

 

[Revvy]

11 days is still too young for any beer...No wonder they're not clear, carb is off and they taste like crap...THey're GREEN.

They should be kept a minimum 3 weeks @ 70 degrees, them move them to the fridge...

I'd stick em someplace dark and warm and forget about them for at least 2-3 more weeks and I'll bet that they'll be just fine...tell swmbo to cool her heels if she wants good beer...it takes time

if you open them even to stick in secondary, they'll oxydize and REALLY be a loss.

 

[sittingturbo]

I realize they're green, but thats not the issue, the issue is that the crap load of sediment that I got in the bottle, due to bottling to early, gets shot into suspension as soon as you open a bottle.

The beer is very clear in the bottle, until you open one. The carbonation is good if not great. But the carbonation lifts the heavy sediment laying into suspension.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Serving them at near 32 degrees will help some, but I recommend pouring them "early"...about 15 minutes before you want to drink them, but pour them into a pitcher to let some of the yeast to fall out again...

If you have a problem with them being cloudy just pour from the pitcher into ceramic mugs......this way it'll taste better than it looks (psychological).

 

[sittingturbo]

Haha okay, I'll try the pitcher thing... LOL I really like the mug comment.

 

[Yooper]

Well, if you open them up and pour them back into a fermenter, you'll aerate them and I'm not sure what effect that will have but I cant' imagine it'll be good.

I don't understand exactly what you are saying- they are not overcarbonated, but the sediment doesn't stay put? What about if they are chilled for a few days or a week? That should make the sediment "stick" better in the bottom of the bottle.

If it's overcarbonated, you can remove the caps to vent and recap.

 

[sittingturbo]

I would say this batch has high carbonation, but not excessively high. The problem is that there is just way to much sediment in the bottles, like i said, about 1/2 think sediment per bottle.

 

[Yooper]

What happens to the sediment if you chill it longer, I wonder? Chill them for, say, a week, and see if the sediment compacts better.

 

[sittingturbo]

I will have to try that, the longest any of the bottle has been chilled for is about 4 days... The SWMBO is a drinker to say the least... hehe

I'll have to hide them.

 

[WBC]

Being that you made an ale it should be in the primary for 7 to 10 days minimum to allow settling and conditioning by the yeast(I leave my ales in the pri for 14 days). I then siphon this to a keg leaving the sediment behind or bottle with boiled and cooled corn sugar primer in a bottling bucket. Then I let the bottles build CO2 for 2 weeks minimum at 70 to 73F before sampling. If you did not wait this long then your beer may not have finished fermentation and conditioning properly. Make more than you drink to avoid being in a hurry. You will enjoy it a lot more.

 

[sittingturbo]

This is what I did, 5 days in primary, 14 days secondary. It's carbed for 10 days, which is low, but carbination is not a problem... So maybe it was not finished... But I will not make this mistake again... I really should have made a starter for this batch, but I couldn't make it with my normal supplies, because DME is not gluten free. So I had to wait till I got Sorghum, next time I'll buy 14 pounds of sorghum, use some for the starter and use a few extra pounds to boost the body/alcohol.

I am in no rush to drink this one, I got 15 gallons sitting around I can't drink it as fast as I make it, however this was my first Gluten Free batch for my SWMBO. Now, I just need to free up some of my fermenters so I can remake it, I feel I need to redeem myself now... lol

Thanks guys I think I figured out everything I need to change, I'll just have to write this batch off, if cooling for a week or so doesnt compact the bottled sediment.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Thanks guys I think I figured out everything I need to change, I'll just have to write this batch off, if cooling for a week or so doesnt compact the bottled sediment.

Take a few of the bottles, fix yourself up some gelatin, and use an eye dropper to add some straight into the bottles. Recap them, maybe give them a *gentle* swirl, let them sit for a day or so and then stick them back in the fridge. Wait a week and see if that improves your issue. If it does, you can do the same with all the remaining bottles. If it doesn't - you didn't lose anything but 10 minutes of work and a packet of gelatin.