therigaletto

Recipes 

Hey guys!
This is my 3rd batch of home brew and my SECOND 'Fail Ale'. The last two batches have had about a centimeter of (for lack of a better term) CRAP at the bottom of the bottles.

The flavors are off to say the least. I used Irish Moss too.

Can anyone help me narrow down my problem?

Everything was sterilized, but the bottles were only ran through the dishwasher.

HELP! I don't want to give up on brewing but I'm pretty frustrated.

BigB

Recipes 

Sounds like settled yeast and a little bit of trub. A layer of "crap" at the bottom of a bottle conditioned beer is perfectly normal.

__________________
I love the sound of an airlock bubbling in the morning. It sounds like.....VICTORY.

PearlJamNoCode

Recipes 

sounds like a little bit more than normal but nothing to worry about. How long has it been in the bottle and how long was it in 1st and 2nd fermentation?

My advice would just be careful about pouring it and enjoy!

__________________
Bottled - Vanilla Caramel Cream Ale

Planning - Ale Yeast Oktoberfest - PLEASE PM ME IF YOU CAN OFFER ANY ADVICE OR A RECIPE FOR THIS

strat_thru_marshall

Recipes 

Initial advice would be to let your primary fermentation go longer, if you're doing secondary let that go longer too. Be sure you dont hit the bottom of the fermenter with your racking cane when transferring. "crap" will settle out in all stages, as long as you leave it behind in bottom of the fermenter at transfer you should see less in each subsequent vessel.

Frodo

Recipes 

1cm is A LOT more than should be there. Let ferment in primary until clear at least (most beer types anyway), usually 3 wks or more. Use secondary if you want but you don't "need" to.

KevinM

Recipes 

What's your recipe and process as well? How long was it in the primary and how long (if any) was it in the secondary. What else did you do during the bottling process?

Like everyone said, it sounds like yeast, and maybe settled protein, but a full cm is quite a bit. A few mm is pretty normal.

That you also say the flavor is off is odd. What do you mean by off? And what are you comparing it to? Was it the same recipe all three batches? And do you mean it tastes different than the first batch?

therigaletto

Recipes 

Thanks for the responses!

I did Charlie P's Holiday Cheer Brew.

I didn't do a secondary this time. I kept it in primary for 10days. (Wanted it ready by Christmas)

I think I exaggerated the amount a little. I think it's closer to a couple MM's not CM's.

I wish I could describe the 'off' flavors and smell but I'm not good at that and you are correct, I guess I don't really have anything to compare it to to say it's truly off since I haven't done this recipe before.

If it is normal, then no one wants to drink my beer because of the stuff at the bottom
Any help to clear it up would be awesome.

Thanks again!

Soulfeather

Recipes 

I'm a newb and just learned this very thing. Transfer'd from fermenter to secondary to clear, then to bottling bucket. Each time taking less and less trub and trying to keep the siphon stick away from the bottom at all times...a bit of floaties in my first batch but not many

strat_thru_marshall

Recipes 

Longer primary!! 10 days is pushing it!! You could also try cold-crashing your fermenter if you have fridge space. Thats where you put the whole thing in the fridge and let it cool down to low 30's. This causes the yeast and other solid matter to drop to the bottom, and you can end up with much clearer beer in your bottling bucket.

therigaletto

Recipes 

Good advice!

I've never heard of cold-crashing. Do you do that straight-away with primary frementation or secondary?