sediment after bottling

Hello I just bottled my first batch of light ale from a kit. followed directions best that I could.It looked good ,smelled and tasted good after racking and adding the boiled corn sugar. two days after bottling I noticed that a sediment fas forming in the bottom of the bottles. I open one and tasted. It had started to carbonale and did not taste bad. Is this normal or is something going wrong? Thanks for any advise.

Its yeast settling out. You'll have it in all bottled beers unless they're bottled from a keg. Just let the beer sit in the fridge for a few days before drinking it and it will compact at the bottom. Slowly pour off all but the last 1/4". Drinking the yeast helps with hangovers, but you'll be making a lot of trips to the bathroom if you drink too much.

sediment is completely normal. My first batch I had a solid 1/4 inch of it. Now on my 5th I've got little to none...you'll get better fast.

Look into cold crashing and gelatin or irish moss

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/cold-crash-question-76512/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/irish-moss-39726/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/knox-gelatin-clear-4803/

Welcome to HBT!

Yep, yeast is busy eating your priming sugar, shooting out CO2, and settling to the bottom of the bottle. Generally it takes 3 weeks at 70° to fully carb, however, it can go faster or slower.

Thanks all. This is going to be a great forum for me! I ,ve been making grape and country wines for a while, But I drink beer, so I decided to give it a try. Me and my son in law are patiently waiting to see if it turns out. I'm happy to hear that this is normal. Thanks again

Hi All,

I just got finished bottling my first homebrew. I made a beautiful Honey Stout. Hoping its as good as it smells. In looking at the bottles, I too noticed that there is sediment in the bottom. I noticed that others said this is entirely normal but I don't remember seeing this in other people's homebrews that I have tried. I followed all the rules and used a primary and secondary fermentation before bottling. I can't imagine handing someone a homebrew that has grit in the bottom. Just doesn't seem right. So how do I get rid of it? Or does it really matter?

Also how does using a keg differ from bottling? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Cavergirl said:

Hi All,

I just got finished bottling my first homebrew. I made a beautiful Honey Stout. Hoping its as good as it smells. In looking at the bottles, I too noticed that there is sediment in the bottom. I noticed that others said this is entirely normal but I don't remember seeing this in other people's homebrews that I have tried. I followed all the rules and used a primary and secondary fermentation before bottling. I can't imagine handing someone a homebrew that has grit in the bottom. Just doesn't seem right. So how do I get rid of it? Or does it really matter?

Also how does using a keg differ from bottling? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Click to expand...

welcome to HBT, cavegirl

sediment in bottle conditioned beers is totally normal, whether they're commercial or home brewed. the sediment will pack tightly and when you pour, leave the last oz or so of beer behind and they're'll be no grit in the glass. other than that, you can't get rid of sediment in bottle conditioned brew.
as for kegging, you can either keg condition as you do in bottles, or force carbonate with co2. either way, to keg beer, you'll need a co2 tank, kegs, lines, taps, and a regulator for the co2 tank. also, it help to have a designated fridge, or kegerator, when kegging beer.

Yep perfectly normal, now go brew another!

Cavergirl said:

Hi All,

I just got finished bottling my first homebrew. I made a beautiful Honey Stout. Hoping its as good as it smells. In looking at the bottles, I too noticed that there is sediment in the bottom. I noticed that others said this is entirely normal but I don't remember seeing this in other people's homebrews that I have tried. I followed all the rules and used a primary and secondary fermentation before bottling. I can't imagine handing someone a homebrew that has grit in the bottom. Just doesn't seem right. So how do I get rid of it? Or does it really matter?

Also how does using a keg differ from bottling? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Click to expand...

You won't "get rid of it". Think of a bottle as a little mini carboy (or bucket if that is what you ferment in). The yeast is doing the exact same thing it did in the carboy except instead of letting the CO2 out with an airlock you are keeping it in the bottle. This is where the carbonation comes from. Just like in a carboy the yeast will settle out when they are done leaving a small layer of sediment at the bottom of the bottle. As was mentioned chilling the bottle then pouring off all but the last bit is the best way to go.

Kegging is another story. You rack off to a keg then use CO2 to force carb the beer instead of letting the yeast do it. By doing this you reduce or completely eliminate any sediment (sometimes there is some that made it over in the transfer but the initial pour from the keg removes it).

Advantages to kegging are it is faster, easier and cleaner (meaning less sanitizing before and less clean up after) than bottling. Disadvantage you have to purchase kegs, a CO2 bottle and tubes/fittings and you need to make or purchase a keezer/kegerator.

When people talk about bottling from a keg they mean transfer of the already carbonated beer from a keg to a bottle/growler/etc. If done right the beer will maintain its carbonation and can store indefinitely. There will be no sediment though as there is no yeast in suspension. Most people don't bottle entire kegs but instead just bottle what they need to be portable for friends, trips, competitions, etc.

Hope that helped.

Thanks All! I will try and be much more careful with my next batches: An XX clone and a Red Brick Ale.

BTW: Can anyone tell me how many women they know that are the primary brewers in the household?

unionrdr said:

Yooper is one of them...!

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There are a couple here I believe but yeah Yooper is the first that comes to mind.

Cavergirl said:

Thanks All! I will try and be much more careful with my next batches: An XX clone and a Red Brick Ale.

BTW: Can anyone tell me how many women they know that are the primary brewers in the household?

Click to expand...

there's a number of women around the site, whether or not they're the primary brewer or not, couldn't tell ya. yooper's definitely one that comes to mind, she seems to make alotta beer and wine. my wife's a member here, and she makes a mean ale, though her main interest is winemaking. we both brew beer, and she does a lot around the brewery, but i'm the main beer brewer in the house.