How to get rid of yeasty taste in homebrew?

My friend got a Coopers DIY home brew kit, and so far I've tried his lager and his IPA and they both have strong yeasty after taste. I asked him how long he left it in the primary fermenter and he said like only 3 or 4 days for the lager and only a couple days for the IPA, could this extremely short period of primary fermentation and bottling too soon be the reason for the strong yeasty taste?

I recently got the same kit, and after tasting his I decided to let my lager ferment for at least 2 weeks based on what I've read on discussion boards. I bottled it last Tuesday, and will let it sit in the bottles for at at least 10-14 days before I put some in the fridge.

Do you think that the fact that I'm letting my lager ferment for at least 2 weeks (no 3 or 4 days) will make my brew taste a lot less yeasty than his?

I leave all my batches 4 weeks primary 4 weeks bottling conditioning. Chances are the yeast have not dropped out of suspension and are still swimming around in your glass. Is your product cloudy?

Your friend probably have a ton of yeast in suspension, most likely was not done fermenting, and is going to have some bottle hand grenades. That time line is way off. Your brew has a much better chance of not tasting "yeasty." You have to give yeast time to ferment, complete fermentation, and fall out of suspension.

Letting it ferment longer will allow the yeast to "clean up after themselves", so yes that helps. Also, the fermentation temperature plays a big role in the flavor profile of the beer. Keep the fermentation temp of those ale yeasts at 68* (degrees). Lots of posts on this site for how to do that.

If you are truly making a Lager, using Lager yeast, you would ferment at ~50*. Then lower to lagering temp at ~35*. That full process would take 7-9 weeks before you bottled.

BradleyBrew said:

Your friend probably have a ton of yeast in suspension, most likely was not done fermenting, and is going to have some bottle hand grenades. That time line is way off. Your brew has a much better chance of not tasting "yeasty." You have to give yeast time to ferment, complete fermentation, and fall out of suspension.

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Good point. He may have some bottle bombs.

To the OP - tell your friend if he has more bottles that have aged a few weeks, put on some gloves and goggles, put the bottles in a container/box, and put them in the fridge. They might be far, far over carbonated and there is a chance for a glass explosion.

It may not be the case, but if you search for "bottle bombs" you should find some interesting and potentially dangerous stories here.

Also, there are actually lots of yeast in each bottle. You have to have them in there to properly carbonate the beer, but once carbing/conditioning is complete, they generally settle to the bottom of the bottle.

Make sure you are storing bottles upright where they aren't disturbed so the yeast will settle, then when you pour your brew, you want to leave the last 10% or so in the bottle so you don't pour the yeast out.

william_shakes_beer said:

I leave all my batches 4 weeks primary 4 weeks bottling conditioning. Chances are the yeast have not dropped out of suspension and are still swimming around in your glass. Is your product cloudy?

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His lager was really cloudy but I also threw it in the freezer once he gave it to me then drank it a couple hours later, so I bet that also attributed to it.

Another question, I've heard a lot about how Cooper's yeast isn't the greatest and that you should get a better yeast. Is this true?

Also, I heard US-05 and S-04 yeast give a much clearer and less yeasty taste and look, is that pretty accurate?