Residue on sides of bottles while carbing

Hi all! Been brewing for a few years and finally joined the site! I've had a reoccurring issue over the last few years when bottling beers with certain yeasts and always wondered what it could be. I haven't seen anyone else mention similar issues but thought I needed to throw it out there and see if anyone else had similar experiences. I've had a few batches, that when bottle conditioned, would develop a dusting of particles on the walls of the bottles and sometimes a thin layer of residue floating on the top of the beer in the neck of the bottle. I would sometimes agitate the bottles which would help some of the residue drop to the bottom. I've had this experience when brewing with 3711, 1214 and the latest, 3522, which I'm attaching a picture of the bottle. For the most part the beers have all been great tasting except for one, which after conditioning for several months developed a strong doughy, peachy flavor. Had to pour it out it was so bad. The picture attached is a belgian pale (all extract) after only 3 days in the bottle. I tasted a sample and it had a hint of the same peachy flavor with some burnt rubber thrown in. Hoping that clears up with some aging. The same day, I bottled an Oak aged Belgian stout using 3787 that doesn't show any of the same residue. In fact I have two other beers using 3787 that carbonated and conditioned without the residue. I keep worrying that this is some kind of infection and am apprehensive about brewing a next batch. Any incites would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm not entirely sure what this is, I'm guessing yeast, but I have this on some of my brews. The flavor thus far has been unaffected by this phenomenon.

I'm curious too if anyone else has an explanation.

oxyclean residue in the bottles, bottling cloudy or a combination or the 2 will cause it.
Give the bottles a couple of fast twists and and some extra time, it will fall to the bottom its only yeast.

I've seen this on my bottles and glass carboys, just yeast hanging out. No worries after a couple of weeks or a day in the refrigerator the yeast will drop out. As mentioned by amandabab may be due to some residue (i don't use oxy) or could be that surface adhesion properties of yeast...http://jcp.aip.org/jcpsa6/v127/i13/p135104_s1?isAuthorized=no
I just read the abstract so I not sure what the conclusion is, maybe if I read it later if I can find a free copy I'll report back.

When I've seen this in the past it was a batch that hadn't finished fermenting completely before bottling and had started to ferment in the bottle again. The bottles all gushed, but no bombs. I've never seen it as a result of soaking bottles with PBW or Oxi-clean.

I get this a lot. I always figured it was yeast or super fine barley flour in suspension.
I give the bottles a sharp twist once in awhile, kind of like traditional champagne production.
I also notice it as a film left in the glass with some low floc yeasts, even out of a keg that is well settled. Doesn't appear to impact flavor.

Just came across this post, so I'm not sure if anyone is still checking it... I hadn't had this issue before, but now noticed the same film on the sides of a batch I just bottled about a week ago. My assumption was that it was yeast, and I haven't had a lot of luck dislodging it by twisting the bottles. I can live with it (especially if it doesn't cause off flavors). I'm curious what others have seen as to how well the residue comes off when you go to clean the bottles? Does a bottle washer and brush do a good enough job to get it all off, or can't you get the bottles clean enough to use again? Thanks!

Duncan83865 said:

Just came across this post, so I'm not sure if anyone is still checking it... I hadn't had this issue before, but now noticed the same film on the sides of a batch I just bottled about a week ago. My assumption was that it was yeast, and I haven't had a lot of luck dislodging it by twisting the bottles. I can live with it (especially if it doesn't cause off flavors). I'm curious what others have seen as to how well the residue comes off when you go to clean the bottles? Does a bottle washer and brush do a good enough job to get it all off, or can't you get the bottles clean enough to use again? Thanks!

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum!

All you need to do is soak your bottles in oxiclean for a day or two, and all of the yeast residue will come right off. No bottle brush needed.

Here's to reviving this post because I have the same problem.

More and more of the same deposits appear on my empty bottles. I rinse each bottle immediately after pouring the beer and disinfect them with Chemipro OXI before bottling.
I believe these are debris from tap water, but it could be something else. The only thing I found is that it does not affect the quality of the beer.

How do you deal with this problem and how to remove these debris?
Although it does not affect the beer (at least for now) it would be better if the bottles were completely clean.

Could be protein binding to the side, yeast deposit. I would add chemipro or pink stain remover to the bottles and fill to the brim with boiling water and set them aside for a good minutes then use bottle brush to clean thoroughly, that should do the trick. If not, dispose of those bottles if the residue doesnt come off.

I tried cold water and a brush to clean most of the bottles.
I would like to know how to prevent these deposits from forming?