How do I get rid of Sediment at the bottom of bottles?

I drank my first batch of a nut brown I made, it turned out fine. The only problem is that the bottles had a thick sediment at the bottom of them. The beer was fine to drink if you poor it in a glass, however I was curious how I get rid of this stuff at the bottom of the bottles. I strained and filtered about four times, in -transfering from wort-->Ferm, Ferm--->Secondary, Secondary-->to bottling bucket, and then bottling bucket to bottles. If anyone can help let me know.

Thats the beauty of homebrew, bottle conditioning. The yeast carbs up the beer after bottling and leaves a bit of sediment.

Unless you have a filtering system and dont carb in the bottles I think that sediment is inevetable.

You would need a kegging system.

Leave it in the bottle by pouring carefully. The next easiest path is to keg, force carb it, then bottle from there.

The sediment at the bottom is the yeast that is in your bottle. It is necessary for it to be there in order for your beer to carbonate in the bottle. I am assuming that this is what you did at this point. It's part of the natural process of bottle carbonating, in fact many commercial beers do this too. The best way to avoid it in your glass is to go ahead and leave just a bit of beer in the bottle when you pour. However, many people like the yeast and drink it anyway, and for some styles, it is appropriate to dump the yeast in your glass.

I don't think you should be overly concerned with trying to strain out the yeast during your transitioning from container to container, just make sure you are not picking up too much crud.

Later on as you get more sophisticated, you could use a real beer filter to filter out some of the yeast, but you would need to be kegging/force carbonate in order to get your beer carbonated.

+1 on kegging too.

Youll learn to love the yeast and the vitamins they contain. I have heard the vitamins help prevent hangovers.

How long are you keeping it in the fermenter and secondary? I get very little sediment in my bottles because it's in the carboys for a total of 4 or 5 weeks before bottling. I also use Irish moss in my batches so it's pretty clear before it even goes to the secondary.

Just a thought but time and Irish moss might help you get some of the sediment out of your bottles. You're never going to get it all but hopefully a reduction will have you feeling better about it.

Never filtered. Just rack from Primary to Secondary and leave the trub behind. Rack again into another barrel for bulk priming. Then bottle.

Nice St.Andrews flag btw

"The only problem is that the bottles had a thick sediment at the bottom of them."

Thick? I get far less than I used to because I usually rack off to a secondary. But don't think I would ever have used the phrase "thick." A light powder dusting would be more appropriate. If you getting much more than that, I would love to hear the input here.

sboro33 said:

I drank my first batch of a nut brown I made, it turned out fine. The only problem is that the bottles had a thick sediment at the bottom of them. The beer was fine to drink if you poor it in a glass, however I was curious how I get rid of this stuff at the bottom of the bottles. I strained and filtered about four times, in -transfering from wort-->Ferm, Ferm--->Secondary, Secondary-->to bottling bucket, and then bottling bucket to bottles. If anyone can help let me know.

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How long has it been since you botteled? If you only wait 1 week there will be a thick sediment. Let it sit for 3 weeks and the yeast clean it up and compact.

The longer the beer sits before bottling, the less sediment. Try 4-6 weeks in the clearing tank. Also, use highly flocculate yeasts.

beer is meant to be drank from a glass.

cheap swill (a.k.a budweiser and the rest) can be drank from the bottle. those 'beers' lack any true flavor or hop aroma, so you're not missing out on the flavor experience by drinking them from a bottle, or ice cold.

but real beer has a bouquet, like wine, and should be drank at temperatures warmer than 36 degrees. Ever met someone that liked to let their Guinness warm up a little first? They aren't crazy...they are a connesouir.

Everything so far is very helpful, I kept it in primary for 10 days, secondary for about 10 as well, then bottled for about 2 weeks, taste good however.

One thing you can do to reduce that sediment, maybe, is switch from pellet hops to leaf hops. Dunno why. Somebody else noticed it, when I read it here I said to myself "Oh Yeah, that is correct."

That is why beer bottles are shaped the way they are. The change from the wide bottom to the narrow neck is designed to allow you to slowly decant the beer(pour the beer off while leaving the yeast in the bottom).

Rinse them well when you are finished with them.

The best way to get rid of the sediment is to drink it and then wash the bottle out immediately!

I can't believe no one's mentioned the best benefit of the yeast at the bottom of the bottle.... massive beer farts!

Glibbidy said:

Rinse them well when you are finished with them.

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+1

And I like the sediment in the bottle of the bottle personally, proves its homebrew.

Send your beer to me, i'll take care of it.

Gently pour the beer from the bottle into a glass...take care not to disturb the sediment. Admire the color and clarity of your brew in the glass. Then rapidly and vigorously swirl the remaining beer and sediment left in the bottle and finish pouring it into your glass. Immediately rinse the bottle, turn upside down to dry!

I love the sediment! its loaded w/ B12 which the beer depleats from your system.

Here's the correct procedure.

When you are nearing the bottom of the bottle and the sediment starts to stir. Place the bottle on any flat surface or have a friend hold the bottle.
Open another homebrew and hold in your left hand. Pickup the first brew in your right hand. Gently stir the remaining beer until the sediment is suspended in the beer and then quickly toss it back. Then chase it with the new beer in your left hand and repeat this procedure as necessary.