Newbie question about bottle sediment

I was under the impression that the stuff at the bottom of my bottles was bad for me. From what i've heard it causes gas and all sorts of stomache problems. This is why i pour and leave an inch left in the bottle.

BUT the restaurant i work at serves Coopers Sparkling Ale and they have sediment in their bottles from "top fermentation and bottle conditioning process" according to their label. They encourage you to mix it in before drinking.

What is the difference, and why is their sediment OK but mine bad?

USFbulls said:

I was under the impression that the stuff at the bottom of my bottles was bad for me. From what i've heard it causes gas and all sorts of stomache problems. This is why i pour and leave an inch left in the bottle.

BUT the restaurant i work at serves Coopers Sparkling Ale and they have sediment in their bottles from "top fermentation and bottle conditioning process" according to their label. They encourage you to mix it in before drinking.

What is the difference, and why is their sediment OK but mine bad?

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No, yours is fine, too! Some people who aren't accustomed to homebrew have had some gas issues, I've heard. I've never had a problem, nor have any of my relatives or friends. I think it's more of an aesthetics question- it looks icky, so you don't pour it into your glass. That and it's out of style for most ales. Hefes and other wheat beers are cloudy with suspended yeast, and it's part of the beer profile. Most ales are "cleaner" and not yeasty tasting. It won't hurt you, and is loaded with B-vitamins. It might taste yeasty though, and that's why most of us don't drink it.

I have never had any issues with sedement.

I was always told it was good for you..I mean it is part of the beer so I do not see why or how it could "hurt" you? If you don't like it, I would continue doing what you are now and leaving a little left in the bottle.

Some beer actually tell you to pour the yeast on top of the foam.

t causes gas and all sorts of stomach problems

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This is actually a personal problem. It's like eating fried food - some people have problems and some don't. It's all about your ones system is working. I've heard that if you get gas and so forth there is a bigger "problem" with your digestive system not being able to handle the yeast (Yogurt helps).

So when people complain about gassy home brew - it's not the beer, it's the persons stomach.

I've always had an iron stomach and have always drank the little bit of sediment from my bottles after having poured the rest into my glass. Never had a problem with the sediment...until...last week. I poured myself a glass of my favorite homebrewed ESB and then drank the sediment straight from the bottle. About an hour later I burping constantly and my stomach was nearly burning. This lasted til sometime the next day. Never experienced anything like it before. Sure its possible that the homebrew was not to be blamed but really it was the only thing I could think of. Plus when I think back to when I was actually drinking the sediment I remember thinking "Hmmm...this seems like an awful lot of sediment". I suspect perhaps that the bottle I drank that night was one that unluckily picked up extra sediment due to me tipping my bottling bucket over to get the last bit of beer.

It was not a pleasant experience.

That is one of the big reasons I started kegging. I don't get gas from the sediment but I don't like the taste either and convincing my wife to drink it was a no go. The other reason is ease of use.

Minimize the sediment in the biottles by maximizing the sediment in the carboy- wait for your beer to clear before bottling. If you are getting sediment in your bottling bucket, you need to wait another week.

When I was in Germany, mixing the sediment was the thing to do, they told me that is where all the flavor is

It depends on the beer, really. Some yeast leave a bitter, not so appetizing sediment behind, while others are quite tasty. None of it is harmful. Generally, I leave the sediment behind unless it's a hefeweizen, wit, or other style where I know I want a lot of yeast in suspension.

I have not had any problems with yeast but some people consider it a mild laxative. I drink that last drink with Pride!!

I spread it on toast.

McCuckerson said:

I spread it on toast.

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Vegemite or Marmite?

Hefeweizengeliebter said:

Vegemite or Marmite?

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mmmmmm..... Vegemite!

I racked my belgian to a secondary this weekend, and curious to see what it tasted like, I stuck a spoon in the slurry at the bottom and tasted it. Then I did it again. It was plenty bitter, but otherwise tasted ok.

Later that night I had some pretty good stomach pains and lots of gas. Could have been something I ate, I supposed, but it makes sense that it was the trub that did it. Or maybe the buttermilk that smelled bad but I tasted anyway (even though I spit as muhc out as I could).

Who knows, the live yeast probably starts fermenting in your stomach. Vegemite a good old Aussie staple has no live yeast in it.

As an aside I have Vegemite this way.

First butter toast and spread a good helping of Vegemite then add a layer of crunchy Peanut butter.

Ahhh! what a combination.