Do I dare drink it?

Just finished my first batch of brew ever. I did Upstake Mike's Caramel recipe. The bottles have been done for 4 days and it seemed like my test bottle felt carbonated correctly so I threw them in the fridge to cold crash (only made 2 gallons). But in looking at the bottles most of them all have clumps of stuff in them. Would that just be the caramel not mixed in well or could I have something I don't dare drink?

Is it a lost cause?

open one and smell, separate out the clump from the cider and see what it is before judging. also didnt that recipe call for stove pasteurization? if its the caramel apple recipe im thinking of im pretty sure it does or else youll get bottle bombs. and no one wants that. i think cold crashing takes a bit too. idn though.

Could just be yeast sediment. I'd stick them in the fridge them for a week or two. If it is yeast, it should settle out. When the time comes, just handle gently, pour slowly, and leave the dregs in the bottle.

I used the same recipe and got snotty clumps in it. It wasn't too bad. I don't think I boiled the cinnamon long enough. But they were still drinkable. I had a bottle of it last nite. Tasted like apple pie!

Good thanks for the reply. Maybe all is not lost. Guess it's time to start the next batch

Not familiar with the recipe but if you did not add pectic enzyme before (or after ) you fermented the apple juice and you heated the fruit (pasteurization) then you may have jelled the fruit. Heating pectin rich fruit results in jam. Alternatively, if you did not degas the cider before bottling then you may simply have dead yeast floating.

I'm guessing it's the yeast then. I added the enzyme before.

I make a few batches of this stuff every year. 80% of the time I get strings/globs. I was worried about it at first, but I pasteurized, and a few weeks in the fridge dropped everything to the bottom. I don't worry about it any more.