Beer looks like a snowglobe

[Lurkerga]

I brewed this Orange IPA and noticed the white "snowflakes" forming around the dry hop bag and releasing into the beer. I usually filter with a screen but opted not to on this batch. The beer tastes exceptional, but I was wondering what they are? In the bottle they settle at the bottom. I figure they may be yeast rafts and can pour without getting too many into the glass but opt to save beer and enjoy the flakes. (I use Brown bottles but always bottle 1 clear glass to observe).

 

[Bellybuster]

my guess is calcium

 

[Muckdog]

I've had this happen before too. I was always under the impression that it was the hops since I dry hopped with pellets, but since you had a bag, it must not be. Whatever it is, I think it looks cool and doesn't seem to affect the beer at all.

 

[domdom]

my guess is hops from dry hopping. I get something similar with the last few bottles of a highly hopped beer. how old is it and how many hops did you use? word of warning: i've noticed that beers with lots of hop residue tend to violently foam over when opened the longer they sit.

 

[bobeer]

Looks like hop trub or yeast to me. How long did you have the beer in the fridge for? If it's yeast it should compact at the bottom. If it doesn't do that, and the beer tastes ok, then it's probably what you think it is, hops.

 

[Lurkerga]

This is actually a slightly modified version of Morebeer's M-80 IPA and was bottled on 7/26/15. Made the recipe as per the instructions and added only a pound of malt to my steeping grain. Used about 2.5oz dry hops Iirc for 7 days. They do settle to the bottom but loosly when cold, regardless of the amount of days in the fridge. I am thinking calcium in the water or something related to the dry hop bag. I dry hop a lot and only notice this on the batch I used a nylon dry hop bag as opposed to the grain (muslin) bag.

 

[bobeer]

Have you used this water source before and gotten the same results? If it's calcium in the water then I'd assume all the beer would turn out like that? And at what stage do you filter your beer usually and with what?

Another thought...Have you tried not using any hop bag? if they're pellets they'll all break up and cover the top of the beer then it'll all sink to the bottom. Especially if you can cold crash for a few days before kegging/bottling.

 

[Lurkerga]

Have you used this water source before and gotten the same results? If it's calcium in the water then I'd assume all the beer would turn out like that?

Always used the same water. I have had a batch with some similar flaking around the hop bag but cold crashed that with geletin and it seemed to drop out of the secondary. I have brewed quite a few different batches and this is not common, dry hopped or not.

And at what stage do you filter your beer usually and with what?

I don't use much of a filtration system. I rigged some stainless mesh screening to serve as a filter when syphoning from the secondary to the bottling bucket. Opted not to on this batch but didn't intentionally suck a bunch of sediment up.

Another thought...Have you tried not using any hop bag? if they're pellets they'll all break up and cover the top of the beer then it'll all sink to the bottom. Especially if you can cold crash for a few days before kegging/bottling.

Actually, I have done a few 2xIPA's this way (to include Pliney from Morebeer). Didn't have the white flakes but did use my screen to filter. Didn't see this type of sediment in any of those, which makes me think it may be linked to the hop bag used.

May even be the type of hop? I haven't dry hopped with Centennial (2 oz) and Citra (.5 oz) before.

 

[iijakii]

Yeah, that's dry hops. Might also be from a little bit of bottle sediment. Do you poor slowly and leave some behind?

 

[Lurkerga]

If I pour for a buddy, I do a slow pour and can keep it pretty clear. I actually don't mind the sediment and just dump it all in for myself.

Thanks for all the input!

 

[iijakii]

Yup. Yeast/dry-hop flakes that are being kicked up by CO2 bubbling out of suspension. I've seen it plenty of times in both homebrew and commercial "bottle fermented" beers.

 

[bobeer]

OK. I really think it' just hop trub...

And just as an FYI don't filter your beer with any screens/mesh after fermentation is complete. You will aerate your beer and that is bad. It will make it taste like cardboard. Either use gelatin or just cold crash for a couple days. Oxygen is good before you pitch the yeast but it's bad for beer after it ferments. I just cold crash since I think gelatin is gross and my beer is usually acceptably clear.

 

[Lurkerga]

My screening filter is actually attached to the hard plastic syphoning rod inside the secondary carboy and not on the end of the hose that drains into the bucket. I siphon into my priming sugar dilution without splashing. Will this still create oxidation?
Honestly, most of my brews turn out pretty good. I did brew a batch when I first started that was badly oxidized and had a pronounced cardboard taste due to splash in through a screen into the botttling bucket.

I assumed this current system was fine.

 

[bobeer]

My screening filter is actually attached to the hard plastic syphoning rod inside the secondary carboy and not on the end of the hose that drains into the bucket. I siphon into my priming sugar dilution without splashing. Will this still create oxidation?
Honestly, most of my brews turn out pretty good. I did brew a batch when I first started that was badly oxidized and had a pronounced cardboard taste due to splash in through a screen into the botttling bucket.

I assumed this current system was fine.

If it's on the end of the racking cane/auto siphon you should be fine. I've never done that but I've heard of the idea. Sounds like you know what youre doing. brew on, man!