First Brew Seems Cloudy in Bottle

[CrossBones]

Well, my first brew has been in the bottle a week now, and I'm patiently waiting until I can finally crack one open and give it a try. I brewed an Irish Red Ale from a Midwest kit, and when bottling I did something kinda dumb...

My wife and I drink a good number of "small" beers (Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Belhaven Ale, and Stone IPA, for instance) but also enjoy Blue Moon and Shock Top. Since I've started brewing my own, I figured it would be more economical if I recycled the store-bought bottles after drinking them - but I forgot about the whole screw-top thing. As a result, my Irish Red made it into two screw-top bottles before I realized what happened.

Concerned that the seal might be bad on them, I moved them from my storage place - a corner of our bedroom - into the kitchen, mostly to guard against possible leakage. When I brought them into the light, I noticed that the bottom quarter of the bottle seems very, well, cloudy. I suppose this might be the by-product of yeast eating up the sugar I added when bottling, but does this happen to everyone? Should you drink it? I'm concerned that I'll have to pour the beer into a glass, and waste 30% on the bottom because I'll have to keep it in the bottle.

Any thoughts or advice would be very appreciated!

 

[Hoosier-Brewer]

Let it ride for another week or two and then put them in the fridge for 48-72 hours before drinking. It should be alright. I would recommend tossing the twist off bottles when your done.

 

[djfriesen]

You're fine. It's likely the yeast and it will settle out during your conditioning and chilling.

 

[CrossBones]

Just so I know what to expect, what does "settle out" mean - become a solid precipitate and fall to the bottom of the bottle, or disappear altogether, or just sort of blend in with the rest of the beer in the bottle to be a sort of semi-cloudy liquid? When pouring, should I be concerned about leaving something in the bottom of the bottle, or just empty the whole thing and drink it all?

 

[CrossBones]

Will definitely recycle the twist-offs - in the recycle bin!

 

[unionrdr]

Just so I know what to expect, what does "settle out" mean - become a solid precipitate and fall to the bottom of the bottle, or disappear altogether, or just sort of blend in with the rest of the beer in the bottle to be a sort of semi-cloudy liquid? When pouring, should I be concerned about leaving something in the bottom of the bottle, or just empty the whole thing and drink it all?

Settle out means that during bottle conditioning,the yeast,etc will settle to the bottom of the bottle,leaving clear beer. At fridge time,1 to 2 weeks will allow any chill haze to settle out as well. The whole mass compacting on the bottom of the bottle. But you need to leave'em in there at least a week to achieve this. 2 weeks is def better for thicker head & longer lasting carbonation.

 

[CrossBones]

Thanks, but... Is the stuff at the bottom of the bottle drinkable?

 

[Shrimpboat]

Absolutly, some people leave it in the bottle,some people, like myself, just dump it all into a glass. For a hef you actually want to put that yeast back into suspention. So I've been told.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks, but... Is the stuff at the bottom of the bottle drinkable?

Go to a health foods store and ask about brewers yeast. That's what you have at the bottom of your bottle and yes you can drink it. Some people get gastric distress from it and lots of farts while others get no effects at all. It's supposed to be a good source of B vitamins.

 

[Camride]

I did the same thing with my Irish Red. It's not a big deal, I just don't pour the last 1/4" of the beer and its nice and clear. I also fermented my Irish Ted too hot so it took about a month for it to taste ok, and now at almost 2 months in the bottle they taste great!

 

[buzzbean]

Did you use a secondary? I've seen that opinions on secondaries are pretty split around here but I use them.

My first batch I did not use a secondary and I had what you described. I used 1 liter bottles so there was actually a good deal of sediment. But since I've started using secondaries I have little to no sediment in my bottles.

 

[CrossBones]

I also fermented my Irish Ted too hot so it took about a month for it to taste ok, and now at almost 2 months in the bottle they taste great!

I'm pretty sure mine was also too hot while fermenting - I just left the fermenter in my family room, where the temp occasionally rose to the upper 70s. I've read that I should be fermenting in the 60s, so I'm planning to get a temp controller for my freezer to make a cooling chest. I think I prefer the Johnson A419 controller, but can't find one any cheaper than about $50 - will keep looking...

 

[CrossBones]

Did you use a secondary? I've seen that opinions on secondaries are pretty split around here but I use them.

Nope, because I didn't have one at the time. Now I do, so my Strong Ale will go into the secondary in about a week...