transfer to bottling bucket= lots of crap in bottles?

[Riddick]

I just sampled a beer i brewed about a month ago, accoring to more than a few people i bottled it early. I just wanted to know how bad i screwed up. turns out, not that badly. But when i went to sample the beer, i noticed quite a lot of sediment and that whole yeast cake crap in the bottom of the bottle. how exaclty do you avoid getting that in your bottling bucket, do you transfer to a secondary and let that settle; hopefully that will help? the upside is: it tastes pretty close to what i was hoping for so im not discouraged/pissed.

 

[JWink]

Many here will say to ferment for a month and then bottle.

I ferment for 2 weeks or however long I can, until I need my fermenter, and then rack to a secondary for 10 to 4 days.

I like to lift my fermenter and carboys up and leave them up high for a few days. That lets the sediment fall and not be disturbed. (no moving) I just transfer where it sits.

My very first beer I did none of this and it was very cloudy. My batches after that were all clear and have came out nice.

 

[birvine]

Careful racking at bottling after a sufficient primary then at least a few weeks of conditioning to let the small amount of yeast settle to the bottom.

B

 

[git_dr1]

You are going to have sediment and a small yeast cake in the bottom of the bottle from the yeast eating the priming sugar.

 

[1Mainebrew]

The best and easiest way is to primary for 4 WEEKS! This is super important. This wouldn't be highlighted so frequently, by so many people if it was not true. Patience, though difficult, will pay vast dividends to your brewing experience.

 

[drathbone]

Wouldn't the correct answer be - You'll have yeast cake in your beer bottles unless you filter the yeast? Unless I'm missing something or I didn't understand the OP, I thought that was the obvious answer.

Midwest supplies has a 1, .65 and .5 micron filters to completely remove yeast from your beer.

 

[NorthRiverS]

The yeast that settles in the bottom of the bottle will stay put if it has been conditioned long enough to compact, and the beer is poured gently enough.

NRS

 

[1Mainebrew]

when I bottle I get a very, very light dusting of yeast on the bottom, not a cake. Thats one of the benefits of the long primary.

 

[Riddick]

yeah, i figured it was that i didnt leave it in the primary long enough, but it might also be that the yeast ate the priming sugar. like i said, first time i brewed so i was wondering for future thouughts!

cheers!

 

[Yooper]

You will always have a bit of yeast in the bottom of the bottles with bottle conditioned beer. There are commercial breweries where you'll notice it too! I know Rogue, especially their Shakesphere Stout, has a dusting of yeast on the bottom. (You can keep that yeast, and save it, but that's for another post!)

There are a couple of things to do to minimize the amount of yeast in the bottles. One is a long enough primary. I am NOT a fan of the "month long primary" that seems to be preached around here lately, but certainly that won't hurt the beer. I think 2-3 weeks is plenty of time.

A couple of keys, though- first, use a flocculant yeast like S04. That will compact down to a very tight yeast cake, especially if you can chill the fermenter before transferring to the bottling bucket.

Two, careful siphoning will really help. I start siphoning in the middle of the fermenter and lower it as the level of the beer drops. I avoid the trub at the bottom.

If you can crash cool (stick the fermenter in the fridge, for example) for a day or two before bottling that will help suspended solids drop out of suspension.

It sort of goes without saying, but don't bottle a beer until it's clear. Because when it does clear, you'd have the stuff drop out in the fermenter, rather than the bottle!

Lastly, when you serve the beer, chill it a couple of days in the fridge and don't move it around. When you pour it, open it and pour it in one pour and leave the last 1/4" of beer in the bottle. That way the sediment stays in the bottle and doesn't get poured into your glass. I think Revvy has a "how to pour a homebrew" guide that is really helpful for friends who aren't accustomed to homebrew.

 

[Willygene]

I do as jwink does, but typically leave in the primary for only 5 to 7 days before racking to secondary.

You could also rack to secondary at the height of the krausen or foam formation (3 or 4 days) and leave behind proteins and other residue that clouds the beer ( I've done this a few times, too). It also smooths the taste some. That's kind of what happens if you use a blow off tube on the primary as a lot of the krausen is forced out of the fermenter. It will complete fermentation in the secondary just fine.