Drinking the sediment and the bottom of the bottles

[StainlessBrewing]

After bottling my Blonde Ale 2 weeks ago I thought I would try one out leaving the sediment in the bottle like I usually do. Very clear, a little over carbonated and very LIGHT but otherwise not bad. I then had one from a 15oz green Grolsch bottle and poured everything in.....wow! Color became more rich, the beer was more rich and flavorful and wasn't to carbonated.

My question is, do you usually leave the sediment behind or pour everything in? By sediment, I mean from the priming sugar mainly. I'm sure it's just personal preference but just wondering what you do. When I drink Sierra Nevada I drink it all!

 

[danweasel]

See, I start by pouring a few into glasses. Then I get lazy and just drink out of the bottles. If I am having a few that is.

 

[KevinW]

When I first gave my nieces fiancee a bottle of one of my brews I warned him NOT to drink the sediment due to the beer being a little green!

He found out why later with each trip to the toilet!! (I also warned him it was @ 6.8% abv). He listens to me very good now!

I think we all react differently to the sediment and how fresh it is in the beer!

I usually play it safe!

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

I try to let about 1/2" or so in the bottle when pouring. The only real issue to me is clarity and depending on the yeast and how much hops the beer had sometimes drinking the sediment makes me gassy. The kids love it but the wife doesn’t! And yes it will change the flavor since you are putting the yeast and some hop residue back into suspension which is a good thing for some beers. So it’s all up to you to drink it or keep it.

 

[StainlessBrewing]

Can you ever taste a difference though? Maybe it's because one bottle is 12oz and the other is 15oz?

 

[StainlessBrewing]

It's a blonde ale and it makes a huge difference.....it actually tastes more like.....beer!

 

[IrregularPulse]

There is definitely a difference between pouring in the sludge and not. The rather or not you do it depends on the beer you're drinking. Some are better with, some better without. Some bottles will tell you to, some instruct you how to pour 2/3 of the bottle, lay the bottle on it side on a counter top, and roll to mix, then pour the rest on top. Depends on the beer and style.

 

[StoutFan]

I just leave the last bit. The "bready" flavor is good for some brews, but not most. The drinkers choice really, try both and see which you like best.

 

[Diver165]

I too just leave the last bit in the bottle. It's not gonna hurt ya.

I usually get a kick out of my BMC drinking friends when they reach the end of their bottle. Oooops, shoulda warned ya...Sorry.

 

[Brasco20]

I leave it in the bottle and drink it as one gulp, im not going to waste delicious beer, sediment or not!

 

[MrWiggles]

Maybe it's because one bottle is 12oz and the other is 15oz?

What I was about to say. It may be a difference in bottle size, albeit not that significant, but it does tend to take longer to carb/condition larger bottles. Honesty though, my first brew is still conditioning in the bottles so I can't relate my experience with home brew sediment. But, when it comes to commercial brew sediment, if it's a hefe , I always swirl into the glass. If it's a SN i have been known to drink straight from the bottle if I'm out at a party. So it's all up to personal preference, if you think your blonde ale tastes better with sediment, then drink it that way!

 

[brad26]

Just don't drink the first pull off of your corny keg, or the last one. I had a few sips of that and was in the bathroom all night, had horrible gas too.

 

[xoltri]

I've been making the Brewhouse wort-in-a-bag kits and for each of them I have added gelatin to the secondary to clear the beer. Not sure if that's what does it but all of my yeast sticks well to the bottom of the bottles so I can pour the entire thing off without getting any noticeable sediment in the glass.

I'm sure if you drank it out of the bottle the sloshing would dislodge it and you'd be drinking it though.

 

[NorCalAngler]

You don't have to leave much beer in the bottle. While you're pouring you can easily see the beer through the bottle (even brown bottles) and you can see when the yeast starts to work its way toward the mouth of the bottle. I can usually pour nearly the entire bottle before the yeast shows up in the beer stream. No sense in wasting good beer.

 

[Yooper]

I don't drink the sediment, although I know it can't hurt me. I just really like the beer without the sediment and yeasty taste. I don't like hefeweizens, so no "swirl" for me.

When I drink a bottled homebrew, I simply pour the beer in a single pour and don't let the sediment into my glass. In my mind, the beer was designed to be sampled without the yeast sediment/trub and I like it that way.

 

[ChshreCat]

When I drink a bottled homebrew, I simply pour the beer in a single pour and don't let the sediment into my glass. In my mind, the beer was designed to be sampled without the yeast sediment/trub and I like it that way.

Exactly how i was thinking. I don't mind yeast, but I want to taste what the BEER tastes like. If I dump the yeast into them then they all have the same yeasty taste dominating them and they all end up tasting the same.

 

[Daybis]

Sediment and my stomach don't agree, so I never drink the sediment.