Excessive sediment in bottles

[HarvardSquareHomey]

Hi everyone, after a long hiatus from the forums, I'm back with another noob question. Recently I bottled our first batch after about 8 months or so of not brewing. I just checked on the bottles and there is an excessive amount of junk in the bottom. I've never had this much before. Everything looked good when we were bottling and I double cleaned and then sanitized.

I did a search for this type of post but found nothing. Any input would be a big help

 

[IceFisherChris]

There was probably a lot of yeast still in suspension. 8 months will let a lot of it settle out.
How long did you let it ferment before you bottled?? If it was a very short time then that could be a cause. I try to wait 3 weeks before bottling.

 

[HarvardSquareHomey]

I realized after I posted and reread my initial post that I worded it a little funny. What I meant to say was that I hadn't brewed in 8 months. It had been in fermentation for a month. 1 week in primary and then 3 in the secondary with dry hopping in a grain bag. It was bottled on Monday so it's been 4 days. I just cracked one open to see if it was infected and it was fine. -Although it was one of the bottles with the least amount of sediment.

 

[pkeeler]

Which yeast did you use? Some just don't flocculate well, even with extended secondary time. Sometimes the disturbance of moving the fermenter to the bucket kicks them all back in solution. Just pour the beer off the sediment. If it tastes good, that is all that matters.

An infection usually doesn't increase sediment, but produces a ring around the neck of the bottle.

 

[DavidHawman]

I have a lot of sediment in my bottles and it still tastes fine. My guess is that if you let the beer sit longer in the secondary(maybe 2-3 weeks) you'd get a lot less sediment.

 

[TipsyDragon]

when ever i see a post like this i always wonder. what do you consider "excessive"?

 

[HarvardSquareHomey]

Well I used WyLabs yeast I think. First time using it. I did keep it in secondary for 3 weeks, so that shouldn't be an issue I guess when it comes to sediment in bottles, I think a thin film on the bottom that basically sits there. When I agitate these bottles a load of junk swirls up from the bottom and there's lots of floaters. My only guess is that what pkeeler said is right. Even though I'm not sure what flocculate means. -is it like attenuation? Maybe when the additional sugar was added for priming, there was still some yeast left over with unfinished business? and the sediment is just the byproduct.

 

[Bacchus]

Attenuation is what percentage of sugar the yeast consumes. Flocculation is how much of the yeast falls to the bottom of the fermenter.

 

[pkeeler]

Wyeast makes dozens of different yeasts, with all kinds of different flocculations. You can use polyclar if it really bothers you. The yeast is very nutritious; though sometimes it is bitter.

 

[Palefire]

Let the bottles sit in the fridge for a few weeks - that usually compacts the sediment.