Is That Mold in the Bottom of My Bottles?

[maynard6kk]

So my fiance brewed his first batch a few weeks ago - It is a cream ale. It was kept in the bottling bucket for the 2 and a half weeks - Don't ask why he didn't put it in the carboy, I'm not sure.
Anyway, we bottled it and let it sit out for a couple more weeks. (Priming sugar was put in each individual bottle. He is convinced that a couple of bottles have mold in the bottom of them because there is a darker sediment that has settled.
Does it really matter what bottles our brew is put into? For the first batch we just collected bottles that we had drank for a few months before brewing, so there's a few different shapes. (Hoegaarden, Smithwicks, New Glarus, etc) All of them are brown bottles though, as I understand the yeast can be affected differently based on the color of the bottle.
Any input you guys can lend us would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[freisste]

So my fiance brewed his first batch a few weeks ago - It is a cream ale. It was kept in the bottling bucket for the 2 and a half weeks - Don't ask why he didn't put it in the carboy, I'm not sure.
Anyway, we bottled it and let it sit out for a couple more weeks. (Priming sugar was put in each individual bottle. He is convinced that a couple of bottles have mold in the bottom of them because there is a darker sediment that has settled.
Does it really matter what bottles our brew is put into? For the first batch we just collected bottles that we had drank for a few months before brewing, so there's a few different shapes. (Hoegaarden, Smithwicks, New Glarus, etc) All of them are brown bottles though, as I understand the yeast can be affected differently based on the color of the bottle.
Any input you guys can lend us would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

As long as the bottle held pressurized liquid before, it is fine to use for bottling. Most steer clear of twist off tops because of issues with sealing and breaking the necks. Edit: Also clear bottles don't block out light and allow skunking. If you store them exclusively in the dark, its no big deal.

What makes him think it is mold? It's probably just yeast settling out.

Also, if you haven't investigated batch priming, look into it. Makes for more even priming and is way easier, IMHO.

 

[wfowlks]

I have had mold in bottles before if I didn't rinse then immediately. Some of it hard to get out. Thus I have been looking at every bottle before putting beer in them. I have had a few bottles that I couldn't get it out of and had to throw it out.

Any mold would be from before putting beer in them.

 

[AZBeerNut]

For what it's worth... bottle conditioning will always leave some sediment in the bottom of the bottle. I can't see what you're looking at... but if this is your first time, it could just be the normal sediment that you're not used to seeing!

 

[RM-MN]

So my fiance brewed his first batch a few weeks ago - It is a cream ale. It was kept in the bottling bucket for the 2 and a half weeks - Don't ask why he didn't put it in the carboy, I'm not sure.
Anyway, we bottled it and let it sit out for a couple more weeks. (Priming sugar was put in each individual bottle. He is convinced that a couple of bottles have mold in the bottom of them because there is a darker sediment that has settled.
Does it really matter what bottles our brew is put into? For the first batch we just collected bottles that we had drank for a few months before brewing, so there's a few different shapes. (Hoegaarden, Smithwicks, New Glarus, etc) All of them are brown bottles though, as I understand the yeast can be affected differently based on the color of the bottle.
Any input you guys can lend us would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

He didn't put it in the carboy because it didn't need to be in the carboy. The only time I put beer into the carboy is for fermenting with fruit. My carboy has been used 3 times. Wasted my money on that. He really should have fermented it in a fermenting bucket and then racked it to the bottling bucket with the priming sugar. It's easier to get even carbonation that way.

Put the suspect bottles into another container with a lid as if they weren't clean enough you could have some wild yeast in there that will continue to ferment and can cause the bottles to explode. Having them in something like a plastic tub with a lid will contain any flying glass and beer and make cleanup much easier.

 

[454k30]

Interesting take on the bucket vs. carboy aspect. I have done just the opposite as you. I used my bucket when I did beers with fruit as clean-up/clean-out was much easier. The carboys do all the typical grain brews. The one exception is when I did an all wheat hefe that I skimmed the krausen off of. I do agree that batch priming in a bottling bucket is a much better idea.

But, back to the original question. The sediment you see is probably just yeast settling out. It is completely safe to drink that beer and the sediment as well. The few times I have seen mold in the bottle it wasn't settled at the bottom, it was floating on top and was obviously mold; like the kind you get if you don't clean out the coffee maker for a week.

 

[grem135]

Also if you bottled straight from the bucket you fermented in then you most likely got trub in your bottles along with the yeast that settles out while bottle conditioning. Pour carefully leaving the last 1/2 inch or so in the bottle to leave the gunk behind.