Particles in store beer appeared suddenly.

[Albianfire]

I am a new poster here and this is my first post. I did try and search this directly but couldn't find info on this specific issue/phenomena.

So, that said, I am curious. I bought a wee heavy from a local grocery store. I won't say the name of the beer company as I don't want to be rude to the brewery and they make very good beers. It was in a 750ml bottle that I had refrigerated for a day before opening and poured clear tasted a little smokey which was fine. I put half of the bottle back in the fridge with a rubber wine stopper in it. A day and a half later it smelled and tasted fruity (not in a bad way). I thought I saw bubbles but they were suspended particles. I was wondering if they were proteins coagulating or an infection. I am bewildered because it was always refrigerated once home and such a short time to change. Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[day_trippr]

Yeast?

Cheers!

 

[vwmasstransit]

Welcome and congrats on your first post! Is there a a small amount of sediment on the bottom of the bottle? That looks like yeast from bottle conditioning. Some yeasts take a while to resettle once stirred up from the first pour. That would also explain the increase in fruity flavors.

 

[Kevin79]

Welcome and congrats on your first post! Is there a a small amount of sediment on the bottom of the bottle? That looks like yeast from bottle conditioning. Some yeasts take a while to resettle once stirred up from the first pour. That would also explain the increase in fruity flavors.

Agree, most definitely yeast particles. Perfectly normal for a bottle conditioned beer. Assuming that's what it is, it will usually tell you on the bottle. Another way to tell is to check for sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Some people prefer to pour vigorously to include the sediment while others prefer to pour carefully to leave the sediment in the bottle. Each will give you a different flavor and some styles of beer are better drank one way or the other. A lot of bottle conditioned bottles will offer you a suggestion on how to pour.

 

[Homercidal]

Sediment. A lot of good beers aren't filtered, and you want to pour them carefully to avoid picking up the sediment that forms on the bottom of the bottle.

When you stoppered it and put it back, the sediment was lifted up into solution, making the second pour contain the sediment.

Best bet is to pour the whole thing and drink in one sitting (or simply ignore the sediment and enjoy it for what it is.)

 

[Albianfire]

Thanks all. Probably right about the sediment. I didn't check the bottom of the bottle before I rinsed it. Well, it's good beer so I will pick another up and look more carefully right out of the gate. Thanks again!

 

[MrHopScotch]

For bottle conditioned beers like that you can either have two glasses ready and pour both without tipping the bottle too far back or you can do one clean pour into a huge glass, then pour into your smaller drinking glasses from there.

 

[Albianfire]

Update. I looked at another bottle of it at the store and, sure enough, sediment at the bottom of the bottle. I will remember that next time I get one and pour accordingly.

 

[stpug]

Any chance this is Alesmith's Wee Heavy?

 

[Albianfire]

Well, no but close. Since I figured it out and it's not a defect; it's Real Ale, Real Heavy.