Sediment in bottle

[Will_the-new-brewer]

I recently finished my first batch of beer--pretty awesome, I must say. I noticed there was sediment in the bottle. In my limited experience with sediment in bottles, it typically required a careful pour if you do not want it in your glass/mug. In this case, the sediment was a type of "goo" like syrup--thick, almost to the point where it didn't move. I bottled a few clear bottles so I could see the beer--the thick goo is white thin layer and it doesn't pour into the glass (with a normal pour as if it didn't exist).

A few questions....
1. What is it?
2. Should I do something about it? (not that it matters, I only have 12 left from 5g batch)
3. Assuming it isn't a a good or bad thing--it just is, can I prevent it next time.

 

[ancientmariner52]

Sounds like the normal yeast residue from bottle conditioning. Different yeast strains behave in different ways, some compact more than others.

You are already taking the correct action, pouring carefully.

The only cure I know of is to not bottle condition, that is, to keg and force carbonate. No priming sugar means no yeast growth, so little or no residue. Many brewers seem to go this route. For myself, I'll just keep on bottling and pouring carefully. Congratulations on your first batch!

 

[Konadog]

Sounds like you bottle conditioned/carbed. This is normal as it's yeast settling out along with a bit of trub. Not much you can do about the yeast, but you can get most of the trub out by cold crashing before racking your wort to your bottling bucket, and/or filtering before bottling.

 

[C.N. Brewer]

Normal yeast residue it sounds like. It’s very common, no worries at all. Something I do to reduce this is by using a secondary fermentation chamber. I wait until fermentation is about done in my primary and then transfer it over to my secondary carboy and let it finish fermentation there, and age it about an extra week or two before bottling it. It works very well and increases clarity and overall purity of flavor.

Congrats on your first batch! I’m finishing up my 4th batch and moving onto a homemade pale ale recipe I made. Homebrewing gets very addicting! If you are ever looking for good background knowledge, check out “How To Brew” and “The Beer Bible”, 2 great resources that got me started. Plus all the information from the lovely people at this site helps a lot too. Happy brewing!

 

[ESBrewer]

Yes, probably yeast. Pour carefully. You can reduce the amount of yeast in bottles by giving the yeast more time to flocculate in the fermenter (primary/secondary) before you bottle. This flocculation is more effective if you cool down the beer (called cold crashing) in the fermenter to near freezing point. It depends on the yeast strain, of course. The more flocculent the strain the sooner it drops to the bottom and the shorter the time needed to clear it up before bottling. But eventually, there will always be some yeast at the bottom, in bottle conditioned beers.