Sinkers and Floaters ... a slow ballet

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stringtyer

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I have started using a glass carboy as a secondary (mostly so I can see the beer clear as time passes) and have noticed a bunch of tiny (1/32" and less) particles gently floating up and down in the beer. I can't imagine them to be anything but bits of yeast with CO2 stuck to them riding up and down like those old mothball "dancers" we made in junior-high science class. I just don't want them in my bottled brew.

I know the answer is patience, but I still want y'alls' opinion of what they are and how long it takes for them to settle out (if they ever do). This is a summer ale that I made for SWMBO so I need to get it to bottle soon if I can.
 
If you have a way to cold crash it will drop them immediately. Are you at your FG?
 
I can't imagine them to be anything but bits of yeast with CO2 stuck to them riding up and down like those old mothball "dancers" we made in junior-high science class. I just don't want them in my bottled brew.

.

I've had a few of those sneak into my bottles at times and as the beer carbonates they do the same snow globe dance in the bottle and they wind up at the bottom like the rest of the yeast sediment.

I have not noticed any off flavors in the bottles that had them compared to the rest in the same batch.

bosco
 
I have been off the board for a while and genuinely appreciate your responses. I am super-new at this whole brewing business with only 5 batches done (since June) and still lack the complete vocabulary to understand all of the process. New question; how does cold crashing work? I've decided that I don't really need to get the beer bottled soon so I am willing to wait it out for a while. Will the beer be OK sitting in secondary for another couple of weeks?
 
Cold crashing just means dropping the temp way down and keeping it there for a couple days to let things rapidly settle.

I would let it sit another couple weeks first, though. If you're not in a hurry, you'll essentially always get better results by waiting a bit longer.

I've not had any trouble with sediment in my bottles and I don't normally cold crash or take any steps to clear the beer other than adding a tsp of Irish moss to the boil. After a couple weeks at ~60 degrees, the beer has usually settled in the fermenter and all the churning/floating has stopped.
 
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