yeast on bottom of bottle

[SacredBrew]

Hello,

I've got an ale that has been bottled (12oz bottles) for two weeks now. The bottles have been blanketed by my woodstove. I'm going to move them down into the basement tonight. I'm wondering if it is a good idea to shake the bottles to get the yeast sludge off the bottom and mixed into the beer more? Does it matter?

Thanks

Jon

 

[Couevas]

No, don't shake the beer. The yeast settling out is ifne and actually desirable. Drinking it may give you an off flavor.

When you pour your beer into a glass, leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of beer in the glass along with the yeast. This will be discarded.

 

[rsmith179]

Totally agree with Couevas about leaving the sediment inside the bottle. Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents and say that different styles may call for that to be in the glass. For example, Beer Magazine just featured Witbiers and said that the proper pouring technique is to actually put the glass on top of the bottle and flip it all over in order to actually get that yeast back into the beer for the final product.

I always pour down to the yeast and stop there, but that article really got me thinking about which of my beers may actually benefit in flavor from the small amount of yeast that has settled.

 

[SumnerH]

Totally agree with Couevas about leaving the sediment inside the bottle. Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents and say that different styles may call for that to be in the glass. For example, Beer Magazine just featured Witbiers and said that the proper pouring technique is to actually put the glass on top of the bottle and flip it all over in order to actually get that yeast back into the beer for the final product.

I always pour down to the yeast and stop there, but that article really got me thinking about which of my beers may actually benefit in flavor from the small amount of yeast that has settled.

Most wheats (dunkelweizen/hefeweizen/American wheat/wit) will want the yeast in there, but a few (kristalweizen) won't. Many Belgians want it in suspension, too.

 

[Homercidal]

Some people don't want the yeast in their beer no matter what the style. Me? I don't care one way or the other. I can drink it with yeast (within reason) or not. But most people expect their beer to be crystal clear, like from the store.

 

[ericm]

Totally agree with Couevas about leaving the sediment inside the bottle. Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents and say that different styles may call for that to be in the glass. For example, Beer Magazine just featured Witbiers and said that the proper pouring technique is to actually put the glass on top of the bottle and flip it all over in order to actually get that yeast back into the beer for the final product.

I always pour down to the yeast and stop there, but that article really got me thinking about which of my beers may actually benefit in flavor from the small amount of yeast that has settled.

huh, I thought witbiers were supposed to be hazy from protein haze, not suspended yeast (as opposed to hefeweizens)

 

[ACo]

will yeasties be suspension if they are crash cooled?

 

[SumnerH]

huh, I thought witbiers were supposed to be hazy from protein haze, not suspended yeast (as opposed to hefeweizens)

BJCP says "the beer will be very cloudy from starch haze and/or yeast".

Beeradvocate's style description says "Often referred to as "white beers" (witbieren) due to the cloudiness / yeast in suspension".

FWIW, the Allagash White (a pretty highly regarded wit) bottle has the "pour swirl pour" instructions on the label. OTOH, the Blue Moon label has the "shove a fruit in this" instructions on the label so I guess take the labels with a grain of salt.