Grain, Liquid Yeast's And Bottling.

[Paleman]

Made an observation lately, and i'm not sure wether its to do with liquid yeasts, or using grain. Ive just lately started making Partial Mash Beers, with Wyeast's.

My last two partial mash beers have had a slight residue, that can be seen on the side of the bottle, when held up to the light. ( My last two, because they are the only ones ive checked )

This residue remains when the bottle is drained. Also when the bottle is rinsed with water. It sticks to the side ( can be seen when dry ).

Both beers taste lovely, so its not an infection.

In the past, ive aways just rinsed bottles out straight away, without worrying too much. With a good result

But now im thinking that whatever this residue is..........if left, could cause an infection within the bottle. When the next brew is charged.

Anyone have an idea what it could be ?......is it the yeast, or a grain residue ?. Looks as if i'll have to bottlebrush each individual bottle from now on. Cause i aint going back to full time kit brewing. :blink:

 

[Kai]

What yeasts have you used? Some strains will weld themselves to the sides of the bottle if you are unlucky.

 

[Paleman]

What yeasts have you used? Some strains will weld themselves to the sides of the bottle if you are unlucky.

Kai....American 1056. And Irish 1084. The welding was more noticable in the Irish Beer. But also noticable, just ! in the beer using 1056.

Dont get me wrong fella......i'm not putting it down to ingredients. It may be my mashing method.

Maybe im not recirculating my wort enough, while tunning ?.........leaving enough residue in the wort, that ends up eventually in the bottle ?

All ideas welcome.......I'm like a dry sponge, on a hot day. Soaking everything up.

 

[Stuster]

I've noticed the same thing with some bottles, Paleman. It seems to be related to some yeasts, as Kai says. Instead of brushing each bottle though, a soak in unscented napisan should do the trick.

 

[tangent]

i had that only with partials

i reckon it's not enough grain bed in a partial to filter well enough and you'll eventually end up with a line of crud that the proteins have picked up. mostly yeast.

i found some old partials hidden in the laundry. 1.25L clear plastic bottles (still heaps of fizz!) must have been in there for 2-3 years.
had a taste. bloody ordinary so tipped all 3 out. But they all had the gunk ring around the top and a heap of crap sitting in the bottom.

 

[Voosher]

I noticed a stack of bottles recently with a solid haze inside the empty bottle. Until now I just figured I'd been slack with washing. I've been looking closely at most bottles I empty these days and no significant signs of repeats. I went drastic and soaked the dirty bottles in a mild bleach solution. Easy clean... lengthy rinse.
I'll try to keep an eye on batches as emptied in future to see if there's any pattern.
I did notice that most of the hazy bottles were fairly old and well used. Perhaps it's a cumulative effect?

 

[Paleman]

Thanks for all replys fellas.

I'm wondering wether a soak for each individual bottle, is harder than a quick scrub, and the latter may be more thorough ?? It cant be good to leave that film on the inside of the bottle. Some good thoughts.

Its good to see like minds get together and help me out with some answers. :beer: Very much appreciated.

I'm sort of picking up on Tangents line of thought......not a good enough run off through my Tun ? But then the yeast has nothing to do with the Tunning.

Experience i suppose.

As i said, its not a nasty film in the bottles, just some left overs i shouldnt be carrying over into my wort maybe.

 

[Paleman]

I noticed a stack of bottles recently with a solid haze inside the empty bottle. Until now I just figured I'd been slack with washing. I've been looking closely at most bottles I empty these days and no significant signs of repeats. I went drastic and soaked the dirty bottles in a mild bleach solution. Easy clean... lengthy rinse.
I'll try to keep an eye on batches as emptied in future to see if there's any pattern.
I did notice that most of the hazy bottles were fairly old and well used. Perhaps it's a cumulative effect?

Voosh.

Do you wonder if those bottles went unnoticed.....and the majority of them had an influence on your next bottled Beauty........in a bad way !

You'd be quick to blame your Wort if you didn't know any better.

Sort of where i'm coming from. All of a sudden noticed these hazy ( so called clean ) bottles. And the consequenses if they were left in a warm inviroment.

I'm bottle brushing with Bleach from now on. Bit Paranoid !

 

[craig maher]

Paleman,

I had the same problem - the film was evident in the full bottles.

But when I rinsed the bottles I couldn't see it.

When the bottles where dry there it was again!!!!!!!!!

At the time I was doing all partials and using liquid yeast - the worst I found was the Wyeast American Wheat (1010 I think?)

I solved the problem by switching to kegs.

Well not really but it was a good excuse. :beerbang:

I soaked the affected bottles in a bleach solution overnight and then attacked them with a bottle brush - this seemed to work.

Good Luck.

 

[Voosher]

Do you wonder if those bottles went unnoticed.....and the majority of them had an influence on your next bottled Beauty........in a bad way

Difficult to know without closer observation.
I'm pretty sure that a good number of the bottles in question acutally came out of a tasting session with fellow brewers. No adverse comments then and nothing I've noticed subsequently with any of those batches.
I'm also pretty sure that a good number of the bottles in question sat around for a while after having only a light rinse out with water rather than their usual thorough rinse.
In short... Dunno... yet

 

[Paleman]

Paleman,

I had the same problem - the film was evident in the full bottles.

But when I rinsed the bottles I couldn't see it.

When the bottles where dry there it was again!!!!!!!!!

At the time I was doing all partials and using liquid yeast - the worst I found was the Wyeast American Wheat (1010 I think?)

I solved the problem by switching to kegs.

Well not really but it was a good excuse. :beerbang:

I soaked the affected bottles in a bleach solution overnight and then attacked them with a bottle brush - this seemed to work.

Good Luck.

craigm.

Is switching to kegs the solution ? Have you checked the inside of your kegs ??

 

[Paleman]

craigm.

Is switching to kegs the solution ? Have you checked the inside of your kegs ??

I dont mean to be so fastidious fellas. But ive found a few things in my years of brewing.

Even a really clean fermenter.....if left for a few weeks...gathers mould. It really does.

You keg guys, do you know whats happening in your empty kegs.......hope you clean them religiously. Then charge them soon after.

Getting back to my bottles. A tiny spot of whatever. Is going to promote crap bacteria.

Makes you think.......dont be so quick to blame bad ingredients. :chug:

 

[Brewtus]

This could be left field but could it be calcium deposits on the bottle. When I lived in London, if I did not keep the water softening salt up then all my glasses (non beer) started to get a white, hard film on them. If you have gone partial, this may change the water somehow and make it full of calcium that deposits on the bottle. To get it off you need to scrub hard or use an acidic cleaner like vinegar or lemon juice with hot water for a few hours.

Mind you I could be completely off the track.

 

[craig maher]

Paleman

No such problems after switching to kegs.

I clean them with keg / line cleaner after each use.