Yeast Sludge At Bottom Of Bottles

[jason]

Hi all,

I appear to have a lot of yeast sludge at the bottom of my bottles which were primed and bottled only a week ago. I have not changed any of my procedures when making this batch (i dont rack into a secondary, I just bottle from primary). The only thing I have changed is the yeast. For all my previous brews I have used dried SafAle S-04 with hardly any yeast at the bottom of the bottles, however in the latest brew I used dried SafAle US-05. Does SafAle US-05 normally produce more yeast sludge at the bottom of bottles compared with SafAle S-04? Is there a trick to pouring the bottle without the yeast from coming off the bottom?

Thanks in advance
Jason

 

[Darren]

Jason,

US56 does not flocculate well and is most likely the main reason for the yeast sludge. Seconary conditioning will certainly help you in the future.

cheers

Darren

 

[Ross]

Jason,

As Darren said, US-05 takes longer to clear - If you are filling direct from primary, crash chill the whole fermenter if you can as cold as possible, this will speed up the process. If you are not able to chill, then just be patient & give it another week in primary. SO4 is a great yeast for clearing quickly & leaving a compact yeast bed. The trick to pouring a clear beer, is pouring in one steady motion into a big enough glass & stopping as the yeast reaches the neck.

Cheers Ross

 

[Mr Bond]

US 05 does flocc out quite well after 2ndary ferm in bottle.Leave for a couple of weeks and then refrigerate for a day or so before consumption and it will drop clear.As Ross says one unbroken pour is the trick.if its longnecks(tallies) then decant into a jug.

 

[jason]

Jason,

As Darren said, US-05 takes longer to clear - If you are filling direct from primary, crash chill the whole fermenter if you can as cold as possible, this will speed up the process. If you are not able to chill, then just be patient & give it another week in primary. SO4 is a great yeast for clearing quickly & leaving a compact yeast bed. The trick to pouring a clear beer, is pouring in one steady motion into a big enough glass & stopping as the yeast reaches the neck.

Cheers Ross

Ok so next time I will keep the brew in the primary fermenter for an additional week and then chill overnight before bottling. But this raises a another problem for me, what is the longest time that one can keep a brew in the primary fermenter before it will go off. I normally do 14 days.

Jason

 

[Ross]

Ok so next time I will keep the brew in the primary fermenter for an additional week and then chill overnight before bottling. But this raises a another problem for me, what is the longest time that one can keep a brew in the primary fermenter before it will go off. I normally do 14 days.

Jason

3, 4 weeks you'll be fine. why chill overnight before bottling, chill after your normal 14 days & keep chilled for a week - should be clear as....

cheers Ross

 

[joshuahardie]

Jason,

As Darren said, US-05 takes longer to clear - If you are filling direct from primary, crash chill the whole fermenter if you can as cold as possible, this will speed up the process. If you are not able to chill, then just be patient & give it another week in primary. SO4 is a great yeast for clearing quickly & leaving a compact yeast bed. The trick to pouring a clear beer, is pouring in one steady motion into a big enough glass & stopping as the yeast reaches the neck.

Cheers Ross

Ross,
Couple of quick question on this.
How long should I crash chill the entire fermenter for, and down to what temp?
Will crash chilling kill the yeast in the fermenter, meaning I won't be able to prime my bottles properly?

Thanks
Josh

 

[Adamt]

You want it as cold as possible without freezing. 0C is good (freezing temperature is below 0 because of the alcohol present). Best to leave it for a few days at least for adequate settling time. Do not disturb (knock, swirl, etc.) the fermenter while chilled, especially when transferring the beer out of the fermenter.

Crash chilling will not kill the yeast in the fermenter. There will still be plenty of yeast cells suspended in your beer that you can't see. However you may notice it takes a little longer to carbonate (3 weeks instead of 2 for example)

Cheers
Adam

 

[Steve]

After you've chilled it raise to room temp before bottling. If you are using longnecks, decant into a glass jug if you dont have a big enough glass and leave the yeast behind in the bottle.
Cheers
Steve

 

[pint of lager]

When pouring from the bottle, have enough glasses handy to pour the lot in one go. Don't stand the bottle back up once you start pouring, just gently go from glass to glass. Make the last glass a smaller serve as this is usually when the yeast starts coming out of the bottle.

 

[KGB]

I find the longer I leave the bottles to condition, the less yeast stirred up with the pour. Over time the yeast/sediment layer becomes finer and more dense as well as the beer clearing more.

 

[Tony]

wouldnt racking to secondary to clear the yeast for a week be easier that stuffing around with yeast in the bottle.

It takes 10 minuites

lift to a bench, hook up a piece of 10mm tube to the tap, open the tap and run it off the primary cake to a clean firnenter.

leave to sit for a week. clean the origional firmenter and rack back into this of the settles sludge and bulk prime for perfect results.

all you need it 3 firmenters to have 2 batches going at once.

Not much effort for much better beer.

If you couldnt be bothered doing that........... dont complain about yeasty beer. Live with it!

i know its harsh but it the truth. I have known so many people that complain of yeast in the bottles (its the dead stuff from primary that does it) but say they dont have the time to rack to secondary to clear it.

you dont need to crash chill it....... true this clears it faster but whats the rush. firmenters are cheap as chips. you pay for it on the first batch!

just have a couple running and let them sit for a week or so OFF the primary yeast to clear. It will clear out 5 times faster once you rack it..... believe me.

cheers