yeast sediment

gers1

all right i bought a little bottler last week great little gadget beer tastes great looks great problem is the yeast sediment can i get rid of this by maybe using
a filter or muslin round the little bottler as its off puting when drinking would be better if i could do that also although beer tastes and looks great there isnt much of a head to be honest any tips on this also

HBO_Staff

We agree, the little bottler is a fantastic device and we highly recommend them for ease of filling bottles. There are a couple of things you can try, if you find that the sediment is being disturbed, try turning the tap down so that the flow rate is reduced, as with a slower flow it should not disturb it quite as much. The other thing you could try is to use beer finings, these can be added to the brew in the primary fermenting vessel before it is transferred, and can help not only to clear the beer, but can also help to compact the sediment a bit more, which means it may not be disturbed as easily during bottling. Disturbance is usually caused by the movement of the beer as it passes over the sediment, so slowing it down might be most effective. The sediment may make the beer a bit more cloudy than you might like, but it wont effect the taste or harm it in any way.

The lack of head with the beer can be improved by the use of a beer enhancer or spraymalt when making the beer - if used in the place of sugar they are intended to improve the head and mouth feel, and you will notice a difference. Also when priming your bottles, instead of using sugar, use an enhancer or spraymalt for this too, and you can also cautiously experiment with adding a little bit more than usual per bottle which will make it a bit more lively. Always ensure any steriliser is well rinsed out of your bottles with clean water before filling them too, as this can affect the beer. If you opt for a spraymalt, these are available in various styles and can be used to add more flavour to the beer if you fancy it, such as making it a bit more hoppy, or a bit darker, etc.

spud

what about the sediment from the secondry ferment. how can i prevent this in the bottles? can i put it in barrels then bottle it if so how can i do this?

HBO_Staff

Sediment can be a problem for the home brewer, the very best way is to not disturb it when transferring from the primary into the bottles/keg, but in practice this is easier said than done. Take a bit of extra time and effort and syphon over nice and slowly, with something like a little bottler the flow rate can be regulated and slowed down. If syphoning using a syphon tube, try to syphon from nearer the top of the vessel first, well away from the sediment, but make sure the end of the tube stays under the brews surface or it will start flowing back which will stir up the sediment.

What you suggest with using the barrel as an intermediate vessel is an option, but one thing you should try and avoid is mixing any more air than necesary into the brew. If you were to just dispense it out of the barrels tap and let it drop into the bottles it could mix with more air which some say doesn't do it any good. You could use a second fermenting vessel if one was available in a similar way, and transfer out of the primary vessel into the second vessel leaving as much sediment behind as possible, leave it for say 24 hours or as long as it takes to settle, and then dispense into your bottles. This way you have left as much sediment behind as possible. This should minimise the chances of sediment in the finished bottles, and improve the appearance of the finished drink, although a bit of cloudiness doesn't affect the taste of the drink, just the appearance.

An option for an ideal set up to help with this could be to ferment in a 25 litre fermenting vessel which had a tap fitted near the bottom and a length of tube attached to it. You would then transfer out of this first primary fermenting vessel into a second fermenting vessel (already fitted with a little bottler and tap near the base) positioned underneath it, by slowly opening the tap and letting the brew flow down the tube into the second vessel without it just splashing into it. After it has settled into the second vessel, the little bottler could then be used in the normal way to fill the individual bottles. Depends how bothered about sediment and a bit of cloudiness in the bottles you are! By using finings at the end of the first stage would also help compact the sediment which helps to keep it down.

ZigZag117

Hi I would be careful about removing sediment from the beer after primary fermentation if you are going to bottle the beer. I have noticed that clear beer when bottled doesnt ferment so well during secondary fermentation in bottle. I suppose if you keg it it doesnt matter so much. Hope this helps