Preventing sediment in bottle > glass

MrFox

Hi all,

Bottled a batch of beer around 5 weeks ago and thought I'd give it a try to see how it was coming along (I'm planning on leaving it for around 10 weeks). Whilst the beer tasted great and was nicely carbonated, when I poured the beer a lot of the sediment went from the bottle and into the glass- making it look fairly unappealing, especially towards the end of the drink.

I was wondering whether there is a technique or method of reducing the amount of sediment that flows into the glass from the bottle. Is it just a case of one smooth pour? Will the longer I leave the beer cause the sediment to compact at the bottom of the bottle and be less prone to being poured into a glass?

Obviously there may still be sediment in situ and this will be transfered to the glass. I am just trying to get the nicest looking (as well as tasting) beer i can.

I did not use any finings in the preperation of the beer.

Thanks

HBO_Staff

Sediment can be a nuisance for the home brewer, and whilst it wont affect the flavour, the cloudy appearance is not ideal. By far the best way to reduce sediment is by leaving as much of it behind as possible in the fermenting vessel, so the careful syphoning over into bottles is the first step. We highly recommend the 'little bottler' fitted to a fermentation vessel as it helps to fill bottles (one handed) without stirring everything up too much. It also is very easy and saves loads of time and mess. The ideal set up, which is what we sometimes use, is to ferment in a standard fermenting vessl, then after fermentation is complete, transfer the brew into a second vessel which has the little bottler and tap already fitted to it. This way you have left the bulk of the sediment behind, and then by leaving it for a day or so to settle in the second vessel, you can fill the bottles and any residual sediment should have settled again, usually resulting in a very low amount of sediment in the bottles. It does mean the use of a second vessel but the end result is improved.

The use of finings can help the beer to clear and compact the sediment, but most beer kits do not state it as a requirement. By leaving the last bit of beer behind in the fermenter helps to stop disturbance, and by always syphoning from the top of the fermenting vessel if using a syphon tube keeps the end of the tube away from the sediment. Leaving the brew for longer in the bottles can help the sediment to compact, and then the technique of pouring can make a difference if sediment has got through to the bottles. One slow and steady pour will help and then leave the very last bit of the beer in the bottle, a little practice and the techniques can be perfected.