Particles in beer

ex0ja · Post by **ex0ja** » Thursday Apr 27, 2006 7:02 pm

My latest batch has just finished priming and is ready to drink. However, when I had a look at the bottles I noticed that all the glass bottles have little white (or maybe yellow) dots on the glass at the surface of the beer. It looks like its mould or something

. None of the PET bottles I used have these dots in them though.

I then looked at all my glass bottles more thoroughly and noticed that they all have smaller particles stuck to the edges all over the bottle and particles suspended all through the beer. They look like little bits of semolina or something. Some bottles are worse than others, only one PET bottle had them in it (only a tiny bit though).

I opened one up and had a taste test, it tastes like my best beer yet! Doesn't have any off tastes to it whatsoever and its carbonated just the right amount.

The beer was racked for a week and then cold conditioned for a week, and it definitley isn't sediment that has been kicked up when I have lifted up the bottle.

What is the deal with it? Is this normal sediment? The stuff at the top of the glass bottles doesn't really look like sediment to me...

Here are some pictures (they were quite hard to take so you could actually see the dots, I ended up getting some ok shots with the sun behind the bottle):

The big dots are what I'm talking about, the other dots are on the outside

The particles suspended in the beer and stuck to the inside of the glass

MattyV · Post by **MattyV** » Thursday Apr 27, 2006 7:45 pm

I have experienced this before too, only mine was with an apple cider that was bottled in PET. No idea what it was, but didn't seem to affect the taste, and i'm still alive so it can't be anything too bad!! Does look bad though, and may be reason for concern

. Hopefully someone else can explain?

ex0ja · Post by **ex0ja** » Thursday Apr 27, 2006 8:50 pm

Since some bottles are worse than others I'm thinking maybe I my bottles weren't clean enough.

Keleidoscope · Post by **Keleidoscope** » Thursday Apr 27, 2006 8:50 pm

I have something like this, when I hold my bottles of larger up in front of a window I can see specs in it. It's my first beer brew (only made cider before that) so I have no idea what to expect.

I figured it is either:

a) Completely normal
b) Infected brew (I have no idea what an infection would look like)
c) Not finished with secondry fermentation and those are yeast bits (this one is a wild guess)
OR
d) All beer has this and I have never looked at it so critically before.

I'm thinking of taking a bottle down to the brew shop where I get all my supplies and asking the guy there what he thinks, he seems to know his stuff. I'll let you know if I discover anything!

gregb · Post by **gregb** » Thursday Apr 27, 2006 9:38 pm

I've noticed some brews have it when I hold them to the light, so I stopped holding them to the light.

Seriously though, some have it but no ill affects noted.

Cheers,
Greg

ex0ja · Post by **ex0ja** » Thursday Apr 27, 2006 10:40 pm

OK, what about the stuff around the surface of the beer though, I'm more worried about that. Looks kind of like mould.

Aussie Claret · Post by **Aussie Claret** » Friday Apr 28, 2006 8:12 am

It's yeast, you clowns!

If you leave it a little longer it will settle out to the bottom of the bottle.
AC

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Friday Apr 28, 2006 10:28 am

Tilt the bottle and rotate like you would champagne, then store it upright again

I am with AC, I think its yeast

Dogger

The Carbonator · Post by **The Carbonator** » Friday Apr 28, 2006 1:02 pm

Aussie Claret wrote:It's yeast, you clowns!
AC

Hahaha.

He's right you know...

I have gotten heaps more than that before......complete rings, like on the fermenter.

just drink 'em dude.

next time wait a day or two more before bottling....

ex0ja · Post by **ex0ja** » Friday Apr 28, 2006 3:45 pm

OK, thanks guys. I've never had this stuff in any of my other brews so I figured something was wrong.

I always thought it looked like yeast but for some reason didn't mention it in the first post!

Edit. Better chuck some in the fridge ready for tonight then!

ex0ja · Post by **ex0ja** » Tuesday May 23, 2006 10:27 pm

I just had a look at some of the PET bottles and they are now covered with this little dots. Is this normal?

My glass bottles are fine.

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Wednesday May 24, 2006 2:42 am

Assuming it still tastes fine and is clear I would say you have an electro static charge on the plastic which is causing the yeast to deposit.

If it gushes like a fountain when you open it, smells bad, is cloudy, or tastes like vinegar, then it is an infection

Try one and let us know how it is.

Just to make sure, It was on the glass and not on the plastic, and now it is on the plastic and not the glass right?

Dogger

ex0ja · Post by **ex0ja** » Wednesday May 24, 2006 5:14 pm

Dogger Dan wrote:Assuming it still tastes fine and is clear I would say you have an electro static charge on the plastic which is causing the yeast to deposit.

That sounds like a logical explanation.

Dogger Dan wrote:Try one and let us know how it is.

I'll try one tonight, hopefully the missus doesn't have a go at me again for drinking too much on week nights

Dogger Dan wrote:Just to make sure, It was on the glass and not on the plastic, and now it is on the plastic and not the glass right?

You're right, I didn't even notice that!

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Thursday May 25, 2006 2:47 am

My money is still on yeast.

Dogger

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Thursday May 25, 2006 11:16 am

I recently opened one of my beers, and there was this sediment-like stuff on the bottom of the bottle...?

Always better to find nothing wrong with your beer.

The Carbonator · Thursday May 25, 2006 12:52 pm

Dogger Dan wrote:My money is still on yeast.

Dogger

Ive had this happen a couple of times, on both plastic and glass bottles.

And they were VERY carbonated

So, yeah, I think each bottle had a mini-brew happening because I bottles too early. Hence, the yeast ring.

Im so impatient

ex0ja · Post by **ex0ja** » Thursday May 25, 2006 5:25 pm

Well it turns out I was looking at a different batch! So two different batches have it in there, the beer is fine.

Its undercarbonated so there's no mini-brew happening in mine.

Must be the yeast

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Friday May 26, 2006 2:19 am

I think each bottle had a mini-brew happening because I bottles too early.

And I thought it was because you liked them fizzy

Dogger

501 · Post by **501** » Thursday Jun 22, 2006 11:10 pm

I have some 9 month old modded coopers bitters.

These had 'TheMark' of whatever and they have not improved
in appearance over this time, that is the film has grown / gathered.

I thought waxy / clear whiteish crap was possibly an acetobacter thingy ?
although I certainly agree with others that it looked just like yeastiness.

--> Still they are not that bad to taste, just dodgy yeast and a certain strain of paranoia perhaps. ?

#the only ones that developed this had Brewcraft carbonation drops.

cheers all
Sol

ex0ja · Post by **ex0ja** » Friday Jun 23, 2006 2:25 am

501 wrote:#the only ones that developed this had Brewcraft carbonation drops.

I used plain dextrose in mine. I drank a couple last night and they tasted alright.