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slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Monday Jun 22, 2009 12:36 pm
by robNZ
hey, quick post... i'm new to brewing so i'm not sure if this is ok.. but my brewed beer, after 2 weeks in bottles
have bout a half inch of white slimyish sediment at the bottom, is that normal?? have to admit the beer tastes
fine, a little bit flat but otherwise ok. do u guys think its still ok to drink??

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Monday Jun 22, 2009 12:43 pm
by timmy
That's the yeast sediment. Nothing to worry about and it will always occur with bottle-conditioned beer (i.e. carbonated naturally)

I would leave them for a bit longer if they haven't carbed enough.

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Monday Jun 22, 2009 12:56 pm
by robNZ
phew! lol ok cheers for that!

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Monday Jun 22, 2009 2:22 pm
by wrighty
Will be fine Rob ,give them abit longer to carb at room temp then put em in the fridge.
You will find that the sediment will attach itself pretty well to the bottom after time.
Welcome to the forum. Wrighty.

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Tuesday Jun 23, 2009 6:02 pm
by goq11k_76
pretty normal if you may have not racked to a second fermenter during fermentation stage
racking to a second fermenter will give a clearer beer and less sediment
hint, when you finished pouring the beer to glass, rinse bottle 2-3 times with hot water, this will clean sufficiently enough till you need to sanitise ready for next brew.

big hint if ya want to stop cleaning and storing bottles, get kegs, makes it sooo much easier and simpler :wink:

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Tuesday Jun 23, 2009 7:57 pm
by robNZ
yep i like the idea of kegs, i've just been using 2 litre bottles which makes things pretty easy... but knowing me
i'll leave the cleanup til they're all finished lol. i'm using a brewtec draught kit.. seems to be the big brand over
here in nz... the local brew shop is putting me onto a better yeast for the next brew tho.

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Wednesday Jun 24, 2009 9:40 am
by goq11k_76
drinking 2 litres at a time, now thats certain need for a keg or 3 :!:

get a second fermenter as well, camping shops oe a hardware store have 25 litre drums with screw lids, just add an airlock, sometimes cheaper than the HB shop

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Friday Jul 03, 2009 11:17 pm
by Adamsale
Are you using finings.?????? if not get some household gelatine, non flavoured from the supermarket. when the brew has slowed down bubbling, take an SG reading, if near 1012 or a few above expected FG, add 1 teaspoon of gelatine to a bowl, add some hot water stir and add to brew. gently stir and this will collect all the small bits and drop to the bottom of fermenter and when bottled will leave next to no sediment. i personally get half a teaspoon per bottle. 100g packet, which will do about 20 brews costs about 4-5 bucks aussie D. bit cheaper that "real" finings....

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Sunday Jul 26, 2009 5:48 pm
by pdear
hey guys,

very new to home brewing, got my first one on at the mo. got about 5 days until i want to add my finings, so bottling is just over a week away. i'm just slightly concerned as to the amount of sediment that seems to have collected at the bottom of my fermenter. my understanding is that the finings will help clear the beer, but obviously all of the 'dirties' will collect at the bottom of the fermenter also. at the moment it is up to and above tap level (about 2cm deep from bottom), subsequently, any good work done by the finings will be undone as i bottle the beer?!?!?
also slightly concerned about the bottling process as i'm using a brew bottler to bottle the beer, and am worried that the sediment will clog this up?!?

i'm brewing a munich lager in a basic home brew starter kit (ie, everything came out of a tin!).

hopefully you can help!

cheers

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Sunday Jul 26, 2009 8:30 pm
by wrighty
Welcome pdear.
Fairly normal sediment level if your concerned about it get another container and rack into it.
Otherwise just pour off 1-200ml then fit your bottler even tilt your fermentor back a little then pour.

Cheers Wrighty.

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Monday Jul 27, 2009 4:21 am
by warra48
+1 to what Wrighty said.

The sediment often looks like a really thick layer. However, it is usually not as thick as it looks, as it tends to stick to the sides of the fermenter at the bottom, giving the impression of a much thicker layer.

Once you are ready to bottle, drain off the first 200 mil or so, and dispose of it. It will be mostly yeast etc collected at the bottom. It will clear the sediment from around your tap. Then fit your bottler, and go ahead as normal.

I normally lean my fermenters back about 20º from the vertical as I ferment, so that the sediment collects away from the tap area. I just put a block of wood under the base near the tap, so it is raised.

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Monday Jul 27, 2009 5:56 pm
by pdear
cheers guys, all sound advice that i will follow!

the home brew shop near me wants me to wait until my brew drops below 1.008 before i bottle, yet it has had a consistent reading of 1.014 over the last 3 days. is it safe to add finings and then bottle a few days later, or should i be waiting until it drops lower?

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Monday Jul 27, 2009 9:08 pm
by warra48
Use finings if you want, but I've never used it in any of my brews.
I have no trouble getting clear beers.
Give them sufficient time in the fermenter, and after bottling, and they should drop bright without further help.
Finings might be useful if you want to get clear beer into a keg.

The stuff on the bottom of your fermenter tends to compact fairly solidly, so when bottling you don't really get any of it in your bottles, provided you are reasonably careful not to stir it up by bumping the fermenter etc.

How long have you had your beer in the fermenter?
What was your Original gravity reading?
Which yeast are you using?

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Tuesday Jul 28, 2009 8:36 am
by pdear
hey

im brewing a munich lager - one of the tinned home brew kits (forgive me, its my first one), so the yeast im using is the one that came with it.

my home brew shop wasn't particularly helpful and i took their word, so subsequently did no research of my own, and so don't have an original gravity reading as i didnt take one.

its been in the fermenter for a week now and kept between 16c and 22c - i struggle to keep my living room warm!

Re: slimyish white sediment??

Posted: Tuesday Jul 28, 2009 10:37 am
by Anna
pdear wrote:cheers guys, all sound advice that i will follow!

the home brew shop near me wants me to wait until my brew drops below 1.008 before i bottle, yet it has had a consistent reading of 1.014 over the last 3 days. is it safe to add finings and then bottle a few days later, or should i be waiting until it drops lower?
Hi pdear! Don't worry about the finings - they make no difference. Chuck 'em out! I've never used any and my beers are beautifully clear. I'd bottle now if I were you. I've very rarely had readings lower than 1.00 and most of my brews are bottled around 1.014, and if your readings have been consistent over 3 days, they're ready! Enjoy. :mrgreen: