Mangrove Jacks Helles Lager - Floaters?

[Sherlock]

Morning fellow brewers!

I've recently brewed and bottled a Mangrove Jacks Helles Lager and a MJ Australian pale ale.

Both fermented well in 9 days despite a sluggish start for the APA. Added the hop pellets to primary for a further 3 days, then transferred to a clean FV to settle for 4 days, adding some Young's finings 2 days before bottling.

All seemed well, nothing unusual. A bit cloudy but figured it'd settle in the bottles.

Bottled 2 days ago (mostly 1L PET) having added 3 carbonation drops to each; they're at room temp in a wooden chest.

So. I've never had this before, but in half the Helles bottles there is a lot of hop material floating on top. On maybe a quarter of them, there are little, white frothy clumps. The APA seems to have no such issues with hop or yeast floaters...odd.

There's already a good amount of thin looking, white sediment on the bottom of each bottle.

I'm assuming it is a bit of yeast that has been reactivated as such, by the carb drops? I imagine both they and the hops particles will fall to the bottom with a bit of time and maybe a colder storage temp but just wanted to ask if anyone else has had this happen before, as it's a first for me! (I've followed exactly the same process as I normally do, with the exception of adding some Harris Pure Brew before pitching).

Also...3 drops seem ok for a 1L bottle? A bit worried they're going to get super active with all that yeast.

Photos attached, any comments very gratefully received!

Cheers all :)

 

[crowcrow]

Personally I'd say northing to worry about. I leave everything in the original fermentation vessel (dry hops too) and then put the whole thing in the keezer and bring it down to 1c for a could of days, and then keg it from there but you could bottle it too. I don't use any other stuff to remove the bits now, the chill does it all. This time of year you could just do that outside!

I think that all looks good to drink, you'll have to tell us how it tastes. 3 drops will be very fizzy - careful when you open them, but should be fine. But move them somewhere cold for storage, and where a burst bottle won't cause you issues!

 

[Sherlock]

Personally I'd say northing to worry about. I leave everything in the original fermentation vessel (dry hops too) and then put the whole thing in the keezer and bring it down to 1c for a could of days, and then keg it from there but you could bottle it too. I don't use any other stuff to remove the bits now, the chill does it all. This time of year you could just do that outside!

I think that all looks good to drink, you'll have to tell us how it tastes. 3 drops will be very fizzy - careful when you open them, but should be fine. But move them somewhere cold for storage, and where a burst bottle won't cause you issues!

Thanks for the advice, and reassurance! I'll be sure to store them somewhere cold once they've carbonated. I used 3 drops in my last brew and it was perhaps a little less fizzy than I was hoping...so as long as I don't get any gushers I'll be a happy chappy! (Never had one so I suppose I'm due an explosion by now!).

I've noticed today that the white clumps dissipate in to the beer when carefully swirled, but the hops still persist! Not a huge issue...I'll just count them as one of my five-a-day. Love my greens I do.

 

[crowcrow]

All part of the beers character!

 

[Sherlock]

Just a little update in case anyone was interested...the brew carbonated well. A bit too well. A couple of gushers, so moving to a cold place, probably an outdoor storage unit. Still have a lot of hop material floating about but hoping the cold will help things to settle a bit more. The flavour is great though, a nice crisp and dry pilsner.
Brewing a Young's American IPA this week which I'll leave in both primary and secondary for longer...and add fewer carb drops to when bottling!

 

[crowcrow]

Sounds wise to move to the cold for a bit, should help them settle down.

I no longer bother with a 2nd fv - if you keep an eye on the syphon I don't end up with any more bits in my beer than I did when I used to oven to a 2nd fv (and the first couple of beers I even went from 2nd to a bucket before bottling! So lucky that beer didn't spoil!)

 

[Sherlock]

Sounds wise to move to the cold for a bit, should help them settle down.

I no longer bother with a 2nd fv - if you keep an eye on the syphon I don't end up with any more bits in my beer than I did when I used to oven to a 2nd fv (and the first couple of beers I even went from 2nd to a bucket before bottling! So lucky that beer didn't spoil!)

Hopefully they don't freeze in the cold weather this weekend!

I was considering ditching the secondary... I'm probably a little obsessed with a clear brew, and understand that it introduces potential added risks. To be honest, i quite enjoy the process and added anticipation! I also dry hop all my brews which i prefer doing in a cleaner bucket. I also prefer bottling using a bucket with a tap, so having less sludge tends to make the whole thing less... sludgy.