Yeast Sediment

[GibonCZ]

Hello !
I have done a festival pilsner kit about 2 months ago and everything is good so far, just curious about one thing . :) After bottling I had about 0.5 - 1 cm yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottles ( this is the dead yeast in my understanding ) but after leaving them in a fridge for a month its almost gone .
Question - where did it go ??
:) :) :)

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
It's still there, but the low temperature has encouraged it to compact on the bottom of the bottle.

 

[terrym]

Hello !
I have done a festival pilsner kit about 2 months ago and everything is good so far, just curious about one thing . :) After bottling I had about 0.5 - 1 cm yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottles ( this is the dead yeast in my understanding ) but after leaving them in a fridge for a month its almost gone .
Question - where did it go ??
:) :) :)

It can't go anywhere, except compact as Colin suggests, and carbonation will create yet more yeast. Anyway with that amount of yeast you bottled it too early in my view. I suggest you aim to bottle clear or nearly clear beer which is achieved by longer in the FV, possibly with a one or two days in a cold place before you bottle. There is still enough yeast to carb up, it just takes a little longer and you end up with a only film of yeast on the bottom of the bottle, not several mm.

 

[peebee]

... I had about 0.5 - 1 cm yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottles ( this is the dead yeast in my understanding ) but after ...

It's not dead! Well most of it won't be. It's just snoozing waiting for the next opportunity, such as someone feeding it up to start their next brew.

It will eventually die, and that isn't a good thing, which is why you want to minimise the yeast in the bottles (see "terrym's" post above). Dead yeast can impart off-flavours in the beer, but you usually only have to worry about that if the beer is sitting on lots of dying yeast for weeks and months.

 

[ukphiltr7]

My first batch of beer had a fair bit in the bottom of the bottles. I now think that this was due to the fact that if needed more time in the FV. I left it in there for the week ad per the instructions. However, after reading a fair few posts on here I now realise that a week may not of been long enough and it may of needed near 10 days or until as clear as possible.

 

[ACBEV]

needed near 10 days or until as clear as possible

14 days in FV is my minimum.

 

[ukphiltr7]

14 days in FV is my minimum.

So from what I am understanding after reading a few posts on this forum, it is OK to deviate from the 1 week (in the FV) stated on the instructions. One week extra (or even more) to ensure that the brew is nice and clear before bottling.

 

[ACBEV]

I would say you will get better results if you don't follow the instructions with the kit. With some patience the beer will be noticeably better... My mantra is... 2 + 2 + 2 = good beer...

2 weeks in FV + 2 weeks bottle conditioning + 2 weeks maturing (can be longer for lager kits)

The beer will be clearer, but the main reason for leaving for 2 weeks in FV, is to give the yeast time to do its thing and clean up.

 

[terrym]

@ukphiltr7
Kit instructions are usually geared to getting you to drink your beer in the quickest time possible. On the face of it that sells kits to newcomers, but mostly doesn't equate with good beer
So in my view there is no set 'rule' for timing the various stages. The 2+2+2 thingy is a good start point, but different conditions including yeasts, beer style, gravities, and temperatures all affect timing.
My rule of thumb is minimum 16 days in the FV with two days at the end in a cool place, which is the fridge in the middle of summer. The target is clear or nearly clear beer going forward and this will still have enough yeast to carb up. Then one to two weeks carbing in the warm. Finally two weeks before I sample. Some beers, provided they are clear could be drunk at this stage, but many need weeks or in extreme months before they achieve their best. And in those weeks and months the taste can change considerably.

 

[Pavros]

Follow the advice above from Terrym and throw away the kit instructions - most of them are wildly optimistic.

I usually leave a brew fermenting for at least 2 weeks as I usually brew and bottle at weekends. However some of the premium kits such as Bulldog and Youngs American will take at least 3 weeks to finish properly depending on the temperatures that you ferment at (I usually ferment at the lower end of the scale as I don't have any temperature control so it will take a bit longer). The only real way of telling if a brew has finished fermenting is by using a hydrometer and seeing 2 or 3 readings the same over consecutive days.

By leaving the brew in the fermenter for longer, it allows the beer to 'clear up after itself'. It means that the beer is clearer when bottling as most of the yeast and hop sediment has fallen to the bottom of the fermenter. With the Festival kits, you get a small mesh bag which I tie to the bottom of my siphon tube and this stops a lot of the sediment being transferred to the bottles as well.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi @ukphiltr7
Once the initial vigorous fermentation subsides, the yeast continues to look for something to chomp on, so it goes to work on the by-products of the fermentation - stuff we don't really want in our beer.
That's why most homebrewers allow more time for fermentation than kit instructions suggest.

 

[ukphiltr7]

Thanks guys I will start using the 2+2+2 rule as a guide. I have onever in the Fv now and Tuesday it is a week old.

 

[Slid]

Thanks guys I will start using the 2+2+2 rule as a guide. I have onever in the Fv now and Tuesday it is a week old.

This works very well for kit beers. Generally, a few more weeks and they are at their best, just as the last bottle got poured.

 

[ukphiltr7]

I am finding that one of the hardest things is leaving it in the bottles for a long time. i do not seem to be able to stop myself from trying it to see how it is coming on. Think the Jedi training may need to be brought into play here "this is not the beer I am looking for", well at least for a month or so :thumb1:

 

[GerritT]

Since I'm a weekend brewer, I deviate a bit. Twelve days fermenting, then 2 days in the bottling vessel (outside on the balcony in this cool weather), then bottling (with 2 or 3 in plastic bottles), two weeks in the pantry (give them carbo yeasties a bit of a chance), then most of it heads for the shed, apart from the plastic bottles. I use them to check carbonation.
IF I dryhop, I ferment for 10 days, then into the bottling vessel for 3 days, then 2 days on the balcony etc. It fits in 2 weeks, and it becomes beer.

Holidays are a bit different. Since I only started a year ago, with 1 gallon batches basic beer, and mead, I haven't got that much experience yet. But it will come.

 

[Pavros]

I am finding that one of the hardest things is leaving it in the bottles for a long time. i do not seem to be able to stop myself from trying it to see how it is coming on. Think the Jedi training may need to be brought into play here "this is not the beer I am looking for", well at least for a month or so :thumb1:

It's easier when you have built up a bit of stock! While you are waiting for one to condition, you can be drinking the other

 

[ukphiltr7]

Oh yes that is the plan with the craft one that I have on the go now. I have 28 bottles of Coopers larger to keep me going while I wait for it to get better.