Sediment in craft beer....

Stroke Politics

I've noticed recently that any time I get bottles of a well-known Irish craft ale that there is a sediment in the bottom of my tulip glass. Is it yeast? I like this beer, and can't get it on draft anywhere near me, but lately this gritty little pile is beginning to bug me a little bit. Am I being a bit fussy to expect that I don't have a curious surprise at the end of my glass when I have emptied a bottle into it?

Lovely Bloke

all bottle conditioned beers have this, yes, it's yeast.

It is a natural result of bottle conditioning, and won't kill you.

If you are going to continue to drink and enjoy craft beers, you'll need to get used to it.

It's not a curious surprise, it's to be expected

Seaneh

Dungarvan beers are bottle conditioned and some sediment is to be expected.

Don't know which/if any other Irish beers are bottle conditioned though.

Stroke Politics

Seaneh wrote: »

Dungarvan beers are bottle conditioned and some sediment is to be expected.

Don't know which/if any other Irish beers are bottle conditioned though.

That's the one! I didn't want to mention it by name, as I didn't know that this was normal for bottle conditioning. Nice beer....

mickeyrooo

Stroke Politics wrote: »

I've noticed recently that any time I get bottles of a well-known Irish craft ale that there is a sediment in the bottom of my tulip glass. Is it yeast? I like this beer, and can't get it on draft anywhere near me, but lately this gritty little pile is beginning to bug me a little bit. Am I being a bit fussy to expect that I don't have a curious surprise at the end of my glass when I have emptied a bottle into it?

form the website

'This and all our beers contain a vitamin-rich yeast sediment in the bottle which is a by-product of the natural carbonation that occurs in the bottle'

um7y1h83ge06nx

I've started home brewing and this is completely normal if the beer is being conditioned or carbonated in the bottle.

A pretty simple and natural process so I like it that way. :-)

drumswan

Just store your bottles upright, pour carefully and leave the last half inch in the bottle.

Krusty_Clown

drumswan wrote: »

Just store your bottles upright, pour carefully and leave the last half inch in the bottle.

Or drink it.

Berty

drumswan wrote: »

Just store your bottles upright, pour carefully and leave the last half inch in the bottle.

It's full of flavour as well so I'd actually suggest pour most of the bottle and when you get to that last bit, swirl it around to spread the yeast into the beer, then pour it into the glass.

I drink a lot of Wheat Beer and this is an Integral part of it for me. I'm off to a Beer Festival in Munich next week. I must see if they leave the sediment in it.

Horses for Courses though on how people do it. :pac:

pa990

Beer Baron wrote: »

It's full of flavour as well so I'd actually suggest pour most of the bottle and when you get to that last bit, swirl it around to spread the yeast into the beer, then pour it into the glass.

I drink a lot of Wheat Beer and this is an Integral part of it for me. I'm off to a Beer Festival in Munich next week. I must see if they leave the sediment in it.

Horses for Courses though on how people do it. :pac:

In belgium they tend to leave the last half inch in the bottle.
Cant say ive noticed the same in germany though

enda1

pa990 wrote: »

In belgium they tend to leave the last half inch in the bottle.
Cant say ive noticed the same in germany though

Sometimes they will pour the bottom 30mls or so into a shot glass and serve it alongside your actual glass of, for example, Orval. Nice touch.

drumswan

pa990 wrote: »

In belgium they tend to leave the last half inch in the bottle.
Cant say ive noticed the same in germany though

Germany is practically all lager

BeerNut

drumswan wrote: »

Germany is practically all lager

Except for the vast amount of wheat beer

Seaneh

BeerNut wrote: »

Except for the vast amount of wheat beer

He is right though, most of the country, away from Bavaria and a few other areas, almost exclusively drink lagers, and even in Bavaria I'd wager Lagers are more popular year round than Weizenbier.

BeerNut

"More popular" is a looooong way from "practically all". Franziskaner, Maisel, Schneider, Erdinger and Schöfferhofer aren't exactly obscure local brands. I would hazard that wherever you're drinking in Germany there'll be a top-fermented beer available.

Seaneh

BeerNut wrote: »

"More popular" is a looooong way from "practically all". Franziskaner, Maisel, Schneider, Erdinger and Schöfferhofer aren't exactly obscure local brands. I would hazard that wherever you're drinking in Germany there'll be a top-fermented beer available.

Its available, but in most of the country, especially the north, you'd be in a minority if drinking it.

BeerNut

And again, "being in a minority drinking it" is very different from "practically all". I was in Kiel last year which is very much Holsten and Jever territory, but I had no problem getting Flensberger Weizen everywhere.

drumswan

Any breakdown on beer sales in Germany by Style available? Would be interesting.

who_me

drumswan wrote: »

Just store your bottles upright, pour carefully and leave the last half inch in the bottle.

It's like... you've never, ever met an Irish person.

I tend to swill the bottle around to spread the sediment. Out of habit more than anything.

Staff Infection

I roll the bottle on the table gently before pouring to mix it, makes me look insane but I'm used to that I suppose, does no harm anyway.

Seaneh

Staff Infection wrote: »

I roll the bottle on the table gently before pouring to mix it, makes me look insane but I'm used to that I suppose, does no harm anyway.

Aussies do this with Coopers all the time.

craftbeer2014

Yeast is indeed good for you and most unfiltered Belgian ales are bottle conditioned which (depending on the style) helps with aging the beer. The yeast is constantly reacting with the natural sugars in the beer and hence evolving the flavours. Definitely effects the carbonation levels as well. But all in all, not harmful, doesnt change the taste by pouring it into your glass, so Enjoy!

syklops

One of my all time favourite beers is non-filtered and cloudy. Had it out with my Dad(the distiller) one night. He was on the verge of sending it back.

BeerNut

craftbeer2014 wrote: »

doesnt change the taste by pouring it into your glass

It most definitely does. Taras Boulba, for instance, is markedly different with the lees in. Even in the likes of Duvel there's a definite flavour contribution from the yeast that's much more apparent in a small bottle compared to the first pour from a large one.

craftbeer2014

The flavour of the beer as a whole will change as a result of the yeast, but I dont think there are major differences in drinking a mouthful without yeast particles and then a 2nd mouthful from bottom of the same bottle, apart from the texture of course. Where as if you drink a btl of duvel, and then a glass of draught duvel, the beer can be have extremely different flavour profiles (due to the active yeast)

drumswan

Theres definitely a difference when drinking a beer carefully poured to leave the yeast sediment in the bottle, its quite pronounced.

BeerNut

craftbeer2014 wrote: »

a glass of draught duvel

You do know there's no such thing, right? Duvel Green and Duvel Single occasionally appear on draught; ordinary Duvel doesn't.

Loads of British bottle conditioned beers specifically say on the label to pour carefully and not disturb the sentiment because it does affect the flavour. It's something I find particularly noticeable in hop-forward beers packaged in small bottles, Taras Boulba being a prime candidate.

BaZmO*

Hopfen Weisse by Schneider/Brooklyn when it originally came out was 2 totally different beers depending on how you poured it. I'm not sure if that still applies though, but I'll know over the Christmas as I've a bottle to try as part of my stash.

craftbeer2014

BeerNut wrote: »

You do know there's no such thing, right? Duvel Green and Duvel Single occasionally appear on draught; ordinary Duvel doesn't.

Duvel was a bad example, you are right about btl being different to Duvel single