Residue forming on home-brew vessel.

JumpShivers

Is this residue that you can see on the edge of the barrel normal?

It said on the packaging that I should sterilize everything with the sterilizing tablets dissolved in water. I skipped this stage because I assumed everything would be sterile coming out of the box. I also used a home wooden spoon to stir the initial components (perhaps a source of contamination?)

It's been about 3 weeks conditioning in the vat now and I just siphoned off ome and put it in the fridge in some of those buckle bottles (like Grolsch ones).

The residue is moist and has a moist texture.

Any advice on this?

JumpShivers

Here's the image.

macnug

That residue is normal, its called Krausen. I would never assume something is sterile though. Probably sitting in a warehouse for months.

loyatemu

the top of the beer foams up during fermentation. as fermentation slows down, the foam subsides and yeast and other gunk is left on the side of the fermenter - it's normal. After 3 weeks you should be planning to bottle it now, you have to add some extra sugar to the bottles if you want it to be fizzy.

JumpShivers

I left the bottles in the fridge overnight lying face down and this reside collected on the inside of the bottle.

What is it?
Is it normal?

Knifey Spoony

It's yeast.

Don't worry, that's normal. When you cool beer down that still has yeast in it, the yeast will come out of suspension and settle at the lowest point of the bottle. You should really store bottles standing up so that the yeast will settle at the end of the bottle. By then pouring the beer gently into a glass and leaving a small bit of beer behind in the bottle, you can keep the yeast out of the glass.

JumpShivers

can you emulsify the yeast?

Is it dangerous to drink?

Why don't you see this in shop-bought beer ?

loyatemu

JumpShivers wrote: »

can you emulsify the yeast?

Is it dangerous to drink?

Why don't you see this in shop-bought beer ?

dangerous no, might not taste great.

you do see sediment in some craft beers, but most commercial beers are filtered then force-carbonated with CO2.

Carawaystick

Yeast can also cause violent and pungent flatulence...

You can cold condition the beer in the fermenter before bottling to reduce the amount of yeast that ends up in the bottles and be careful not to agitiate the trub when bottling.
This might be leaving the fermented in a shed at this time of year overnight, or putting it in a bigger container with ice.

JumpShivers

Sorry to bump old thread. I started brewing a new batch with amber hops and there is a funny smell coming from it, a bit eggy smell. Is this normal? I was very thorough in cleaning

BeerNut

Yeah, should be fine. It'll pass.

rubadub

JumpShivers wrote: »

I left the bottles in the fridge overnight lying face down and this reside collected on the inside of the bottle.

There was concern over those Ikea bottles before
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=90039328

JumpShivers

When I bottle my beers there is a sediment at the bottom which other posters in this thread have said is yeast.

How can so much yeast be visible in all of the bottles is it was only a small sachet like a sachet of sugar put in?


My homebrew is still very tepid, despite having been in the fermenter vat for 3ish / 4ish weeks. There is still yeast sedimenting in the bottles, so will the fermentation reaction still be carrying out? If so, will this yield a huge ABV in months to come and risk methanol formation?

How important is cleanliness, is there a risk of botulism?

BeerNut

JumpShivers wrote: »

How can so much yeast be visible in all of the bottles is it was only a small sachet like a sachet of sugar put in?

Yeast is a living creature. It breeds.

JumpShivers wrote: »

will this yield a huge ABV in months to come and risk methanol formation?

No.

JumpShivers wrote: »

How important is cleanliness, is there a risk of botulism?

Cleanliness is important if you want to prevent your beer from tasting awful. Your beer tasting awful is the worst case scenario. You can't get botulism from homebrew.

loyatemu

JumpShivers wrote: »

My homebrew is still very tepid, despite having been in the fermenter vat for 3ish / 4ish weeks.

what do you mean by tepid - flat?

try agitating the bottles (e.g. turn them upside down for a minute then back the right way up) and give them another week. Assuming you put the correct amount of sugar in when bottling they'll carbonate eventually.

JumpShivers

Bottled water or tap - any difference in taste for the beer? Is one better than the other?

Carawaystick

JumpShivers wrote: »

Bottled water or tap - any difference in taste for the beer? Is one better than the other?

If your tap water tastes fine, that's the best, it's cheaper/free

Mesrine65

Carawaystick wrote: »

If your tap water tastes fine, that's the best, it's cheaper/free

Not any more :P