Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
HOMEBREW Digest #0142
HOMEBREW Digest #142 Wed 03 May 1989
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Comments on Sweet, Yeasty Beer (Mike Fertsch)
Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 89 08:54:47 mdt
From: Jason Goldman <hp-lsd!jdg>
Full-Name: Jason Goldman
Gordon Hester writes:
> 2) I bottled in 16 oz. returnables. I find it a bit tricky to pour out of these
> without stirring up the yeast sediment on the bottom of the bottle. I am most
> successful when I leave about 1.5 inches of beer in the bottle, which seems a
> bit excessive to me. Is it? Is there a trick to this that I don't know about,
> or are the bottles that I am using suboptimal?
When I first started brewing, I was very careful not to stir the sediment,
etc. Over time, I have gotten to the point where I don't worry (while I'm
relaxing with a homebrew ;-) about getting some sediment in my glass. I
usually don't pour the thickest part of the sediment, but I don't really
mind it. You might want to read some of the previous newsletters. About
two months ago, there was a discussion about fining agents and techniques
for reducing sediment. I used some of these ideas on a light beer that I
made and they worked well (the techniques, I mean).
Regarding an index to Papazian's book, if anyone knows about this, could
they either send me a pointer to the source or a copy?
Also, while I'm at it, a cup of sugar for 3 gallons seems excessive to me.
Jason Goldman hplabs!hp-lsd!jdg
I tried to email this, but the mail bounced...
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 89 13:37 EDT
From: Mike Fertsch <hplabs!uiucdcs!adc1.RAY.COM!FERTSCH>
Subject: Comments on Sweet, Yeasty Beer
Gordon Hester <gh0t+@andrew.cmu.edu> describes his first batch of homebrew
in yesterday's digest. He descirbes his month-old brew as "sweet" and
"yeasty", and asks for advice.
The sweetness in Gordon's beer might be due several causes - 1) the yeast used
might not attentuate well, leaving a high residual sweetness and a high
final specific gravity. A different brand of yeast might give a drier
(less sweet) product.
A second cause might be the age of the beer. All natural beers mature and
change in the bottle. Specifically, yeasts continue to slowly eat sugars
for months after bottling. Older beers are drier than 'fresh' beers. Wait
another month, and see what happens. But don't wait too long!
A third cause might be the extract used. Different extracts have different
percentages of fermentable and unfermentable sugars. Those brands with
lots of fermentables will taste sweeter when finished. If you really
dislike the sweetness, consider changing extracts.
The 'yeastyness' in Gordon's brew is probably just what he thinks - yeast
in the beer. Some yeasts settle out of the beer better than others; good
ones make a nice hard film on the bottom of the carboy or bottle. Was the
beer yeasty at bottling? If it was, perhaps waiting longer prior to
bottling would allow more yeast to settle out into the fermenter. I chill
my carboy for a few days prior to bottling - almost all the yeast drops
out, and very little goes into the bottle.
Mike Fertsch
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #142, 05/03/89
