I just had a KCBC “Robot Fish” ale and let me assure you, it was sublime. But then I got to the bottom of the glass and GADZOOKS .. there was some kind of lumpy residue!!! What was that? Am I supposed to drink it or avoid it? If drink it, how, by swirling the last few drops around to catch it? Or do I get a sundae spoon and scoop it out of the bottom? Or have I been poisoned?
If it looks powdery, it's probably yeast sediment and is full of vitamins to help keep you healthy. Swirling it into the beer will cause cloudiness and decrease your drinking experience and may make the taste chalky, so retain the last ounce of beer and swirl it in that if you want to drink it. If it looks like mucus/snot, it's coagulated proteins from the hot brewing process which are also okay to consume, but I've never found any in a beer, thus I've never drank any to be able to tell you what it might taste like (or feel like in your mouth).
Rule of thumb is that you should never eat or drink something that gives you pause. If you have to ask, then you've already answered it. Have an in-law drink it.
Speaking as a former little brother myself, I'd just like to say that it's very important to actually give your little brother the five bucks. My older siblings still owe me a hundred bucks, nearly fifty years later, for swirling a dirty stick around in the shit at the edge of Towners Pond and putting it in my mouth. Anyways. I try to remember to always take my cans of IPA and gently rotate them through 360º for a minute then roll them back and forth on the counter a few times before opening them. This redistributes any sediment from the bottom of the can, improving (or, at least, restoring) the flavor and, so far as I've ever noticed, having no adverse effect on the mouthfeel.
Welcome to the world of unfilitered beer. Not sure why you are surprised by such a thing appearing in the bottom of your pour with such a beer in this day and age with NEIPA and Haze being all the rage with the kind of beer and sort of brewery whose beer you are consuming. But, here we are. Lumpy just sounds like yeast was in suspension and got pulled through when the beer got packaged. It's not poison. It's good for you, and gives you healthy, vibrant farts. A certain brewery owner swears by the stuff as a hangover helper. Leave it, and the last bit if your can out of your pour. Deal with it on its own terms, if that's the kind of drinker you wish to be.
Floaties aside I’ve only seen one beer that looked like someone had spunked into my beer, it looked gross obviously and the bartender replaced my Two Hearted Ale. Not a chance in hell I drink that beer in any way shape or form.
I forgot to mention above that those clumps that look like mucus have also been referred to as 'brewer's loogies.' That name certainly makes it less enticing to drink it.
Appearances aside, there's nothing harmful in them. They are coagulated proteins, and are probably quite healthy for you. And, no. That's not a yeast infection. The beer itself would not have passed qa qc from a brewery such as Bells, who has a lab. It's just part of the adventure of unfiltered beer and a by product coming in from the brewing process that remained in solution.
“You give your little brother $5 to swallow it and see what happens” I thought about this for a while. But then I realized I don’t have a little brother, and I don’t have $5.
