just opened a bottle of paulaner, however i gave the bottle a shake to dislodge the sediment before i poured it and now im gettin an odd taste. so should you shake a bottle to dislodge sediement before drink it? and and what exactly is the sediment? im guessing its yeast and dislodging it causes unwanted off tastes? am i correct?
For me, the only beers I want to drink with sediment in them is a Hefeweizen. It does affect the flavor and is often yeast added for bottle conditioning and isn't even the yeast strain used in brewing the beer.
had a feeling that was it, aw well ya live and ya learn, the taste is definitely not appealing but my chest is feeling hairier
I only intentionally swirl the yeast & drink it with a witbier. If some yeast gets in my glass with other types, it's not the end of the world. Although it will usually alter the taste.
If it's a Hefe, you pour approx 3/4 of the bottle into a glass, then give the bottle a swirl and dump the rest in.
Yeast used in bottle conditioning will settle to the bottom. It is drinkable but will alter the taste somewhat. When drinking bottle conditioned beers I usually pour very slowly and leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of beer in the bottle to prevent all the sediment from going into the glass. Most Belgians are poured this way. Go to Cantillon's web site. They had a video on there showing the proper way to pour although I cried seeing all that awesome beer going to waste!
Just posted a related comment on another thread--if it tastes bitter, it likely was not meant to be shaken/dislodged. But it's just yeast. Some people like it that way, but it can get overwhelming. Also, the odd flavor will disappear if you let it settle in the glass, but you'll lose some carbonation and beer will be warmer (not usually a bad thing). If you don't like it, try not to store bottles on the side.
Yeast is good for you so I have heard. The best part of a hefe IMO is swirling the bottle to get a nice frothy head.
It's not wasted, you can still drink it from the bottle. In my experience the sediment rarely tastes any different from the rest of the beer, but occasionally it does taste unpleasant. With a Weizen I think people normally just pour the whole lot in the glass. You'll never get it to look clear anyway.
With Weizen and Witbier, pouring half to two-thirds, whirling and pouring the rest is normal behavior. It's the heavier ones that you have to worry about bitterness. I'm a bit surprised with so much sediment in Paulaner that it would have floaties, unless it was a Hefe to begin with...
I assumed that it was the Hefeweizen being referred to - I know they make about 15 beers, but I get the impression that "Paulaner" is normally the Hefeweizen in the US. It's the only one of their beers I've seen in the UK as well, though personally the only Paulaner I've ever had was one of the lagers!
There were at least four different Paulaners on the shelf of a store I've recently gone to while waiting for an oil change on a car, including last year's Marzen. So, unless it said Hefe, don't assume it was one.
I've always felt that sediment mutes the peak flavor of a beer but not necessarily giving an off-flavor, so I try to leave it behind. I'm not a big hefe lover so I don't go that route trying to keep it in the beer either.
I personally always invert the bottle, swirl until the sediment has been incorporated, let her settle down for a few moments, then enjoy. To each his own, I would never knock someone for excluding the sediment, but I personally always incorporate/drink it.
I think it's a personal decision that depends on how much flavor change that you detect with your experiences of drinking some with and without. I hardly ever drink it.
The brewers often deliberately use a specific yeast for the bottle conditioning. This yeast is one which clings to the bottle after it has done its work and this isn't done for fun, it's because the brewer doesn't want any yeast to carry over into the beer and spoil it.
I'm just concurring with the fellas posting before me, in that it's probably gonna be a matter of personal preference and experimentation but my understanding is that the brewer did not intend for you to include it in your drink. For a beer I've never had before, if I identify that there's a healthy layer of yeast at the bottom, I will pour very attentively and slowly taper it off so that the bulk of the sediment remains in the bottle. Some will probably slip in, but that's not a big deal. I may add it in later, or sip it from a separate small pour, depending on how I feel about the beer. I may give a heartier pour the next time I have a drink to compare - but again, that'll depend.
