I just made my first no-boil brew kit. I refrigerated some of the bottles too soon, I think (after a couple of weeks) and had to lay them on their side in the refir. I expected some sediment, but there was a black overlay around the edge of what I assume was the yeast sediment - very clear on the bottle side. It took this sediment about 15 minutes to settle to the bottle bottom after I turned it upright. All of my refrigerated botlles - all on their sides - have this. I have made wine for years, and am certain the bottles, carboy, bucket, etc. were all well cleaned and sterilized. The beer smells and tastes great. But I am afraid to serve it to guests until I know what the "black stuff" is. I assume it is hops, even though it is a no-boil kit. I would really appreciate any comments from experienced home brewers. Thanks, Jim
Repost your Question in the homebrewing forum and you will probably get some quick answer's . I'm surprised it hasn't been transferred there yet.
Welcome to the BA site, Jim. You've found the right place to learn a lot about beer and everything related to it, including homebrewing. Like ventura78 said, you've posted your question in the wrong forum for it to be seen for the most exposure to the members who can best answer it. However, your post may get moved by a moderator to that forum, although I don't know if the 'Question' header will translate, thus the post may not be movable. I'm active in that forum, but not one of the 'experts,' and I have no experience with the no-boil process to be able to answer your question with any certainty. With an educated stab at an answer, I'll presume that your beers are bottled with a small amount of sugar that carbonates the beer in the bottle, but are you seeing more sediment than can be attributable to the sugar? All brewing probably produces some trub that can easily get into the bottle, but I don't know what you should expect from the no-boil method. Was the beer siphoned directly from your fermentor into the bottles or into a bottling bucket? Was there a filtering or straining process before the beer went into the bottling bucket or bottles, or was your procedure to siphon the liquid from just above the trub level in the fermentor? Filtering is probably the only process that can remove nearly all of the trub, but filtering equipment is not generally used by homebrewers. However, all non-filtered beer can be expected to produce some sediment in the bottle, thus a general rule for the storage of craft beers is not to lay a bottle on its side. Bottles that are stored upright will have sediment on the bottom, and that sediment will become fairly stabilized so it stays in place during the opening and gentle pouring process. In your case, when you get ready to open your beer, bring it upright will dislodge the sediment and put it back into solution. Whatever settles out fairly quickly to the bottom will be disturbed again when your pour unless you let the bottle stay upright for a few days to a week. There's nothing wrong with drinking this sediment if it's minor (although in my opinion it mutes the beer's flavor), but if you have excessive trub, then you will not have a good drinking experience if that gets into your glass.
It is normal to have about a tablespoon of "silt" left in the bottle after a pour when a boiled wort is used. I can't say for the no-boil process; I've never done it. The silt is generally expended yeast and actually has a nice flavor. I prefer no filtering of my beers and sometimes get modest cloudy results, but using Irish Moss or gelatins as agents seems overkill to me.
