Have you ever seen something in the bottom of your glass or bottle of Oberon that made you ask yourself, "What the heck is that???" Many of our fans are quick to ask us about the sediment or sludgy-like substance in the bottom of their beer.
Rest assured, this is normal! Please read below and watch the video at the end of this article to learn more!
What is it?
- You are seeing primarily yeast and some protein, and its presence is fairly typical for our beer. We do not filter any of our ales.
- Most of the yeast and malt protein settles out in the fermenting vessel due to gravity, but some will remain in the finished beer.
- It will continue to settle out in the bottle, can, keg or mini-keg, forming a layer at the bottom. The color of the sediment can range from a creamy white to a dark tan, depending on the style.
I have been drinking Oberon for a long time and this is the first time I've seen it. Why?
- There's some variability from batch to batch in the amount of residual yeast, so the thickness of that layer can change.
- A cold environment will accelerate the process. In addition, cold temperatures can cause proteins to clump together into something called chill haze, making the liquid cloudy. This could be at temperatures near freezing for slightly longer periods of time, or just one of those nights you left your beer in the car on a really cold night before bringing it inside!
I am seeing flakes of sediment that will not dissolve into the beer.
- Darker particles are similar but slightly different. Those are dried-out yeast particles that have become dislodged from the walls of our fermenter. This is completely normal and will not negatively affect the quality of beer or the flavor.
How do I redistribute the yeast back into the beer? The Oberon and Official Swirl is the answer!
- Depending on the ratio of yeast to protein, some of this sediment will bind together and form particles that are easily roused back into suspension.
- We recommend either pouring the beer into a glass slowly, leaving the last bit of sediment in the bottle, or pouring half into a glass, gently rousing the bottle or can, and then finishing your pour.
- The yeast is a major flavor component to the taste of our beer, especially with Oberon.