BeerBorg

So this is something I've wondered about which is, do you bottle absolutely all the beer above the spout or do you leave a little over? I ask because I notice a thin layer at the top of the brew in my fermenter that's more clear. You can see into this top layer a few inches, seeing flakes and clumps left over from fermentation. It doesn't seem to me this top beer would be the same as what's under it. Perhaps it's because this top layer has been closer to the air/oxygen at the top of the fermenter? I heard of some ppl who add their priming sugar straight to the batch in the fermenter and give it a "little" stir. I've also wondered if one is maybe suppose to stir this top layer in? I don't know?!? Educate me Borg!! Thanks in advance for all the replys I know I'll get and if a little more explanations necessary I'll try to make it clearer. No pun intended.

How long has it ben fernmenting?
If its been 3 weeks, consider "cold crashing" before bottling

I've always noticed this top layer after about 5 days. I got 2 batches that have been going 10 days so far, both 2 gallons and they both have this top layer. Honestly I thought this just happens with brewing cause with only four batches under my belt so far I've seen it every time. Is this not good? And I'll google cold crashing.

Let them go for 21 days. do not put sugar in the LBK . You've misunderstood batch priming. Don't worry about the top layer, not an issue. That is just yeast clumping together sometimes they get pretty big. "Cold Crashing" is putting your LBK in the fridge fro 3 days prior to bottling. This will settle out the suspended particles, and solidify the yeast cake(trub) so you can get as much ale as possible from the fermenter.

Give it more time. It settles from the top down. You'll see when it is clear. And you won't really lose any time because conditioning in the fermenter will help the beer mature. It is going well.

I wrote an article about all this a while back. It's in here somewhere(like at the top of THIS Assimilation page... the informational thingywhatsit). It explains what you are going through, and importantly, what to do about it. In short, stop perving your beer. Leave it alone for at least 3 weeks.
cold crashing, as it was just said, is placing your keg in the fridge for 3 days to put the yeast to sleep and clear up your beer in as much as dropping out a lot of goobies from the beer that you don't need to bottle.

John Sand wrote:Give it more time. It settles from the top down. You'll see when it is clear. And you won't really lose any time because conditioning in the fermenter will help the beer mature. It is going well.

This right here. The beer clears from the top down as the yeast falls from suspension (for ales). Ideally your beer would be uniformly clear before bottling, but in reality different yeasts act differently, and some never clear.

The very top could have yeast islands and misc. hop particles. Nothing to worry about even if it makes it into a bottle.

Yankeedag wrote:I wrote an article about all this a while back. It's in here somewhere(like at the top of THIS Assimilation page... the informational thingywhatsit). It explains what you are going through, and importantly, what to do about it. In short, stop perving your beer. Leave it alone for at least 3 weeks.
cold crashing, as it was just said, is placing your keg in the fridge for 3 days to put the yeast to sleep and clear up your beer in as much as dropping out a lot of goobies from the beer that you don't need to bottle.

Here's the link to YankeeDag's article. I've updated it some to reflect both Mr. Beer and BrewDemon brewing. Simple Guide to Brewing

If you are not using an hydrometer to monitor your fermentation, you should leave it be for 3 weeks for the yeast to do it's job. If you want to clear it even more the cold crash method for 2-3 days after fermentation, then bottle. Leave bottles at room temp for 4 weeks before trying one that has been refrigerated for 2 days to get the CO2 into solution.
Don't worry we got your back in helping brew the best beer possible!

I'll just add that regardless, it will typically clear in the bottles, and will all end up tasting the same. You just might get more bottle trub in some of the bottles if you bottle prime vs. batch prime. Those bottles might carb faster too, but given time, they will all carb to the same level, and will all taste fine as long as you pour them into a glass and leave the bottle trub behind.

With some of top cropping yeast I use, some of the krausen sometimes doesn't fall until weeks after fermentation is complete. I just bottle from under it, I could cold crash to knock it down but it's not necessary.