Bottle Conditioned Sediment

Well Steve, my answer to your question is partially based on facts and partially on opinion, so let’s see if I can clear things up about this cloudy topic. Brewer’s yeast does contain B-complex vitamins, namely B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folic acid), and B7 (biotin), but does not contain B12 (cobalamin), as this vitamin is only produced by bacteria. In general terms, the nutritional properties of yeast can be manipulated by the composition of the growth media, and this technique is used to produce special nutritional yeast products for human and animal consumption; these products are specifically marketed as nutritional yeast, along with the special properties imparted to the yeast through the growth medium. Consumers may confuse the general attributes of yeast with these special products, and confer more nutritional benefits to ordinary yeast. Notwithstanding, brewer’s yeast is a good source of B-vitamins; consuming approximately 3 tablespoons (about 8 grams) of dried yeast provides the typical adult enough B-complex vitamins to satisfy the current recommended daily allowance (RDA). To put that into perspective, that’s about the amount of yeast required for a 2.5-gallon (10-L) batch of homebrew.

So, is it reasonable to conclude that consuming cloudy beer is a rich source of B-vitamins? I am going to make the crazy assumption that beer contains the same yeast density as wort after pitching. Using this assumption, you would need to drink about 2.5 liters of beer in order to consume about 25% of the RDA for B-complex vitamins (assuming a cell density in the 10 million cells/mL range). But most beers have way less yeast in the bottle than wort after pitching, usually by a factor of 5–10, so considerably more than 2.5 liters of beer are required to get 25% of the RDA for B-complex vitamins. Those are the basic facts . . . drinking cloudy beer is not a great source of B-vitamins!

OK, now for my opinion. Many food rituals are very old, and have continued into modernity with little understanding of the origin of the ritual. The ritual of swirling bottles of beer is only as old as bottled beer, and is really only practiced for certain types of beers, most notably hefeweizens. My take on the whole topic is that practice has to do with appearance and flavor, and not much more. There is certainly something visually appealing about a cloudy glass of hefeweizen crowned with a tall, fluffy, cap of foam. Since the appearance of weizens varies with the storage conditions of the bottle, and because consumers often equate changes in appearance with changes in flavor, the swirling ritual helps reset the cloudy clock. It is also a nice way of getting the last bit of beer into a glass with a rocky crown, as hefeweizens are above average in the carbonation department. Yeast sediment does have a nice bready flavor that complements the flavors of certain styles, and this certainly plays into the swirling ritual . . . if swirling the bottom resulted in a negative sensory experience, beer lovers would certainly not intentionally march down the wrong path. I am referencing hefeweizen because I think this style is the origin of the swirling ritual.

Look at the labels of many bottle-conditioned beers, notably Belgian ales from Belgium and the US, and you will see infographics showing how NOT to disturb the sediment in the bottom of the bottle. I think breweries that put these instructions on their bottles have concluded that they feel that their beers are best served without sediments, and chose to advise their consumers accordingly. Sounds like you were drinking one of those great beers. There is no right answer here as it boils down to personal preference. I say if you like the appearance and flavor of beer with the sediment added at the end of the pour, go for it, but do it for appearance and flavor, not so much the B-vitamins.

My other general opinion about this practice is probably not very popular, so I am saving the worst for last! I think that too many beer drinkers feel guilty about drinking beer because of societal pressures and attitudes. If drinking beer is a great source of vitamins, then we beer drinkers don’t have to think about beer so much as a guilty pleasure; if you have ever “argued” with yourself or others about how nutrient-rich beer is you probably understand where I am going. My column is not the place to get into the pros and cons of alcohol consumption. I believe it is important for brewers to read about alcohol and health and understand as much as possible about this complex topic, because it is far from a black-or-white debate. Looking back at some of the history related to this topic, such as the “French Paradox,” it appears that the elephant in the room was often alcohol itself; alcohol was assumed to be negative, regardless of dose, so the research focused on other components of alcoholic beverages. I will leave this topic with the following opinion . . . while unfiltered beer is not a rich source of B-vitamins, it is a rich source of pleasure when responsibly consumed. Cheers!

Response by Ashton Lewis.