Bright beer

When the concentration of fermentable sugars in the beer falls below a certain level, variable with the strain of yeast, the yeast cells will naturally flocculate and settle toward the bottom of the vessel in which the beer is stored; this act is known as dropping bright.

In comparison, dropping bright beer requires more preparation time and care at the point of serving; it requires that the beer be left undisturbed to settle, as jarring or shaking its container will re-suspend the yeast.

Any beer which has dropped bright or fined will have a layer of yeast sediment at the bottom of its storage vessel.

Finings can be introduced during the production of beer in order to induce it to drop bright more readily.

For British beers, the most common fining agent is isinglass, and most breweries producing Real Ale introduce isinglass into the shipment cask so that the beer will drop bright readily upon the cask's being breached; this process can take from several hours to two or three days and may require the addition of supplementary finings by the cellarman.