Wherry kit stopped fermenting after 3 days?

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Unkle77

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I did a lot of reading before starting my first kit (Wherry), I also had a pint of it at the GBBF too to see what it was like and decided I would go along with the suggestions to brew it short (20L).

I read through "The "OMG I don't want to screw up my first brew" how to." (I got the google cached version.....) and instructions with the kit.

Despite this I made a few mistakes and assumptions....

I aerated the wort as much as possible by pouring all water from height and made sure all the cans contents were dissolved. However, with brewing it short I failed to reduce the amount of hot water. I also failed to take a temp reading, so when I pitched the yeast it was probably at ~26c, maybe higher.

Within 24hrs it had a very healthy inch of krausen and was bubble away at 24c, after doing some more reading I decided this was too hot and move the FV to a slightly cooler position making sure to be a careful as possible.

It continued at 24c bubbling away for another 48hrs, then on the fourth day the bubbling stopped and by the end of the day the temperature had dropped to ~19c and from the side it looks like the krausen has mostly dissipated.

I was going to take a SG reading this morning but ran out of time.

I'm away for the next 3 days so I can't change anything until I get back but I'd like your input, is this fast fermentation common? I've tried searching but not really found anything on this scale.

From what I've read if its produced enough alcohol it will be fine to leave it for a while and I guess only after a SG reading will I know if I need to re-pitch it or that I have an Ale with an "interesting" taste.

Anyone with similar experiences out there?
 
id leave it until you get back, and then take three readings over three days and if its constant (below 1008- i think) then its done

or you could have a stuck brew.. im not sure how to rectify this im sure someone more experienced will help out

hope that helps

:hat:
 
Sounds perfectly normal to me. They generally bubble away crazily for the first couple of days before calming down. Just because it's gone quiet doesn't mean it's finished fermenting, though, so I'd leave it alone for at least another week before bottling/barrelling. That'll also allow most of the sediment to settle out.

I've heard talk of brews getting "stuck" (particularly Wherries, for some reason) but never had it happen in practice.
 
Most brews start vigorously, then calm down after a few days. Without a hydrometer it is hard to know how the brew is proceeding. This is particularly true of Wherrys, which have a reputation for stuck fermentations.

My Wherry from a couple of months ago sounds very similar. It started vigorously, but then there was no fall in the hydrometer readings between day 4 and day 7 (stuck at 1.020). A big stir and fermentation resumed, and all was fine.
 
Thanks for all the replies!

I took a reading when I got back and found the SG to be 1.012, I measured it again a few days later and the reading was around 1.011. So I left it a bit longer.

Last night I decided it needed to be taken off as I'd taken a couple of readings and disturbed the CO2 layer combined with the fact that tomorrow I'm going on holiday for a week.

When I started syphoning the beer into a second FV for priming (80g dextrose) I noticed that bubbles were still rising to the top which means I probably could have left it for a bit longer. As this is my first go, two weeks is probably a good benchmark, on tasting it I'd say it was OK, quite sweet but definitely drinkable with no "off" tastes. I'd place it as more of a autumn/winter session beer.

I bottled most of it and left 6ltrs in the barrel, topped pressured with CO2.

The bottles will be interesting as I had not yet discovered the little bottler, I'll have to wait and see if the beer got aerated.

I'll see in a months time!:drink:
 
Most report Wherry as 'sweet' prior to conditioning.

This is a beer, consensus has it, that I'd best left to condition longer than usual.

That sweetness only dissipated after a couple of months and the last bottle I had last week (6 months old) was awesome!!!

Try and wait - it's worth it.
 
OK, thanks, I think I'll leave these until Christmas then.... :D

Can you recommended a beer kit which does not take so long to condition? Or is it always the longer the better?
 

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