First brew of wherry - what to improve?

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stupot

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I brewed my first ever brew of wherry some time ago now. Whilst it was drinkable enough, it was still too yeasty and hadnt quite cleared enough to make it a nice ale. I initially brewed, then secondary fermeted in the barrel. I think next time I will go straight to bottle as the barrel has been more work for no gain so far, as I will end up bottling most of the beer to take it places with me.

Ive boought more wherry kits when they were on offer from wilkos. Should I be buying finings or something to help clear the beer and remove that yeasty taste?
 
Generally I would say its ready in the barrel quicker.

I personally don't think you can beat ale from a pb but then I save my cornies for high carb stuff.
 
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This was started about 4 months ago now - if it isnt ready yet i dont think it ever will be? I think im going wrong somewhere..any advice?
 
I've had a few mixed results with Wherry.

My last (and my best) was brewed like this -

In a STC-Temp controlled brew fridge at a constant 20c
In the FV for 12 days, then transferred to bottles, primed with half a tea spoon of sugar.
Left to condition in room temp for 2 weeks.

Result - clear beer, tastes much nicer than my previous attempts although, there is still a hint of a yeastie taste.
I don't think that can ever be gotten away from (although I'm happy to be proved wrong on that one).

I'm going to give BIAB a go in a few weeks, I'm told that you certainly don't get that 'twang' with AG brewing.
 
I've had a few mixed results with Wherry.

My last (and my best) was brewed like this -

In a STC-Temp controlled brew fridge at a constant 20c
In the FV for 12 days, then transferred to bottles, primed with half a tea spoon of sugar.
Left to condition in room temp for 2 weeks.

Result - clear beer, tastes much nicer than my previous attempts although, there is still a hint of a yeastie taste.
I don't think that can ever be gotten away from (although I'm happy to be proved wrong on that one).

I'm going to give BIAB a go in a few weeks, I'm told that you certainly don't get that 'twang' with AG brewing.

I followed a similar process. I started drinking after 4 weeks and was unimpressed. So I left another month and was slightly more impressed. By the time I had drunk the last bottle after 4 months, it was great.

Moral - Wherry is a slow conditioner, but worth the wait for those that have the patience!!!
 
Cheers all, Ive started another batch of wherry. Whats going to be a fair bit different from before is I will leave in the fv a good 4+ days longer than I did previously and then I will go from fv to a holding bucket, then straight to bottles...hopefully this will achieve a much nicer beers! Though it seems time will tell.
 
I think wherry is a slow clearer, if you've got good temp control it will probably help. I brewed a batch a month ago. I had it in the FV at around 20-22 air temp for two weeks, bottled straight from the FV with half a teaspoon of brown caster sugar. Left the bottles in temps of 21-25 air temp (it was warmer in the garage!) for two weeks and then into my fridge at 12.5 where they'll be for another two weeks before I try one. They're not clear at the minute and don't expect they will be until after the two weeks at 'cellar' temp. After that I'm also expecting each one to be better than the last as time goes on.
 
Wherry needs 6 months minimum, is best at about a year. However after 4 attempts it has never tasted anything like a proper pint from a Woodforde's pub.
 
Ive just bottled the brew. It was in the fv 14 days, then primed with 1/2 a teaspoon of brewing sugar per bottle and is not sitting in the airing cubaord for a few days until i move it into the garage. Time will tell, but hopefully doing things differently has improved my beer this time! Now i need a new brew to try...
 
Mine have been OK up to now by about 3 months, but I use 2L PET bottles and I think this speeds ageing but won't keep the beer as long as glass.
 
Just bought my first Wherry after about 50 kits brewed !!!
It will be hard to compare to Festival and Youngs American Range but for £14.50 can't complain for a two can kit and it seems very reliable.
Cheers
 
Mine have been OK up to now by about 3 months, but I use 2L PET bottles and I think this speeds ageing but won't keep the beer as long as glass.


Plastic is air permeable so speeds up the ageing process, as Slid says not recommended for long term ageing.
 
Slid said:
Mine have been OK up to now by about 3 months, but I use 2L PET bottles and I think this speeds ageing but won't keep the beer as long as glass
Plastic is air permeable so speeds up the ageing process, as Slid says not recommended for long term ageing.
Don't confuse oxidation with aging, one is desirable, one is not ;)
 
So my second batch has been bottled over a month or so now. I know its still early days but I tried a bottle and its flvaour isnt bad overall but it still has a vinegary twang...will this reduce over time?
 
bump? any advice would be sweet!

It may do. When you say "vinegary" is this an acidic taste like chip shop vinegar or an acidic taste like hops?

The general consensus view on Wherry is that it is not really very good after just 4 wks in the bottle. I've not drunk Wherry earlier than twice that time, so I would suggest being patient for now. Nothing much can be done at this stage, other than waiting. Most beer is OK in the end, so don't worry about it, just put another brew on and worry about that one instead. :-D
 
More of a chip shop taste. maybe i just need to forget it for 3 months or something!
 
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