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dx4100

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Starting my first brew tomorrow night and need some advice / checking on my approach.... Brewing Woodford Wherry kit.

1, STERILIZE equipment

Fill FV with water / sterilising agent... Throw in my spoon and hydrometer as well....Leave for 20 mins and the. Rinse out with water. Place items on kitchen towel.

2, Remove chlorine

Add 6 pints boiling water and 34 pints cold water. Add Campden tablets to remove chlorine. Stir using spoon.

3, Warm and Add content of the two cans to FV.

4, Add yeast

5, Cover and leave for 10-14 days @ 19c ?

6, Take hydrometer readings until I get two readings the same.

7, Bottle, adding carbonation tablets, store in warm place for 48 hours and then cold place for 3-4 weeks. What temps for the warm / cold swing ?-


Can someone check these steps and correct where nessary :)

Thanks
 
Disolve your cans in the 6 pints of boiling water. (Rinse them with it in fact) THen add 34 pints of cold.
 
Oh and get as much air as possible into your wort. Stir it like crazy and pour your cold water in from height.
 
pretty bang on really. your fermentation will probably be over in about 4 days, but check it at least twice a day so you know what it all looks like too! it's important to learn at this stage. :)

you need to leave it for about a week in a warm place to carbonate. when it carbs, it's basically a second small fermentation like the first - so it needs the same conditions. before you move to a cold place, crack one open to check the carbonation, and if it's not fizzy to your liking, then leave it for longer. some people go up to a month easily...

also, if your FV doesn't have a tap, a wine thief or something may help to take samples with. turkey basters work too!

oh and, don't fiddle! you might be excited to see how it's going but unless it's pretty necessary, leave it alone!
 
:( What a nightmare :(

Everything went great until I put it in the fridge and the thing supporting FV collapsed :(

Everything fell forward but I managed to catch it before any real damage was done. Its caused the content to sail around inside so the nicely sprinkled yeast is now going to be all over the place. And to add insult to injury the rubber seal for the air filter fell into the FV....

:(

Everything is now being supported by bricks until this brew is finished and I can make another attempt (and test it better next time).

Whats the verdict... Good to continue or scrap and start again... ?
 
Yeah continue - the rubber on the airlock should be pretty clean as it's your first brew, and the yeast spreads throughout the brew anyway. In fact it's normally advised to give it another good aeration a day after you pitch the yeast.
 
bugger, what a mare.
I was worried about the shelf in my fridge as well, cut some wood to support it which was a bit rubbish but did the job. Then cut down a spare IKEA shelf to make a really solid base, much happier now.
Carry on, you have nothing to lose, if there's lots of yeast stuck to the sides above wort level you might want to use a sterilised spoon to push it back down into the wort. If you now have an open hole where the bung was just cover it or fill it somehow - ball of sterilised foil, cling film?
Based on my Woodfordes Admirals Reserve kit I wouldn't expect it to be all over in 4 days...mine was 3 weeks, as long as you're not opening it all the time that's fine. Once it's ready it will start to clear a bit as the yeast drops. Sticking at about 1020 is a feature of Woodfordes kits so a bit of yeast nutrient might help with this. It'll probably be fine and a month on you'll have some ok beer. £ months on you'll have pretty good beer. :drink:
 
I am too late now, but I would add, always always always rehydrate your yeast before pitching.

Seems to make a huge difference to me, both in how quickly fermentation starts, nd th FG.


That is my top tip! :thumb:
 
I missed the step where this was put in the fridge.
Why was this done, and at what stage?
After the yeast was pitched it seems? Why?
 
Dr. B said:
I missed the step where this was put in the fridge.
Why was this done, and at what stage?
After the yeast was pitched it seems? Why?

I put in the yeast... banged on the lid... and stuck it in the fermentation fridge set to 19c... The temp of the FV was at 21 when it went in... This morning it was at 19...

Have I done it wrong ?
 
I picked up some Youngs Handy Airlock with rubber bungs. They are much bigger then the ones which came with the FV...

Should I stick it on tonight and give everything a good stir as suggested above ?
 
24 hours in what should be looking for to see if things are progressing ?
 
Everything is going fine.

All you need to do is keep an eye on the temperatures in your fridge.

You don't need to stir it, touch it, or do anything to it. You also probably don't need to worry about an airlock, especially as it's in a fridge as well.

I don't bother putting the lids on my fermenters as they are in fridges so nothing is going to fall in them.
 
How long do you guys think I should wait before taking my next hydrometer reading ? First one was 1.33
 
I assume you mean 1.033 :p

my second is usually when visible fermentation has finished plus a few days. it will push out co2 for a long time to come yet, so don't judge it on the airlock.
 
RobWalker said:
I assume you mean 1.033 :p

9855d821.jpg


I presume this is reading 1.033?

Justices the 1.0 above it.... Doh :)
 
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