Wherry - first brew in years!

[davelee212]

Hi all

Yesterday I get a private message from "TxBrew" on this very forum saying it's a while since I've been online. Quite right... it's also been a very long time since I brewed anything... So, the wife is out tonight so the brewing stuff came out the loft for the first time in years! There was also a Woodforde's Wherry kit lurking in the loft so, a good clean and sanitise later, the Wherry is on!

It seems the done thing to do a little less than the instructions say so I've gone for 23L rather than 20L. Estimating wort temp at 25c (lost my thermometer!) it's come out at 1046. I gave it out hour or so to cool, gave it a good stir and threw the yeast in. Who knows how this'll turn out... just checked at the kit is well past the "best before" date so we'll see!

Once it's stopped fermenting, I'll leave it to sit for a week, then transfer into a barrel (think I've got a king keg in the loft) and leave it there for a few weeks before trying it - if I can resist!

Looking forward to it!

Dave

 

[mickpick]

Less = 3 extra litres? :wha:

 

[davelee212]

oh yeah! I mean 20L instead of 23L :)

 

[davelee212]

I found another FV in the loft containing a load of other stuff including my digital thermometer. It's telling me the wort is at 27c at the moment and falling very slowly - about 1c per hour. Maybe I should have chilled down some of the water that went in... ah well, can't be helped!

 

[FatCol]

I made my latest Wherry short to 20L and added a squirt of Rowse Australian Honey at the start. Cracked it open a couple of nights ago after 10 weeks in the keg - my oh my, what a pint!

The out of date issue will only really affect the yeast - the malt will be fine. If fermentation doesn't start, just re-pitch with a fresh yeast.

Good luck!

FatCol

 

[davelee212]

I'll check it tonight and see if it's budged at all - if not I'll get some new yeast. Is there any particular type of yeast I need to be using?

I checked the temperature this morning. It's at 24.5c and it's still falling a little bit. Hopefully the extra heat cause too much problems..

Dave

 

[FatCol]

Another poster on here recently suggested Safale 04 or Danstar Nottingham as good replacements for the Wherry kit yeast.

See if there are signs of activity, if so, leave well alone - if not, grab one of the yeasts mentioned and re-pitch ASAP - the made up wort is at its most susceptible to infections when mixed and not actively fermenting. For that reason, it's a good idea to always have a spare packet of yeast in your supplies, just incase you encounter this type of situation.

FatCol

 

[davelee212]

There's about a quarter inch layer of foam formed on the top now so it appears to be doing something.

Am I best off giving it a stir to aerate it or just leave it be?

Dave

 

[FatCol]

I'd leave it for the moment and see if the activity picks up - if not, maybe throw in a little yeast nutrient and give it a stir with a well sterilised spoon. If there is foam on the top, then at least some of the yeast is viable, so with luck, it might all be ok.

FatCol

 

[davelee212]

The air lock has been bubbling away all day so it's definitely picked up!

Just took a sample out (through the tap, didn't crack it open) and it's now at 1035 having started at 1046 or thereabouts. Didn't want to throw the sample back in (unsantised trial jar/hydro) so shame to waste it.... It tastes a bit funny, but then I am trying it only 48 hours in.

I'll leave it over the weekend and see what it's down to on Monday.

Thanks for the reassurance!

Dave

 

[remov3ableMASS]

Hello all I'm new to this forum and this is my first post you lucky people!
I am fairly new to brewing, first started brewing wine about a year ago. I've still got some blackberry wine on the bubble from last September which will actually be my first proper brew, seems to be going coming on nicely.

I was attracted to this thread due to the title.
I haven't had a go at beer yet so have bought a pack of wherry, 40 pints worth. Basicly 2 tins and a pack of yeast.
I gather that to get a stronger brew I basicly add less water so concentrating the brew?
Also the when doing the initial fermentation I guess it's just a matter of using a covered bucket?
I've got plenty of buckets and DJ'S but im considering getting a pressure keg thing with a tap is this advisable?
Sorry to bang on but any advice for first beer brew appreciated!

FV 1 Mirabelle Wine
FV 2 Bullace Wine

DJ 1 BlackBerry Wine
DJ 2 Supermarket Apple Juice Cider
DJ 3 Elderflower Wine
DJ 4 Elderflower wine

 

[FatCol]

I was attracted to this thread due to the title.
I haven't had a go at beer yet so have bought a pack of wherry, 40 pints worth. Basicly 2 tins and a pack of yeast.
I gather that to get a stronger brew I basicly add less water so concentrating the brew?
Also the when doing the initial fermentation I guess it's just a matter of using a covered bucket?
I've got plenty of buckets and DJ'S but im considering getting a pressure keg thing with a tap is this advisable?
Sorry to bang on but any advice for first beer brew appreciated!

Hi,

There are 2 ways to increase the strength of a brew - one is to brew it short i.e. less volume, so for instance make the Wherry to 20L instead of 23L, the second is to add more fermentables, leading to more alcohol. When I make a Wherry, I tend to brew to 20L and it's a very nice pint.

Pressure barrels with taps are used for dispensing the beer after it has been made, not really for brewing in. I make my brews in a normal brew bucket and then transfer to the barrel to condition and serve.

Hope that helps.

FatCol

 

[FatCol]

The air lock has been bubbling away all day so it's definitely picked up!

Just took a sample out (through the tap, didn't crack it open) and it's now at 1035 having started at 1046 or thereabouts. Didn't want to throw the sample back in (unsantised trial jar/hydro) so shame to waste it.... It tastes a bit funny, but then I am trying it only 48 hours in.

I'll leave it over the weekend and see what it's down to on Monday.

Thanks for the reassurance!

Dave

Hi Dave,

Glad to hear it's off and running.

I always give my beers at least 2 weeks in the primary, as I think it results in a better end product, and given that you're using an older yeast, I'd certainly recommend giving a fortnight just to make sure it can get its job done properly.

FatCol

 

[remov3ableMASS]

There are 2 ways to increase the strength of a brew - one is to brew it short i.e. less volume, so for instance make the Wherry to 20L instead of 23L, the second is to add more fermentables, leading to more alcohol. When I make a Wherry, I tend to brew to 20L and it's a very nice pint.

Howdy Fatcol,

Thanks for the reply.

So by fermentables you refer to sugar or things containing said product? So is it possible to just add sugar to the brew with the full amount of water?
Im assuming that by concentrating the ingredients your acheiving a fuller flavour as well as a stronger tipple?

Cheers

 

[Slid]

There are 2 ways to increase the strength of a brew - one is to brew it short i.e. less volume, so for instance make the Wherry to 20L instead of 23L, the second is to add more fermentables, leading to more alcohol. When I make a Wherry, I tend to brew to 20L and it's a very nice pint.

Howdy Fatcol,

Thanks for the reply.

So by fermentables you refer to sugar or things containing said product? So is it possible to just add sugar to the brew with the full amount of water?
Im assuming that by concentrating the ingredients your acheiving a fuller flavour as well as a stronger tipple?

Cheers

To my tastes, Wherry is fine at the 23L suggested and 500g of table sugar lifts the ABV by just over 1%. My palette and expectation, however, was probably ruined by many years of drinking Supermarket French beer at 5.3% made with a large corn sugar (dextrose) contribution.

Wherry does take a lot of time, though, to reach its best.

 

[davelee212]

It's down at 1030 now so still going but the frequency of the bubbling through the air lock had reduced considerably. I gave the barrel a bit of a shake about to mix things up about and it's bubbling again. It's only got a very small amount of foam on the top... not the inch or so I've seen on previous brews.. Worth getting some younger yeast in there or should I just stop being impatient? It would be a good excuse to visit the homebrew shop!

Dave

 

[FatCol]

It's down at 1030 now so still going but the frequency of the bubbling through the air lock had reduced considerably. I gave the barrel a bit of a shake about to mix things up about and it's bubbling again. It's only got a very small amount of foam on the top... not the inch or so I've seen on previous brews.. Worth getting some younger yeast in there or should I just stop being impatient? It would be a good excuse to visit the homebrew shop!

Dave

If the gravity is dropping steadily, I'd leave well alone personally. Just be prepared to give it time - like I said earlier, my brews always have at least 2 weeks in primary, and that's using in date kits.

That said, any excuse to visit the home-brew shop shouldn't be passed up :thumb:

FatCol

 

[FatCol]

There are 2 ways to increase the strength of a brew - one is to brew it short i.e. less volume, so for instance make the Wherry to 20L instead of 23L, the second is to add more fermentables, leading to more alcohol. When I make a Wherry, I tend to brew to 20L and it's a very nice pint.

Howdy Fatcol,

Thanks for the reply.

So by fermentables you refer to sugar or things containing said product? So is it possible to just add sugar to the brew with the full amount of water?
Im assuming that by concentrating the ingredients your acheiving a fuller flavour as well as a stronger tipple?

Cheers

If you want to keep the body of the brew near the normal, you are better adding a dried spray malt than adding either table sugar or dextrose (brewing sugar) as the addition of plain sugars will effectively up the alcohol but "thin" the brew in the process.

Wherry is a very good kit and does't really need a lot of playing around with. I'd suggest just brewing it short to 20-21L and see how you like it.

FatCol

 

[remov3ableMASS]

Well I know nothing of this " Dried Spray Malt" of which you speak, I shall look that up!
It's all a learning curve, it seems there's more to brewing beer than wine? I'd hope eventually to be brewing from scratch as I have been with wine, which I'm still a novice at tbh.
I think I will do as it says on the tin for this first one and see how it goes perhaps make adjustments next time!
Thanks for the advice!

Sláinte

 

[FatCol]

Well I know nothing of this " Dried Spray Malt" of which you speak, I shall look that up!
It's all a learning curve, it seems there's more to brewing beer than wine? I'd hope eventually to be brewing from scratch as I have been with wine, which I'm still a novice at tbh.
I think I will do as it says on the tin for this first one and see how it goes perhaps make adjustments next time!
Thanks for the advice!

Sláinte

You can see the range / type of spray malts available and a little explanation about them here:

http://www.muntonshomebrew.com/category/spraymalts/

FatCol