Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge Review

[Essex_Lad]

Brewed on 13/11/2011 bottled 29/11/2011

SG: 1045 FG 1014 – 36 Pints

As its seems with most Woodfordes kits this took an age to get down to a good FG for bottling, the numbers started to drop quickly to start with and then it froze on 1020, after a stir and a spot next to the radiator for a couple of days the brew finally got some movement and went down to 1014 which gave me 4.1%

Having purchased this kit direct from the brewery shop while on a fishing weekend on the Norfolk boards and sampling some direct from the pub next door, I could not wait to get stuck in.

Placed in bottles with ½ a teaspoon of granulated sugar in each to prime, this was left indoors for a week and then placed in the shed.

Sampling a bottle after two weeks it was safe to say it was drinkable...so much so I had to sample another three for health and safety reasons.

I have been drinking this on and off for the last three months and its only getting better with age. The Dundee cake and sultana really does come through in the brew.

Well worth giving this brew a try, I can thoroughly recommend it.

 

[eggman]

One of my favourite kits, consistantly a good pint :thumb:
Quite fruity when young but mellows and develops if you can leave it long enough
:

 

[baggyray]

This was my first brew,so I was "obliged" to start drinking it after carbonation :grin:
A cracking drink even so :thumb:
I''m starting another batch tomorrow,and as I've managed at last to build up a bit of stock,I'll be able to leave this one to develop properly,looking forward to the results :pray:

 

[marco491]

My favourite Woodfordes - slightly stronger (only 36L instead of 40) and definitely has that cake/toffee thing going on. Never had any problem getting it going. First one I only left for 2 weeks in secondary and it was lovely, since then 4+ weeks and even better.

 

[Andyhull]

Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
2 can kit no extras needed.
3kg
36 pint kit
Produced 39 500ml bottles
Yeast used was what was supplied.

I started this brew on the 04/04/12 following the instructions on the packaging, simple and easy to follow, just like the previouse wherry brew.
When all the ingredients were added (2 cans and 21lt of water) i sprinkled the yeast on and took the SG which i felt was a dissapointing 1042 then gave it a vigerous stir and put the lid on.

By the next morning there was no real activity in the air lock and by the evening it had only just begun to bubble.
The fermentation of this brew was quite lethargic in comparison to the wherry, i think this was due to a lower fermenting temprature of around 18dgr.

Anyhow, after around 7 days it had stopped bubbling so i took another hydrometer reading and it was now down to 1012 giving me an alcohol content of around 4%.

I left it in the FV for a further few days and bottled it on the 13/04/12.
Unlike the Wherry it didn't throw anything like the same depth of sediment, there was only aroung 1/2inch as oppose to the 1 1/2inch thrown by the Wherry.

I sampled the brew from the final bit left in the barrel and if im completely honest, i don't think it's as good as the Wherry was at this stage, only time will tell as it is very young.

I bottled it with half a tsp of granulated sugar to each 500ml bottle and gave them a good shake, they are currently in the same cupboard in the kitchen that the FV was in to make the brew and are teasing me as i type

So here's to 3 weeks from now

Andy

 

[Andyhull]

Ohh well, last bottle went down last night

It was very nice too, i don't seem to be able to get them past 3 weeks old before they've gone.
I did give a few away this time though and my brotherinlaw absolutely loved them to the point that when he comes back from work (he works away for 2 to 3 months at a time) he's going to buy a FV and all the bits that go with it and start brewing himself.

So back to the brew, it had completely cleared after only 10 days in the bottle which i was very happy about, the flavour was fantastic, as others have said you really can taste the Dundee cake and sultana flavours although i found this is only for the first few mouthfulls, and it has plenty of body which i like in a beer.

If it truely does get better after a few months conditioning then this will be one of my all time favourite drinks.

Also just to add, i continued to have a few more beers (Wells Directors and a Bombardier) after my last NR and and i found them rather lacking in body and tasteless in comparison!

Anyhow, here's to the next brew :

Andy

 

[tazuk]

one of the best kits going cracking pint shame there was not AG version of it :thumb:

 

[Cononthebarber]

Just tried my first bottle of this brew after about 3 weeks in the bottle. Lovely pint, cleared really well and good carbonation. Very tasty nice array of flavours starts off bitter then has a sweet middle flavour and then leaves a fruity sort of after taste, great kit would make again! Still prefer the Wherry though

 

[jobby]

had one of these kits in the keg for 3 weeks now and its a nice pint, will leave it for another 3 weeks before i start tucking in

 

[Jamthesun]

Put one of these on 2 days ago. Smells lovely in the FV.

nelson's Revenge was my first ever kit and it was what got me into home brew. Lovely beer. It was ready over Xmas and was fantastic for the holiday period. last year I tried a Santas Winter Warmer which had a nice flavour but wouldn't clear. back to Nelson's this year.

Try it. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Russ146]

Just started on a barrel of this after 4 weeks conditioning

the first time i have tried it and made up to 40 pints and its simply gorgeous

probably my best pint yet although i have a barrel of Ruby thats lovely and another Wherry just in the barrel

All in all 3 different but cracking beers :

 

[Purital]

This has just (30 mins ago) gone into the FV.

Will post updates along the way!

 

[no1troyboy]

this was my first brew very easy to make good nose on it and loads of flavor and deferentially gets better with age its been in my pressure barrel for 3 weeks now and am noticing every day it gets better mind have only got about 20 pints left for a first brew i defensibly recommend. :

 

[Halfacrem]

Had this in the FV for a couple of days now. My second brew and my second Woodforde's. Be interesting to see how this compares with the Wherry!.

 

[daf]

I really enjoyed this one from the keg in the weeks after making it. However I bottled 12 pints for longer keeping and I am wondering whether I put in too much priming sugar as the bottled beer is quite fizzy which takes away from the flavour. Should I bung the bottles in the garage for a few weeks?

 

[Pearlfisher]

I kegged this one 7 days ago ,just tried a small sample. It's still quite cloudy ,probably due to the fact it was only in the FV 5 days.

Wasn't keen on the taste ,but then again it's very young .

Conicidently I was talking to my next door neighbour and he's also got one of these on the go ,it will be interesting to do a tasting comparison in a few weeks time.

 

[bevvies-a-plenty]

i have made loads of these kits in my opinion def one of the best woodfordes kits they make right along side the headcracker barley wine i made two of those kits and put them both in the same keg was a good christmas that year was a proper 3pints and gone pint the nr tho a great allround beer and very quaffable happy drinking
:

 

[Pearlfisher]

I kegged this one 7 days ago ,just tried a small sample. It's still quite cloudy ,probably due to the fact it was only in the FV 5 days.

Wasn't keen on the taste ,but then again it's very young .

Conicidently I was talking to my next door neighbour and he's also got one of these on the go ,it will be interesting to do a tasting comparison in a few weeks time.

Tried another sample last night ,it's cleared really well , the taste is amazing ,I can definitely taste the Dundee Cake. :drink:

 

[SloeBrewer]

This is still bubbling the airlock after 10 days, much like the Admiral's reserve did. The Wherry was finished after four days. Looks like this could get three weeks in the FV now, so while I was waiting, I decided to make myslef some labels. The design is based around the actual Woodforde's label, but as I don't have the fonts, or the line-art drawing of nelson, it's as close as I could get it!

 

[bevvies-a-plenty]

good effort sb