Woodforde's Wherry Fermentation Query?

[stevieb14]

I'm a new member today, so hello fellow brewers!

I brewed mainly from Tom Caxton type kits over 25 years ago, and after a long absence I've just cleaned and sterilised my Boots FB (don't think they've sold home brew kit for a while) and my Rotokeg. After sterilising and rinsing the PB, I filled it with hot water, sealed it and turned it upside down to check for leaks. The lid was fine but I've just replaced the seal as a precaution, but the tap was very stiff with a little leakage evident so I've replaced that.

I decided to restart my brewing journey with a kit to keep things as simple as possible, and chose Woodforde's Wherry as I had fond memories of discovering this beer many years ago in the Spread Eagle at Erpingham when it was brewed there, and have enjoyed it on many occasions since.

I started the brew on Tuesday 29th October, following the instructions on the box. I could see the krausen rising after 3-4 days so left well alone. After 8 days I had a sneaky peek with a view to taking a hydrometer reading, but could see pockets of yeast on the surface in between the bubbles. As it was early days, I quickly closed the lid and left it alone rather than take a reading.

I've had another quick look today (10 days) and the bubbles have settled down on the surface of the wort, but there is still yeast evident on the surface, in little pockets in between the bubbles.

Have I got a stuck fermentation?

Should I take a reading, give it a stir, or simply leave it for longer and see what happens?

The lid on my Boots FB has a small 5mm hole, too small for an airlock without making it bigger, so I just left it as it was for the first 3-4 days when the krausen was at it's most active and then taped it up as it began to settle down. Was this a mistake?

The FB has been stored under my stairs between 18 and 20 degrees from the start, but was 21 when I added the yeast.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.

 

[terrym]

Sometimes you get yeasty bits floating on the surface at the end of the fermentation. Its usually nothing to worry about, and they will mostly drop given time. Anyway I would now take an SG reading. Hopefully it should be somewhere round 1.010. I would then give it another couple of days, take another reading and if its the same and clearing move it to the coolest place you have and leave it for a couple of days more to encourage it to clear faster. You can then go ahead and package it. Normal advice on here is to then leave it two weeks to carb up in a warm place then at least two weeks before sampling. However my recollection of Wherry is it comes good at about 6 weeks or longer on from packaging. But if its in your PB do draw a little off it two or three days into carbing to see if the PB is holding pressure. Better find out then than a month further on.
However if its at 1.020 or thereabouts and isn't moving down it is possible it may have stuck and in that case you may find this useful.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...s-for-dealing-with-stuck-fermentations.74910/Finally as I mentioned in the other thread you really need to pressure test your old PB. Relying on ambient water leak tests will not find leaks at 10-15psig which is what you PB may operate at. And have you changed the relief valve rubber? That may have perished and without that sealing and/or working properly to vent in the event of high pressure it's as good as a chocolate teapot.

 

[stevieb14]

Sometimes you get yeasty bits floating on the surface at the end of the fermentation. Its usually nothing to worry about, and they will mostly drop given time. Anyway I would now take an SG reading. Hopefully it should be somewhere round 1.010. I would then give it another couple of days, take another reading and if its the same and clearing move it to the coolest place you have and leave it for a couple of days more to encourage it to clear faster. You can then go ahead and package it. Normal advice on here is to then leave it two weeks to carb up in a warm place then at least two weeks before sampling. However my recollection of Wherry is it comes good at about 6 weeks or longer on from packaging. But if its in your PB do draw a little off it two or three days into carbing to see if the PB is holding pressure. Better find out then than a month further on.
However if its at 1.020 or thereabouts and isn't moving down it is possible it may have stuck and in that case you may find this useful.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...s-for-dealing-with-stuck-fermentations.74910/Finally as I mentioned in the other thread you really need to pressure test your old PB. Relying on ambient water leak tests will not find leaks at 10-15psig which is what you PB may operate at. And have you changed the relief valve rubber? That may have perished and without that sealing and/or working properly to vent in the event of high pressure it's as good as a chocolate teapot.

Thank you for your prompt and detailed feedback and advice Terry, much appreciated. What is the best way to pressure test the PB? I'll update my progress on this message thread.

 

[Clint]

Are you sure you're not Dr Who?

 

[terrym]

Thank you for your prompt and detailed feedback and advice Terry, much appreciated. What is the best way to pressure test the PB? I'll update my progress on this message thread.

The long winded way (which is what I used to do) is to put a few litres of water in the PB then add about 75g sugar and some yeast and seal up and keep in a warm place for few days and see if it holds pressure, testing with soapy water on joints and the shell and cap. The quickest ways are to use a cylinder or bulb or two and slowly pressurising and go round with soapy water. Ideally you should mostly fill the PB with water since it is safer than pressuring fully with gas. However water absorbs CO2 and so that can be a problem. Some people test with an air pump part filling the PB with water. Finally some have fitted their PBs with a pressure gauge.

 

[stevieb14]

The long winded way (which is what I used to do) is to put a few litres of water in the PB then add about 75g sugar and some yeast and seal up and keep in a warm place for few days and see if it holds pressure, testing with soapy water on joints and the shell and cap. The quickest ways are to use a cylinder or bulb or two and slowly pressurising and go round with soapy water. Ideally you should mostly fill the PB with water since it is safer than pressuring fully with gas. However water absorbs CO2 and so that can be a problem. Some people test with an air pump part filling the PB with water. Finally some have fitted their PBs with a pressure gauge.

Thanks again for the detailed info.

 

[stevieb14]

Are you sure you're not Dr Who?

Well it's been a good first day, warm welcomes, detailed responses to my requests for help, and now we've even managed to tease out some inane banter!

 

[Clint]

Ha! Just teasing about your stated brew start date...
I think we'd all like to move in time at the moment.

 

[stevieb14]

Thank you for your prompt and detailed feedback and advice Terry, much appreciated. What is the best way to pressure test the PB? I'll update my progress on this message thread.

1.012 tonight, looking ok apart from the

Ha! Just teasing about your stated brew start date...
I think we'd all like to move in time at the moment.

Ha!! I consider myself well and truly teased, rumbled and humbled! Good spot Sir!

 

[Clint]

No offence intended....it's great bunch on here ..plenty of light hearted fun..you'll like it!