Woodfordes Wherry Review

[barry44]

Did one of these kits last year. it stuck at 1020 as so many of them do. Re-pitched with S04 yeast and bottled at 1014. It took a very long time to clear, and had a hint of plastic taste early on. it matured in to a very nice drink, in my opinion, better than the Wherry I was served from a pub not so long ago.

I have noticed this plastic taste in my wherry which i bottled a month ago. It has since had 2 weeks in the warm and 2 in the cold.

It was pitched with the kit yeast and did not stick.

How long did you find the plastic taste remained?

I have done some research into the plastic taste and it apparently comes from using chlorine water and or iodine or chlorine based cleaner/sterilisers.

I used bottled water, PBW and starsan so i don't think it is a by-product and hope its a taste the wherry goes through before settling down into this cracking pint i have been told about!!! :

 

[alanywiseman.]

Did one of these kits last year. it stuck at 1020 as so many of them do. Re-pitched with S04 yeast and bottled at 1014. It took a very long time to clear, and had a hint of plastic taste early on. it matured in to a very nice drink, in my opinion, better than the Wherry I was served from a pub not so long ago.

I have noticed this plastic taste in my wherry which i bottled a month ago. It has since had 2 weeks in the warm and 2 in the cold.

It was pitched with the kit yeast and did not stick.

How long did you find the plastic taste remained?

I have done some research into the plastic taste and it apparently comes from using chlorine water and or iodine or chlorine based cleaner/sterilisers.

I used bottled water, PBW and starsan so i don't think it is a by-product and hope its a taste the wherry goes through before settling down into this cracking pint i have been told about!!! :

THe only time I noticed a plastic taste is when I have brewed too hot. The plastic taste then changes to a rank cardboard taste. I hope this is not your issue but something to concider.

 

[JimmyB78]

Got my third wherry ready to be bottled very soon and have bought a 2nd fv with a tap so going to batch prime for the first time.

Does it make a difference to the flavour if I use golden syrup/brown sugar etc compared to brewing sugar or tate & lyle?

 

[dogsbox]

My first attempt at Beer. Been in the bin nine days and have a sg of1.008 and still dropping slowly. Cant wait to taste :

 

[PD]

folks use lots of different types of sugar for priming their bottles, but to be honest I don't think the small amount you use will have much effect on the taste.
Good ol Tate and Lyle is the easiest priming sugar to use, easy to weight, easy to add to bottle or keg and easier to pinch from the wife's kitchen !

 

[barry44]

THe only time I noticed a plastic taste is when I have brewed too hot. The plastic taste then changes to a rank cardboard taste. I hope this is not your issue but something to concider.

i have looked back over my notes and recall washing some bottles with youngs cleaner/steriliser, which is chlorine based. However, these were rinsed 5 times each, to the brim, with cold water until i could not smell any chlorine from the bottle. This may be the issue and hopefully only the affected bottles, 10 iirc, contain the plastic taste.

russian roulette time!

 

[JimmyB78]

folks use lots of different types of sugar for priming their bottles, but to be honest I don't think the small amount you use will have much effect on the taste.
Good ol Tate and Lyle is the easiest priming sugar to use, easy to weight, easy to add to bottle or keg and easier to pinch from the wife's kitchen !

Thanks Piddledribble :) I bottled yesterday and batch primed with about 90g of brown sugar. I'll of course test thoroughly against other batches of wherry to see if there's any difference in taste :drink:

 

[bottler]

Hi lads, ive seen this kit advertised stateing 3.8 abv. is the strength if you follow the instructions. It sounds like a great beer but 5.0 aprox would be better for my taste. Is it worth a try at short brewing ? :thumb:

 

[Cononthebarber]

Hi yes I brewed this to 20l instead of the 23 prescribed, it came out at 4.5% and was quality :thumb:

 

[bottler]

Cheers mate, i could live with 4.5 on a good beer :

 

[Bungz]

Simply put this is the best kit I have done to date. If I close my eyes it tastes like I am in the pub :

Is available for well under the rrp if you look around and tastes fantastic

Brewed mine a couple of litres short, came in at 4.5% give or take and tastes great 3 weeks bottled, but had to wait 18 days in the fermenter to get it down to 1.014.

 

[steve4520]

I too started this kit on the strength of opinion to how good it was... but unfortunatly got the dreaded 10.20 stick..11 days in the fermenter and a stir and nothing really much happening . I 've heard people leave it for 20 days in this situation so for the mo i'm gonna sit tight and see what happens.... Could a rack into a spare FV be of any help further down the line ? :pray:

 

[Rwilts]

Steve,

my post from a few pages back

Well I bottled mine today 43 bottles of clear loveliness. Can't wait to try one. After two weeks I siphoned it into a clean fv , something I have only done once before but it did kick it off fermenting again and stopped at 1012. Also made a very clear liquid and I managed to get all of it into bottles.

 

[Floodster]

Have one of these in the keg. Been there a couple of months untouched ready for Thursday night when a few friends are coming round to sample my home brew. Leaving this one till last so I am hoping it isn't going to dissapoint pont! First kegged beer as well...

 

[steve4520]

Cheers Rwilts.. just seen your post so ill give that a go in a few days :thumb:

 

[Halfacrem]

I've had my second Wherry in the FV for coming up 2 weeks now. First attempt at the beginning of the Year tasted great, but was entirely lacking in any kind of fizz due, I think, to me overtightening the cap on the keg and not getting a decent seal. Hopefully I won't make the same mistake again!

The Gravity seems to have stabilised around 1016 for the past few days. I'm hoping it might drop a bit more leading up to the weekend when I'm planning on bottling a few and kegging the rest.

 

[mattrickl06]

My wherry has been bottled and in the warm for about 2 weeks now but the plastic bottles dont seem very "hard" at all :sulk:

 

[Aitch]

Have one of these in the keg. Been there a couple of months untouched ready for Thursday night when a few friends are coming round to sample my home brew. Leaving this one till last so I am hoping it isn't going to dissapoint pont! First kegged beer as well...

Is tonight the night Floodster?! Hope it goes well please let us know. i have a keg that will sit untouched now until Xmas and i know it will be the muts nuts.

 

[Floodster]

It is damn fine and was the best beer of the night by a long shot. You won't be disappointed!

 

[Halfacrem]

I've just fallen to temptation and sampled a very small glass after just 4 days in the pressure keg. Last time I made a Wherry I managed to produce a very lifeless brew, however this time, even from a very small sample the head is fantastic!

I was a little worried that I might have ruined it as I read about being careful not to introduce air into the beer when transferring from the FV to the keg AFTER I'd admired the lovely little air bubble head developing as I syphoned!! I understand that this can spoil the taste. My sample tasted fine, but do any undesired tastes from oxidisation show up this early, or can they develop during conditioning?

Martin