using one can of Wherry etc

[brewjohn]

HI all , at the moment I am suffering with a bad back and dont fancy lifting a fermenter with 5 gallon in it !! I have a Wherry to do and am thinking of using just one can and one packet of yeast and making 2 gallon. I intend to let it ferment for a few days in the fermenter and when its settled a bit transfer to 2X one gallon demijohns for the final ferment. Then open and do the same with the second can and end up with 4 gal in 4 demijohns much easier to handle. Has anyone done anything like this before and was there be any problems.I realise it would be a bit stronger than making 5 gals but I could top up the demijohns slightly

John Brown

[aamcle]

You should be Ok to that without an issue but why transfer from the FV it's going to be a nuisance and only save you a few days?

Your still going to lift a 1/2 batch either way .


atb. aamcle

[bitter_dave]

Agree with Aamcle, you could prob do it but seems a bit like a faff. If you’re bottling one option is to just do half batches one at a time, which I think is a potential benefit with woodfordes kits.

[MashBag]

Agree. Just do half a batch in a plastic fermenter and then bottle it and repeat.

What does transferring to the Dj's do for you?

[brewjohn]

I've allways racked into another container and left for a few days before bottling. I like the minimum of yeast in the bottle . This was suggested in the Penguin book of home Brewing by W.H.T. Tayleur I purchased in 1973 ! I ferment in a heated temperature controlled cabinet in the garage I have plenty of headroom for the FV. I put the FV in position empty and can fill it easy in situ . I have a tap fitted so with an attached pipe I can drain off into demijohns the most I have to lift is 1 gallon !

[MashBag]

LOL. Lovely. I think we may have moved on since the Penguin book of home Brewing by W.H.T. Tayleur purchased in 1973.

TBH, Yeast in the bottle, is more about flocculation of the yeast than racking. SAF-ale SO-4 sets like glue to the bottom of the bottle.

[brewjohn]

I allways throw away the packet yeast when doing any kit and use SO4. I notice Wilko are doing Gervin yeast at £2.50 and its a repackaged Nottingham strain. Have used that a few times

[bitter_dave]

I made a Wherry a while back as a quick beer and it turned out pretty good; the yeast seemed pretty decent to me. You got two packets of yeast to go with the two cans of malt extract as well, which I thought was a nice touch as it makes it easy to do a half batch if you want to do this. I dry hooped it a bit and I think this also probably added something (although it has been a long time since I brewed a Wherry kit I think so I have no point of comparison).

[MashBag]

I like the wherry kits, but I can't now drink them since I have gone AG. The have a kit taste - what is that?

[bitter_dave]

I didn't notice a significant kit taste so to speak in this one (could be my unsophisticated palate of course!). I tried to make sure I got a kit with a long use by date (a couple of years left) as I think this has something to do with the old homebrew 'twang'? I've done a bit of extract brewing with DME in the past to make beer swiftly and never noticed any twang at all.

[MashBag]

Taste is such a difficult thing to write about.
It's not as such a twang. I know what you mean and I agree it's prolly date induced tinny or flinty taste.

What I get, I think, might be a characteristic. Almost a bit hollow in the middle. Nothing to chew on. Some kits I have tasted start well in the mouth, then disappear only to reappear with a good finish. Strange.

[bitter_dave]

I agree that a kit is probably never going to have the depth of flavour of a well made AG beer. I've not done a lot of kits so I can't really generalise (although that's exactly what I just did!). I do find the process of making kits quite appealing at the moment though, and I was quite pleased with how it turned out this time, but I understand that doing this is not for everyone.

[MashBag]

If you have the kit, AG brewing doesn't have to be an ominous brew day.

I split it into a few mins over 3 days, and let nature do the heavy lifting.