First Kit....questions!

[Sal]

Hi everyone! I'm about to start my first homebrew (great birthday present!), and have lots of questions before I begin! I've read through a fair few threads, and DaaB's How to Homebrew page, to try and learn a bit but my research seems to have brought up as many questions as it's answered! I'm a little embarrassed as I feel my questions are, if not stupid, very 'basic' so please bear with me!

The kit I'm about to start is a Woodforde's Wherry (2 tins plus a packet of yeast), which came in a starter package with a King Keg top tap (with float). I've read through the instructions, which seem very straightforward but seem to be missing a lot of stages as described elsewhere - so I'm not sure if this is specific for the kit I have or what?! It makes no mention of using/needing either a hydrometer or thermometer, and the whole process takes place in the barrel.

So, my questions are:

1) Should I brew just in the barrel as the instructions state, or would it be better to start off in a fermenting bin?

2) Do I need to use a hydrometer or thermometer with this kit? And if so, is there a specific (or rough) final gravity the Wherry should get to, or is it just a case of 2 stable readings within a 24 hr period, as DaaB says?

3) I can't remember what my next question was going to be, due to my irritation at having closed the browser window by mistake and having to re-write this whole post again. D'Oh!

I have a feeling I should stop being a girl about it (well, I am one!) and just get on with it, but being a bit of a perfectionist (understatement of the year!) I want to make sure I know what I'm doing, as far as possible, before I start.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Sal

edit: crikey, sorry for the really long post!

[Madbrewer]

A While since I have done kits but i'll try and answer them.

1) Important! regarding the Brew in keg or a fermenter questions? Definetely a Fermenter! For this brew I would get an open fermenter (25 litre food grade bucket with lid looseley fitted) and only transfer into a keg (primed with a boiled & cooled 40g sugar & 'cup' of water solution) once fermented (probably 5 - 6 days. By 'Transfer' I mean syphon it quitely, avoiding splashing that re-oxygenates it again.

nb Malt extract would be better than sugar but boiled-dissolved sugar should do for now.

Also if after drinking that brew you want to improve quality further - get a 5 gallon wine fermenter allowing a point you can trensfer into this new container, and 'rack off' some unwanted particles of dead yeast and proteins etc.

2) I really would buy a hydrometer! That said, if you follow the instructions, the fermentation should work in about the time the instructions say. There's no substitute for hard facts though & for less than a tenner, put it on your list. However I never got the final volume from a kit that it said to expect. In the absense of a hydrometer, I would finish adding the water when you are about 1 litre short of your 23 litre goal unless you dont mind a slightly weaker brew?

3) If you ever see the book 'Home Brewing the Camra Guide - Graham Wheeler' buy it, there's detailed instructions on how to brew even from kits.

FYI don't worry providing you sterilise everything properly you WILL get a drinkable result if you ferment in a fermenter not the barrel. What will make you want to progress will be the 'body' of the kit seeming less than the body of a bought beer - if you are anything like me. However a 3kilo kit was definetely the right way to go and you'll enjoy it! I did 7 or 8 actual kits myself before going mad and progressing on to mashing AND I enjoyed every one of them!

[J_P]

Welcome to the world of home brewing . I've never tried the wherry kit personally however it gets great reviews from the folks who have.

Given that you've read Daabs site I may be teaching my granny to suck eggs here but I'll attempt to answer your questions

1) Personally I ferment in a fermentation bin and then transfer to bottles / keg once initial fermentation is over. This has the bonus of leaving the yeast sediment and other general waste behind in the fermentation bin and your finished beer ends up clearer.

2) Hydrometers and thermometers are useful bits of kit, the thermometer will tell you when the wort is cool enough to pitch the yeast (~20C) and the hydrometer will tell you how much sugar is in the wort. Take a reading at the start and a reading at the end, take the start gravity from the end gravity and divide by 7.5 and you'll have a rough idea of the ABV% (1045 - 1010 = 35 35/7.5 = 4.6%ABV) The kits I brewed finished between 1010 and 1014 depending on the style. Make sure you aerate the wort thoroughly to help avoid fermentation sticking above this sort of level.

Edit: Must type faster

[james_m_r]

Hello Sal and welcome to the forum.

I would without doubt recomend brewing your Wherry in a fermenation vessel as Madbrewer suggests. Fitting a tap before hand will make life much easier when transfering your beer into a keg.
Again, I would recomend buying a hydrometer which is an essential piece of kit for any brewer.

All of these items are available from Wilkinsons if you are not lucky enough to live near a home brew shop. Fermenter around £8, tap about £2.50 and hydrometer around the £3.00 mark.

Regards

James

Edit: Must type much faster.

[Sal]

Wow, thanks for such quick replies guys!

Madbrewer - I’ll definitely invest in a fermenting bin and a hydrometer (next week, after I get paid, alas the brew will have to wait!) I’ll also look out for the book (as if I wasn’t already addicted to Amazon!)

Daab - I’ve had a quick read of both your pages, and came to the same conclusion, that they won’t really make sense until I’ve tried it!

J_P - thanks for the tip about calculating the ABV, I’m sure that will come in useful!

I’ll get the brew on as soon as my new kit arrives, and let you know how it’s going! Mmmmm…..if it turns out well I could bottle some of it (well, a little!) and give it as cheap Christmas presents!

[Sal]

James, thanks for the tip about Wilkinson's, no idea if there's one near me (North Wales) but will find out asap!

[J_P]

if it turns out well I could bottle some of it (well, a little!) and give it as cheap Christmas presents!

Given what others say about the Wherry I don't reckon it'll get to Christmas

[Madbrewer]

Someone's going to shoot me for saying this. When I started brewing I worked for Roadside Catering Establishment (not the one that looks like pacman putting his fingers down his throat). The cooking oil they bought came in drums that were 20 litres to the top. Although an inch shorter than ideal they helped when I wanted to get to get a brew on the go pronto (in those days I just held back on some of the sugar and put up with a 35 pint brew!)

You could ask a few takeaways if they have an empty bucket you could have? Unfortunately though I don't live near Wales otherwise you could borrow a fermenter from me.

Have fun

Phil

[StevieR]

Hi Sal and Welcome !

I've brewed the Wherry kit and I have to say its really good - I've still got a few pints left in my pressure barrel. The starting gravity reading from the hydrometer should be around the 1.044 mark and it should ferment down to 1.014 prior to transfer to the pressure barrel.

There's been lots of discussion on the issue of priming and its a matter of taste, but I would normally prime a 40 pint brew with 80g of glucose (brewers sugar) in 100ml boiled water.

Hope this all helps, let us know how it goes.

Best of luck

[StevieR]

One other point I forgot to make earlier, I always replace the kit yeast with Gervin English Ale yeast (aka Nottingham Yeast) in order to help ensure complete fermentation. There has been issues in the past with Munton's kits sticking at around 1.020.

You should be able to buy this from your local homebrew shop

[Sal]

Madbrewer, thanks for the idea of trying the local chippy. They are very helpful and donate their used chip fat to a mate of mine who runs his car on it, so hopeful they will have an old drum that I can pinch!

Stevie, thanks for the hydrometer readings, that should give me some idea of what I'm looking for when I get the brew on the go.

Just had a look on Amazon for the CAMRA homebrewing guide...I'm guessing it's out of print and much sought after... copies start at £54.57!!! Bleepin' 'ell!