Wherry questions..

[quiff]

Brewers choice Old ale makes a nice pint. More "Old Peculiar" than Guinness though. It will push your skills to the next step as well.
Coopers Stout is nice and more Guinness like as I'm sure Ditch will get around to arguing about at some point

[Jimothy_Bobbins]

No I havn't found a shop near me yet although there may be one.. I've not long lived here so am finding my way around! I notice you are in Northamponshire, not too far from me then.. I am in Stamford, my dad lives in Kettering. Do you know of a homebrew shop thats not too far? I will be interested to hear from you how the Black Pearl is when you start it.. If its any good I may well give it a go. Is it the same method as the whery for all other kits or are there some differences in the way you do them?

[Jimothy_Bobbins]

Brewers choice Old ale makes a nice pint. More "Old Peculiar" than Guinness though. It will push your skills to the next step as well.
Coopers Stout is nice and more Guinness like as I'm sure Ditch will get around to arguing about at some point

Sorry quiff, I missed your post - wasn't ignoring you! I will have a look at the Coopers Stout as well then and see what I end up with!

[scottmoss]

Hi,

The only semi local shops near me are in Milton Keynes and Bedford. Bedford is a good one with a large selection of kits. I've been using:-

http://www.thethriftyshopper.co.uk/

As they have a free delivery on anything offer which is really handy!

[Jimothy_Bobbins]

Thanks for the link, I will save that one to my favorites. I am actually from Bedford and visit quite often to see family. Where abouts is the homebrew shop?

[scottmoss]

Thanks for the link, I will save that one to my favorites. I am actually from Bedford and visit quite often to see family. Where abouts is the homebrew shop?

Hi,

Here is the link to the Bedford homebrew shop:-

http://www.thehappybrewer.co.uk/index.htm

I don't think they do online orders.

[Jimothy_Bobbins]

Thanks for the link, I will save that one to my favorites. I am actually from Bedford and visit quite often to see family. Where abouts is the homebrew shop?

Hi,

Here is the link to the Bedford homebrew shop:-

http://www.thehappybrewer.co.uk/index.htm

I don't think they do online orders.

Thank you.

[Lillywhite]

No I havn't found a shop near me yet although there may be one.. I've not long lived here so am finding my way around! I notice you are in Northamponshire, not too far from me then. I am in Stamford, my dad lives in Kettering. Do you know of a homebrew shop thats not too far?

Wellingborough Health Foods in Silver Street Wellingborough, about 6 miles from Kettering, have a good range of equipment and quite a good selection of beer kits.

[Jimothy_Bobbins]

Thanks lillywhite, I will have a look there also. Had I not joined this forum I would have never known of these places and would probably have ruined my first brew. You guys have been a great help and I can't wait to try the Wherry that I put into its pressure barrel today!!! I will be sure to let you all know how it is when the time comes, and I will also let you know what I decide to have a go at next. I already have a couple of wine kits fermenting but these seem to be more straight forward and I haven't needed to ask for help yet. There is more to home brewing than I had expected though and it is making it more fun! I thought I would just bung a few things together and then a few weeks later drink some cheap beer but I'm pleased to find there is more to it than that, I think this may become something of a hobby for me after all.

Thank you all for your help and advice,

Jimmy.

[wmfd]

No I haven't found a shop near me yet although there may be one.. I've not long lived here so am finding my way around! I notice you are in Northamponshire, not too far from me then.. I am in Stamford, my dad lives in Kettering. Do you know of a homebrew shop thats not too far? I will be interested to hear from you how the Black Pearl is when you start it.. If its any good I may well give it a go. Is it the same method as the whery for all other kits or are there some differences in the way you do them?

You could always go and see Les at Burghley Homebrew http://www.burghley-homebrew.com - he's just to the north of Peterborough so not far from you in Stamford. His opening hours are good (8am-10pm every day) as he runs it out of a double garage stuffed with homebrew stuff.

Prices are a bit variable though, sometimes reasonable (e.g. kits), sometimes pricey (e.g. small amounts of grain/hops).

He's only just down the road from me so a good backup to my usual Barley Bottom orders, also the occasional secondhand bargain (the other day I went for some wine bottle shrink caps, ended up with two 9 litre cornies, albeit in need of tlc, for 20 quid).

David

[Lillywhite]

You could always go and see Les at Burghley Homebrew http://www.burghley-homebrew.com - he's just to the north of Peterborough so not far from you in Stamford. His opening hours are good (8am-10pm every day) as he runs it out of a double garage stuffed with homebrew stuff.

Les is pretty helpful and I first met him when he took over the market traders stall at the regular Friday market in Stamford which he, unfortunately, ceased doing a few years ago.

If Les is awake then he's open for business!

[Jimothy_Bobbins]

Thanks again guys, you have given me lots of options. I think one of my friends has been to see Les for some kit. He has only just started himself but he did tell me of a guy that runs a shop from his garage so I'm guessing this is the same fella..

Just going back to the Wherry for a minute - I put it into the barrel yesterday so when will it be ready to drink? I don't want to rush it but it would be good if I could drink some on the 12th December when an old friend comes to stay. In fact while I think of it, how long will beer actually last in a barrel before it goes bad?

[Lillywhite]

He has only just started himself but he did tell me of a guy that runs a shop from his garage so I'm guessing this is the same fella..

He lives in bungalow named Calamity Gulch in a flat and desolate part of the fens. I bet it's lovely there at present.

You need to give your Wherry a minimum 6 week conditioning period and ideally a couple of weeks longer to be at it's best.

[wmfd]

You need to give your Wherry a minimum 6 week conditioning period and ideally a couple of weeks longer to be at it's best.

Although there's nothing stopping you scientifically sampling every few days after (say) 3-4 weeks - just so you can see how the taste is developing.

Did a wherry earlier this year, cracking brew.

David

[Jimothy_Bobbins]

Thanks for all your help and advice guys! My wherry has been in the barrel since Saturday and today I noticed a tiny amount had leaked out of the tap. I guess the pressure is increasing a bit? I moved it just now from my warm kitchen out to the shed. I guess thats it now eh? Just a waiting game now.. I am now looking around for my next kit to try!