My first kit - Wherry

[Iank]

With some encouragement and advice from other forum member macleanb, I purchased some equipment and have my first brew underway. I thought I might note some points that may entertain or be useful for other first-timers.

Having bought a Brupaks Colne Valley Bitter kit, I was in Wilkos getting getting a couple of things I needed so bought a £14.99 Wherry kit, which I decided to try first, as it was cheaper so if I cocked it up i would be less disappointed.
Highlights/cock-ups so far:

Weds 30 Jan:

- Followed Wherry instructions and rehydrated yeast packet in water at about 42c. With hindsight worried that might have been too hot.
- Stirred wort well to oxygenate (temp about 23c) then stirred and pitched the yeast mixture. I then took an OG reading by plopping my new hydrometer into the fermenter. This seemed to attract itself to the bubbles so was hard to read, but eventually looked like about 1020
- called macleanb worried about low OG. he suggested I might not have mixed the wort well enough, and sure enough scraping the bottom of the fermenter with the spoon dredged up plenty of treacly goo
Stirred some more to dissolve, and took a small amount of the mixture in a jug and added a couple of tablespoonfuls of Geordie Beer Enhancer (DME/dextrose) and when dissolved put that back in.
OG by now had reached 1041.

More to follow if this is of any use.

[MightyMouth]

42c might not be too high but you should aim for 30c to 35c for the yeast, did it foam up a but or just sink to the bottom of the water and sat there. If it starts bubbling within 24 hours of pitching it should be ok otherwise get some more yeast and repitch.

[Iank]

42c might not be too high but you should aim for 30c to 35c for the yeast, did it foam up a but or just sink to the bottom of the water and sat there. If it starts bubbling within 24 hours of pitching it should be ok otherwise get some more yeast and repitch.

The yeast sat on top of the water, and then partially foamed up, but after 15 minutes or so wasn't entirely hydrated/dissolved, so I stirred it and pitched it.

The Wherry kit happened to have 2 yeast sachets so after worrying about the original one I sprinkled the second one into the fermenter. No stirring or anything. this was about 2 hours after the original pitch. No sign of life at all by this point.

About 2 hours after the second yeast went in a thin white head began to appear.

Next morning (yesterday, about 18 hours in) there was a good couple of inches of krausen, touching the lid, so quite pleased.

This subsided by an inch or so during the day, and now (2 days in) seems to be less than an inch think.
Room temp 17-21c depending on central heating times. Beer temp seems to be fairly stable at around 20c.

[MightyMouth]

Sounds good so far, Keep a close eye on it as they are known for stuck fermentations. My first wherry stuck and wouldn't budge until I threw in some Dry Beer Enzyme but then because of that went all the way down to .998 FG so it's very dry and not particularly tasty. If it doesn't improve I am gonna try to get the wife to drink it with some Black currant or something

[vacant]

My first wherry stuck and wouldn't budge until I threw in some Dry Beer Enzyme

Did anyone work out if these wherry kits stick because they lack nutrients (try a gentle rouse with a quarter teaspoon of yeast nutrient, from Wilko's again) or have too much unfermentable sugars (beer enzyme) or a bit of both?

[MightyMouth]

My first wherry stuck and wouldn't budge until I threw in some Dry Beer Enzyme

Did anyone work out if these wherry kits stick because they lack nutrients (try a gentle rouse with a quarter teaspoon of yeast nutrient, from Wilko's again) or have too much unfermentable sugars (beer enzyme) or a bit of both?

Well because I was tired of messing around I used both DBE and YeastVit so It could have been either with mine.

[RK]

'm not sure even Muntons knows, there was a report earlier that they have changed the instructions to say the FG will finish at 1020 so assuming the OG is 1040, that's a massive 2.7% abv... Rolling Eyes

when all else fails....just move the goal posts!

Is this really how they solved the problem of stuck fermentations?

[Iank]

Hi my Wherry box (BBE 31Aug09) says:

Fermentation will be complete when bubbles cease to rise (if you use a hydrometer, when the gravity remains constant below 1014)

Quick update on my Wherry:

Now a few hours short of 3 days fermenting. Beer temp temp still 20c. Froth on top now subsided to the point it has retreated 1.5" from the edge, with bubbles still in the middle.
Took a first SG reading since pitching. I *think* it's 1016, reading from the top of the meniscus, but lots of bubbles around so might be slightly higher.
Encouragingly there were a few little bubbles gently plopping to the surface, so hopefully this means there's still a bit of activity.
By looking at the surface the beer looks like gravy. Not clear at all.

[Iank]

OK... 6 days in now and SG looking like 1014. Licked the hydrometer afterwards and it tasted sweet. Is this to be expected?
Don't know whether to try rousing the sediment and adding yeast vit or at 1014 is it best just to leave well alone?

[Martin the fish]

If it doesn't improve I am gonna try to get the wife to drink it with some Black currant or something

Almost spit my beer over the keyboard

[Martin the fish]

OK... 6 days in now and SG looking like 1014. Licked the hydrometer afterwards and it tasted sweet. Is this to be expected?
Don't know whether to try rousing the sediment and adding yeast vit or at 1014 is it best just to leave well alone?

I was keen as mustard like yourself when i started. Best advice i've had so far is to leave in FV for 10 days. Now i don't even bother taking a reading till day 10. Virtually all my brews are ready by day 10. Cider is an exception to this and mine take 2-3 days to start fermenting. So about 14 days for my cider kits at my current fermenting room temp of 18C.

It gets easier after the first brew

[Iank]

Yeah, thanks for indulging me guys.
Anyway unable to leave it alone, this morning I had a sneaky taste from a spoon dipped into the top, and I was encouraged. Definitely beer-tasting, sort of malty, with quite a bitter aftertaste. I can certainly envisage it turning into something quite drinkable. What was on the spoon looked clear and beer-coloured! SG was roughly 1013-1014.

Unfortunately other commitments mean I can't leave it the full 10 days, so it's going to be transferred to my new King Keg tomorrow evening (8 days). I'll have the vaseline at the ready.
I'm presuming that even if fermentation hasn't absolutely completed, that shouldn't matter as the pressure release valve will prevent it exploding, given I'm not bottling.

[MightyMouth]

I would say its done anyway as wherry most likely won't go much below 1014. I would keg it now.

[Iank]

OK I siphoned it off into the King Keg yesterday, after adding 90g of my Geordie Beer Enhancer to prime, which I'd simmered in a little water on the stove. Also added some finings.
The FG was about 1012, it came through the tube looking golden and quite clear, so far I'm quite pleased at my first attempt.
My siphoning kit isn't exactly high tech - a plastic racking cane with holes in it about 1" from the end, and some plastic tubing. To avoid contamination from sucking, I ran some water though all this to fill it, then immersed the cane in the FV. I then put the pan which had contained the sugar on the floor, ran the water off into that and when beer started flowing moved the tube to the keg.

Thanks for all the help, next up will be Brupaks Colne Valley Bitter in a week or so's time.

[MightyMouth]

I don't think you can go wrong with Brupaks, Just Follow Daabs Brupak Instructions. The Scammonden Dark I brewed is literally getting better every day. I actually smacked my lips when drinking the last pint of it I had it was that good. I had a Pint of a guest Porter at the pub this week that wasn't as tasty.