wherry original gravity

[Matt.A]

Hi everyone, I'm new here, but I've been looking and learning from old threads for a while now

I've just started fermenting my first brew, a woodfordes wherry kit. Just had a quick question about the original gravity - mine is 1032. Is that normal?

Will keep you guys posted as to how it goes

[dunc]

welcome Matt

I'd expect a Wherry to be around 1042. Two possible reasons for the low reading might be that the malt hasn't dissolved properly and dispersed evenly through the mix, so there may still be some stuck to the bottom of the bucket or concentrated towards the bottom so its given you a false reading (don't worry if this the case, it'll still ferment out). The other possible reason I can think of is adding too much water - you need to top up to 23 litres, not add 23 litres to the kit contents, so the OG would be lower due to the greater volume.

Enjoy the Wherry, its a good pint.

[Matt.A]

thanks Dunc - that's what I thought it should be. I think perhaps it might be a combination of both undissolved malt and a little too much water (would say an extra half pint make a lot of difference to the OG? - obviously theres going to be some error in the scale on the FV)

In any case, should I make sure it stays in the FV for longer to get down to a lower FG, say 1010? Will this lower OG affect my final beer?

Cheers

[dunc]

half a pint won't make much difference really, thats within a tolerance I'd say.

so the first option seems most likely and 1040-42 is probably the real OG. your brew will do well to get down as far as 1010 as its an all malt kit, anything below 1014 is okay. Mine both finished around 1012 if I remember rightly. I'd give a Woodforde's kit at least ten days in the FV as they do slow down towards the end, allow a couple of days to stand once the gravity appears to stop dropping. I don't think you'll be disappointed - the biggest problem I had with the Wherry was leaving it alone long enough to condition properly!

[john_s]

I've just launched my Wherry today. The gravity's at 1040.

[Matt.A]

A quick update: I took sample today (4 days in) . Cloudy and very drinkable, with no head - I think this is normal? hydrometer reading was 1011. I know normally, when it goes this low you'd take measurements on 3 consecutive days, and if the reading was stable, you'd bottle/keg it. Should I do this, considering my OG was low? Common sense (well, to me), would say to leave it in for longer to see if it gets any lower to increase the alcohol content as the OG was low.

Thanks,

Matt

[Naich]

Mine started off at 1046 and is now 1012 after 10 days. From what I've read, it's unusual to get it to go below 1010 and I'm planning to bottle it up at the weekend.

[Matt.A]

so I've checked it the past few days and its consistently been 1010, though it does look like a few tiny bubbles are still coming up. I'm planning on kegging it tomorrow, this sound alright?

Also, I'd planned to add 85g of dissolved brewing sugar to the keg, then siphon over the beer from the FV. I then plan to transfer half (20 pints) in the keg over to bottles using the little bottler. The other half I'll just keep kegged. Does this seem sensible?

Thanks

[Naich]

Also, I'd planned to add 85g of dissolved brewing sugar to the keg, then siphon over the beer from the FV. I then plan to transfer half (20 pints) in the keg over to bottles using the little bottler. The other half I'll just keep kegged. Does this seem sensible?

The problem with that is that you'll have a lot of air in the keg to oxidise with the beer. Well, the oxygen part of the air will. A puff of CO2 into it before you screw the top on might sort it out. Other than that, it sounds OK, although the lower pressure due to the larger air space might mean it doesn't get as fizzy as if it had been fuller.

[Matt.A]

thanks for that Naich.

In the end I ended up kegging it all as I found similar advice somewhere else on the forum. It's now sitting by my radiator before going into the cold(-ish) utility room for conditioning. Any ideas what temperatures should be used for conditioning? All I've got at the moment is 'warm' and 'cold' which is all a bit too vague for my liking!

[Lillywhite]

Any ideas what temperatures should be used for conditioning?

Temperature range 10-14C if possible.