total n00B

[Owlhugger]

Hiya to all!

Just recently decided to take the plunge and make some booze so I went and spanked some cash on a vat, pressure barrel and a woodford's wherry kit... quite excited and enthusiastic but also aware that I have plunged into this headfirst (the concept not the vat)!

Found this site after a very quick search and have spent some time reading up about brewing... this looks like a very good place to get beginners tips! I'm interested in the idea of modifying kit recipes to make more personalised/ better tasting beers and also some of the ideas I've seen for turbo cider sound interesting if a little racy

First things first though - I've followed my woodford's wherry instructions to the letter so far and the vat is sitting in a cupboard fermenting away happily judging by the swelling of the lid. My concern is that it says after the initial week or so of sitting in the warm I need to allow at least 14 days in a cooler place (I only realised this after I'd got things started... lesson learned read everything before you do anything!). My problem is that I live in a fairly small one bedroom flat on the second floor of the development and as such I have no garage or shed or anywhere for this to happen. so:-

1: How "Cool" is a cooler place?

2: Would, say, sitting the pressure barrel in a large bowl of water/ ice and changing the ice every day be sufficient do you think?

I do have one possibility which is to find a way to store the barrel down in the bike lock up under the building, which practically outdoors, but this will be tricky and risky and involve lugging the barrel about which I'm keen to avoid. Last resort I'll be taking all the shelves out of the fridge!

Thanks in advance!

[Normski]

Hi owlhugger

Just like all new brewers you a worrying too much. Get a themometer, take the temperature of the room you are fermenting in. and the shed. tell us what they are. We'll almost certainly tell you it'll be fine. You have to use what you have. Cooling with ice sounds like a lot of work.
One word of advise, dont go changing a kit or adding anything to it, until you have made one to the manufactureres recomended recipe. Then you will know what you want to change and if you are suscessful. And also that maybe it's turned out worse than making as recomemded. At least you'll know.
Just relax and be very patient and you'll be drinking great beer that you have brewed yourself.
If you need advise, this is the place to ask. It's better if you give plenty of info when asking a question. Then someone will be along soon with an opinion and maybe the answer, followed by someone else with another.

[Owlhugger]

Thanks very much for the reply Normski.

I know I'm worrying too much - I guess I'm just eager for it to work out! good to know that there are other people out there with experience in this area though!

I will measure the temp of the place I'm fermenting and post it. Problem is as I say I haven't actually got a shed or anywhere significantly different in temparaute from the place where I'm fermenting so I'll only be posting one reading... I hope you will still say that it's fine!

cheers again

[verno]

Hi Owl,

I recently did Woodfords wherry, after conditioning my bottles have been sitting in my dining room which is probably around 20 degrees C. Having only conditioned it for 2 weeks I tucked in and its very nice.

Therefore I wouldn't worry about keeping it cool. What you will find is the longer you leave it to condition the better it will get. Well upto about 3 months. After that it won't change too much.

Verno

[Owlhugger]

Verno you've just put my mind at rest!

Thank you so much guys I'll be back for more ideas when this lot's in the barrell!

cheers

Owl.

[jonewer]

My first is also a wherry. Good luck mate, its been non-stop panicking and checking it every half an hour since last saturday!

[TheMumbler]

If it is any consolation I had the almighty fear that something was going to go wrong on my first shot (around 3 weeks ago). Now have my first attempt in the keg in the cellar, I've had a taste of one of the tester bottles I put aside and it seems to be going OK. Put a wherry in the FV last night and that was a lot less stressful There are a lot of knowledgeable people knocking around here so you have got a good start just by finding these forums.

[Owlhugger]

Cheers again guys! Good luck to you as well.

[Mogwyth]

Just cracked open a bottle of 3 month old Wherry, it's been stored at 50-55f, all I can say is

Cheers

Bill

[batemans fan]

Really, you ought to condition the PB where you'll be using it to fill your glass - moving the barrel will just stir the muck up from the bottom and you're going to have to leave to settle again (unless you want to drink it looking like gravy ). It will take longer to condition/clear in the warm but it should be OK. If you've got the room etc, you might appreciate leaving it in a bucket with cold water when the weather gets warmer - you don't want to be drinking beer at 25°C. Another method to get the temperature down in the summer heat is to cover the barrel with a wet towel and direct a fan onto it.

There's plenty of threads about cooling your barrel down

[Owlhugger]

cheers Batemans - that will definitely be of use in a month or so (if I can wait that long).

I ended up siphoning some into bottles and some into the barrel (ended up with about 27 pints in the barrel). I used Geordie beer enhancer instead of sugar when I was transferring them. when I was siphoning I got a mouthful or two of the brew and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! Not sure what I was expecting really but it tasted like beer - very bitter, but still, drinkable beer. Maybe a touch watery.

Anyway seeing as so many people on this forum seem to have tried the wherry and gone back for more I was wondering if anyone had any clues as to what the finished beer will taste like? I guess what I'm asking is what does the conditioning part add?