advise please

[FUBAR]

HI everyone
I have just returned to the homebrew hobby after a 10 year absence and seem to have managed to forget a few things,so was wondering if someone could help,im brewing my second kit a brupacks birkby bitter this has been fermenting for 8 days now and is on a heat tray and has been kept at a steady 20c,i have taken the gravity over the last 3 days and its been 1012,i see in the instructions say it should go below 1010 but if its below 1015 for 2 days fermentation is finished,so has something gone wrong somewhere or is it usual to finish at that gravity?,also i was planning to leave it in the fermenter for a couple of days to let it fall clear a little bit bafore i keg it also this would fit in fine as i would have more spare time to keg it ,will the beer be ok to stand for a few days in the fermenter?,sorry if this is answered somewhere on the forum already.
cheers fubar

[dedken]

1.012 sounds fine to me. There's no harm in leaving it in the fv for a couple more days, it may drop further. My latest Wherry was stuck at 1.015 after 7 days so I left it a couple more days and it's now 1.012. I'll be bottling it once I've shaken this flu!

[mickhew]

To add, don't pay TOO much attention to the instructions, and their final gravity figures, they tend to make stuff up sometimes. In my experience, all my kits have stopped at 1012 ish, and have been fine. It's like the soap powder instructions "whiter than white at 30 degrees", often b0llocks.

[FUBAR]

Thanks for the help dedken and mickew,have you tried the brupacks birkby bitter,i was quite pleased with my first kit a wherry bitter its been in the barrel for 6 weeks its got a little bit of a haze to it and its bitterness is a little harsh for my taste but even so very drinkable,the qaulity of kits seems to have improved no end since i was brewing in the past,i am hooked again on this hobby and will be going to get another kit at the weekend,can anyone recommend a bitter kit to match my taste?,my favourite commercial bitters are shephard neames master brew and theakstons xb.

[Cheshire-cheese]

Thanks for the help dedken and mickew,have you tried the brupacks birkby bitter,i was quite pleased with my first kit a wherry bitter its been in the barrel for 6 weeks its got a little bit of a haze to it and its bitterness is a little harsh for my taste but even so very drinkable,the qaulity of kits seems to have improved no end since i was brewing in the past,i am hooked again on this hobby and will be going to get another kit at the weekend,can anyone recommend a bitter kit to match my taste?,my favourite commercial bitters are shephard neames master brew and theakstons xb.

Although I've heard of those two beers, can't say I've tried them. I wonder whether Brupaks almondbury old would be worth a go for you.

[FUBAR]

Hi cheshire-cheese i will give that kit a go sometime ,am i right in thinking that is quite a dark strong ale,the two beers i mentioned are nice hoppy brews but not overly bitter,the brupacks birkby that i have put in the barrel recentley certainley smells about right im keeping everything crossed that it tastes as good

[dedken]

If you're into Shepherd Neame's Master Brew I'm surprised that the Wherry doesn't do it for you. I've always found Master Brew to be particularly bitter beer. I prefer their Bishops Finger and Early Bird. Strangely, my first Wherry which I bottled (in glass bottles) wasn't bitter at all, actually rather quaffable. To much so in fact, so I've made the recent lot a bit stronger....

[FUBAR]

dedken
with my wherry to me the bitterness seems very harsh it almost has a lemon type bitterness for a description if that helps,makes me wonder what variety of hops they use,hop wise i dont think you can beat a golding or fuggles IMO.