Woodforde's Wherry Kit - Fast Completion?

[James2718]

Hi All,

I recently bought a Woodforde's Wherry Kit, I've done a fair few brews before this, and I've got it in the FV and stuff - but the fermentation seems to have stopped (and I put the stuff in the FV last friday evening). There's no foam on top of the beer, and the bubbles have stopped rising. The interesting thing is that the beer tastes like it's about ready - and the hydrometer reading is around 1010. However when I took my original gravity, it was 1014 - which I couldn't make sense of.. I'm thinking that maybe there's a lot of malt extract sitting at the bottom of the FV (but then I do take my readings from the bottom of the FV anyway). Has anyone else had this problem?

Cheers

James

[AnthonyUK]

The OG obviously sounds incorrect. What temperature did it ferment at? A week in the mid twenties is feasible.

[IanF78]

I'm on my second Wherry kit. The first, i forgot to take the OG, so i don't know what it started at, but it had finished and was down to about 1012 in 3 days. About an inch of foam on top, but only for a short time, maybe first 48 hours, before it started to clear. Turned out fine, i kegged it after about 5 days and it cleared in a week and was a pretty good brew.

The second kit, i checked the OG, but it was low, 1026 or 1028 ish, i guessed i'd done that wrong, got a diluted sample by sampling from the very top and not having mixed it up properly, or something, but again, it fermented in something like 3 days. We're talking indoor temperature in May/June, so about 22 degrees, which is the top end of what people would advise, i think. Not sure whether the speedy fermentation has any detrimental effect on an ale, i'm sure there are plenty of experienced brewers who will be able to give opinions on that. Think it matters more with lagers.

I'd heard a lot about slow/stuck fermentations with this kit, wonder if they're supplying a better yeast now as a remedy, maybe?

I've since started a cheap John Bull IPA off, and it'd going noticeably more steadily than the Wherry did, been in since friday and is bubbling away nicely at the same temperature.

[James2718]

I think it's been about 20 degrees, maybe about 22 as it was pretty hot this weekend. I just checked the gravity and it's about 1010 or so - I gave it a good stir and hopefully things might pick up again, I tasted and it tastes quite bitter (not dissimilar to the unfermented wort) so I highly doubt it's actually completed. If it doesn't pick up I might add some yeast nutrient or something..

My last brew was some Youngs Harvest Mild and that worked out fine.. I'm wondering if the cane sugar (sucrose) is more fermentable than whichever sugars are in the malt.. Cheers for your help guys

[AnthonyUK]

1010 sounds good and if it is bitter then a lot of the fermentables have been used up which is also good.
Give it a stir and leave it for two weeks with maybe a racking after one if you think it needs it.

[IanF78]

another 2 weeks? really?

christ. I've put mine in the pressure barrel, since i thought it was done fermenting.

I thought once it got to about 1012 or so and stopped there it was finished and wanted moving out of the primary FV, priming, and conditioning in barrel or bottle.

lives and learns, doesn't you. evidently i'm just impatient!

[Turts]

My last one got down to 1012 and I kegged it - it was fantastic. I don't think this kit gets much below that to be honest and I think you did the right thing. Now you just have to try not to drink it before it clears... It's a lovely pint!!

[IanF78]

i'd agree it's nice stuff, and definitely gets better if you can resist drinking it for at least a few weeks once it's in the barrel.

The last couple of pints from my first batch were pretty good, and i wished i'd left it alone for longer. It cleared within a week, but seemed to really improve after 3 or 4 weeks.

That's why i'm doing a cheapy kit as well this time, in the hope that the Wherry will get time to develop.

[AnthonyUK]

I meant two weeks total.

[James2718]

I gave it a good stir and added some yeast nutrient.. It still didn't start anything after about 10 hours, so I made a small yeast starter (with DME) and put that in.. still nothing. I had a taste and it doesn't taste sweet, and it tastes quite alcoholic.. so maybe the ethanol concentration is killing the yeast? The hydrometer is still at 1010. I think I might just keg it and let it clear.. what do we think?

[Stomach]

Hi Mate

I wouldnt use yeast nutrient. I am trying to create a beer that free from crap and chemicals and introducing that to me seems to go against what I am trying to achieve. That said though, it does work, I only decided to take the no nutrient approach when I stupidly licked the spoon and got a horrible amonia taste and thought that isnt going in my beer!

Now, if an FG is 'high' or 'stuck', I give the FV a good stir with a sanitised paddle or spoon and that normally gets it down a few points. And leave it longer. Some of my brews have been in the FV for up to 4 weeks. Down to time though with a 9 month old baby and away a few nights a week with work.

Your FG is at 1010 which for a Wherry is prett good, and consistant at that, get it kegged. Which you have done!

Cheers

[IanF78]

I'm wondering if James still has the dubious OG in the back of his mind, and is aiming to get down to the 'rule of thumb' 1/4 of that, and this, coupled with the really speedy fermentation time, is why he suspects it's stuck at 1010. Took me by surprise how quick it fermented too.

From what i've read, and my own limited experience, if you get 1010 - 1012 FG that's about par for a Wherry, and my last 2 have hit that mark and stayed there after only 3-4 days.

I had a look around for some info on here when i forgot to take an OG on my first batch, and I think it's meant to come out about 1040 -1042 ish, so your reading of 1014 (and indeed my own last batch OG reading, of 1026) doesn't seem right.

I think once you've given it a bit of a stir, and left it a few days, and nothing's happened, it's safe to assume it probably won't drop much lower than 1010. If we assume an 'expected' OG of 1040 for this kit, you're bang on at 1010, right?

That's the point at which i'd start to worry about buggering it up in some other way by keeping faffing with it, and i'd persuade myself to stick it in the keg and leave it alone.

Be interested to hear how it turns out.

[Turts]

Absolutely agree with IanF78, keg it at 1010 as it won't get any lower. Could you have misread the hydrometer as 1014 when it was in fact ready 1040 maybe?? Just a thought, but either way get it into the keg.

[James2718]

Ah, but the ammonium ions and phosphates and stuff just get turned into harmless gases by the yeast - I've used it before on stuck fermentations and it hasn't come out tasting like cat urine That said, I do try and make beer without any additives, but I figure those chemicals are already in the malt, there's just less of them.. but maybe I'm being overly scientific about it!

Yeah I suppose if we assume the OG was about 1040 that should be bang on! But i'm still wondering why it read 1014, and why it went so fast... ah well, let's hope it tastes alright

I don't think i misread the hydrometer cos I took the reading again a day after and it was about 1012, so either I just hadn't stirred it enough, or... I dunno Also my hydrometer is handily colour coded so you can see roughly what area it's in

[IanF78]

Yep, mine's same, easy enough to read, i definitely didn't misread it either, was 1026, positive of that, but as for why, i'm still flummoxed.

Either way, it turned out pretty well (i'm "Sampling" a drop right now.. alright, a pint.), tastes like beer, has a nice bit of fizz, decent head, and is starting to clear up nicely now it's in the keg. doesn't seem weak or like it's got a very low ABV, so i'm overlooking the odd OG and calling it a success.