Any Wherry Tips? « Brew UK Forum

Any Wherry Tips?

1 year ago | Rich22 (Member)

Just got my first Woodfordes Wherry kit.....Before I start has anybody got any tips or advice, all seems to easy when you read the side of the box!

Drinking : St Peters Ruby Red
Fermenting : Spitfire Clone
Conditioning : Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
Planning : Speckled Hen Clone

Read responses...

Responses

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Just go for it. Wherry is a great pint whatever the weather. Take your time, make sure everthing has been cleaned and sanitised and have fun! Kits really are that easy, I remember thinking " all i have to do is this and I will get beer".

No brainer really! Just dont expect it to be crystal clear and ready in 2 weeks - mature it in the keg for 5 weeks and it will taste great!

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

Rich22:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

I take it the longer you leave a lager or an ale the more it matures in flavour?

This is going to be my first brew kegged in a corny, so hoping I've got everything sorted.
Im planning on fermenting for about 10 days in an air lock. Then transfering to corny all I need to do then is gas the corny, purge the excess air, then leave for a couple of days at around 20psi for carbonation. Then leave to condition for 5 weeks. Is that right??

Drinking : St Peters Ruby Red
Fermenting : Spitfire Clone
Conditioning : Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
Planning : Speckled Hen Clone

peter:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Hi Rich its a nice pint if you leave it for a bit like Nath says.

5 gal geordie bitter
5 gal St Peters Golden Ale as per tin
Youngs Harvest Mild
all a bit moded

bristoled:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Rich,

my wherry has been ready to drink for about a week now and its amazing!

My tips are....

that in my first fermentation, i left it in for two weeks rather than 1 week
I bottled mine in newcastle Brown ale bottles and put a quarter of a teaspoon of sugar and its just right

Experimentation is the name of the game!

Rich22:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

When I come to corny keg, will adding sugar to condition it change the flavour or sweetness or would I be better putting co2 into it instead?

Drinking : St Peters Ruby Red
Fermenting : Spitfire Clone
Conditioning : Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
Planning : Speckled Hen Clone

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

C02 is the way to go, but if you use sugar it wont affect taste or flavour as its such a small amount.

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Hi Rich. Now you've done one, you might like to try this. It works well.

You might like to try my proven method for making Wherry better than it already is;

1) Make the kit to 37 pints
2) Add 250 gms of Dried Malt Extract to the boiling water in the FV, then the cans of Malt Extract.
3) Throw 10 to 30 gms of Goldings hops (depending on how ‘hoppy’ you like it) into the FV after 3 days when the initial (primary) fermentation has slowed and leave them there for at least 7 days while the beer ferments.

Using hops at this stage is known as “Dry Hopping” which involves adding hops to the fermenter or keg after fermentation. The technique adds the fragile aromatic oils that are normally lost in the boiling process. Dry hops are allowed to soak in the finished beer for anywhere from several days to several weeks. The result is a burst of hoppy aroma but it does not affect the bitterness of your beer.

It doesn’t have to be Goldings hops. They will give you the traditional English bitter aroma, but something like Nelson Sauvin will give you a crushed gooseberry aroma, or Amarillo for a flowery, citrus aroma

This method really does lift the beer and gives it a lovely hoppy 'nose'.

If you're not living on the edge..... you're taking up too much space!!

Planning: - To get some more brews on now the weather's a bit cooler
Fermenting: - Ginger Beer experiment
Conditioning: - A normal bitter with Styrians
Drinking: - All of it!!

E-mail: arnyfris@gmail.com

Bim29:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Saracen - what dried malt extract do you use? I'm new to brewing and like the sound of you tip.

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Hi Bim. All you need is the Dried Malt Extract from this site, Spraymalt Light. Look under the "Shop Home" tab above, followed by "Shop", then "Ingredients" and "Malt Extract". This link will take you to the page

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/ingredients/ingredientsmalts.html

You can also get a 500gm pack of Muntons Spraymalt from your nearest brew shop.
Good luck with it.

Bim29:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Thanks Saracen. My next brew is decided then!

Rich22:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Start making my Wherry on the 1st and had it in a primary for 5 days then transfered it to a secondary fermentation with air lock and it has now been in there for 7 days. I assumed it would be ready to keg by now but I have just tested the gravity and it is sitting up at just above 1010 and I can still see very small bubbles rising. Do I need to leave it a bit longer for the gravity to drop or has it started conditioning in the air lock barrel and the small bubbles that I can see are co2 ? In which case the gravity will stay where it is. The beer is looking clear.

Thanks for any advice

Drinking : St Peters Ruby Red
Fermenting : Spitfire Clone
Conditioning : Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
Planning : Speckled Hen Clone

simonb_13:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Sounds like it's ready to me.

Planning: Something with Styrians, Discovery Clone
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

1010 sounds done, but you can only tell if its a constant reading for 2-3 days. The small bubles of c02 could just be escaping co2 from the trub (yeasty stuff at the bottom). I have been reading a book and doing a lot of searching on da net about primary fermentation and the whole "dont leave it for more than 2 weeks" is massivly false.

Im gonna leave my beers for about 3 weeks in primary as the longer on the yeast the cleaner the beer, less dycital and other undesriable ompounds that the yeast make during fermentation are all eaten up by the yeast. Lots of people have left beer in a primary fermenter for 4-6 weeks with no ill effects.

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Thanks for researching that, Nath. Do you go along with raising the temperature in the FV after a few days to help the yeast dispose of diacetyl and the other nasties?

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

To be honest ive yet to implement as I have to brew "in house" due to shed conditions. But yes, after reading some great books and researching, it points to doing things very differently. There is so much going on in fermentation that it can totally change the characteristics of any beer.

As a rule you should pitch yeast about 2c less than the optimum temperature for the strain (usually 20c for an ale yeast and 10c for a lager yeast) then over 18-36 hours raise the temp to the optimum and with until around 3/4's of fermentation has finished then raise it to the higher end (2c-5c more) to make the yeast clean up after themselves, the higher temp does not matter so much as all the flavour has already been produced.

Then (in primary) leave the beer until your ready to keg/bottle. There is no given period but as I mentioned before 3-4 weeks is not gonna be a problem, with people going much longer with no nasty after tastes.

I think it may be good to start a new thread on practices for yeast.

Ta,

Nath

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Damn! Just when I was thinking I was beginning to understand it! Wasn't it nice when we added water to the contents of a kit and drank the beer, blissfully ignorant of all the science.

Good Idea, starting a new thread.

I've started keeping a 'scrapbook' as a Word document. I can't keep track of all these handy tips so cutting and pasting all the little bits keeps it all in one place. Maybe we'll be able to put it all together as a 'Book of Handy Hints' one day.

peter:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Just started a wherry and added hops as per advice well almost 20g Goldings anyone? the scales were out and I didnt notice

5 gal geordie bitter
5 gal St Peters Golden Ale as per tin
Youngs Harvest Mild
all a bit moded

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Hi Peter. Provided the hops are going in the FV there shouldn't be a problem. They don't increase bitterness unless they are boiled. You'll just get more flavour and aroma. Hope it goes well for you.

peter:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

It was a bit of a mess up all round mate I got interupted while doing two lots and ended up talking the chap into having a go after a glass or three of Geordie I will let you know what it turns out like

5 gal geordie bitter
5 gal St Peters Golden Ale as per tin
Youngs Harvest Mild
all a bit moded

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

I'm sure it will be OK. Cleanliness is the most important part. Provided you don't get stray bacteria in the FV you'll get beer ...... but maybe not the beer you were expecting.

Haylesy:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Hi saracen,

I'm new to beer making, and am currently enjoying my 2nd brew - both have been Wherry - and I'm looking to do an enhanced Wherry next using dried malt extract and Goldings, as per your recommendations. I'll also be using Safale S-04 Yeast.
I'm just wondering why you're using Spraymalt Light, rather than Spraymalt Medium. Have you tried Wherry with both, and recommend the Light over the Medium?
Also, I'll be transferring to a barrel from the FV. Do I add anything to it? And when should it be ready?

peter:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

I have made Wherry with Medium etc as per Saracen and it worked well. But I have not tried light Am thinking of trying the dark.

5 gal geordie bitter
5 gal St Peters Golden Ale as per tin
Youngs Harvest Mild
all a bit moded

Haylesy:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Hi peter,

I asked saracen about the use of light, when I've seen on various sites that medium suits bitters such as Wherry. But if others have tried Wherry with either medium, light OR dark then, well, why not try it myself if it produces good results? It'll be interesting to see how you get on with the dark.

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Hi all. The reason I've specified Spraymalt Light is because it approximately matches the colour of Pale Malt and therefore it will not change the colour of the finished beer. You can use any Spraymalt you like, but remember that the darker ones will darken the finished beer. Not by much, but it will be noticeable.

Brewing is an ongoing process of learning so I've modified my enhancement instructions a bit to add more hops and give a bit of an explanation of Dry Hopping.

You might like to try my proven method for making Wherry better than it already is;

This method really does lift the beer and gives it a lovely hoppy 'nose'.

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

I'll be transferring to a barrel from the FV. Do I add anything to it? And when should it be ready?

All you need to add to the keg is the priming sugar (Spraymalt if you prefer). I always use 65 gm for 40 pints and then inject with Co2 when the pressure runs out. I don't drink it all that quickly, and I've found 65 gm will last for 90% of the keg. Make sure the lid and tap are well sealed. Coat the seal in the lid with Vaseline and don't overtigthen it. Firmly by hand is enough. Too much and you damage the seal. It should be ready as soon as it is clear, about 2 to 3 weeks, but the longer you leave it the better. It seems to change for the better after 6 weeks. The general rule for conditioning beer is 1 week per 10 points of Origiunal Gravity. Eg: if you start off at OG 1.040 then you should condition for 4 weeks. If you start to sample it from 2 weeks then you'll see how it changes with time.

Haylesy:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Thanks for your response, saracen. I've also seen the other thread, so will view both over time for anymore useful info. I have an unopened pack of spraymalt medium at hand but will first opt for the spraymalt light for my next Wherry (which I've seen in the extract malt section of the Brew UK shop). I also have a Woodforde Great Eastern and Milestone Black Pearl to try at some point, so may purchase dark (or extra dark?) for the latter.

Haylesy:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Just thought I'd provide an update...

I made my 3rd brew (Woodforde Wherry) as per the recommendations given by saracen, adding 250 gms of DME Light and 10 gms of Goldings hops. The Wherry has now been in the barrel (along with 65 gms of brewing sugar) for a month and it tastes excellent - it really does make a big difference adding the DME and hops. Thank you very much for the advice, saracen!

Last night (Thursday), I barreled Milestone Black Pearl Stout after having made it the same way as the Wherry (but with DME Extra Dark). I'll see in the coming weeks how that goes...

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

I bet that stout turns out fantastic, I did a coopers stout a while back with extra dark spraymalt and wow, was that nice!

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

Haylesy:

Posted 12 months ago by Member

I tastes pretty good so far, Nath. But....the stout has only been in the barrel for 9 days, so I'll just take occasional samples over the coming weeks - as I have a barrel of Wherry to finish off first!

Nath:

Posted 12 months ago by Moderator

Good man for having a rolling stock!

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

brewcat:

Posted 3 weeks ago by Member

Thanks for putting up your suggestions on the wherry. I've got it in the primary at the moment. Took a reading gravity measurement 2 days ago (6 days after start of fermentation), had about 1.012 and dry hopped with about 15g goldings. I'm thinking of transferring to pressure barrel but I'm not sure when. Any suggestions? Also, should I put any dextrose in when I move it over?

Thanks!

saracen:

Posted 3 weeks ago by Moderator

Hi.

If you've added dry hops, leave them in the beer for 7 - 10 days, then transfer it to the barrel.
Add 80 gms of Sugar (not Sainsbury's own label) to the beer when barreling to provide the Co2 pressure to dispense the beer and also to form a protective gas layer over the beer.
I presume Dextrose will do the same job and I'd say use the same quantity.

brewcat:

Posted 3 weeks ago by Member

Just transferred wherry into pressure barrel with some sugar solution and had to try a bit while syphoning. It lacked a fair bit of body (though the aroma and clarity were good). Will conditioning improve the body? Is there anything I can do to save it?

Thanks

saracen:

Posted 3 weeks ago by Moderator

Hi.

Just leave it. Time works miracles with beer. It needs to condition in the barrel for 4 weeks, but you can try a small sample each week so you get an idea of how much it changes.

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Any Wherry Tips?

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