dry hopping woodfordes kit

[dave0w]

Out of all the KITS out there what is the best bitter kit, am not wanting a kit that i have to modify. just a kit that dose what it says on the tin.

i mean there is so many, where should i start.
youngs, coopers, muntons, woodfordes, wilko and so on, but then the brands have about 4+ takes on the classic bitter brew too. i want to brew them all but sadly it as to be one at a time.

 

[winelight]

If you don't want to modify then 2-can kits are best - don't think you can go wrong with Woodforde's Wherry

 

[dave0w]

Ok, so i have gone with a Woodforde's Nelsons revenge kit after a half pint test in my LHBS, the only thing i did think is it was a little mellow on the hop side, so i did some goggling and started the brew today and i was thinking about letting it sit for 4 days then dry hopping with 25-35g of challenger finishing hops. i have seen this done on many ale kits but as a first time brewer should i just got with the stock kit the first time then add hop's next time?


Also on a side question, the kit instrustions say to only ferment for 4-6 days then keg that can be right?
it also says to age for 12 days will the kit improve with more age or do i just go with Woodfordes on that one?

 

[RobWalker]

i thought you didn't want to modify it?

 

[dave0w]

i thought you didn't want to modify it?

i didnt but after testing 3 Woodforde's kits, that i have been told are the best i found them all to be a little mellow. i would be happy if my kit came out like them but it cant be a bad thing if they can be made better?

dry hopping with finishing hops looks easy

 

[morethanworts]

40g East Kent Golding Pellets in the Wherry for 5 days is great. Not sure about the Nelsons, but you can't go far wrong in an English Ale with EKGs in my experience. :thumb:

 

[dave0w]

40g East Kent Golding Pellets in the Wherry for 5 days is great. Not sure about the Nelsons, but you can't go far wrong in an English Ale with EKGs in my experience. :thumb:

and am i right in thinking it's just a case is sanitizing a bag and dumping them in for X day's then remove and continue as per the instructions.

i was thinking it would be in first for 14 days, if i added them at day 4 till day 9 it would give it time to clear a little before racking.

 

[adman1966]

Hi Dave

In answer to your question about timescales, forget time and use your hydrometer. Timescales on kits are ridiculously optimistic and misleading.

Test the gravity of the beer with the hydrometer and once you have 3 consecutive days with the same gravity, fermentation has finished. If you don't have a hydrometer then leave in the FV for at least 2 weeks. This should allow the fermentation to finish and the yeast to clean up after itself. You can leave it even longer but new brewers and patience don't mix! :)

Once kegged or bottled allow a couple of weeks conditioning at around 20C and then a further week at below 10C to let the CO2 absorb into the beer.

You should then let the beer age for at least a few weeks before drinking to allow the flavour to develop.

This is all best practice but back in the real world you will be drinking it before Christmas because like most of us, you can't wait that long.

It will be ok after 2-3 weeks but you will find the last pint from the batch far better than the first.

My advice is to brew another batch as soon as your FV is free, build up a stock of beer and then aging beer will become easier and your beer will get better.

Good luck and enjoy the fruits of your labour. :

 

[dave0w]

Hi Dave

In answer to your question about timescales, forget time and use your hydrometer. Timescales on kits are ridiculously optimistic and misleading.

Test the gravity of the beer with the hydrometer and once you have 3 consecutive days with the same gravity, fermentation has finished. If you don't have a hydrometer then leave in the FV for at least 2 weeks. This should allow the fermentation to finish and the yeast to clean up after itself. You can leave it even longer but new brewers and patience don't mix! :)

Once kegged or bottled allow a couple of weeks conditioning at around 20C and then a further week at below 10C to let the CO2 absorb into the beer.

You should then let the beer age for at least a few weeks before drinking to allow the flavour to develop.

This is all best practice but back in the real world you will be drinking it before Christmas because like most of us, you can't wait that long.

It will be ok after 2-3 weeks but you will find the last pint from the batch far better than the first.

My advice is to brew another batch as soon as your FV is free, build up a stock of beer and then aging beer will become easier and your beer will get better.

Good luck and enjoy the fruits of your labour. :

Thanks for the info.
i will be kegging this one but i will also bottle 4 to sample on the way to been ready.

i have a shop beer stock so i hope i can get the beer to full condition before hitting it..... we will see.
i have my next one lined up to start at the weekend so i should have a good stock to start on in the new year

coopers euro in 12 weeks
woodfordes in 6 weeks (may have a dip in crimbo day)
and i am picking up an Canadian blond.

 

[GavH]

coopers euro in 12 weeks
woodfordes in 6 weeks (may have a dip in crimbo day)

Not wishing to confuse, but...

I found my Coopers Euro Lager to be really quite good at 6 weeks. It was noticeable better at 7 and 8 but not so at 12 and having just opened one I held back on this weekend (6 months in the bottle), it doesn't seem to have improved on the 8 weeks point at all. I'd say the 12 weeks is thus a bit longer than may be necessary.

However...

My Woodforde's Admiral's Reserve and Wherry have both continued to improve way beyond the 8 week point. The Wherry in particular wasn't ready at 6 weeks, was good, if a bit too malty at 8 weeks and was truly spectacular at 10 weeks. I can't wait to try it at 12!

 

[dave0w]

coopers euro in 12 weeks
woodfordes in 6 weeks (may have a dip in crimbo day)

My Woodforde's Admiral's Reserve and Wherry have both continued to improve way beyond the 8 week point. The Wherry in particular wasn't ready at 6 weeks, was good, if a bit too malty at 8 weeks and was truly spectacular at 10 weeks. I can't wait to try it at 12!

and the kit say 22 day's i did think 6weeks would be a nice number to aim for.

it say ferment for 4-6day then keg, sit in a warm place for 2 day, then chill for 14 and drink.

i will sample at 6, 7, and 8 weeks.

 

[winelight]

First you may want to try as much as 100g of hops if you dry hop. I use 50g but it's not enough and I read on here others use 100g so that's what I'll do next time. I have the Admiral's Reserve in the FV now and I used 50g of experimental CF102 hops in it. It's still in the FV though after already 14 days... 5 days primary fermentation at 18C in first FV, then rack to second FV and dry hop where it sits for another 5 days at 18C, then remove hops and warm to 21C for further 5 days, then drop to 12C for further 5 days, then bottle, then 2 weeks in warm 2 weeks in cold and then a few weeks longer in the cold until I get around to drinking it. That's 50 days minimum.

 

[azzothegreek]

very useful info.

 

[dave0w]

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=42906&hilit=+brewmaker

25-30g challenger is ver strong hop's