First brew conditioning

[marengo]

Hi all

Just conditioning my first brew (Wherry). It has been sitting for 2 weeks in the coolest part of the house. Tried it last night and it was okish. It tasted sweeter than it should be and it hadn't cleared fully. My hope is that it just needs longer to clear and that I haven't screwed up somewhere. I did make one or 2 mistakes (impatient!). The sequence of events -
Fermenting was with an immersion heater, but was a little higher than perhaps it should have been (21.5 deg) as it was very difficult to turn down. It was left for about 10 days. I then syphoned to the keg beofre realising I hadn't primed it with sugar But I put the required sugar, 80gm, afterwards (decided not to stir as I wasn't entirely sure whether I should), it definitely has pressured. It had about 2-3 days in the warm, before the 2 week 'resting'.

So the question is, have a seriously compromised the beer, or will a longer conditioning make it all better?! It didn't taste off and there where hints of the Wherry taste - but as I said sweet and not fully cleared - not sludge though

Also when leaving the keg should one leave it flat or tilt it slighty - does either make any difference?

Many thanks chaps, looking forward to enjoying the fruits of this hobby for years to come ! :
John

 

[Aitch]

I'm hoping there are some good replies to this as I'm half way through fermenting my first wherry, I'm a massive fan of Woodfordes anyway and I doubt I'll produce the same as I can get at the brewery tap but will watch the replies with ineterest. When you prime the keg do you make a syrup with the sugar or just add dry then fill over it?

 

[pittsy]

hi , yes when priming it is best to dissolve sugar in some water then boil for a few minutes then allow to cool to around 20 c ish then add liquid to keg then add brew to keg, then you need to have beer in warmth for around 1 to 2 weeks depending how warm area is (16c 2 weeks , 22c 1 week) then its best to cold store brew at around 5 to 10c if poss so brew will absorb c02 (fizz) then either leave it be or just store it (best cool) for at least 4 to 6 weeks before drinking (from warmth period) the longer its stored the better the brew as it may/will go some changes , also best results are often in glass bottles . Next time you brew with a keg try bottling say 5 or so bottles and leave em be for at least 2 months then try em and see the difference :thumb:

 

[marengo]

Thanks guys. I will leave for longer and try again. :pray:

What about tilting te keg - yes, no or makes no difference to longevity of the beer/gas? Apologies if a ridiculous question!

We live in a very cool part of the country (North coast of Scotland) so I can't leave it in a decent ambient for 95% of the year, conditioning though is no problem! I have a brew belt for the keg for the secondary fermentation.

I'm also re calibrating my immersion heater for the FV - hopefully get it down to 18 deg for the next brew.

thanks
John

 

[pittsy]

tilting as far as i know makes no difference , its only silly if you don't ask , no one else knows things until they learn too :

 

[marengo]

cheers Pittsy :)

 

[Aitch]

My wherry has just gone into the keg with 80g of dextrose. OG was 1040 FG is 1010 giving 4% which is a bit stronger than the pub brew at 3.8%, not that I'd know the difference. Tested sample was hazy but tasted great! Looking forward to trying a proper pint in a few weeks time!

Hope yours is going well Marengo.

 

[marengo]

Hi Aitch
Yes....... still conditioning, couldn't resist trying it on Friday. It is less sweet than it was but a little more malty than expected. It still has a haze on. But it is improving. That's three weeks now, so will wait another week (2 if I can manage it!) and see
cheers
John

 

[Aitch]

My wherry has a couple of weeks left, I pulled an inch off yesterday to take a look, lively and tasty but still needs time to clear. I started a 28 day merlot for the wife yesterday and a Fixby Gold for me, roll on the summer!

 

[marengo]

Well into my Wherry now and very pleased. For a first attempt it is quite quaffable. Not quite Wherry as I remember but very good nonetheless. My St Peter's Ruby though, am less than impressed with. That, however, is down entirely to my manic mismanagement :cry: The one week of the year temperatures reached an extrodinary 22 deg in Caithness I was trying to ferment with a borrowed brew belt, that I had no real idea how to use properly..... ummm. I think I must have killed the yeast as it has refused to carbonate after bottling even after returning it to the warm for another 10 days. It tastes sort of ok but almost entirely not like St P's. Am going to leave in the barn for a couple of months and try it again. But I might just have to chalk it up to experience, probably.........

Anyway here's hoping your Wherry turns out well Aitch.

Cheers
John

 

[Aitch]

Well into my Wherry now and very pleased. For a first attempt it is quite quaffable. Not quite Wherry as I remember but very good nonetheless. My St Peter's Ruby though, am less than impressed with. That, however, is down entirely to my manic mismanagement :cry: The one week of the year temperatures reached an extrodinary 22 deg in Caithness I was trying to ferment with a borrowed brew belt, that I had no real idea how to use properly..... ummm. I think I must have killed the yeast as it has refused to carbonate after bottling even after returning it to the warm for another 10 days. It tastes sort of ok but almost entirely not like St P's. Am going to leave in the barn for a couple of months and try it again. But I might just have to chalk it up to experience, probably.........

Anyway here's hoping your Wherry turns out well Aitch.

Cheers
John

Thanks John. My Wherry is stunning, it came up a little stronger than Woodfordes version at a tad over 4%, but I can't taste the difference! It's still lively though all but clear, I think I need to get it a little cooler, that should calm it down a little. This Sunday I'll be moving the merlot to secondary on Sunday and testing the Fixby Gold tomorrow and Sunday. My Wherry tastes almost identical to Woodfordes, it could be the water as I only live a few miles from the brewery.

Stay in touch John and perhaps we can share experiences, it would certainly help me as I'm new to all of this!