Hi all,
Greetings from Malvern.
I was a very lucky chap last Christmas. Along with the usual socks and other surplus to requirements bits and pieces, Santa managed to deliver a Woodfordes Wherry beer kit
I have to admit, after reading the kit instructions and watching some online videos (yes, the ones about brewing!) I found the whole brewing process very straight forward and largely problem free,.... apart from a leaking keg tap which took a while to resolve. After six weeks in the keg the resultant brew was a very commendable session beer, albeit a slightly cloudy one.
I did bottle around half of the kegs contents, pre-priming the bottles first with 1/4-1/2 a teaspoon of sugar. Some were stored in the fridge some at room temp. After 3-4 weeks in the bottle I found that the taste, carbonation and head retention didn't quite match up to the quality of the kegged beer. I'm still at a loss to why this should be.
I've now completed a second brew based on a partial extract HobGoglin clone recipe listed in Graham Wheeler's excellent book. The partial extract process was far more enjoyable and involving, even though it took much longer to complete and my other half was somewhat unappreciative of the lovely smell that pervaded the house!
As It's been four weeks in the keg I sampled a dram last night. It's terrific, better than expected. I'm really chuffed to bits with the outcome....even more so when i think about the cash i'm saving!
I don't think it will be long before i'm enveloped by the dark side of Allgrain.
Greetings from Malvern.
I was a very lucky chap last Christmas. Along with the usual socks and other surplus to requirements bits and pieces, Santa managed to deliver a Woodfordes Wherry beer kit
I have to admit, after reading the kit instructions and watching some online videos (yes, the ones about brewing!) I found the whole brewing process very straight forward and largely problem free,.... apart from a leaking keg tap which took a while to resolve. After six weeks in the keg the resultant brew was a very commendable session beer, albeit a slightly cloudy one.
I did bottle around half of the kegs contents, pre-priming the bottles first with 1/4-1/2 a teaspoon of sugar. Some were stored in the fridge some at room temp. After 3-4 weeks in the bottle I found that the taste, carbonation and head retention didn't quite match up to the quality of the kegged beer. I'm still at a loss to why this should be.
I've now completed a second brew based on a partial extract HobGoglin clone recipe listed in Graham Wheeler's excellent book. The partial extract process was far more enjoyable and involving, even though it took much longer to complete and my other half was somewhat unappreciative of the lovely smell that pervaded the house!
As It's been four weeks in the keg I sampled a dram last night. It's terrific, better than expected. I'm really chuffed to bits with the outcome....even more so when i think about the cash i'm saving! I don't think it will be long before i'm enveloped by the dark side of Allgrain.
