My first brew!

[nimrod]

Hi all,

Just a quick one to say really enjoying your forum, and that I have finally dipped my toe in the water today buy having a bash at my first brew! Have done a Woodforde's Wherry. It's in the bucket now.

If you have any tips for this one then please let me know as very new to it!

Will let you know how I get on...

:

 

[Dunfie]

Hi nimrod

Well done for dipping your toes in. Wherry is a great choice as a first kit as the two can kits consistently produce decent results.

Patience is the main advice. The kit instructions are a bit optimistic with the length of time needed to ferment so just just sit back and wait until it has finished fermenting.

The other bit of advice is once the primary fermentation is finished, get it filled with another brew. The worst bit is waiting for the first one but once you have a stock ready it all becomes quite a bit better.

 

[eggman]

Congrats it's a good feeling doing your first brew :party:
Wherry is a lovely pint :thumb:
Have a look at this thread as there's some great tips there
:

 

[bobsbeer]

Welcome to the forum. Good choice, but do be patient. Wherry takes a few weeks to condition and get to it's best. But well worth the wait.

 

[nimrod]

Thanks for letting me re the instructions Dunfie!

Ok so it' all in the bucket now, and I've put the hydrometer in there as well - shall I keep it in there til the black line dips just below the surface? Or shall I only put it in on the day I want to measure?

I also put some isinglass in to clear it.

Cheers :thumb:

 

[nimrod]

Welcome to the forum. Good choice, but do be patient. Wherry takes a few weeks to condition and get to it's best. But well worth the wait.

Thanks - sorry to sound like a complete novice but is it in conditioning when you transfer it from the bucket to the keg?

 

[Dunfie]

Thanks for letting me re the instructions Dunfie!

Ok so it' all in the bucket now, and I've put the hydrometer in there as well - shall I keep it in there til the black line dips just below the surface? Or shall I only put it in on the day I want to measure?

I also put some isinglass in to clear it.

Cheers :thumb:

I wouldn't leave the hydrometer in the fermenter. You will know when it looks like it has finished fermenting as the yeast will have fallen into the beer and you won't see any bubbles rising to the top (or at least not very many). I tend to just leave for a week before checking.

The isinglas is unfortunately a mistake. Isinglas is a fining agent that you use to remove yeast from the beer so that you end up with a clear product. You add isinglas either at the end of fermentation before transferring to the barrel or actually to the barrel. You should never add isinglas to the fermenter. At this stage you want to give the yeast the best possible environment in which to build up a good population and then to ferment out.

However we are where we are. Sit back and keep and eye on the beer. If it looks like it is fermenting then you have got away with it. If it still looks like nothing is happening in 36/48hrs then it would be worth adding another packet of yeast.

Also, once you have completed the fermentation and if you intend to clear using finings then you will have to do it again at this point.

 

[nimrod]

Ooops!!

Thanks for letting me know Dunfie! I'll keep an eye on it... fingers crossed now, otherwise another trip to the brew shop...

 

[nimrod]

Phew - pleased to say that fermentation has started!!

 

[Belter]

I never used any finings with kits and never had any problems.

I use Protofloc with all grain now though.

 

[nimrod]

Yeah I wasn't goin to with this kit, it was only when I went to the brew shop to get some sugar that they recommened the finings...

 

[Belter]

I take it you won't e going to that Homebrew shop again.

 

[nimrod]

nah i def will, it was my fault - I added at the wrong stage!

 

[Belter]

You don't need it with that kit. Also everything I've read points to isinglass being a commercial brewery option for fining. Not for the standard homebrewer? Sounds to me
Like the homebrew store wanted to sell you more than you needed. Obviously I wasn't there though.

 

[TRXnMe]

As long as you're not too cack handed when you transfer the finished ale into your keg you wont need isinglass, Wherry is a lovely clear pint once conditioned, I've just about finished my first keg of the stuff and it's bloody lovely

You will need to leave it in the barrel for a good long time to mature, I tried mine at 3 weeks it had a quite nasty after taste at that age, but after 6 weeks it was fantastic, so patience, patience and more patience

As said above, as soon as the FV is empty, get another brew in it, you need a nice stock of ales that have had 6 weeks or more to mature so you never run out

 

[rich27500]

Try and leave it at least four weeks in the keg, wherry is great and gets better with age

 

[nimrod]

Ok guys here is a photo I took this morning. I made the brew last thursday.




Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Do you think things are progressing in thebest way they can?

Really appreciate your comments.

Cheers :

edit: oops, hopefully this pic should work now...

 

[nimrod]

Sorry for all the updates guys, just a quick question - the fermentation has now completely stopped - do i put another packet of yeast in there or is the brew done for?

bloody isinglass

 

[Belter]

Have you checked the gravity with a hydrometer?

 

[TRXnMe]

As said, check the hydrometer reading, if it's around 1.010 then it's fermented out, if it's well above that then try more yeast, maybe check a little yeast nutrient in as well.

Or, better yet, make up a yeast starter with water, a little of your 'dodgy' wort and some yeast nutrient, get the yeast used to the isinglass in dilute form before adding it to the full vat. This has been suggested by the more experienced bods in a couple of threads where folk have problems :)