newbie questions - Wherry

[sloth]

Hi all, new here so please go easy on me!
After years of wanting to try homebrewing I've been gifted a Wherry kit with fermentation bucket and pressure barrel/keg. Before I get started I'd like to know first of if tap water is ok? I live in Colchester and the tap water tastes foul and is very hard, so I was wondering about using just cheapo bottled water from Tesco (either their mineral water, or the cheaper 'still bottled water'), would this be ok?
Second question regards adding sugar to the keg to 'condition' the brew. What's this all about, what if I skip it? I tend to avoid adding sugar to most things, well white sugar anyway. Could I use raw/unrefined cane or brown sugar, or better still honey? Or would this be a bad idea for some reason?

That seems like a lot of question marks for one paragraph! Sorry about that, and many thanks in advance, Kev...

ps. One other less important question that's been bugging me is what would people have used historically, before sterillizing tablets?

 

[jonnyconga]

I used sainsburies own water for my first brew as I lived in bristol and the water had a lot of chlorine in it - I ended up adding a pinch of sodium metabisulphite to the water before brewing - this gets rid of most of the chlorine - works out a lot cheaper.

Adding sugar to the barrel gives the yeast a little more food so they munch it and make more CO2 therefore carbonating the beer. I never got on with kegging in barrels so bottled most of my beer from the start.

You can use any type of sugar pretty much but the amount you will need will differ and it might add a slight flavour to the beer. A great book worth buying is "how to brew" by John palmer - was the first beer book I bought - now I've got loads.......

Have fun brewing!

 

[PhilByford]

Welcome to the hobbie and forum!

Most of your questions can be answered by searching in the forum, there will almost certainly be answers to guide you through the whole process and its reasons. I also live in Colchester and regularly use the Colchester Home brew shop on the Severalls estate, Andy is very helpful there if you need anything. On his website he has posted a guide to using beer kits...

http://www.colchesterhomebrew.co.uk/brewingwithbeerkits.html

Answering your questions briefly; General rule is if you don't like the taste of your water, don't brew with it. Cheapest method, like like you said, is to use Tesco bottled water, you will need 12 bottles at 17p each . The sugar you add to the keg is simply to create the carbonation, it will all be converted into alcohol so it really does not matter what you use. If you choose to use anything other than white cane sugar you will need to research the priming rates. Not certain on historical sanitisation, but I would imagine they used heat. Personally I would stick to the tablets. Cleanliness is crucial in brewing good beer!

Hope it all goes well!

 

[Andysbrew]

The priming sugar is to build up gas in the pressure barrel to build up gas through secondary fermentation, without this you would not be able to draw off a pint and the beer would go bad, I'm fairly new to this myself but you need to add some priming sugar that is for certain, using different sugars/honey would add different flavours to your brew.

Andy

 

[GavH]

+1 for the John Palmer book, but don't bother buying it - there's an older version available as a .pdf online and it's also reproduced here:

www.howtobrew.com

I've used a combination of bottled water from Tesco and tap water and to be honest, I haven't been able to distinguish between the two at all. Possibly I'm just lucky with the water quality in NI.

 

[Hopping_Mad]

Be careful with honey! It can have nasties in that can give the brew off flavours!

 

[serum]

I'm in London so our water's probably fairly similar and I use cheap bottled water from a mix of supermarkets and it's always gone fine with kits. I don't tend to treat it in any way.

You can use other sorts of sugar but when you're doing a two can kit like Wherry you're mainly doing it to carbonate and not for flavour so don't fear using white sugar. Other types will be fine but you might need to adjust the amounts depending on how easy they will ferment. I used white cane sugar with my Wherry kit and it tastes excellent.

 

[sloth]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. Seems the colchester home brew shop is closed for easter, so I'll have to wait for a while to pay them a visit.
I think unless someone else has already tried honey in wherry I'll just use sugar. Maybe try a bottle or two with honey and see how it goes.
I'm sure I'll be back here again soon.
Kevin

 

[sloth]

All in the ferm vessel as of last night, fingers crossed.
Thanks guys...

 

[sloth]

Little update for anyone that cares:-
OG 1.044, FG 1.011
7 days in the primary fermentation vessel at 18-20*C, and so far 5 days in the pressure barrel at 18-20*C with 100g golden caster sugar. I Should have time and space to move it to a cooler location tomorrow.
I had real trouble getting the chlorine smell from VWP sterilizer out of the barrel- after much desperation and eventually searching these forums I used boiling water, bicarb of soda and lemon juice. Got there in the end!
Had a wee test today and it is obviously cloudy, and despite having a very faint whiff of vinegar (is this normal?) and being pretty much flat, it actually tasted, well, 'beer like'. So fingers crossed in a couple of weeks I might have something pleasant to quaff.
Chhers for the help so far :

 

[jonnyconga]

Vinegar sounds a little worrying.. If it's just the smell I wouldn't worry too much though - it'll probably fade (hopefully).
As regards VWP - I used something similar for a few brews and ended up getting some iodophor and then later starsan sanitiser. Amazing stuff. It's no rinse so at the right concentration you swill it around your fermenter or barrel etc, and then leave it - no rinse required. Def worth the money.

 

[PhilByford]

yes, double thumbs up on the Star San! It may cost a little more, but you only use so little of it so its worth it if you carry on brewing!

Your process sounds fine and by all accounts should produce a good beer. A vinegar (sournes) whiff can somethimes indicate cantimination from a wild yeast or bacteria. However, quite often you can get some funny flavours before bottling or kegging. You not only carbonate, but condition the beer aswell, melding and mellowing the flavours.

Just give it time and I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised!

 

[sloth]

Have noticed that my 'cool' conditioning spot actually varies between around 16 & 18*C. Does this matter much? I don't have anywhere cooler for it. Thoughts please:???:...

 

[PhilByford]

At this time, consistent temp is not so crucial. the yeast has done it's work by now and hopefully carbonated your beer. Now is the time to leave it some where as cool as possible to help the yeast settle out and clear your beer. At 16-18 it will settle out in a few weeks. I remember you saying you were kegging you beer, this is where bottling has it's benefits as you would now be able to stick a few bottles in the fridge to drink sooner. Let it sit for 2 weeks then try some. Most beers benefit with 6 weeks conditioning, but not many want to wait that long. happy drinking!

 

[sloth]

Cheers Phil, sounds ok so far then.

 

[BenM41]

interesting description of your wherry - mine is similar and i wondered if i was doing something wrong or if it had gone off?! if this is normal, im starting to think i dont like wherry! (will give it some more time in the barrel to condition before ditching it though)

 

[sloth]

Hi Ben. I've drunk many a wherry over the years and definitely like it! I tried a little more today and the vinegar scent has gone, it tastes like beer (not quite like wherry on tap though) and is still rather cloudy and a bit flat. Hopefully when conditioned and clear it will be a little more carbonated, onto a good one I think. Already planning my next brew :hmm: a stout or porter perhaps, suggestions anyone?

 

[sloth]

Ok, should have just about been conditioned by now, no?
I poured the first half pint just now and the barrel was not under pressure, the tap glugged and air entered through the tap. That's not right is it? And it's still cloudy and flat, what could be wrong and can I fix it?!
Please help...

 

[tippseyTony]

Leak from barrel check seals , did you lube up

 

[sloth]

I always lube up...


...oh, you mean the barrel cap, yes. With vaseline. I didn't exactly smother it, more like an even coating.
Assuming it's a poor seal, can I just remove, add more vaseline and try again? Given it's been 2-3weeks in the barrel should I add more sugar?
Thanks again