newbie wherry ale jitters... again

[penguinarmy]

good morning all,

i bet you get loads of questions on Wherry ale - i've read alot of the forums already.

after having it fermenting for 2 weeks in the primary fermenting vessel now I have the wherry in the pressure barrel for about a week now.. i charged it with 80gms of sugar.

i took a tester in a swing lid jar and the gravity of the jar is 1014...

a few questions... again

1. how long should i keep it in the PB until i move it to bottles
2. should i charge the bottles with 1/2tsp of sugar?
3. i plan to stow the bottles in the garage/fridge how long will they last?


any other advise would be much appreciated

thank you

 

[belcher]

Was your tester carbonated? I bottle mine after 2 weeks in the fermenter without secondary or pressure barrel. Last one I did was finished at about your level (1.012). I think that you can bottle it now and let it condition for a few more weeks.

When you bottle it, I've read that you should fill all your bottles and place the cap over the rim loosely and let it sit for a few minutes to allow co2 build up in the neck of the bottle to push any oxygen out of the bottle to allow for a better shelf life.

 

[penguinarmy]

No it was nt carbonated... how do i do that

im getting PET bottles 500 mil for the bottling im going to add 0.5 tsp per bottle... should i add anything else to each bottle?

thanks

 

[Speccy]

Hi, penguinarmy. The Wherry's a good pint to start on!

Normal procedure is either to leave the beer in the barrel, or bottle it immediately after the initial 2-week fermentation. You can use the barrel as a temporary container to bottle from, but it's not advisable to leave the beer to carbonate in the barrel before bottling it - you'll have foam everywhere and will get oxygen into it so it won't keep.

Has your barrel successfully pressured up? (Is it bulging at the bottom and lifting the little feet slightly off the ground? Does the beer come foaming out?) If so, you're better off leaving the beer in there and enjoying it from the barrel after another couple of weeks somewhere cool.

If there's no pressure then you've probably got a leak - the cap seal, most likely. Your best bet might be to remove the cap, add another 80g of priming sugar to the barrel, and then carefully reseal it, making sure the rubber ring doesn't get pushed out of place in the process as that's what normally causes leaks. Then leave it somewhere warmish for a week to carbonate before moving to the garage to condition.

For the next batch, if you want to bottle it, syphon the beer into the barrel along with the priming sugar and bottle immediately. A Little Bottler attached to the barrel tap would be a big help here.

 

[penguinarmy]

Has your barrel successfully pressured up? (Is it bulging at the bottom and lifting the little feet slightly off the ground? Does the beer come foaming out?) If so, you're better off leaving the beer in there and enjoying it from the barrel after another couple of weeks somewhere cool.

yes it is foaming when I open the tap. ill keep this one in the PB then and next time ill bottle it , can i keep it in the PB indefinitely now then? (temp around 18-20 deg) ill keep it sealed for a few more weeks until i drink it thanks

 

[Speccy]

Sounds perfect, then! Yes, it'll keep in the pressure barrel for months. If you can find somewhere cool and dark to leave it for a while, that'll help the beer to clear and taste better. Tricky at this time of year, though.

 

[penguinarmy]

If i add 1/2 a tsp of sugar to the beer in the swing tap bottle will it improve the beer?

 

[penguinarmy]

how is it looking? it tastes really nice, come out the PB really well, good bubbles, its just abit cloudy?? been in there for a week

 

[Ashley]

2 weeks in pb today...

 

[penguinarmy]

thanks Ashley. i hope mine will look like that.

 

[Ashley]

I reckon it will mate... I have some in bottles been in a week today... I reckon its pretty similar to yours...

 

[Ashley]

Also I use 500ml swing top bottles and I use 1/2 teaspoon of dextrose per bottle. Its just the right level of fizz for a bitter. A bit more than pb... I use the proper 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon through

 

[Ashley]

Excellent head retention and lacing...

This beer goes down way too well!

 

[proost]

Sounds perfect, then! Yes, it'll keep in the pressure barrel for months. If you can find somewhere cool and dark to leave it for a while, that'll help the beer to clear and taste better. Tricky at this time of year, though.

I bought 4 freezer packs (wraps) from Tesco, £1.85 each, they look like a bigger version of the ice cube bags. Stick 'em in the freezer to freeze and then I wrap them around my pressure barrel securing them with bungee straps. I then cover it with an old bed sheet and keep wetting it with cold water from the fridge. I also keep the barrel as low down as I can in my garage in a dark corner. Its not ideal, but it does cool the beer down (a Wherry) somewhat. If we have friends coming I also place a fan in front. On my brewing bench, it can be 20/22c but the beer in the barrel will be about 15/18c.
I also use a bottle freezer pack and keep slipping that around the glass if its warm outside. Also I keep my glasses in the fridge and alternate them with each pint.

:

 

[penguinarmy]

thanks proost, yeah ashley it looks like mine, fingers crossed itll clear this wk if not then ill try proosts trick

 

[penguinarmy]

been in PB two weeks clearing up nicely and tastes really nice

 

[Ashley]

Im running out. Need to get another brew on