Newbie!

[neilb]

Hi everyone, hope you are all well and safe.
After months of thinking about it and many debates with the wife, I decided it's time to try my hand at home brewing. I've got more time on my hands now as I'm furloughed so I can give it my full attention.
So I purchased all the equipment and decided to go for a Wherry kit which is now conditioning. I then bought a Young's lager which is now carbonating.
Very exciting times as I've always thought about home brewing and the thought of having your own beer, but with 2 and a half year old twins I don't get alot of free time normally!
The forum looks great and I'm looking forward asking lots of advice
Neil

 

[QED]

but with 2 and a half year old twins I don't get a lot of free time normally!

I started brewing 10 years ago with a 2 year old and a 0 year old so it's the perfect time for you to start thumb . The Wherry kit is great, be it for starting out or just brewing a batch to drink. Welcome to a great pastime!

 

[Banbeer]

Welcome to the forum, great kit is a Wherry, I made a few a while back.

 

[terrym]

Welcome to the Forum.
Keys to successful brewing are cleanliness in all that comes into contact with your beer, steady fermentation temperature and patience. And as a newcomer you are advised to follow the 2+2+2 'rule' which is 2 weeks in the FV, 2 weeks carbing, and 2 weeks conditioning before you try your first one, although longer in conditioning may find your beer is improved. But when you get to know the process better you can adjust the timing to suit

 

[neilb]

Thankyou for the welcomes and advice, very much appreciated!
I followed the instructions closely on the Wherry so only carbonated it for 2 days
It's been conditioning for just over 2 weeks now, should I put it back into the warm to "re-carbonate" or leave it where it is to carry on conditioning?

 

[neilb]

I started brewing 10 years ago with a 2 year old and a 0 year old so it's the perfect time for you to start thumb . The Wherry kit is great, be it for starting out or just brewing a batch to drink. Welcome to a great pastime!

Thankyou, fingers crossed it turns out ok

 

[terrym]

Thankyou for the welcomes and advice, very much appreciated!
I followed the instructions closely on the Wherry so only carbonated it for 2 days
It's been conditioning for just over 2 weeks now, should I put it back into the warm to "re-carbonate" or leave it where it is to carry on conditioning?

Your Wherry is unlikely to have fully carbed up in two days, especially if it is now in a cool place So you need to return it to a warm place. My experience (since I mostly use PET bottles and can monitor how things are progressing) is that beer will never be fully carbed in anything less than 6 days usually nearer 10 days. That's why 14 days is recommended to cover most scenarios. And my experience of Wherry was that it takes at least 6 weeks from bottling before it is worth drinking. Thats where the patience bit comes in

 

[neilb]

Your Wherry is unlikely to have fully carbed up in two days, especially if it is now in a cool place So you need to return it to a warm place. My experience (since I mostly use PET bottles and can monitor how things are progressing) is that beer will never be fully carbed in anything less than 6 days usually nearer 10 days. That's why 14 days is recommended to cover most scenarios. And my experience of Wherry was that it takes at least 6 weeks from bottling before it is worth drinking. Thats where the patience bit comes in

Thanks very much for that, I'll return them back to the warm place for at least 10 days and then back out to the cold place after that
I'm not very good when it comes to being patient, I'll just have to learn
I'll leave the Young's lager for 2 weeks to carbonate before moving them to condition aswell.
Yes I've used PET bottles aswell, thought it would be easier.

 

[terrym]

Yes I've used PET bottles as well, thought it would be easier.

Another tip. If you are using PET bottles that are fairly flexible, then after you have filled the bottles and primed, squeeze the bottle slightly to expel as much of the air as you can before you screw on the cap. This excludes oxygen which may over time slightly taint your beer. And if the bottle distorts a bit dont worry it will usually regain its shape as carbing progresses.

 

[neilb]

Another tip. If you are using PET bottles that are fairly flexible, then after you have filled the bottles and primed, squeeze the bottle slightly to expel as much of the air as you can before you screw on the cap. This excludes oxygen which may over time slightly taint your beer. And if the bottle distorts a bit dont worry it will usually regain its shape as carbing progresses.

Sounds good mate and makes sense, thankyou again
I've just moved the Wherry back into my warm place and I'll leave the lager there for 2 weeks now aswell, not 7 days like it says in the instructions

 

[neilb]

Apologies for the newbie question again, but what is the ideal conditioning temperature?
On the instructions for both the Wherry and Young's lager they just say "place in a cool area". My guess is 10 - 15°C

 

[Banbeer]

10°C or below will be good.

 

[neilb]

10 or below will be good.

Thanks mate

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Welcome!
What Terry said about Wherry being better after 6+ weeks in the bottle I have also found to be true. For me, it cannot be re-iterated enough how important patience is. I've seen on here a few times things like "I bottled on Saturday and tried some today (Tuesday) and it tasted horrible and sweet - should I chuck it?". I've paraphrased there, but you get the idea. It looks like many struggle to leave it long enough to nicely condition, and by the time they realise 2 months later that it's getting better, they've just polished off their last bottle. Of course, each to their own

 

[Banbeer]

they realise 2 months later that it's getting better

I'd like to agree with you on that but I don't think I've had a beer last that long after conditioning

 

[neilb]

Welcome!
What Terry said about Wherry being better after 6+ weeks in the bottle I have also found to be true. For me, it cannot be re-iterated enough how important patience is. I've seen on here a few times things like "I bottled on Saturday and tried some today (Tuesday) and it tasted horrible and sweet - should I chuck it?". I've paraphrased there, but you get the idea. It looks like many struggle to leave it long enough to nicely condition, and by the time they realise 2 months later that it's getting better, they've just polished off their last bottle. Of course, each to their own

Thankyou for the welcome and sound advice
This is a new ball game for me so any advice is very much appreciated. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I'll just have to learn to be patient and carry on drinking bought beer until mine is ready

 

[AnimatedGIF]

...and carry on drinking bought beer until mine is ready

When I get back from the supermarket having bought a load of beer that was not on the shopping list, I often get the "but you just bottled 40 pints - why are you buying more beer?" from Mrs GIF. She switches off when I answer her with a detailed explanation

 

[neilb]

When I get back from the supermarket having bought a load of beer that was not on the shopping list, I often get the "but you just bottled 40 pints - why are you buying more beer?" from Mrs GIF. She switches off when I answer her with a detailed explanation

Yes that's exactly what I'm getting aswell when I put my order in for the online shopping each week!

 

[Banbeer]

I love it when you get picture no sound from the other half.

 

[neilb]

I love it when you get picture no sound from the other half.

That seems to be happening alot recently in my household