Wherry TO BREW OR NOT TO BREW that is the question!

[ammiteur connoisseur]

Hiya people , i purchased a beer making kit this week for the first time & I think that I may have screwed it up???
Any comments or suggestions would be gratefully recieved. . . . . .

Ok I got a Woodfordes wherry 4.5%abv kit & through rushing around with other things that needed doing I firstly filled up my FV with to much water by about 3 1/2 liters. So day 2 (after assuming that I may lose some alcohol strength), I thought that it may be an idea to add 1/2KG of caster sugar to compensate.

I'm now sitting here with a big stupid grin on my face thinking what you all must be thinking of me about now & now that I write down my actions I feel so embarassed !
Anyway thirdly my FV is on some shelving in the livingroom atm & it seems that the temprature maybe to high at 23c because its now day 3 & it do'nt seem to be doing much. The beer frothed up on day 2 after adding the sugar, but seems to have gone down hill now.

So 1, does it matter that I added to much water at the start?
2, did I do good by adding caster sugar or not?
3, has the room temp killed the yeast?
4, Should I just tip it away & try again or is it fixable?


Please, . . . .be kind! lol

 

[BrewDan]

I'd say sit it out , as long as everything was clean and sterile it will ferment out. Do you have a hydrometer? If so it would be worth sticking it in and taking readings the next few days to see if there is any activity.

Don't tip it , it would be a shame to waste it. Just use it as a learning curve for your next attempt.

 

[ammiteur connoisseur]

Thank you BrewDan, yes I have a hydrometer & yeah, that makes sense I suppose. Cheers :

 

[BrewDan]

Excellent , take some readings to see if they remain the same, let us know how it tastes when you give it a go.

I should think later in the day when people are generally home after work, you will probably get a few more replies

 

[ammiteur connoisseur]

Is it wise though to keep removing the lid from the FV?
I mean Oh I dunno, its just that my logic tells me that the reason for the air trap is to keep out any airbourne nastys.
But also that the invention of a hydrometer is to keep on top???


AAAAAAAAAAaaarrrrrrrrrrgggggh!

This is confusing & frustrating.

 

[jonnymorris]

As Dan suggests I'd leave it a week and see what happens. As another poster regularly points out, the only good way to measure fermentation activity is with a hydrometer. The fact that the initial frothy activity seems to have stopped is normal in my experience.

23 degC sounds a bit warm but is unlikely to kill the yeast. I try and keep mine between 19-21.

Personally, I'd be more concerned with having the FV on some shelving in your lounge. I trust its safe up there?

 

[ammiteur connoisseur]

Ha Ha, yeah its fine although I am Thinking about moving it somewhere cooler in the house.

Is it a good idea to move it at this point? Or to just sit it out?

I suppose the yeast would be happier but will movement harm anything?

 

[jonnymorris]

Moving it won't harm anything but may stir up the sediment a bit. As long as you leave it to settle afterwards you'll be fine.

 

[ammiteur connoisseur]

OK thanks all, Its off to the landing windowsill for a week or so, But I shall be keeping my eyes on the forum still, so keep em coming please & I will let you all know the outcome.
:
:
: :drink:

 

[lovelldr]

OK thanks all, Its off to the landing windowsill for a week or so, But I shall be keeping my eyes on the forum still, so keep em coming please & I will let you all know the outcome.
:
:
: :drink:

Is it not best to not put it on the windowsill, due to the varying degree of sun shining on it, making the temperature more susceptible to fluctuating?! Also, would direct sunlight on the FV cause any problems?

 

[ammiteur connoisseur]

Its all good, we have no sun at all on that side of the house & its cooler up there too! :thumb:

 

[bobsbeer]

The temp at 23C is not too hot, but 21 would be better. You do want to keep it somewhere where the temp stays about the same all the time, so a windowsill os not so good as the sun will warm it up and then cool as it goes down. If the room temp is around 18-21 all the time then just put it on the floor. The higher temp the faster it will ferment so it may well have finished. Adding the sugar will have made up for the extra water but you may have slightly messed up the balance, but not seriously so and def not to the point you need to chuck it. Check the SG and if it's around 1.005- 1.010 it's pretty much done. Try it again the next day and if the reading is the same then it is done. Don't worry too much about taking the lid off, the alcohol will stop it spoiling but don't be doing it too much.

Anyway for a first try it has taught you lots of lessons so the next will be superb :

 

[Nunfa1]

23c should be fine for a Wherry, now that the initial foam has died down you can just place your sterilised hydrometer in the fv and leave it there. Once it's stayed at somewhere near the 1010 mark you can move on to the next stage.

 

[andylanc1975]

23c should be fine for a Wherry, now that the initial foam has died down you can just place your sterilised hydrometer in the fv and leave it there. Once it's stayed at somewhere near the 1010 mark you can move on to the next stage.

And with a simple comment, all my worries about repeatedly opening and closing the FV lid, sterilising and re-sterilising the hydrometer goes! Thank you Nunfa1!

 

[ammiteur connoisseur]

Ok I now moved me brew from the windowsill coz the beer temp was to low at 16C.

Its now on the floor where its a much healthier 21C.

Good hint about dropping in the hydrometer & leaving it in there, I dont think I would of thought about doing that if i'm honest. But its in and measuring 1020 so its still going well and there are bubbles still rising.

The surface looks rather greasey looking though, is this normal?

 

[pittsy]

yes , sometimes it looks between an oil spill and a dirty washing foam , all normal :thumb:

 

[ammiteur connoisseur]

Thanks pittsy.

 

[ammiteur connoisseur]

My brew seemed to stop at 1012, so Into its new home it went for conditioning along with 90g of sugar. This was Monday, anyway i had to give in to temptation & have a crafty sample last night.
It was pretty good!
Just need to keep it cool now & out of sight for a month.

I'm pleased i didn't chuck it, its gonna be marvellous.
:grin:

 

[justink]

I'm pleased i didn't chuck it, its gonna be marvellous.

Nice one mate. My first brew was Wherry and it was very nice. Like most people say, the longer you leave it the better it gets.........but its sooooo hard not to dive in and start drinking!

 

[ammiteur connoisseur]

let us know how it tastes when you give it a go.

Well it was worth the wait Brewdan, it tasted a little too light to be honest but still did the job! :thumb: