Woodfordes Nelson Bitter

[matt.]

All going well for fermentation but ' stuck' at 1020 from day 7-10.
Started at 1040.
An even temperature maintained. A good head formed on top at start, now faded away. Liquid looks clear in SG tube when taking SG. No bubbles coming through air-lock.
Guide on box says;" bottle when gravity remains constant below 1014".

Advice please.
Too soon to bottle?
Into another bucket, add another yeast and see if it takes off?

Cheers
Matt

 

[Wherrypuzzled]

Long time since but how did it go

I would have said " I swirl the FV without opening it" , and for me that usually has done the trick

 

[matt.]

Just started to drink it after 50 days in the bottle.
Clear and 'bubbles' in the glass but no head retention. No head at all really. I've tried 4 bottles so far and all the same.
Perhaps improve over the coming weeks.
I made 38 bottles
SG 1040 - 1016. So 3.7% approx.
I usually drink x2 a night so 3.7% is fine.

Thanks for asking. How have your brews come out?

Matt

 

[Wherrypuzzled]

Hi Matt

I ve only bottled once in the last 40 odd years for a neighbours 70th Birthday recently. I did an Admirals Reserve and well in advance.

I got another neighbour to share first bottle when it was well matured but was really disappointed when I poured it out although it looked great colour wise and tasted good

What I didnt realise was I had respected the residue too much by not wanting to disturb it so I poured the Beer really carefully.

2 weeks later I presented the remainder to the 70 yo and he selected a bottle and virtually upended it and the head appeared and stayed down the glass so I learned a valuable lesson there

Usually for me I use a King Keg Top Tap and almost always a Woodfordes Kit and Ive done many Wherrys good session beer and Admirals and Nelsons and I know there were always comments and questions re "stuck" Fermentation and that appeared to be because Muntons the makers were only giving out 6g Sachet of Yeast until too many people complained and they upped it to 2 Sachets and that seemed to cure nearly all stuck problems

Only once I have had to swirl my FV as I suggested in earlier Post and I despise opening my FV ever. Been doing this Brewing since 1971 and still learning and another thing I learned on here was the 2 week fermentation recommendation. I used to look at mine and it appeared to stop at 9 days or a bit later but I used to watch for a bubble through the Airlock which could take minutes and got really boring

So I bought a 3 piece airlock and what I do now is when it looks like fermentation has stopped I press the FV lid to send the float back to the bottom and go out and dont go back for 12 hours. Then I look at the float to see its position . Sometimes its right back touchin the top of the chamber , sometimes its higher than it was , both of which are good signs and then I will repeat the method next morning until I reach 14 days.

14 days up for Tinsel Toes this morning and float had hardly moved in 24 hours so took off lid , got 1.012 and its now in the Barrel

Hope that might help.

 

[matt.]

Many thanks. Lots of good tips there. I've recently returned to brewing after a 20+ gap.
More home space and a garage now help.

I'll research a 3 piece air lock.
I'll try a more 'robust' pour tonight and watch for a better head. I always pour carefully with a small light under the bottle to stop any muck going in; although the bottles have been remarkably free of any sediment.

I'll check out the King Keg Top Tap. Thanks.
When I brewed all those years ago, I used a King Keg with a bottom tap. Do you have any opinion on the pros and cons of bottom v top taps?

Many thanks again

Matt

( just this moment bottled a Mangrove Jacks Pink Grapefruit IPA after 15 days in the FV. 5.32%, 40 bottles, a mix of flip top, glass and PET. )

 

[tigertim]

Do you have any opinion on the pros and cons of bottom v top taps?

Essentially, the top tap has a float on the end of a dip tube attached to the tap which always draws beer from the surface, even as the level drops. As beer tends to clear from the top down and the trub settles at the bottom, it means you are theoretically always drinking the clearest beer.

The downside is that it requires pressure in the vessel to push the beer up and out of the tap, so if you have a leak (as unmodified KK's often do) and lose CO2 pressure, there's no easy way of getting your beer out because gravity won't help you - you'd need to inject more CO2 via the valve on the top.

 

[matt.]

(as unmodified KK's often do).......

OOO... what's the modification?
Do new barrels purchased now need the modification?

 

[tigertim]

(as unmodified KK's often do).......

OOO... what's the modification?
Do new barrels purchased now need the modification?

I only used my Top Tap for a couple of brews before I admit I quickly got frustrated with it losing pressure and I lost faith in it. I moved quickly on to investing in Corny kegs because I already knew I was hooked on brewing!

However, don't just take my word for it; that was about 15 years ago and I've seen various other threads on here by people who are very happy with theirs, but many have taken extra steps to replace sealing washers and regularly apply food-grade lube or silicone around the tap, the lid and the valve to keep them from leaking.

 

[matt.]

Many thanks again. Always something new to learn in the brewing world.

Cheers

Matt

 

[matt.]

2 weeks later I presented the remainder to the 70 yo and he selected a bottle and virtually upended it and the head appeared and stayed down the glass so I learned a valuable lesson there.

Purely in the interest of research..... I have just poured a bottle as described above.

Amazing difference. Nice creamy head that stays there and a more robust flavor. Hard to describe but a different and better pint.

Many thanks again

Matt

 

[Wherrypuzzled]

Many thanks. Lots of good tips there. I've recently returned to brewing after a 20+ gap.
More home space and a garage now help.

I'll research a 3 piece air lock.
I'll try a more 'robust' pour tonight and watch for a better head. I always pour carefully with a small light under the bottle to stop any muck going in; although the bottles have been remarkably free of any sediment.

I'll check out the King Keg Top Tap. Thanks.
When I brewed all those years ago, I used a King Keg with a bottom tap. Do you have any opinion on the pros and cons of bottom v top taps?

Many thanks again

Matt

( just this moment bottled a Mangrove Jacks Pink Grapefruit IPA after 15 days in the FV. 5.32%, 40 bottles, a mix of flip top, glass and PET. )

Hi Matt

My airlocks were called mega and maybe mini but that exact one wouldn't matter. Simply equalise the pressure by pressing FV lid and then watch in 12 hours for "movement" to show fermentation still underway.

Good luck with the pour later. I was shocked when neighbour just virtually dumped the bottle in and I was pleased because then it looked good and tasted good

On King Kegs ... Top tap ... As stated they take the bet from the top so in theory you can drink it earlier but in reality it doesn't often come into play. However a friend's dog burst into my garage on Friday night once and slammed into one of the KKs we were using . He apologised a lot but it made no different as if any sediment DID get disturbed it didn't show. Still clear as a bell.

One plus for Top Taps ? Mine are stood on cold garage floor whereas a bottom tap would have to be on something high enough for you to get a pint glass under and so not as chilled as a Top Tap barrel

Finally there was / is a great write up on " Pressure Barrels - all you need to know" on here a brilliant encyclopaedic explanation of everything PB. Recommended

 

[Wherrypuzzled]

Found it for you

Thread 'Pressure Barrels - More than you wanted to know!' Pressure Barrels - More than you wanted to know!