Woodfordes Wherry Review

[jobby]

im on my 2nd wherry and the 1st was a very nice pint, i had no problems with it sticking during fermentation and all went to plan following the instructions with no tinkering, i managed to leave it 4 weeks before drinking and it only lasted another 2 before it was gone hope to leave the 2nd one a bit longer as ive got others to drink now.
imo a very good session beer and well worth brewing :

 

[dps]

just keged my first Woodfordes Wherry og1.040 fg 1.006 drank the bit in trial jar was nice clean tast and nice and clear

 

[Bluebottle]

Brewed a Wherry at the beginning of the year, marking my long overdue return to homebrewing.

Found the whole process to be very easy and fool proof and fortunately I didn't suffer the stuck fermentation that a lot of people do. 2 cans, a sachet of yeast and instructions on the box, no sugar to add, simple.

Had it in the FV for 10 days, sitting in a water bath at 18-20 degrees. It has now been in a pressure barrel for what, 3 weeks :wha: , and has been developing into a very nice drink. The first week or so of that it was drinkable but not brilliant, since then it has grown in taste and texture into something I would be happy to buy in a pub. I am looking forward to seeing what it will be like in another month, if it lasts that long... I'm finding it hard to resist 'sampling' it, for quality control purposes of course. I'm struggling to get it to clear, but I'm going to put it down to chill haze and the fact that the barrel is out in the garage and the temp outside is regularly down to at least -7 degrees overnight at the moment.

Would I brew another Wherry? YES. Until I start AG brewing I think Wherry will be one I consider again in the future.

I can see why so many newbies start off with a Wherry. It is simple to brew and tastes great. God only knows how many Wherry kits have been responsible for poor blokes across the country having to part with huge outlays of cash and the inevitable arguements with the wife when the homebrewing bug has bitten hard.

 

[Fender Precision]

Ive brewed a few Wherrys now and never had a stuck fermentation. I do find it a bit short on alcohol though and while it is a nice beer to drink it lacks that little kick. The last time I made it I tried to boost the SG by adding my brewing leftovers -300gms of light spraymalt and 200gms dextrose. I was quite surprised at the results. The beer had completely changed. It was much darker, stronger and un-wherry like. It was more like a strong dark bitter ale than the light fruity ale I had previously made. I would not recommend adding anything to tweak this kit. Next time I might brew it short to about 20liters and see if that boosts the A.B.V. :idea: I wouldnt mind a few bottles now though :whistle:

 

[eggman]

Just finishing off a keg off this tonight :drink:
O.G 1040 F.G1012 worked out at 4%
As others have said it definately benefits from a longer maturing period, mine's been in the keg for 8 weeks and it's just coming to its best as i'm just finishing it! Have done this kit 4 times now and always been a lovely pint

 

[BrewSage1985]

1st Wherry kit the gravity got stuck at 1020 , but thee second went down to 1014. I've always had problems with muntons kits . I do prefer the kit yeast to the Safale-04 yeast with this kit, the kit yeast tends to bring out more bitterness and hop flavour. The Safale-04 yeast made it slightly sweeter. One of the best bitter kits out there and very cheap too.

 

[SE10PAT]

This attemp was my 3rd Wherry that I had done, only this time I made some noted so here goes:

Brewing
30th Oct 2011 - 20 litres, Gravity 1046 - 1018 3.7% ABV

I made this version with bottled spring water from the supermarket (£1.05 for 5 litres from Jamie's one) and used my immersion heater for the first time set at 20C. The brew was stirred after about a week as the gravity had only fallen to about 1024 and as such it took the best part of two weeks for the brew to fall to what I felt was a satisfactory bottling level. 1 tsp of granulated sugar was used to prime the bottles.
As usual the bottled brews were left indoors for two weeks before being moved out to the garden shed and then a further two weeks passed before tasting.

Tasting...
Quite simply this is the best beer that I have made so far. It must be something to do with using bottled spring water and not my regular Thames Water, but it actually tastes like a commerically brewed beer. It is light with a citrusy / floral taste and very very drinkable. It has a good head retention and keeps bubbling in the glass right down to the very bottom. I often test my brews on a work colleague and he referred to it as a 'smashing, a seriously tasty pint' which I was very pleased about.

I would definetly recommend this kit to those just starting out brewing, its very easy to make, and although I often have trouble with the gravity not dropping as low as I would like, I always find that the finished product is worthwhile. So much so that I thought it best to have another pint now....

Woodfordes Wherry III

 

[Slate Miner]

Like a lot of other newcomers to brewing at home, I started with Woodforde's Wherry. Thirteen days in the FV, placed next to a radiator in the kitchen, the temperature waivered between 16-18c, however it appeared to ferment out ok. Bottled and placed in a warm room for 7 days before transfering to the garage. Three weeks after bottling it's cleared nicely, and I can genuinely say that the result exceeded my expectation by some distance, I'm very pleased with the end product, it really is a good honest ale, and all for less than 60 pence a pint! Mrs Slate Miner was also suitably impressed and said it was as good as many of the bottled ales you can buy. Praise indeed!

If I was being a bit picky I'd say that it was a little 'thin' just lacked a bit of body, however this may well improve whilst it's in the bottle, unfortunately I didn't take the original SG so I don't know the ABV, but I'd guess at around 4% even though it says 4.5% on the packaging. So will I have the patience to let my brew improve with age? I can see myself getting through this batch a fairly quick time. :drink:

I'll definitely be brewing this again. Highly Recommended.

 

[stonegrey]

I have one pint of this left, for a batch of 39. it was bought for me as a christmas present. i had no problems with the fermentation, 10 days, then 5 days in thouse, and 3 weeks in the garage. the beer itself was extremely drinkable with a pleasant taste, as an intro to homebrewing, it is a fantastic start. all who tasted it were pleasantly surprised, and some didn't realise that it was actually homebrew.

 

[OldChuffey]

Brewed Wherry a few years back using yeast from a bottle of Summer Lightning - amazing!

 

[oldstout]

Here's a proper review of mine.....


It's spot on :thumb:













:drunk: :drunk: :drunk: :drunk: :drunk: :drunk:



I thank you.


:lol: :lol:

:

 

[calumscott]

My wherry is just a week in FV and down to 1.012. Necking the trial jar was a treat!!! Cloudy and yeasty it may be, but it is delicious!!!

So looking forward to it.

 

[marco491]

I have done 3 Wherries now and while it's not my favourite Woodfordes kit, it is back on my list of dependables. I left the last one untouched in a cornie for 8 weeks and it came out much darker and stronger than previous attempts, very tasty.

I was in the UK in December and found this on draught in London, and to be frank what I had in my garage knocked spots off what they served up (although it might have been that pub/barrel).

 

[RobWalker]

I'm into partial mash and extract brewing, but I do have a spot soft for a few kits, the Woodfordes range being one of them...we have just started our wherry and it's very full bodied, lovely ruby colour, great head and er...isn't going to last very long. A great premium kit, a little less intense than the admiral's too which is good imo.

 

[smurf]

just getting stuck into mine now after 4 weeks in bottles. great session beer and hopefully will get even better. came out at 4.2% and think i will do another wherry and try to get it a little stronger!

 

[BeerEagle]

Last night SWMBO discovered four bottles of this in the cellar. They were bottled on November.

I rarely have the patience to leave them that long but they were hidden.

OMG it was so mellow, all the flavours had blended to create a thing of loveliness.

Must have more patience in the future.

 

[GazCross]

Put this brew together on Thurs afternoon, 19th April. OG was'nt that impressive at 1034.

Placed it at the top of the stairs on a chair where I know the air temp sits between upper 18C and fluctuates upto 21C.

Reaction seems to have slowed so I have JUST (3.30pm 23/4) taken a reading.
TBH I did fear the 'stuck fermentation' reported as its only been brewing 4 days, HOWEVER the current gravity is 1010.....and its still bubbling, albeit slowly now.
So the signs are good.

 

[alanwh]

just keged my first Woodfordes Wherry og1.040 fg 1.006 drank the bit in trial jar was nice clean tast and nice and clear

Ditto, exactly the same readings :!: I did this in 5 days :shock: at a controlled 20 degrees. Wonder if the reported ones that end at 1.012 are slightly stuck ferments
I must say at this early stage I am very impressed. This is my first ever kit beer that hasn't got that homebrew tang to it and that's straight out of the FV. I'll update when it's been in the bottle a few weeks.

 

[oldstout]

just keged my first Woodfordes Wherry og1.040 fg 1.006 drank the bit in trial jar was nice clean tast and nice and clear

This is my first ever kit beer that hasn't got that homebrew tang to it and that's straight out of the FV. I'll update when it's been in the bottle a few weeks.

:thumb: :thumb:

I recommend 3 weeks to a month :party:

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[Shanesfords]

the wherry is one of the better woodfords kits but id agree with what others have said dont mess with this kit
i did one with 500g of light spray malt added and it spoiled the flavor
its nicer standard