Woodfordes Wherry Review

[Mrmicp]

Hi,

This is my 3rd ever Kit and after reading all the thread i'm really looking forward to getting stuck into this one.

I notice on the box it says keep somewhere warm between 18-20oc :hmm: but that's not that warm is it? it will probably be sat at 22ish, but reading through it looks like that isn't going to be much of an issue.

It also says on the box after fermentation is complete to bottle/keg and leave somewhere warm for 2 days then 14 days cool. Now 2 days seems like a short time as I have been doing 1 week warm and 2 cold, but surely woodfordes would want to achieve the best possible result so is 2 days warm actually ok?

I'm going to be brewing at 20l and splitting this into 2 x 9l pressure barrels and a few bottles, as me and my friend usually split our brews. I'm looking forward to not having to clean and fill 40 bottles and just racking into two barrels :-)

Cheers

 

[LarryF]

A week ago I attended a leaving do at the pub local to my workplace and I noticed that they had Woodfordes Wherry on tap, I didn't have one then as I was driving immediately afterward. Today however I availed myself of a pint and it was alright, but only alright, tonight when I got home I had my first bottle of my Wherry that I bottled two weeks ago, ten days in the warm three days in the fridge. I added a tin of Golden Syrup, 15g Cascade hops on a 15 min boil and used 11g Wilko Gervin yeast, OG:1054 - FG:1009.
I really have to say, my Wherry blew their one out of the water, the pint I had was quite thin very bad head retention but it did have a fairly nice hoppy flavour but it was nothing to write home about. I've never seen a direct comparison to what we can do with a homebrew, even a kit as in this case, compared to what is done commercially. I can only think that it's about them keeping costs down on what they mass produce but the difference between the two was stunning. I’m popping over the pub in a minute to see my mates but I now find it really hard to pay the prices the pubs charge for sub-standard beer when what I have at home for 40p a bottle is so much better. Yet another cross to bear with homebrewing, prior to my new hobby I never realised that ignorance was such bliss.

 

[jamesw]

Just tried my Woodefords normally brewed after maybe 4 weeks...
nice flavour, not much head, slightly on the watery side.
have made better single can kits, but hopefully it will improve over time.

 

[terrym]

Bottled up my first Wherry today. Brewed short to start with using the kit yeast, and got about 21 litres into bottles with very little waste as trub. Started at about 1043 and it slowed up at around the 1020 mark so gave it a gentle stir on two consecutive days and it finally ended up at about 1014 at day 7, when I dry hopped with 25g of goldings pellets. Six days on the hops with little airlock activity. Nine days in a water bath at 20degC, and four days at about 15degC.
What really surprised me was the quantity of yeast at the bottom of the FV (nearly 10mm), and how most of it had settled as a sort of gelatinous mass. Never seen that before :hmm:. Taster was OK, so hey onwards and upwards. I'm away now for a week and have never bottled before at such a high gravity - FG of 1014 seems to be not unusual for this kit - so it's fingers crossed it doesn't get going again whilst I'm away!

 

[danbriant]

I'm due to brew this over the weekend. Never done a kit before. So exciting times! I will be using mineral water as I don't want a chlorine taste in my brews.



Some people have said fermentation gets stuck, is this common?



I will be using everything in the kit.



I assume a good two weeks I fermentation is good enough then bottle it and keep for 4 weeks?

 

[glugaway]

I found mine got stuck like a few other brewers. I gave it a bit of a lively stir and it was away again and reached the required FG. Really nice stuff after a month+ conditioning, though mine was a bit flat after having to rebottle following a leaky pressure barrel. Pouring out at a height helped to produce a half decent head though.

 

[danbriant]

Well I kicked this off today. I'm correct in thinking 3.5% at a minimum?

It smelt rather nice while tipping out the tins etc. Should brew up nice. Going to leave it a week and check it.

 

[jamesw]

I just tried a bottle after probably 9 or 10 weeks and wow its changed.
lovely beer! just takes a long time to make it to that stage!

 

[SANGER_A2]

Hi guys. I'd like some advice regarding fermentation temperature for the Woodforde's Wherry. This is my first brew in five years after all my equipment got chucked away! :-( My wife won't let me brew in the house so it's in the garage, which has an ambient temperature of 17c at the moment. When I set it up, it was at 26c and I insulated the fv really well with towels etc and kept it at that for 3 days. I can't remember where, but I read a guide somewhere that said keep it warm for three days and then put it somewhere cooler and ferment for 2 weeks total before bottling/barrelling so I removed the insulation yesterday. It's been on for about 4 days now and is at 17c. It built up a decent 2 inch kraeusen when insulated that has settled down now. I'm using an airlock, but not seen any bubbling. Is it too cold? Do I need to buy a heating belt? Should I leave it a week before checking gravity to see if fermentation has stuck and it needs a stir or check now? I've had brews get messed up before with infection so want to keep interaction with it to a minimum. It had a starting gravity of 1040.

Thanks very much.

 

[LarryF]

Welcome to the forum Sanger, first things first, 17c is a bit on the low side 21c or thereabouts would be ideal but pretty soon with the temps creeping up heat will be more of an issue than it being too cold and where your brewing now with a lower temp may be your best bet. As I understand it a constant temp of 21c for fourteen days would be ideal, take an SG reading after 7 days and see how it stands. Wherry does have a reputation for sticking at 1020 but 1tsp of yeast nutrient and a gentle stir should sort that out, apart from that keep the lid on the FV. If I know a kit has a reputation for sticking I use a Gervin yeast out of Wilko, I did with my Wherry a couple months ago and it was fine. I do have a heat band on a timer and it's great for the winter months but as I'm not using a brew fridge for the warmer months I'm using a couple of hot weather yeasts, Mauribrew and Mangrove Jacks Workhorse as they work well at temps of up to 32c I believe. Half a teaspoon of sugar per 500ml bottle will be fine to carbonate it and give you a nice head, two weeks in the warm and two weeks in the cold and then the most important ingredient of all, especially with Wherry..........Patience. Wherry gets so nice after 8 weeks or so in the bottle, longer if you can stand it (I couldn't, I was necking them after a fortnight and they were lovely). Good luck with it Sanger, if in doubt ask, as the chaps on here say, the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask.

 

[SANGER_A2]

Thanks very much Larry. I might buy a cheap heat belt on ebay for use with my next brew then. I can get one from china for a fiver! Sounds like it will be even more needed in the winter though!
If it does stick can i use ordinary bread making yeast to restart it? I've already got lots in packets! When I get a low enough sg I'll be transferring it into a pressure barrel with an s30 valve so will add 85g of sugar and 8g co2. I'm already considering ordering another barrel so I have less time waiting between brews! :-)

 

[LarryF]

Thanks very much Larry. I might buy a cheap heat belt on ebay for use with my next brew then. I can get one from china for a fiver! Sounds like it will be even more needed in the winter though!
If it does stick can i use ordinary bread making yeast to restart it? I've already got lots in packets! When I get a low enough sg I'll be transferring it into a pressure barrel with an s30 valve so will add 85g of sugar and 8g co2. I'm already considering ordering another barrel so I have less time waiting between brews! :-)

I wouldn't recommend the bread yeast, you can get a small tub of yeast Nutrient from Wilko for £1, go with that. The bread yeast could bring some different flavours into your beer, where as the yeast nutrient will just re-activate the yeast that's already there. As for pressure barrels, you'll have to ask around for that I only bottle but from what I've read 85g of sugar sounds good. Don't rush with the heat band, it's the start of summer you won't be needing that for quite a while but it is a heat band and paying a fiver for one from China, you never know what it could do. Research it on the forum, I paid £21 for one and then realised that I could have made a brew fridge with an STC1000 and a greenhouse heater for about £35 and that covers you for winter and summer. Research temperature management on the forum before you decide.

 

[terrym]

SANGER_A2
I have a Wherry bottle conditioning at present, which is the first one I have done. It got stuck at 1020, and after gentle stirring ended up at 1014. It is still cloudy in the bottles after nearly two weeks which I assume means the yeast is still working. I use PET bottles so can monitor any bottle overpressure so that's not a problem.
My take on this kit looking through this forum is that it is probably better to use a different ale yeast rather than the one supplied, which seems to be unreliable, just as LarryF has suggested. I have another Wherry bought in the Tesco sale and will be using another yeast when I come round to doing it.
Since you have used the kit yeast I suggest you leave it in the FV for at least two weeks like others recommend, together with daily gravity readings at the end, to make sure the primary has finished.
As far as temperature control I use a water bath consisting of a laundry 'trug' (Wilko £4), in which the FV sits. The trug contains about 2 galls water which just immerses a 50w fish tank heater (ebay about £7) with the FV installed inside. The FV fits well in the trug and leaves enough space for the heated water to circulate.I have set this up to control at 19*C. Obviously when ambient temperatures go above that I will have no way of temperature control. I haven't got the space for a brew fridge in my garage, so when by brew is finished my set up can be packed away. Anyway see photo. My only comment on this is that if you have a cold garage in winter you might consider a slightly larger heater capacity (75w or 100w?).

 

[SANGER_A2]

I ... realised that I could have made a brew fridge with an STC1000 and a greenhouse heater for about £35 and that covers you for winter and summer. Research temperature management on the forum before you decide.

Uh-oh! I think I see even more money and time disappearing into homebrewing!

 

[SANGER_A2]

SANGER_A2
As far as temperature control I use a water bath consisting of a laundry 'trug' (Wilko £4), in which the FV sits. The trug contains about 2 galls water which just immerses a 50w fish tank heater (ebay about £7) with the FV installed inside. The FV fits well in the trug and leaves enough space for the heated water to circulate.I have set this up to control at 19*C. Obviously when ambient temperatures go above that I will have no way of temperature control. I haven't got the space for a brew fridge in my garage, so when by brew is finished my set up can be packed away. Anyway see photo. My only comment on this is that if you have a cold garage in winter you might consider a slightly larger heater capacity (75w or 100w?).

I think I have a fishtank heater somewhere in the loft and might try this as a temporary fix for the Wherry. Thanks.

Obviously a fermentation fridge would be a more cost effective long-term solution as there will be no wasted energy.

 

[LarryF]

Uh-oh! I think I see even more money and time disappearing into homebrewing!

It's not a hobby, it's an addiction.

 

[SANGER_A2]

Uh-oh! I think I see even more money and time disappearing into homebrewing!

Well the wife has said no to the fridge in the garage. :cry: Think I'll set something up with a heating belt, cooling fan and STC-1000 instead that's easy to remove when needed. I might use a central heating boiler jacket around it as well.

 

[rodabod]

I would reckon that 17C is probably ok, but it is on the lower end of the spectrum. Personally, I'd rather have the cleaner taste of that temperature than have it in the low 20's. I did mine at 22C or so, and it was detectably Belgian tasting with the supplied yeast. Lesson learned.

 

[SANGER_A2]

I would reckon that 17C is probably ok, but it is on the lower end of the spectrum. Personally, I'd rather have the cleaner taste of that temperature than have it in the low 20's. I did mine at 22C or so, and it was detectably Belgian tasting with the supplied yeast. Lesson learned.

I've been keeping a closer eye on it and the ambient has been varying between 17c and 21c with the brew a degree or two below that. Not as low as I thought at first. I'm gonna make myself wait a full week before testing the sg. Hopefully it won't be stuck at 1020!

 

[SANGER_A2]

I've been keeping a closer eye on it and the ambient has been varying between 17c and 21c with the brew a degree or two below that. Not as low as I thought at first. I'm gonna make myself wait a full week before testing the sg. Hopefully it won't be stuck at 1020!

I looked at the calendar on my homebrew app and realised I started he brew a week yesterday. So I sterilised my baster and tested the sg and it's at 1012: Abv 3.8%. I was worried that the fermentation would stick. It's pretty much done now, but I'm gonna leave it another week before barrelling. Really pleased. It's already pretty clear and the tester tasted fresh too. [emoji3]