Woodfordes Wherry Review

[Arch41c]

I used some Safale 04 on my last wherry, worked out grand :)

 

[kelvin]

As a newbie, i have a couple of questions regarding Wherry kit.
1) After it has fermented i am going to put it in a pressure barrel (Co2 cartridge type) do i need to put sugar in the barrel, if so, how much?
2) Do i need to add anything to help clearing eg. Finings?

 

[Acerees]

I'm not convinced I'm going to like the smoke plum beer as the taste is very smokey and I can't imagine it dying down as it matures! It would be great for heavy smokers tho!

 

[Acerees]

I have never used a pressurised barrel but from what little I know I believe you can add sugar to provide the initial co2 but after that you need to be using the cartridges. In time the beer does clear but I would leave it a month before drinking so I would not add anything myself. The taste of this kit is awesome so enjoy when it's done :-)

 

[SANGER_A2]

As a newbie, i have a couple of questions regarding Wherry kit.
1) After it has fermented i am going to put it in a pressure barrel (Co2 cartridge type) do i need to put sugar in the barrel, if so, how much?
2) Do i need to add anything to help clearing eg. Finings?

1) You add 80-100g of sugar to the barrel depending on how fizzy you want it. Make sure the lid on the barrel has sealed properly. Don't over-tighten it. This guide is excellent. If you have a lid with an S30-piercing lid, you can squirt in an 8g CO2 cartridge to test the seal and also pressurise it from the start (I always do this and probably half the time I find it's not sealed right and the lid needs redoing). If you don't have a seal you will get flat beer.

2) You can add gelatine for a few days before transferring to the barrel to help clear it quicker. It's very cheap. I use 2 teaspoons of 240-bloom gelatine. Obviously not vegetarian-friendly! :) There are other alternatives that cost more like synthetic finings or irish moss. Clearing works best if you have the brew as cold as you can get it while doing so. I can only get it down to about 15c and it works for me though!

 

[MrDasherD]

Yes, as above, I use about 85gms of brewing sugar in my barrels. My experience of Wherry is that it clears really quickly without any additions (usually in about a week), but I know that others have found that it takes longer. As long as you get a good seal (smear a little Vaseline on the seal and don't over-tighten the cap!) it should build enough pressure for drinking the 1st half of the barrel before adding any more gas or re-priming. Open tap gently and pour slowly at 1st. It's drinkable as soon as it's clear if you like it fresh, but will obviously improve if you have the patience.

 

[Demig]

...It's drinkable as soon as it's clear if you like it fresh, but will obviously improve if you have the patience.

Mines about 2months on from transfer to the keg and keeps getting better so that patience is well worth while imho. Used Safale 04 and dry hopped mine with EKG. All grain biab next for me but going to bung another one of these on as well just to have a nice easy drinking beer kegged and ready. Several (many many several) pints of it impressed the neighbours at the weekend when watching the rugby :)

 

[Fore]

2nd Wherry. Stuck after one week, just like the first. 1.022, no movement during week 2. Raised the temp right up with a belt, to about 25 degrees. A week later, 3 in total, and down to 1.011. Makes it about 4.1%, which is off target but OK. Sample tastes pretty good actually. A bitter bite though, similar to almost every kit I've ever brewed, a taste that I have previously referred to as citrusy. I now start to think it's a symptom of using rehydrated malt; the bitterness ends up quite sharp. Maybe I've become an AG snob.

 

[magicmark]

Hi all

This is my first post on the forum and first attempt at home brewing.

Started my Woodfordes Wherry on the 29.10.15 with a OG -1038, for the first couple of days it fermented up nicely. It was bubbling constantly for 2 days then stopped, opened tonight and took first FG 1010. I noticed some small bubbles rising and some floaters on top so will leave in FV and check FG again in a couple days.

One question, while fermenting there was a lovely smell from the airlock but when i tasted the sample it had a slight cider taste and there was a strong alcohol smell in the FV, is this all normal?

Thanks

Mark

 

[LarryF]

Woodfordes Wherry 23L 31/10/15 - 14/11/15 - 20-21c
MauriBrew 514 yeast + 1tsp Yeast Nutrient
120g honey
35g Aurora hops 20m boil, tea and hop bag added to the FV
OG:1061 - FG:1011 - 6.7%
Tastes very nice in the trial jar, I’ll try a tester in two weeks, can’t wait.

 

[SuperCoups]

Put my first wherry on two days ago with some slight tweaking, 23ltrs, 50g EKG 10 min boil, 500g brew enhancer, rehydrated kit yeast pitched at 20c, St peters hop enhancer (because it was left over), 1042og. Its currently sat in my garage at 19c with a temperature controlled brew belt on.

I'm going to dry hop it with another 50g of EKG after about two weeks in the primary then cold crash and bottle.

It seems to be chugging along nicely hopefully doesn't get stuck!

What do people think any suggestions / comments?

 

[Fore]

OK, I'm drinking now. My only previous wherry was over 2 years ago. It's really pretty nice this beer. I don't remember it being so good. It holds its own against my AGs.

 

[Richard_1]

I bottled my first attempt at this kit on 3rd November, and sampled a bottle on Saturday. Apart from getting the carbonation wrong (too flat) I thought it was a very tasty pint. Much darker and full bodied than I expected though, and not at all like the draught Wherry I had in a local pub recently. Perhaps something to do with leaving the kit on the shelf in the garage until its expiry date before I got round to brewing it?

 

[Sandimas]

Even though this kit is branded "Wherry", it's made under license by Muntons not the Woodforde's brewery, so is not like the Wherry you will find in a pub:
http://www.muntonshomebrew.com/other-products/other-branded-homebrew-kits/

Couple of tips on avoiding a stuck brew, which Wherry is notorious for: keep it warm and don't let it get down to 18C or lower; consider using another yeast as the supplied yeast is not enough. I quite often halve the kit to do 10L experimental brews with different hops and grains, the supplied yeast packet is fine for one of these but not rally enough for the full volume brew.

Here's a nice little Wherry tweak: boil up 5L of water and wait for it to cool down to 80C, then steep 24g of First Gold (or hop of your choice, Goldings works well too) for 30mins. Remove the hops and use this water to make up the kit. 5 days from the end of fermentation, add a further 20g of First Gold (or other hops) to the fermenting bin to dry hop the beer. Turns out lovely, I'd say on a par with my All Grain brews.

 

[Hops_and_Dreams]

I've had a Wherry kit kicking around for a while, as I'm not that keen on it. It's ok, but I'll often only buy it in the pub if there's nothing else.

I decided that I'll keep 10 bottles and give the rest away to the father in law as he hates hoppy beers, which is what I've largely been making. I'll stick it away somewhere for three months and see how it turns out. The Nelson's Revenge kit I did was pretty good, although it never made it to three months, so I expect this one to be on par.

I stuck it on last weekend and didn't tweak it, apart from brewing short to 21.5ltr and chucking the yeast in the bin and using a pack of Mauribrew 514 from the fridge that also needed using up.

Didn't bother taking an SG reading and intend to bottle Xmas eve if it's done by then (kits always seem to ferment more slowly).

It seems to get good reviews, so it should turn out to be be a nice pint and even better if it doesn't taste like Wherry!

 

[Slid]

OK, I'm drinking now. My only previous wherry was over 2 years ago. It's really pretty nice this beer. I don't remember it being so good. It holds its own against my AGs.

I agree, Wherry is a good kit, but it does need a LOT of patience and 3 months is the absolute minimum to get it at its best.

May be a slight over statement of its virtues to suggest it equals an AG brew? Even with a bit of encouragement (like a few steeped grains and a hop boil).

Sadly, it is many home brewers first beer and they read the box and it says 3 weeks. Very hard to get the best from a kit after 3 weeks. Never happened to me!

 

[Hops_and_Dreams]

I've had a Wherry kit kicking around for a while, as I'm not that keen on it. It's ok, but I'll often only buy it in the pub if there's nothing else.

I decided that I'll keep 10 bottles and give the rest away to the father in law as he hates hoppy beers, which is what I've largely been making. I'll stick it away somewhere for three months and see how it turns out. The Nelson's Revenge kit I did was pretty good, although it never made it to three months, so I expect this one to be on par.

I stuck it on last weekend and didn't tweak it, apart from brewing short to 21.5ltr and chucking the yeast in the bin and using a pack of Mauribrew 514 from the fridge that also needed using up.

Didn't bother taking an SG reading and intend to bottle Xmas eve if it's done by then (kits always seem to ferment more slowly).

It seems to get good reviews, so it should turn out to be be a nice pint and even better if it doesn't taste like Wherry!

Well I used different yeast to avoid a stuck fermentation and ended up with a stuck fermentation!

I bought three packs of Mauribrew earlier in the year and the first brew I did got stuck, but I thought it was due to under pitching. It only had six months left on the use by, so I guess it's not been handled too well and is a bit duff.

It got down to 1022 quickly and didn't move from there. Chucked some amylase in there as it got it started again last time and a krausen has appeared again so I think it will be OK. Just hope it doesn't go too low and dry out too much.

 

[Fore]

May be a slight over statement of its virtues to suggest it equals an AG brew?

Possibly :). A few pints later and I noticed it was a bit too malty for my taste, with the typical kit bitter bitterness. Still, a perfectly good brew.

 

[kernowbrew83]

Hi All.

Going to set a brew of Wherry off tomorrow. I have bought some Safale-04 in place of the kit yeast, as many have suggested as an improvement. Now do I use the full pack (11.5g) of yeast?? As the yeast supplied is only a 6g sachet, so would be putting nearly double in??? I plan to do primary and secondary ferment before bottling - prob aim for 3 weeks total.

Any other tips appreciated.

Many Thanks

 

[Demig]

I used the whole pack, it certainly won't hurt it! The 6g pack is a bit low anyway by common concencus. Rehydrate it in some water before you use it.