Woodfords Wherry

[Neelmo]

Well here we go, first post and all!!
After having been bought a kit last Christmas, I finally took the plunge and brewed the beer a few weeks ago, Woodfordes Wherry Bitter, following the instructions the only thing I changed was to add some beer finings when decanting into a secondary vessel after nine days, this was left to clear for seven days, I then checked the SG which was 1.008, being a beginner I continued to bottle the beer into 500ml PET bottles with two fermentation drops per bottle.

The above was left to stand at 21 deg for two weeks for secondary fermentation to take place, after two weeks and being rather eager I sampled a bottle today, Mmmm, not what I expected, the bottle was hard to squeeze however the beer was sweet and tasted strong of Malt, there was a good head and the bottle exhausted some gas when the lid was cracked, it was reasonably clear for a young brew.

My question to all you seasoned experts who know this kit is, is this normal for the Wherry Bitter, if so, will it improve with age or have I messed up. as far as I am aware the temp in the FV was pretty consistent as was the temp in the second FV when the finings were added, as was the 2 weeks in the bottles, if this is how things tend to go with this kit then maybe the taste etc is not for me, I have bought a Festival Belgian Pale Ale to try next but await your comments prior to starting the 2nd brew.

Regards

Neil

 

[terrym]

Wherry is a very malty beer in my view. It also takes about 4-6 weeks to come good for bottling. So you haven't done anything wrong at all. In passing it wasn't one of my favourites, and I found it a bit twangy, although many on here who brew kits like it.
There is a large review thread here
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/woodfordes-wherry-review.17784/
As an afterthought you might consider brewing at lower than 21*C, say19*C or even 18*C which are quite within the capability of ale yeasts. This will give a 'cleaner' taste and less likely to be at the fruity end of what the yeast will give and maybe what you have noticed... although Wherry is still a malty beer.

 

[Neelmo]

Thank you for taking the time to respond Terry,
Great information especially the thread you pointed out which made comforting reading, I have just one further question, if I store the bottled beer in an unheated garage for the next few weeks, would this be detrimental to the clarity of the brew or should I leave it in the house where is is warmer but not at fermenting temp? thank you again for taking time to assist.

Neil

 

[terrym]

As you have stored your beer in a warm place for about 14 days after priming and bottling then it should be fully carbed. That done the normal advice is to move to a cool a place to condition. Your unheated garage should be fine - that's where I keep mine - provided the temperature does not drop below about -3*C in which case the beer may freeze and may rupture the bottles when it thaws.
I also found Wherry slow to clear, and placing it in a cool place will help it clear quicker.

 

[Banbeer]

Hi Neil, great advise as usual from @terrym but you only need to add 1 carb drop per 500ml bottle, that's why it tasted sweet, yes putting it in your garage will be fine but check on the carbonation every now and then.

 

[terrym]

Hi Neil, great advise as usual from @terrym but you only need to add 1 carb drop per 500ml bottle, that's why it tasted sweet, yes putting it in your garage will be fine but check on the carbonation every now and then.

I don't use carb drops so don't know the rate of use. Personally I think they are a waste of money, table sugar is fine, since is readily available, predictable and you can easily adjust the priming sugar rate for different beers if you choose to do that
However even if @Neelmo has added more priming sugar than required it should still ferment out given it's had a full 14 days at 21*C, and therefore should not be sweet as result of it. My only doubt in all of this is that the beer was fined and then left for seven days, which on reflection could have stripped out all but a tiny amount of yeast on the beer going into bottles so that carbing is actually not yet complete - in spite of the bottles being hard - but again I don't use finings so someone who does might have a better view on this.

 

[Neelmo]

Gents,
Again thank you for the information and comments, I may have dropped a clanger using the finings, this was me thinking I was being smart, guessing it would produce a clearer brew.
I will move it outdoors into the garage and try and forget it for a couple of weeks, after which I will sample another bottle, if the beer remains sweet I guess I over egged the secondary fermentation coupled withe the finings, I won't be doing that again, lesson learned.
Off to start the Festival kit tomorrow and put my new learning to the test, thanks again chaps, your knowledge is very much appreciated.

Neil

 

[terrym]

Gents,
Again thank you for the information and comments, I may have dropped a clanger using the finings, this was me thinking I was being smart, guessing it would produce a clearer brew.
I will move it outdoors into the garage and try and forget it for a couple of weeks, after which I will sample another bottle, if the beer remains sweet I guess I over egged the secondary fermentation coupled withe the finings, I won't be doing that again, lesson learned.
Off to start the Festival kit tomorrow and put my new learning to the test, thanks again chaps, your knowledge is very much appreciated.

Neil

My personal view is that you don't need to use finings. If you have a cold place, especially this time of year, better a big enough fridge, placing your beer in that cold place for a couple of days at the end of the primary and prior to bottling should be enough to more or less clear your beer. And after carbing is done the remainder of the yeast will clear with time and gravity. However you will find some yeasts clear quicker than others and don't get disturbed as much by movement or when the bottle is opened.

 

[Scottyburto]

Hi Neelmo

I have brewed wherry at least 5 times and have only enjoyed it once when I kegged it and forgot about it in the shed over winter and spring for a few months! I find it too sweet or twangy! In terms of kits I've found the ones with dry hop additions to be the best! You can buy a massive selection of hops from cross my loof on eBay for only a few pounds but once u add this to the cost of the kit and either sugar or spray malt you are into premium kit prices. The range do a very good American IPA for £15 that has sugar and dry hop addition. I'm led to believe it is made by a company called mangrove jacks who have a very good reputation on this forum.

Only my opinions but I wish someone had told me this before I kept persevering with wherry and wilkos one can kits because a wherry came good once.

 

[Scottyburto]

+1 to cold crashing over finings!