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Just put the batch of Wherry into the secondary fermenter. Looks quite palatable already. Resisted the urge, mind.

Given that I've now got an empty fermenting bin and Summer's nearly here, I thought I might try some lager. Finding somewhere cool enough to do it's going to be the problem though - anyone know of a lager kit that's fairly forgiving / is difficult to fuck up?
 
NVP said:
Just put the batch of Wherry into the secondary fermenter. Looks quite palatable already. Resisted the urge, mind.

Given that I've now got an empty fermenting bin and Summer's nearly here, I thought I might try some lager. Finding somewhere cool enough to do it's going to be the problem though - anyone know of a lager kit that's fairly forgiving / is difficult to fuck up?
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What works quite nicely is brewing a lager kit at ale temperatures. Technically, it's called "California Common" or "Steam" beer (wiki is comprehensive enough about this), and you'll get an acceptable pint out of it.

The last lager kit I used was the Edme Pilsner one, though I substituted Saflager yeast for the kit one. I also flung in about a kilo of LME to beef up the strength a bit. Anyway, I kept it outside in the shed, which meant it got quite cool nights, at least, and it brewed up fine.
 
Oh yes, I forgot about Steam beer. That's what I'll do, then. Ta. Might stick it in the garage just to give it a cool evening.

Nick - about a fortnight, give or take. Last time I did it, I had it in the primary fermenter for about 6 days, then when it had finished the initial ferment I got it off the yeast and moved it into a secondary fermenter for another week or so, then I bottled it. I'll probably do pretty much exactly the same this time round - it brewed really nicely last time. I had it in bottles for at least a month before I tried it though, and the ones towards the end of the batch were noticeably nicer.
 
NVP said:
Nick - about a fortnight, give or take. Last time I did it, I had it in the primary fermenter for about 6 days, then when it had finished the initial ferment I got it off the yeast and moved it into a secondary fermenter for another week or so, then I bottled it. I'll probably do pretty much exactly the same this time round - it brewed really nicely last time. I had it in bottles for at least a month before I tried it though, and the ones towards the end of the batch were noticeably nicer.
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thanks, so useful to be able to tap into previous experience :)

would you recommend i get anything else apart from the kit? it's priced at a shade under £65 and there's free delivery for orders over £65 (otherwise it's £6.50) so an additional purchase makes sense...
 
Another fermenting bin's a good purchase - doing the fermentation in two stages is really worthwhile, imo. Makes for a much nicer pint. A pressure keg's also worth having.
 
nicksonic said:
with the wherry kit how long would you say it takes from starting the brew to being able to bottle it?
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Hugely variable.

First phase is the primary fermentation. In a nice warm place, this could be over in not much more than a week (but don't assume warmer is better in terms of the finished product), but the more enthusiastic the fermentation the livelier the brew and the longer it'll take to flocculate (love that word :) ). That could take (from experience) easily another week.

You can bottle before the yeast has settled out, but I tend to find the presence of too much yeast in the bottle a bit of a pain - when there's enough yeast just to "paint" itself to the bottom of the bottle, that's great, but having lumps of yeast floating around in your beer is no fun.

So that's the long answer. The short answer is 2-3 weeks minimum, and allow 4.

Remember, too, that the ale in the bottle will need a good 2 weeks to condition properly, and my experience is that it benefits greatly for a month or two in the bottle to mature...
 
thanks.

i ordered the wherry kit today so i should be able to kick things off on friday. this'll be my first try at any type of brewing and i'm hugely looking forward to it :cool:
 
existentialist said:
Go for it! Reassurance and advice on this very thread, should you need it!
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it'd never occurred to me that homebrewing could produce anything other than dodgy results until i bumped into this thread, so the prospect of being able to brew some quality beer is an exciting one :)
 
the kit has arrived! after fully investigating i have to agree with NVP's comment just over a year ago -

NVP said:
The kit seems like a good 'un but it's a bit lacking in instructions, tbh. It assumes you know a lot already - a bit daft for a beginners kit, imo.
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however all the replies here make things a lot easier of course.

i was going to wait until tomorrow to kick it off but i'm going to combine an election all-nighter with homebrewing :):cool:
 
first stupid question - do i need to sterilise the lid of the fermenting bin? i'm assuming not since the brew won't be touching it...

e2a: is using regular tap water ok or would filtered/mineral water be better?
 
nicksonic said:
first stupid question - do i need to sterilise the lid of the fermenting bin? i'm assuming not since the brew won't be touching it...
Click to expand...

You'd probably get away without doing it, though sometimes the krausen (frothy head) will touch the underside before falling away again, back down into your beer.

For that reason alone I'd sterilise it to be certain. It's a far smaller inconvenience than waiting x amount of weeks for beer, only for it to fail due to taking unnecessary shortcuts.

e2a: is using regular tap water ok or would filtered/mineral water be better?
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I've had ok results using tap water treated with a campden tablet to remove chlorine/chloramines.

But I've had better results using bottled water :)
 
nicksonic said:
first stupid question - do i need to sterilise the lid of the fermenting bin? i'm assuming not since the brew won't be touching it...

e2a: is using regular tap water ok or would filtered/mineral water be better?
Click to expand...
Use tap water, unless your local water is too disgusting to drink, which isn't likely.

My policy is to sterilise EVERYTHING the brew might come into contact with. It's fairly unlikely, but if you (say) pick up some kind of infection off the lid, and transfer it to the beer, you'd regret it (or the beer would - you do hear sad tales of wild yeasts and mould infections, and that would be a bummer on your first batch.

I take the view that if I start out fussy about hygiene, I can afford to be slipshod here and there and get away with it; if I start out being a bit blase about it, I can only make a few mistakes before my sins will find me out...
 
thanks folks.

it's all mixed and is now in the bin :)

not sure what to do with the airlock thing. it's attached to the hole in lid, do i need to put water in it?
 
nicksonic said:
thanks folks.

it's all mixed and is now in the bin :)

not sure what to do with the airlock thing. it's attached to the hole in lid, do i need to put water in it?
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You need to fill it so water goes about half way up the middle bit of it. Some people use vodka or some other spirit, or stick half a campden tablet in, as the water could potentially pick up a bit of infection, but you don't want anything that'll taint the beer in the event that it sucks back for any reason.
 
If it's beer your brewing you don't need to worry about an air lock. I have done about 10 or so, I have 3 fermentation buckets each without an airlock. The important thing is that the beer can 'breathe' because as it ferments it gives off c02. It is quite acceptable to just have the lid on loosely. I snap it on all the way around and then loosen it in a couple of places.
 
I would recommend the 2 can kits which you don't have to add any additional 'sugar' to.

Th best kit Iv done (3 of them and 2 more fermenting at the moment) is Woodfordes Wherry. The 2 can kit's are generally a step up in quality and you normally pay a fiver or so more per 40 pints, BUT Wherry is on offer in Wilko's for £15 which is an absolute steal ;).
 
a cursory glance at the bin earlier furnished me with a view of plenty of plenty of foam plus co2 escaping from the airlock. exciting! :)
 
Yeah, a bit lacking in instructions, those beginners bins, aren't they? Seems like you've muddled through, though.

Just about to get my batch of Wherry into the pressure keg today and get some lager on the go tomorrow.
 
NVP said:
Yeah, a bit lacking in instructions, those beginners bins, aren't they?
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yes, which is unfortunate because if you do something wrong you've messed it up.

so on your advice i bought a second fermenting bin; when should i transfer the brew to bin #2...?
 
ok, took the lid off today and it's looking good :)

p1000363r.jpg


does it need to be stirred? just wondering if the dark stuff on the left is yeast that didn't mix 100%...
 
Looks good to me. I'd leave it well alone now. It looks like it's got going at a leisurely pace (not a bad thing, means your temperature's about right) and should happily ferment away now. :) Once it gets a decent head on it those bits should get absorbed into the main brew.

The more you put spoons in it to stir it / take the lid off, the more chance there is of infection. I couldn't stop myself having a peek with me first batch every five minutes, though, I know what it's like. :D

Kegging my Wherry today and it tastes really quite good already, surprisingly. It's clear and everything after a mere two weeks.

Got this on the go today.

14286_1059095.jpg


Only eight quid and it looks a bit rough n ready. The instructions weren't overly impressive - not much detail on sterilisation etc. It's an old skool kit and kilo thing. Anyhow, interested to see how it turns out. Buying beer kits because the name is similar to a record you like possibly isn't the best method tbf. :D
nyharvest.jpg
 
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