Brupaks Colne Valley Bitter

[moorsd]

Looks good to me DAAB, wish kits would provide better instructions...then beginners would make much better beer and there would be far less disasters!

I've used this kit before and was very pleased with the results! I substitued the kit yeast for some Wyeast British Ale though!

[bitter_dave]

Nicely presented Daab!

When you are new to brewing I think step by step photos are a real help; you probably haven't read any books by that stage, so the possibilities for errors are really high. I have no idea why kit manufacturers don't have a link to their website on the can with photos like those - it would reduce failures and mean more people buying their products again.

[fizzypop boy]

Excellent photos and instructions as a relative newcomer to brewing i found the presentation easy to understand.
Thanks Daab for your time and effort

[Western Brewer]

I agree with the others. Good clear pictures and instructions. wish they had been there when I started with my first Wherry kit.
Excellent work DaaB

[Glug]

Great stuff DAAB, but what did the original kit instructions advise?, and what were the reasons for any deviations?

[Bigster]

Great stuff - well done daab.

Now get to work on the magic art of getting your site in the top 10 searches :blink:

[Reg]

Thanks for the link to the forum at the end of your article DaaB...

[BIGTRACTOR]

hi all,

got very insired by your pictures DaaB and have just ordered a colne valley kit myself, gonna follow your istructions and try to keep in mind all the pointers on the thread 'kit instructions - what they dont tell you'. looking forwward to it!!

by the way, the brupaks fixby gold is in the barrel in the garage now, i've tasted it and it seems to taste fine, could do with a bit more maturation time, (patience my dear boy) :rolleyes: but i reckon i got away with oxidizing it (would i definately be able to taste it if i had oxidized it? i only ask because i'm no expert on ale , but tastes ok to me).

gonna have to get meself another keg methinks, especially with all this nice weather, BBQ and homemade beer with friends, what could be better, and so much cheaper than the pub !! :beer

[BIGTRACTOR]

birthday in 2 weeks so have asked for another keg although the first one is half empty now anyway. s

just done my colne valley kit, followed your method DaaB, i have invested in an aquarium type heater which i have fitted to the airlock bung in the lid of my fermenter, so this should stop too much temp. variation, (even though is hot in day, our living room becomes pretty chilly at night)

only things i did do differently is i made the yeast starter in a sterilized small bottle with cooled boiled water with 4 teaspoons brewers sugar (had no spray malt)
'
also, after reading things kit manufacturers dont tell you', i added 200 grams of brewers sugar, (dissolved in boiling water and simmered for couple mins in microwave), just to give the brew a little more kick, after this sg was 1.044, which if it ferments down to 1.010 should give 5%, hopefully this wont detract from the character of the beer

gonna leave it the full 10 days, after which my keg should be empty, better get drinking !!

will let u all know how i get on with this one!

[BIGTRACTOR]

well, i left it nine days, sg was 1.004, had a quick taste, tasted good ! now transferred to keg, this time via tubing to avoid splashing, added 80 grams brewers sugar (by the way whats the best way to add this?, i dissolved in a small ammount hot water, then very gently swirled after all the beer had been added, is this ok?)

it is sat in my living room, how long should i leave it here? only ask because in this hot weather, the shed aint a lot cooler than indoors, so maybe give it a week indoors, then move to shed?

Now i've got a wherry kit to start on, would this benefit from a 10 min simmer like the brupak kits as daft as a brush advises? there are no hops with it.

[jogger321]

I've never boiled a Wherry kit and always had good results..dunno over to DAAB..mind you he isn't a fan of Woodfordes kits if I remember!

[BIGTRACTOR]

hi all, my colne valley has been in the keg inddors for 8 days now, so think i'm gonna transfer it to the garage where its slightly cooler, will try to leave it alone for at least 3 weeks

my wherry has been in the fermenter for the same ammount of time, tested the SG a minute ago and its 1.014 , doesnt taste overly sweet though, i have read that HB hydrometers aren't that accurate so should i go ahead and keg it this weekend? on the kit instructions it says to wait to SG of 1.006.

also , its in a fermenter with a tap, so i guess that there will be residues of old beer up inside the tap, from when i drew of a bit to test the SG, so whats the best way to sterilise it? bit tricky to get any sterilizing solution up the hole of the tap, or am i worrying a bit too much ?

[Road Runner]

I would go ahead & keg the Wherry this weekend, as you say.

I've done 2 Wherry kits a while back & both only went down to an SG of about 1.014 the same as you've found.

Another thing possibly worth trying first, is to rouse the yeast from the yeast cake on the bottom of the fermenter by giving the brew a stir. You often get some live yeast trapped in the slurry that could still ferment some more sugars. That might lower the SG a little.

[BIGTRACTOR]

thanks, i will give that a go, will the sludge settle fairly quickly afterwards? or should i give it a couple days or so?

also, i was thinking that if i keg it around the 1.014 mark, then would it be an idea not to use priming sugar, as there is obviously still a fair bit of sugar in the brew already?

[BIGTRACTOR]

hi, DaaB, just wondred if you'd had a sample of your colne valley yet? am drinking mine right now and its the best by far i've done yet. well pleased, will be following your method again for sure,

only thing is, its not perfectly clear, very nearly but not quite, guess thats because of the temperature in my garage, doesnt bother me though !