Woodfordes Wherry stopped bubbling?

[gripjim]

Hello all, I am new to this forum & home brewing in general. i have made a couple of kits before with not all that good results. I have now got a two can kit of Wherry, which people on here reccomend. I followed the instructions ect. & the FV is in my front bedroom , as it is prob the warmest place, but after two days its stopped bubbling! From the air lock. I know it has to be about a week in warm then a couple in a cool place , & then i'll rack it into a pressure barrell i've got, There's plenty of foam on the underside of the lid, but I thought it fermented, ie bubbled ,for longer? Am I doing something wrong?
Any advice gratefully recieved!

[Dominic]

I'm quite new too. Have just done two kits so far, first one bubbled away for a week then slowed over days to nothing much. The second (same equipment) didn't bubble at all, but monitoring with a hydrometer showed the level falling over a week or so. If you read up on here you will find most seasoned pros are dismissive of bubblers and even with my limited experience I can see why. Hydrometer is your best bet, but you really should have taken a reading at the start, although I am sure someone here can give an approximate figure for a 'can followed to instructions' OG reading for this kit.

I'd get a basic hydrometer for about a fiver, take a reading, and take readings every day or every other day and compare them.

[Matt12398]

It will only bubble if you get a really good seal on the lid. I use one just as an indication of how much activity is going on. If there's foam then it's probably fine and you'll probably find the CO2 is seeping through tiny gaps between the bin and the lid. Not a problem though.

You can get a hydrometer for a couple quid on ebay. Wherry finishes around 1014. It tastes fantastic so hope you enjoy it.

[gripjim]

Thanks for the replies. I'll get one!

[twentyfootwilf]

It's quite normal for an airlock to show no signs of bubbling after the initial vigorous activity, but that doesn't mean it's stopped fermenting. Initially the most simple sugars are converted to CO2 and alcohol then the more complex sugars are fermented but less vigorously. If you don't have a hydrometer at the moment just give your Wherry 7 to 10 days in the fermenter to make sure fermentation is complete.

[Stomach]

Hi mate!

Welcome to jims!

Sort of basic rules:-

1. Leave in FV for 14 days.
2. Bottles or keg when you get 3 days constant reading on your hydrometer
3. Once kegged or bottled, one week in warm and two weeks in a cool place to condition
4. Leave until clear - can be a long time - several weeks etc
5. Drink
6. Once you get established, learn to slightly break the rules above!

cheers

[gripjim]

[quote="Stomach"]Hi mate!

Welcome to jims!

Sort of basic rules:-

1. Leave in FV for 14 days.
2. Bottles or keg when you get 3 days constant reading on your hydrometer
3. Once kegged or bottled, one week in warm and two weeks in a cool place to condition
4. Leave until clear - can be a long time - several weeks etc
5. Drink
6. Once you get established, learn to slightly break the rules above!

cheers[/quote]
Thanks! Another thing I was wondering , should i put suger in the barrell when I syphon in to it after the 14 days?
Hydrometer orderd

[Dominic]

Usually peeps here add 80-85g to a barrel

[gripjim]

Hi folks, I could only leave it in the barrell until today as we're going to the Doset Steam Fair tommorrow, so thats 10 days, but its still a bit cloudy( only drawn half pint) & has a slight tinny taste? Apart from leaving it longer , is there anything i can put in to help it? Its not totally undrinkable mind, & better than paying 3.50 in thr beer tents!

[Matt12398]

It's probably going to take a couple more weeks before it's really enjoyable to drink. You could cut it with some lemonade and have a Wherry top but that's pure sacrilege.

[Hippo]

my wherry took about 12-16 weeks to become a really nice drink, before that it was average. give it time it will reward you!