What will three cans of Wort do to the brew?

Brewmunn

I have just seen Woodforde's Wherry on the Wilko website for £16 so intend purchasing 3 i.e. 6 cans of Wort. Does anyone know the likely outcome of adding the extra can? Will it result in a stronger beer or just one with more flavour? If this works it will still cost only £24 for 40 pints which compares well to some other kits!

HBO_Staff

We wouldn't recommend doing this, you would be much better opting for a higher quality ingredient that would be around the same price and produce some great beer, go for something like one of the Festival range or if you want something stronger try the American Craft Beer range from Youngs:

http://www.home-brew-online.com/beer-kits-c1/festival-m8

http://www.home-brew-online.com/beer-kits-c1/american-craft-brewing-beer-kits-m55

The reviews are much better for both of these, and they are some of the most recently developed high quality ingredients on the market

BUDFORCE

Yeah try the American Pale Ale (APA) or the American Amber Ale - both fantastic and better than Woodforde's stuff.

BUDFORCE

A mate of mine said not to bother ordering online and go to Wilko's but the stuff they sell in there isn't all that great. The Wilkos own stuff is drinkable, but its not that cheap all things considered, you can order online the cheaper kits like the Coopers IPA which is really good for the money, if you are on a budget, otherwise try some of the premium kits as linked above and you will know the difference.

Brewmunn

Thanks HBO Staff but you don't say why you don't recommend adding a third can!
I suppose using two cans but reducing the volume to say 32 pints would have a similar effect. Anyway, if you could explain why it's not advisable it would be a great help.
I should add that I've already sampled Festival Old Suffolk Strong Ale which is too dark and too much like cough mixture for my pallet. I've also tried Woodforde's Admiral Reserve which was OK. I suppose what I'm trying to achieve is a brew that is similar to any of the following - Abbot Ale, Ruddles County, Old Speckled Hen, Gales HSB or Fullers ESB i.e. a full bodied, malty, toffee flavoured premium ale so if you have any suggestions on how best to achieve this it would be very much appreciated.

HBO_Staff

You can experiment and add a third can, the result would be stronger in taste and alcohol strength - as long as the included yeast could ferment all the sugars out which it probably could. If you didn't like the stronger taste of some other beers then adding the extra can would give it more body and increase the flavour which is one thing to bear in mind.
The styles of beer you have mentioned have been compared by some other brewers to these beer kits on this link, it is of course just their personal thoughts and not everyone agrees, but may be a good starting point and you can read the descriptions and reviews on each and see if any sound more what you are looking for:

http://www.home-brew-online.com/beer-kits-c1#m15:m18:m2:m7:m8:m1:t285:t32:t342

Usually it is best to start with the best ingredients you can, these do cost more of course, but the results are usually better too. You can add a third can to a cheaper kit but it is experimenting and the results are a little unknown, the more expensive beer refills usually have better ingredients and have been developed to achieve the right balance of tastes and hoppiness, do let us know how you get on if you decide to 'triple tin' it....

Brewmunn

Thanks again HBO staff. You've raised some good points which have prompted another question. It's to do with the amount of malt extract a small sachet of yeast has to cope with so my question is whether any benefit can be derived from adding say an extra half sachet or whether doing so would make the beer 'yeasty'.
I certainly don't want to spoil a potentially good end result!

BUDFORCE

The yeast will mutliply as it feeds on the sugars anyway, so adding yeast may possibly excellerate the brew slightly right at the start but in practise I doubt it would make all that much difference and I don't think it would be worth even the relatively small cost of another yeast sachet.

The best way to make sure the beer brews quickly and properly is to ensure a nice stable temperature. Temperature control is one of the most important parts of the brew, ideally if you can keep it at about 24c in my experience that is just about perfect, although anything from about 20/25c will work but not higher.

I tend to leave the brew a tad longer than the instructions generally recommend just to ensure all the sugar is fermentated 1 week kits I leave for 2, and some of the premium kits where they recommend 2 weeks I generally leave for 3.

This may be me being over the top, but that way I am more confident that it has fully brewed, the sugar will have been turned to alcohol and the yeast will have settled before bottling, which will help to give you a nice crisp and clean tasting clear brew.

Brewmunn

Thanks Budforce; take your point so no advantage in adding extra yeast. Of course it tempts the question as to how the manufacturers know how much to put in a sachet of yeast?
Oddly enough I have a Munton's smugglers/oaked ale in the bucket at present and it seems to be taking ages to ferment. The gravity is still around 1018 after 2 weeks so hopefully will drop down to around 1012 so that I can bottle it. Just concerned that each time I check the gravity I guess it increases the chance of an infection.

BUDFORCE

Hi,

That is certainly true, the longer you leave it, the more chance there is of infection.

But provided you throughly clean and sterilise everything and keep it covered (does not necessarily need to be airtight though) your brew should be good for at least 3 weeks. Just be careful doing things like breathing in it, or putting your fingers in it if you open it to check it, I don't mean to patronise so apologies but people sometimes don't think about all these things.

But really provided you have everything really clean and sterile at the start I think you would be unlucky for a brew to go bad. I have been brewing a bit over a year and a half and have yet to have one go bad.

As for your gravity reading, just be aware that those hydrometers are not 100% accurate. There are lots of factors that can affect the reading slightly, temperature and whatever else. A good way to tell if the primary fermentation is finished is to see if the reading stays stable for a period of 24 hours. If so it's likely done.

Honestly though, I don't even bother using a hydrometer anymore. By keeping the beer at a stable temperature and leaving it a little longer, I am already pretty confident its fully brewed. There are other ways to tell also, you should have a good layer of white sediment at the bottom of the vessel (if you have the semi transparent plastic fermenting tubs) and all signs of foaming/bubbling should have stopped.

Do you have a heating device for your brew or any way of temperature comtrolling it?

Brewmunn

Good Morning Budforce,

That's really helpful, thank you! I think you're right that it will have fermented by now especially as I have it on a heat tray so it's kept at a uniform temperature. Anyway,I'll have a look at it later keeping my fingers crossed it's ready.
Thanks again!

Brewmunn

UPDATE - just to report that I've brewed this this morning and it has an OG of1056 or thereabouts [difficult to read accurately because of the froth/bubbles. Will let you know how it goes.

Brewmunn

2nd UPDATE - The first thing adding a third can does or has in this case is cause a very strong fermentation to occur which has eased off the firmly sealed lid; clearly all the gas couldn't escape quick enough through the airlock. Just hope the brew has not been contaminated. Have now turned off the heat tray to reduce the temperature and therefore [hopefully] reduce the rate of fermentation so that I can get the lid back on and seal it up.

BUDFORCE

if your brewing ale you dont need to keep it airtight anyway.

Probably better not having it airtight as gasses can escape plus oxygen can get in to help fermentation.

BUDFORCE

Infact I would try to keep the temperature stable, fluctuating temps are not good.

Just wipe the foam/yeast around the outside away and place the lid back on. I had one explode also see below. It was fine!

Brewmunn

Hi Budforce, Yes mine looks pretty similar save for the lid being completely mangled. It's reassuring to know it's likely to turn out fine. Also didn't know about the lid not needing to be airtight; I wonder why the kit makers suggest an airlock?
Many thanks for sharing this, it's much appreciated.

Brewmunn

Hi All,
Just to report that the brew has finished fermenting and has a final gravity of around 1012. I've now transferred it to a barrel and added some finings with the view to bottling it mid-week. This is one I can'r wait to sample but that's what I'll have to do! The lid on the fermenting bin has now gone back in shape thanks to a bit of hot water so that's a relief too! Will report back when I've sampled the brew.

HBO_Staff

Great, let us know what you think to the results....

Brewmunn

EUREKA! I think that aptly describes this ale which I sampled for the first time last night and what a delightful surprise it was. Although still very young it's an absolute 'corker'! It's turned out to be a clear, copper coloured beer with an alcoholic content of around 5.7% [OG1056 - FG1012 x 0.129 = 5.7%] but it doesn't taste that strong at all; it's a smooth, sweet malty, toffee ale which is very moorish and which can only get better with time. Whether it will get enough time is another story!
If like me you like the premium type beers, then I definitely recommend using three cans because it's so cheap. After all, where else can you get a premium beer at 5.7% abv for around 60p per pint?
Brewing Note - expect a very vigorous start to fermentation, especially if you're using a heat tray!