fermentation?

gary

Ive had woodfordes wherry in the fermenter now for six days and the air lock has slowed down to about a few quick bubbles every minute to a minute and a half .Ive since took a hydrometre reading and its coming in at 1012 .Shall i just re-test the next day and if it comes in the same barrel it, or wait untill the bubbles have completely stopped?.

HBO_Staff

Hi Gary, the bubbles need to have stopped before you move on to transferring it. Your hydrometer reading is below Woodforde's recommended minimum of 1014, but the bubbles need to have stopped too, and then it's always a good idea by the use of a hydrometer to make sure the gravity readings remain constant by checking it for a couple of days in a row. Constant readings at the low level are a very good indicator that primary fermentation is complete. It is even more important to make sure it has completed when transferring to bottles as there is no safety valve to release any excess pressure like a barrel has.

gary

It took eleven days to finish fermenting but that babys in a barrel now ,gonna give it four weeks and have a cheeky sample .looking good .

HBO_Staff

That's good news, make sure you're barrel is fully airtight, a bit of Vaseline or similar around the thread will make certain. Just out of interest did you take a hydrometer reading and what was it when finished - how low did it go in the end?

gary

It was around 1010 -1008 mark for two  days running , the airlock was idol and it was in the wort for eleven days in total .So i barreled it with 75 grams of brewing sugar, changed my mind at last minute from using an enhancer  time will tell what it like .Might bleed of a half glass for sampling in a day or two its been in the barrel now for thirteen days .

HBO_Staff

That is a nice and low reading, priming with brewing sugar will be just fine, the enhancer might just have helped with the head retention a bit, but it's all trial and error to see what you prefer. It will give you a good idea of taste when you sample it, but for the full flavours to develop and for it to carbonate properly leave it as long as possible, as it may still be a bit flat in these early days, but pleased keep us posted on your progress