Update: Wherry

At 7 days in the FV I figured it was time to check up on this little guy.  Took a hydro reading which came out at 1.012, which I'm pretty sure means it has stopped.  Tipped the sample into a glass (through a tea strainer) and had a taste: it is lovely!  I can see why it has a good reputation as a kit.  My only concern is that it is looking very cloudy.  I plan to leave it until at least Friday before bottling/barrelling to try and get it to clear a bit more.  To aid this I have turned the immersion heater off, hoping that the colder temp will make some of the whateveritis settle out.  Here's a picture how cloudy it is:

Brewing Woodforde's Wherry

Got home from school earlier than usual tonight (because there are parents evenings this week so I try and get away as early as possible on the other days to make up for it), so I decided that it was finally time to put this Wherry on.  And I took pictures! So here we go:

Started off by cleaning the sink area throughly

Threw all the equipment into the fermenting bucket, added sanitiser powder and filled with hot water

While waiting for the stuff to sanitise, I started getting the yeast ready.  Here it is in the packet: Safale S04, a good substitute for kit yeast, which is normally rubbish.

I poured some boiled water into a sterilised mug and let it cool to 20C or so, then sprinkled the packet onto the top of the water.  Covered the mug with a plate and put it to one side.

At this point I figured I'd get the kit out and start sorting it out.  This is what I'm brewing: Woodforde's Wherry (based on a commercial brew, although I've never tried it).

Put the 2 massive cans into hot water to soften the wort inside

Meanwhile, back in the bathroom...the FV is full of sanitising fluid.

When all the stuff had been in the fluid for 15 minutes, I took it out, rinsed it and left it on the side.

Finally it was time to open the cans up.  This is the first one, after an epic struggle with the tin opener...

Wort being poured into the bucket, the smell that comes off it is heavenly.

Filled each can up with boiled water and stirred to dissolve any wort left on the sides of the can

This is the mixture after both cans and two cans of boiling water were put in.  I normally give it a good stir at this point to dissolve all the wort and stop large globs of it sticking to the bottom and not dissolving properly.

Topping it all up with cold water, note my handy, improvised 2 litre jug...

Hydrometer reading after it's topped up to 23 litres.  You'll have to believe me that it is 1.040

Here we return to our friend S04, who has rehydrated nicely.  Now I just have to pour this into the brew, drop the heater in, plug it in and pop the lid on and we are...

...DONE!

Thanks for reading, hopefully this will show some people how easy this whole business is and make them want to try it...