Is Midas Touch Golden Ale any good?

[guildofevil]

Hi All,
A friend of mine is looking at getting into the hobby and would like to start with a kit.

He likes my golden ales and IPA's/APA's, when I make them, so I was looking at recommending Midas Touch Golden Ale, form the Muntons Premium Gold range.

Does anyone know what this kit actually contains? Are there some tweaks I should recommend he use?

As I am a pretty prolific all grain brewer, I could easily give him some hops, crystal malt, or an alternate yeast, if that would improve the end result.

I will probably help him, with the first batch anyway.

Séan

[johnmac]

I made Midas once and wasn't greatly impressed - maybe my expectations were too high. I think Wodfords Great Eastern is a better pale ale kit.

[guildofevil]

I could get that instead. What do you get with the kit? Is is just 3Kg of hopped liquid malt extract?

Would you steep some crystal? Boil up some flavouring and aroma hops?

Would you use the yeast provided or should I give him some Gervin English ale yeast or Danstar Windsor, or something?

Séan

[Hoppkins]

RIght now i would never use a woodfordes yeast. They appear highly unreliable. All the posts can't be wrong.

Wherry was fine without any added hopps but i guess it can't hurt.

[discodave]

my midas touch stopped dead at 1022 and i've been brewing for years so it wasn't down to bad practice.

shame really, as it would have been a great brew. the basic flavour means i can still drink it, but it is such a shame that it is too sweet.

with safale 04, it would have been great, i'm sure....the hops are 'classy' and give a professional flavour.

shame on muntons. they know about the problem batches of yeast but have done nothing...

dave

[Russ]

My last two brews both stuck and I used Safale. 04 Now it could be me don't get me wrong....... The first was Great Eastern which stuck @ 1018, the second was Wherry which stuck at 1016. Dry beer enzyme did the trick both times, the Great Eastern finished at 1010 (Tasted Great!) , the Wherry @ 1006 (falling bright now, to be kegged at the weekend)
IMO based on my experience this is either a malt issue (to many non-fermentables?) or possibly lack of aeration of the wort, Next time I'm making a Woodefords kit (I have 2 more to do) I'm gonna use Safale 04 again and aerate the CR4P out of it. If it sticks I'm not blaming myself or the yeast........

But for a refreshing interlude this weekend I'm doing a Brupak Bavarian Wheat beer....... lets see if that sticks

[Russ]

Ok Daab no problems

here's to progress!

[BIGTRACTOR]

how would you go about aerating the s**t out of it? i'm never sure if i've done enough. at the moment i've stopped at the halfway mark when adding water and give it a good beating, then topped up and give it another good beating. I found that in the past if i added all the water and then aerated the foam came over the top of the bin.

[roger the dog]

Sounds good, a good 5min thrash does the trick...stop when your arm falls off

It's always worked for me

[StrangeBrew]

...and then change arms.

In the words of Billy Connolly "if you sit on your hand till it goes numb it feels like someone else is doing it"

[guildofevil]

With the problems people seem to be having with Wodfords kits ATM, I think my first idea, of recommending Munton's Midas Touch Golden Ale, might be best. The last thing I want is to give him a problem with his first brew.

What if I get him to use the Midas Touch kit and give him a few grams of Goldings to boil up, with a bit of the extract, in a 20 minute and a five minute addition?

Is the yeast this one comes with OK or should I give him a pack of Gervin English, or something?

[guildofevil]

Sod it. He's getting some unhopped malt extract, crystal malt, hops and a sachet of ale yeast.

[maxashton]

The Guild of Evil has spoken!