dare i try a muntons kit

[scottmoss]

i agree chris brewers choice kits seem to be the best i think the next step should be extract or all grain after a few more kits under my belt i fell this will give me more control over my final product ..

sidneybigbrew I really think you should give the Wherry a try, mine came out excellent (the fg being around 1012).

[sidneybigbrew]

i cant really call my self a kit brewer if i aint done a wherry so i will try one in the near future iam bottling ruby ale tonight tastes great allready..

[scottmoss]

i cant really call my self a kit brewer if i aint done a wherry so i will try one in the near future iam bottling ruby ale tonight tastes great allready..

I'm waiting for one of my kegs to be empty so I can start my Ruby Red, as mentioned preivously the Ruby Red is also a muntons kit!

[sidneybigbrew]

ive since looked on box what do ya know ive already done my first muntons kit great .thanks for pointing this out.ok maybe a lot of the problems with kits sticking could be down to bad technique rather than bad kit ?

[scottmoss]

I just think the kits have improved massively. I've never had any problems yet (Touching wood)!

[scottmoss]

ive since looked on box what do ya know ive already done my first muntons kit great .thanks for pointing this out.ok maybe a lot of the problems with kits sticking could be down to bad technique rather than bad kit ?

You have already done a few Muntons kits by the sounds of it. Brupaks are also done my Muntons!

[sidneybigbrew]

must admit been out of the game for many years now got put off after brewing fizzy piss all the time but now kits have seemed to come on leaps and bounds and more than impress me .glad to hear a fellow brewer with no kit problems

[EoinMag]

Time time time time, beer will not be ready to drink in two weeks. There seems to be a culture on this site, of rushing beer, you all want it in two weeks. Anything good takes time.

I'm not claiming to be an expert but none of my beers are touched before they are at least 6 weeks old. They are fermented from 3-5 weeks and then are bottled and because of the long primary ferment they are ready to drink once carbonated which takes up to about 10 days realistically, although I have drank them after 5 days in the bottle.
I picked up these tips on time on a US website, HBT, you would be laughed at for suggesting there that a beer is ready to drink in 2 weeks, it seems a lot of you here do that and then wonder why it's not cleared, tastes dodgy etc.

Slow down guys, take it easy, it's understandable that the first time kit brewer is eager to get at his beer and won't wait the necessary time, some of you repeat kit makers should know better, but I am constandly astounded as to the bad information given out here with regard to how long stuff should stay in fermenters. 7 days is not enough, no matter what your hydrometer says, leave the beer 3 weeks at least in the fermenter, then bottle and don't drink it before it's 5-6 weeks old.

[KevP]

ive since looked on box what do ya know ive already done my first muntons kit great .thanks for pointing this out.ok maybe a lot of the problems with kits sticking could be down to bad technique rather than bad kit ?

Thats a bit of an arrogant statement to make, there are many guys here who've had problems, and lots with many years experience under their belts, me included, its not only down to poor technique.

[sidneybigbrew]

i did try this and had slightly flat beer ive got a ruby ale in now been in primary for 4 days racked into secondry for 4 days hit fg 48 hours ago and looks very clear i will bottle tonight itdid fement very fast . all of my bottled beer is left for a month min before even tasted .

[sidneybigbrew]

very sorry kevp but it was a question not a statement

[suttonbrewer]

I've had trouble in the past with stuck fermentations with the Woodfords kits. I decided to give them one more go with a Wherry kit but I substituted the supplied yeast with an S-04, added a heaped teaspoon of yeast nutrient and give the wort a damn good aerating before pitching the yeast. I rehydrated the yeast an hour before pitching and couldn't believe how much it expanded. it looked like a suet pudding in the jug! I have never seen a yeast supplied with a kit behave like that before
After a week the gravity was down to 1014, there was no sign of fermentation so it was kegged. The beer smelled fantastic and the trub in the bottom of the empty F.V. was almost like jelly, nothing like I've ever seen before.
The beer has been in the garage a week now. I had a quick quality control taste the other day and it tastes terrific already. It has a wonderful fresh hoppy flavour and left the empty glass with a nice hoppy aroma.
Perhaps I have now cracked it. I'm glad I give them one more try.

[sidneybigbrew]

great fantastic to hear ive bottled all my brews so far ill have to give a keg ago 120 bottles dotted about its starting to take up to much space in my man shed

[sonicated]

Thats a bit of an arrogant statement to make, there are many guys here who've had problems, and lots with many years experience under their belts, me included, its not only down to poor technique.

I've had some Wherry kits clear a week after bottling and some not clear after eight weeks. Same technique.

[Breezy]

Well, I'll add my happ'orth to the discussion.

I recently did a Wherry kit - it was my first bash at brewing in about 15 years and despite all the stories about Muntons kits I gave it a go. I followed the instructions to the letter, except for the fact that I hydrated the kit yeast in some warm water (and a tiny bit of sugar) which I measured at about 20 degrees. It had two full weeks in the FV and then I took a reading - 10.20 dead! I was minded to just keg it as normal but baring in mind all the press about stuck fermentations and the "target" level stated in the instructions I racked it into another FV and chucked in some hydrated SO4. As someone else mentioned, it rose like a souffle! Not at all like the kit yeast. After three days the SG was 10.14 so into the barrel it went. It tasted okay but was pretty cloudy. It's now clearing in the garage and will stay there until Xmas. Hopefully it'll be okay, though I'm mindfull of all the extra oxygen being added. I'm not sure what messages are in there, but I'll be doing a Headcracker kit for bottling tomorrow and will be using SO4 rather than the kit yeast. We'll see what happens. It does seem, though, that Muntons have a pretty much monopoly over UK all malt kits so if you can't beat them..........

Also I wonder how many people actually complain to them directly rather than just moaning amongst themselves and on forums - we Brits are not good at constructive criticism. If everyone with a problem phoned or wrote/emailed or both then something might get done. I'm going to reserve judgement until I've sampled the Wherry and made the Headcracker. Stand by for further news