Sticking Munton's (Woodfordes) Kits - Information and offer

[Phil M]

I'm a little embaressed

I looked into my problem, and it is in fact, my problrm, and nothing to do with the beer kit. I drastically over simplified my volume calculation (as my FV's have no markings), and only made about 18.5l, which would indeed give a OG of 50. I re-measured the bucket, and ended up with a 3rd order differential equation to solve for the depth at 23l, then double checked it with a 3d model, then again with 23l of water (what I should have done to start with!). Anyway, the long and short of it is, the beer is almost certainly fine, and I'm going to add some more water before bottling it later today.

Regards,

Phil

[Phil M]

I'm an engineer, so tend to get a little too involved. I did jug and measure it in the end anyway, but this was only to prove the calculation, honest!

Cheers for the tip on the boiled water. I'll do that.....

Thanks,

Phil

[Phil M]

Well, we've finally finished all of the Wherry, and it was damn good. It took about 5 weeks to clear fully, but produced a very good pint. Thanks all for the help!

[scottmoss]

Mine was a very good pint also! You will have to get a Fixby Gold on the go!

[dedken]

I've done two Wherries and they've both turned out well. However, my current hop-modified Munton's Gold IPA seems to be stuck at 1.022. I can't remember what day I started it but it may have been in the fv for 9 days now. Will give it a few more days before considering my options.

[JayM72]

I'm currently doing a Muntons Smugglers and have been struggling to get the gravity down past 1020. Now it's down to 1017ish so am going to keg today. Interestingly i sent a question to Muntons 'Ask Linda' this morning so am hoping for a response anytime. I had a similar problem with a Brupaks kit (Kirkburton Ale) which ended up down the drain

[jubby]

Interestingly i sent a question to Muntons 'Ask Linda' this morning so am hoping for a response anytime.

Don't hold your breath Jay

[At. Ailbhe's Brewery]

Anyone ever have trouble with Brupak's kits sticking?

Mines in the FV 10 days now, with a thermostat at 20c, and it seems to be stuck on 15/16

[JayM72]

Interestingly i sent a question to Muntons 'Ask Linda' this morning so am hoping for a response anytime.

Don't hold your breath Jay

Jubby

You won't be surprised to hear that I have not yet had my 'quick' response from Muntons! Funny thing is when I posted this yesterday I didn't realise it was such a long running thread but must admit that I thought it strange as, ever since I've been coming on here, the stuck fermentations was such a well known issue. Can't believe people are still having problems 2 years later!!

[JayM72]

Anyone ever have trouble with Brupak's kits sticking?

Mines in the FV 10 days now, with a thermostat at 20c, and it seems to be stuck on 15/16

As mentioned above I had a problem with a Brupaks Kirkburton which ended up being thrown away but I spoke to Clive at Brupaks at the time and he didn't seem to think that there would be a problem bottling (not kegging) between 1015 and 1020. So I think you'd be fine to go ahead at 1015/1016.

[jubby]

Jay, this post (from this thread) just about summed up the opinion of Muntons. In my opinion, they are too big now to give a stuff.

Update from Muntons

I am a little disappointed that Muntons have not attempted to answer any of the questions on this thread or offer any advice or explanation. So, once again, I emailed a sales representative. Here it is:

Hello......

Further to our conversation and emails a few months back, I was curious to know if you had viewed the posts from customers on Jim's Beer Kit? There have been over 4200 viewings of this post and 61 customers have answered the poll question. Over half of these have found that the kits did not ferment below 1.020.

I have now moved back to brewing from grain, so I no longer have a real interest in kit brewing. However, I think it would be good for Muntons and your customers if there was an official reply on this thread, especially as there is a huge increase in the home brew market due to the economy.

I am sure that you or your colleagues have viewed this thread as I have sent the link. Just in case, here it is again: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14480

Regards,

Nick Moore.

Here is the reply:


Good morning Nick

Thank you for mail regarding the Woodfordes range of kits.

It was interesting to read that half of the people who replied to the survey had NOT experienced any problems with their brews, so it would suggest that some have other brewing issues. All the kits we have tested have fermented out at 1014.

Many brewers often modify the kit to suit their own taste, but if the instructions are followed carefully, they should not experience any problems.

Kind regards


So there you have it. Half of you (42% actually) are doing it right, the others who can not achieve a final gravity below 1.020 have

brewing issues

or you

modify the kit to suit their own taste

If you want to ensure that the kits drop to 1.014, then you should ensure that

the instructions are followed carefully, they should not experience any problems.

Simple really, why did I not think of that!!!

It is not my intention to try to catch anybody out. I had no intention of posting any further Muntons communications, however I was slightly offended by the reply and thought that it should be open for all to view.

[JayM72]

Jay, this post (from this thread) just about summed up the opinion of Muntons. In my opinion, they are too big now to give a stuff.

Update from Muntons

I am a little disappointed that Muntons have not attempted to answer any of the questions on this thread or offer any advice or explanation. So, once again, I emailed a sales representative. Here it is:

Hello......

Further to our conversation and emails a few months back, I was curious to know if you had viewed the posts from customers on Jim's Beer Kit? There have been over 4200 viewings of this post and 61 customers have answered the poll question. Over half of these have found that the kits did not ferment below 1.020.

I have now moved back to brewing from grain, so I no longer have a real interest in kit brewing. However, I think it would be good for Muntons and your customers if there was an official reply on this thread, especially as there is a huge increase in the home brew market due to the economy.

I am sure that you or your colleagues have viewed this thread as I have sent the link. Just in case, here it is again: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14480

Regards,

Nick Moore.

Here is the reply:


Good morning Nick

Thank you for mail regarding the Woodfordes range of kits.

It was interesting to read that half of the people who replied to the survey had NOT experienced any problems with their brews, so it would suggest that some have other brewing issues. All the kits we have tested have fermented out at 1014.

Many brewers often modify the kit to suit their own taste, but if the instructions are followed carefully, they should not experience any problems.

Kind regards


So there you have it. Half of you (42% actually) are doing it right, the others who can not achieve a final gravity below 1.020 have

brewing issues

or you

modify the kit to suit their own taste

If you want to ensure that the kits drop to 1.014, then you should ensure that

the instructions are followed carefully, they should not experience any problems.

Simple really, why did I not think of that!!!

It is not my intention to try to catch anybody out. I had no intention of posting any further Muntons communications, however I was slightly offended by the reply and thought that it should be open for all to view.

Unbelievable really as the stuck fermentations are obviously still a real problem. Unfortunately as the majority of kits seem to be produced by Muntons it's hard to avoid them...

Just have to make sure I follow their comprehensive instructions (that are the same on EVERY box regardless of kit)

[dedken]

It would seem very unwise of Munton's not to give a stuff when you consider the large number of people who use this community site and how easy it would be to organise a boycott of their products! As it is I've just had to order a bunch of dry beer enzyme to get my gold IPA kit moving again

[At. Ailbhe's Brewery]

Anyone ever have trouble with Brupak's kits sticking?

Mines in the FV 10 days now, with a thermostat at 20c, and it seems to be stuck on 15/16

As mentioned above I had a problem with a Brupaks Kirkburton which ended up being thrown away but I spoke to Clive at Brupaks at the time and he didn't seem to think that there would be a problem bottling (not kegging) between 1015 and 1020. So I think you'd be fine to go ahead at 1015/1016.

Thanks Jay, much appreciated.

I'll give it a few more days anyway, I'm in no real rush. It was just the inactivity that was bugging me.

[barl_fire]

Anyone ever have trouble with Brupak's kits sticking?

Mines in the FV 10 days now, with a thermostat at 20c, and it seems to be stuck on 15/16

my Fixby Gold did exactly the same stuck at 16, but with a gentle stir and repitching with Safeale O4 I got it down to 12 after another 3-4 days, the second bout of fermentation was quite obvious as it bubbled up a bit on the surface which was encouraging.