Sherwood Woodland Ale 3.6kg

[discodave]

Hi, after my last muntons brew stuck around 1023, i've got great news about my next project.

The ale was started on Sat. morning and by today (tuesday a.m.) it has almost fermented out.

OG was 1052 and temp. was 21 degrees throughout. I've has a quick taste and it is VERY promising.

I didn't boil the supplied hops with wort, but I will dry hop a few after 1 week before resting for another week (thanks Daab).

I' ve got high hopes for this one, but one quick question...My FG is 1015 and may drop another point, max. and the taste seems OK from the sample, but the instructions state it will reach 1010...? Can a 3.6kg brew get this low? The muntons should have reached 1014, which seems a more reasonable target..i don't know, i don't really understand attenuation.

If it doesn't get to 1010 will it be classed as a failure?

Any advice appreciated,

Dave.

[tubby_shaw]

Hi DD,
Attenuation depends on a number of things, but the main two are the proportion of dextrins in the wort and the ability of the yeast to deal with the fermentation of the mix of sugars in the wort.
Some yeasts are highly attenutive and will ferment more of the sugars giving a lower gravity so the same wort fermented with two different yeast strains can give two different final gravities.
A 3.6 kg kit can ferment down to 1.010 if the manufacturer has balanced the sugars to give a ratio which leaves that amount of dextrins in the beer.
No it wont be a failure if it doesn't ferment down to 1.010, as you have said it tastes ok already so it is therefore already a success.
I also think that if you leave it for a couple more days it will drop more than just 1 degree

[oxford brewer]

DD i have brewed a sister kit of the one you have(Sherwoods Forest Ale)
I take it you have a sachet of hop pellets to use?With mine i mixed them with 250ml of boiling water and stirred them in.Then i left the sludge to settle out for 5 mins and poured the liquid on top into another jug and then poured that into my keg ,then racked the beer onto it!
If you dont, it takes ages to let the hop sludge settle out(i have done another kit similiar and made that mistake then!)

[Russ]

Hi DD

Dont forget to e mail Muntons with your problem- see the sticky link 'help my kit has stopped fermenting' for the e mail address link

We need to get them to sort this!

Cheers

[discodave]

Thanks for the advice with the dry hopping, i'll definitely do that as I like to take a few 'early pints' as the weeks progress, so the clearer the better!

I checked the brew earlier...it has dropped another point (now 1014) so, it may just reach 1010 after all. I had a sneaky sip again (hic) and a lovely chocolate taste is developing, countered by a subtle 'hop fizz'..strange but VERY enjoyable.

I'll report back when I've barrelled..

Thanks again to all the forum for your invaluable help.

Dave.

[oxford brewer]

Let us know what the beers like after 3 weeks in the keg

[discodave]

It's absolute magic!!!!

I dry hopped, by leaving just half of the supplied pellets in 1/4 pint of boiling water for 5 mins, let the crap settle and added water to barrel.

Left for about 5 weeks now.....

First impressions are very good...

Dark, but crystal clear with a subtle hop aroma and slight hop flavour, backed up by a lightly 'toasted' flavour. A nice creamy head as well. A true ale in every sense of the word. Makes a refreshing change from bitter.

The father in law and I polished off 5 pints each (works out at 5.1%) and felt great and the best news is.....

NO HANGOVER...!!!

Best wishes,

Dave...