Another Brewer Muntoned

[Tirpitz]

Hi Everyone,

My first post on here. I've been brewing for about 18 months with one tin kits and decided to move on to two tins. Oh how I wish I had looked on this forum before buying. I've got a Muntons Old Conkerwood which has - would you believe it? - stuck at 1020. It has been fermenting for 11 days now. It had stuck by 5, on the 6th I repitched another sachet of yeast - Safbrew T58 - but I might as well have saved my money. I'm going to barrel up now and see if it ends up drinkable.

I'm really annoyed to read that this issue has been going on now for years and Muntons haven't sorted it out / refuse to accept it's an issue. Not that they probably give a flying one but this is my first Muntons kit and it will be my last .

[EliteEvil]

It is an excellent brew, best brew I have done.

Never measured any gravity figures but tasted excellent. It gets even better if you wait a few weeks.

[Tirpitz]

Well I had a taste whilst racking it into the barrel and it certainly seems ok, with a slightly bitter tang. No evidence of residual sweetness, which I was expecting. So fingers crossed.

I ought to have also said that I was a bit surprised that the OG was around 1050, rather than 1040 which I'm used to. Being my first two tin kit I didn't know whether this was normal. It might explain the correspondingly high FG.

I've just got a Milestone Olde Home Wrecker prepared in the FV and this came out with an OG of 1040 - much more what I'm used to. So I'm now thinking that a high OG is not typical of two tin kits and might point towards the problem with the Munton kit. The Milestone kit seems to be plastered with Munton's smallprint, so it looks like that's another Munton's in disguise.

[pongobilly]

yes milestone are muntons too but to my surprise my latest milestone kit raspberry wheat ended up on 1012 which is the lowest i have had a 2 can kit go

[TC2642]

If that happens again I would go for the S05 rather than the T58, your using a Belgian yeast rather than a cleaner UK/US yeast to reach your final gravity.

[Tirpitz]

Yes, unfortunately the local homebrew shop only had two types of yeast available - a Muntons Gold (which I was understandably reluctant to use, given the problems experienced) and the T-58. I had wanted the S05 having read what you chaps were using, or a Nottingham, but it was Hobson's Choice at the time.

[pongobilly]

my milestone raspberry wheat, which is muntons, came with a gervin english ale yeast is this normal for muntons now

[hard water]

i've tried woodfordes wheery twice now, both times it never cleared. munton's is one i'm never going back to

[Trunky]

[Gosbeck]

I've never had a problem with the Munton's 2 can kits in all their different guises (milestone, woodfordes, etc). I make up around 8 or so every year and I've been doing that for around 3-4 years. I usually manage to get the FG down to around 1012-1014 with no problems. It's the same story with my brother who brews a Wherry every month. Every one of them has come out perfect. However, we both follow a simple regime with 4 rules:

1. Get plenty of air into your brew before pitching the yeast. I use an electric hand blender and let it run in the FV for at least 5 minutes.
2. Add 0.5 of a teaspoonful of yeast nutrient to the wort
3. Keep the FV at a constant temperature after pitching the yeast - We both use a 50w aquarium heater in the FV set at 21-22 centigrade
4. After transferring to bottles or barrel leave for at least 8 weeks

This is the drill/routine we use every time and it always works. Never had a bad munton's kit yet.

[Tirpitz]

I'm tempted to try again following your advice. The Conkerwood has been in the barrel a week now and I drew a little off just to test. It isn't clear but I have to say it already tastes fantastic. I was thinking of leaving it alone for a couple of months anyway. If it does produce a good brew in the end I may try another.

The Milestone Olde Home Wrecker fermented out after 9 days at 1011. Stayed constant from day 6. That sounds to me to be perfectly acceptable. That's now barelled up and conditioning.

[Sweaty Sock]

I have only ever brewed two can kits from Woodfordes (Muntons really!) and have never had a problem, although all the posts on here have given me a little trepidation when I take my first SG after the head in the FV has died down. I also run with a 50w fish tank heater in the fv and have had no snags. I will be upgrading to a beer fridge using a digital controller and heater element in as SWMBO has expressed her distaste at the kitchen permanently having an FV on the worktop.

[Tirpitz]

Well, the Conkerwood has been conditioning for 18 days now and I've tried a pint. Good carbonation and taste but it's as muddy as ditchwater, I've never had a brew that has failed to clear as badly. Will this clear on its own with being left longer or do I need to add something to assist?

[TC2642]

Well, the Conkerwood has been conditioning for 18 days now and I've tried a pint. Good carbonation and taste but it's as muddy as ditchwater, I've never had a brew that has failed to clear as badly. Will this clear on its own with being left longer or do I need to add something to assist?

It'll clear up eventually, everything does, you could try cold conditioning if you want it clear sooner..

[danbrew]

Cloudy beer doesn't necessarily mean bad beer (I'm not stick up for muntons here mind), you should go more for the taste rather than presentation. This is a very dark beer anyway isn't it so clarity is even less important.

Try coopers kits with spraymalt or beer enhancer. Coopers seem to know what they are doing.