muntons conkerwood ale poblem

[Enki]

just finishing up on the above kit it stuck at 1.017, it suggests anything under 1. 014 will do so i decided to cut my losses and let it be, however when looking back at my start reading of 1.040 i relise that the brew is only just over 3 % alcohol and even if it did reach 1.014 it would still only be a tad higher, this kit is advertised as a 5% brew. what could i have done wrong?

cheers

[quiff]

I don't think you have done anything wrong barring spending your hard-earned on a Muntons kit. I'm new to this brewing lark and trusted the word of the lady in my LHBS who said Muntons were the best. The common opinion of wiser, more experianced home brewers seems to be to stay away from them. They have a nasty habit of sticking apparantly. I have a batch of Old Conkerwood in my FV at the mo so I can't speak from experiance but I'm not expecting it to get anywhere near the advertised 5%. Again this seems to be another "Characteristic" of Muntons kits.
Give it a very gentle stir to try and get the yeasties back to life and leave it a while longer. I'm sure it'll ferment down a bit more

[Enki]

i've already given it a stir but not much of a reaction occured. was your start reading also around the 1.040 mark?

[quiff]

Yeah almost dead on.
This is a reply I had to a question I posted about it.

"As much as I like Muntons bashing (due to them wasting lots of peoples money and failing to respond to the majority of complaints), generally their single can kits seem to be fine. This may be due to anything lacking in the extract being made up for in the added spray malt, I can't say for sure.

However, when it comes to their all malt premium kits, they suck dead pensioners ball sacks

The Conkerwood is a stinker, I don't know anyone who's managed to get it to ferment out. I tried coaxing it into finishing for weeks with every trick in the book before chucking it down the drain.

Yes, definately get a hydrometer and i'd get yourself some extra yeast and Brupaks dry beer enzyme while you're at it. My suggestion would be at the first sign of a stuck fermentation (1018/20) for a day to rehydrate some yeast, mix it wil 1 pint of the stuck beer in a soda bottle, shake well and look for signs of fermentation. Wait a couple of hours and add it to the beer. If you don't see any action within 24hrs, add the dry beer enzyme."

*sings* We are not alone......

[Enki]

ok cheers i may give that a try and give muntons a miss in the future. i'm pleased its the kit and not me, not pleased with the kit though!

[Marts]

Have a read of this thread

Munton's won't go down on me

[quiff]

Cheers Marts, how did you add that thread link?
I was trying to do that but ended up having to copy and paste

[quiff]

Guess what?? It's stuck at 21.
Fancy that !!!
Tastes fabby though........