Muntons oaked ale

[dad_of_jon]

Hi all, here's the latest from Swansea:

Brew 4: Muntons Oaked Ale. 21/02/2015

Brewed short to 21 liters 1.055 og at 20 deg. Yeast pitched at 23 deg C
only other change from instructions was I used mango jacks american west coast yeast.

started 12:30 - finished 2:45 , that includes all the cleaning up and leaving the kitchen to my other half's standard :-D

Oh yes also recovered 4 litres of star san made using clearview bottled water from tesco. It's ph at source is 6.3 and the star san mixed up came in under 3ph.

 

[Slid]

This is a fairly new kit and the 3 kit craft brewing range looks to be a Muntons version of the Youngs kits that seem fairly popular.

I think there will be some interest in how it turns out, so please keep us informed. :hat:

 

[JamesG]

Just finished kegging this tonight. Original gravity 1050, started 14/2. 11 days later it was 1010 so a good strong pint and a bit stronger than the expected 5%. I did use extra yeast because the kit only comes with a 6 gram pack. Also, instructions say to brew between 18 and 20 celsius so you do have to be able to control your temperatures quite closely.
It is a very dark beer, similar to the Bulldog Cobnar Wood. Took a sneaky taste of the hydrometer jar, and it should turn out well but I would call it more of a winter warmer so I haven't timed it well! Looking forward to it though, and will keep you posted.

 

[Slid]

Just finished kegging this tonight. Original gravity 1050, started 14/2. 11 days later it was 1010 so a good strong pint and a bit stronger than the expected 5%. I did use extra yeast because the kit only comes with a 6 gram pack. Also, instructions say to brew between 18 and 20 celsius so you do have to be able to control your temperatures quite closely.
It is a very dark beer, similar to the Bulldog Cobnar Wood. Took a sneaky taste of the hydrometer jar, and it should turn out well but I would call it more of a winter warmer so I haven't timed it well! Looking forward to it though, and will keep you posted.

Many thanks for this, JamesG. Very interested in your comments about the yeast being the same 6g that goes with most Muntons produced kits.

I have done a Muntons produced Milestone kit - the dark ale - and that came with an 11g Gervin, I think. Probably the same yeast, but the larger pack size addresses some issue with viability.

There has been a great deal of comment on the Forum about the inadequacy of the yeast with Muntons produced kits and I am stunned that their new flagship craft brewing range has been launched, supported by this yeast offer.

I have bought many Muntons kits and it IS the yeast that lets them down. Other than the standard complaint of the stuck fermentation at 1020, there are other more specific complaints that have been raised on here.

In no specific order:

It does not flocculate (clump together and compact well) leading to cloudy beer or high loss of drinkable beer on pouring
It is inadequate in package size, leading to issues with yeast stress and off flavours
It does not tolerate the higher temps of centrally heated houses well

 

[Slid]

So, what extra yeast did you add, JamesG?

And apologies for the polemic on the subject of the Muntons yeast, which is scarcely your fault

 

[dad_of_jon]

Star San in bubble chamber airlock now equalised, but will wait till 7th to check fg. 22deg this evening, but hoping for a fruit flavour anyway :-D

expecting brew to be drinkable mid-end of march.

 

[JamesG]

Slid no worries, it was polemics like yours that alerted me to the risk of the Muntons yeast.
I added Wilko's gervin ale yeast, rehydrated it and pitched at just under 20 degrees.

 

[JamesG]

I kegged this on 25th February, 2 weeks warm conditioning and then nearly 2 weeks in the garage. It is already very good and I am really pleased with it.
The beer is very dark, can't see through it at all yet so it looks like a porter, it has a good brown head which stays all the way to the end of the pint. The oak chips have given it a lovely biscuity taste, and the beer itself is very mellow. I am really looking forward to the next 39 pints!
In summary, I am really impressed, looking forward to it improving further and would do it again.

 

[Tyro Brewer]

Started this as my 4th brew on 19 Apr 15. I used the supplied Muntons 6g yeast packet and 6g American Ale yeast pitched at 24.5 deg C. I also used 23L Sainsbury's Scottish mountain water poured from a great height to aid oxygenation. Starting Sg was 1.053. Fermentation has been around 22 deg C constantly.

Initially a good krausen and fermentation which unfortunately stalled at 1.020. On 14 May I gave everthing a good stir and the fermentation started up again. Today the Sg was 1.009 and the airlock is bubbling strongly at about one every minute.

I am also using a refractometer (gift from son-in-law) for comparison with the hydrometer and using the calculator here: http://www.northernbrewer.com/learn/resources/refractometer-calculator/ I got a reading of 5.74 ABV.

Question: How much longer should I leave the wort in the FV and how much stronger might the final resulting beer be? Did taste good today though.

I should point out that this is my first post but I have been reading (lurking) for a long time.

 

[ManseMasher]

Wait until fermentation has stopped - if it's still bubbliing strongly it could be a couple of days yet! Difficult to say what your FG will be, but it sounds like it's going to be a belter!

 

[dad_of_jon]

Muntons Oaked Ale. Update

19/03/2015

1.5 finger head, lasts a while. pleasant cross between hobgoblin and Guinness like ale with dark colour low in hops. Vanilla ice-cream finish. Brother in law really likes it, it's very nice above average for its style but I'm sure I can improve on it, i've tasted better in the same style, although not in any pub.

7/10