Can't seem to find a review so here goes. Muntons describe this as a "black ale" which seems a bit strange as it's not a term I've heard used before: why not call it a Porter?
http://www.muntonshomebrew.com/old-conkerwood-black-ale/
It's a typical 2-can kit with no hops, but from the "Hand Crafted Range" - this sounds like a marketing gimmick, but given the other beers in this range I've brewed have been great (Smugglers and Midas Touch) I wanted to give this a go. As per other Muntons kits, it comes with the measly 7g yeast packet, so you may wish to substitute this for a proper 11g packet or risk a stuck brew. I did a half batch with just one of the tins with the 7g packet to save risking it. Even doing this it finished a bit high (1014) giving me 4.7% rather than the suggested 5% ABV.
So how does it taste? After 3 months in the bottle it's not bad but I'm a bit underwhelmed: I always say that Smugglers and Midas Touch were the best non-hopped kits I ever made, but this doesn't seem in the same league. It's a nice enough dark ale but not great, I made an Extract Vanilla Porter just after this and it's far, far better. Will see how it goes, but at the moment I can't really recommend this kit - be interesting to see what other think?
http://www.muntonshomebrew.com/old-conkerwood-black-ale/
It's a typical 2-can kit with no hops, but from the "Hand Crafted Range" - this sounds like a marketing gimmick, but given the other beers in this range I've brewed have been great (Smugglers and Midas Touch) I wanted to give this a go. As per other Muntons kits, it comes with the measly 7g yeast packet, so you may wish to substitute this for a proper 11g packet or risk a stuck brew. I did a half batch with just one of the tins with the 7g packet to save risking it. Even doing this it finished a bit high (1014) giving me 4.7% rather than the suggested 5% ABV.
So how does it taste? After 3 months in the bottle it's not bad but I'm a bit underwhelmed: I always say that Smugglers and Midas Touch were the best non-hopped kits I ever made, but this doesn't seem in the same league. It's a nice enough dark ale but not great, I made an Extract Vanilla Porter just after this and it's far, far better. Will see how it goes, but at the moment I can't really recommend this kit - be interesting to see what other think?
