Muntons, Smugglers Special Premium Ale Review

[marbro]

brewed this way back in october as a stock pile item ready for christmas,looking back at my notes it also stoped fermenting on day 7,so i repitched with a wilco yeast,i had brewed this in my heated fv at the correct temprature,i had trouble getting it to clear so added finings after 2 weeks in the fv,i left it for a couple of days before barrelling but it still was not clear ,looked more like gravy!.anyway i tried a sample after 3 weeks in the barrel and it was still cloudy but tasted just ok nothing special,at christmas the family came and we started on this beer,(as well as some others that i have been stockpiling) still, it was just ok! but now the beer is lovely and clear
forgot i barrelled this with 60grm sugar and it came out at 5.3%
be prepared to waite for this beer.i tried one last night and it was better than most beer ive had from my local.
thats 10 weeks before this beer has imho matured ready for drinking.
yes, i will do this again but probably ditch the supplied yeast..

How much more yeast did you add?

 

[Welsh123]

Just had a sneak taste after 2 weeks carbonating and am happy with the result.
It has cleared to crystal clear and had a quite heavy taste which I´m sure will mellow with time.
I will brew this again .
I used 2 x muntons carb drops per 500ml bottle and it has carbed up great.
KEEP ON BREWING

 

[marbro]

Mine has been fermenting for about 3 weeks now and I can't see anymore activity even after putting in extra yeast? When I took the sample to measure on the hydrometer kit it says not ready for bottling?

 

[Welsh123]

My Smugglers brewed down to a FG of 1014 after a month in the fermentor .
It did take time to get there and then I put it into a second fermentor for a couple of days to clear before bottling.

 

[marlon]

I'm drinking this tonight from a minikeg l brewed about 18 months ago...? Not quite as l remember it a year ago, but still worth drinking.
Best with a lemonade top in it

 

[Mobius]

My first brew, well not quite true, I used to dabble about 40 years ago.

To date -

Primary fermentation

Date - 26/06 1800hrs
Water - Bottled
Volume - 23l
Wort temp. - 32C (placed in bath to cool)
OG - 1052
Yeast Type - Kit
Pitch temp. - 23C
Additions - Nil
Fermentation temp. - 21C

Has been bubbling nicely since the 26th, now slowed to every 15s.

My plan is to 2x2x2 the batch, fingers crossed. I'll let you know how it goes.

PS, as a newbie, nice to meet you :-)

 

[neilb]

After reading reviews and write ups of this kit, I decided to try it. This is my 12th batch (all kits) and I can safely say this is the best beer I've brewed so far!
I brewed it to 24litres but added a sachet of my spare yeast in addition to kit's 6g sachet as I believe this kit gets stuck often. OG was 1.050 and I left it to ferment for 3 weeks. Temperature was kept at between 21 - 21°C.
FG was 1.006 so I bottled it with half a teaspoon of granulated sugar added to each 500ml bottle and left in the warm for 2 weeks. It was then moved outside to the garage. I tried the first bottle after 2 weeks and couldn't believe how good it was! Mouthfeel and all the lovely flavours were there, just amazing! I fully recommend this kit, well done Muntons!

 

[MagnusTS]

That looks lovely.
I've got this kit ready to do the brew after next.
I was hoping it might be a bit like St Austell Tribute. What do you think? Any similarity?
Good tip re the extra yeast to avoid stuck fermentation.

 

[neilb]

Yes I would say it's similar to Tribute but there's also a hint of Sharps Doombar in there aswell. Whatever the case, you won't be disappointed!

 

[Sandimas]

I'm amazed Muntons are still shipping this kit with a paltry 6g yeast sachet, it's been known to cause stuck ferments in their kits for years and they've increased it to 12g in other kits like Wherry. Best to get yourself a proper full packet of yeast if making this kit, it won't always stick at 1020 but is it worth the risk?

 

[neilb]

Yes, for a premium kit costing over £23 you'd thought that by now it would come with more than just 6g of yeast!