santas winter warmer

[WombRaider]

Ive got a muntons kit "santas winter warmer" and i was wondering if anyone could tell me how it turned out for them.Also any tips or tweaks they used to get the most from this kit.

 

[BigYin]

That's the next kit I'm intending to brew up - with plenty of conditioning time ahead of the festive season

So, any hints, tips, recommendations? :hmm:

 

[abeyptfc]

I was looking at starting a brew for xmas but not sure what one to do, is this one just a straightforward add sugar water and yeast and thats it or is it intended for the addition of hops and grains and stuff?
what does it taste like? i read its an ale but is it really dark and heavy for refreshing?
cheers
mark.

 

[BigYin]

I can't believe nobody on here has brewed this before :hmm: :hmm:

 

[BigYin]

I give up. I've ordered my kit. I'll brew it up and report back :thumb:

 

[abeyptfc]

i've went onto ebay and ordered a muntons (i think) 'dasher the flasher' kit, is it the same with normal kits? leave in FV for 2 weeks then bottle and leave for a few months?

 

[real ale rascal]

Sorry i missed this,
i haven't brewed this, but a friend has and he intended to do it again. So it can't be that bad i guess.
I want a good winter ale so if anyone know any?

real ale rascal

 

[aneray]

Never tried this kit, but if its a dark ale you could replace the sugar with equal quantities of spraymalt and short brew it to make it a little more of a winter warmer :whistle: .

Cheers Neil

 

[BigYin]

i've went onto ebay and ordered a muntons (i think) 'dasher the flasher' kit, is it the same with normal kits? leave in FV for 2 weeks then bottle and leave for a few months?

It's a Milestone kit :thumb:

It describes it as : A rich, red, smooth creamy ale full of Christmas cheer!

3kg Pack
No sugar required
Brews 40 pints
Approx ABV – 4.5%


Sounds alright :drink:

 

[BigYin]

Never tried this kit, but if its a dark ale you could replace the sugar with equal quantities of spraymalt and short brew it to make it a little more of a winter warmer :whistle: .

Cheers Neil

I think it should be one of those two tin kits that don't need any sugar :hmm:

 

[BigYin]

I want a good winter ale so if anyone know any?

real ale rascal

how's about Munton's Santa's Winter Warmer, or at a push, Milestone's Dasher the Flasher : :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[real ale rascal]

I'd thought about the Munton's Santa's winter warmer, which my mate (who also does homebrewing) did last year so i wanted to do something different.
I might try the Milestones Dasher the flasher, are there any other christmas ales around?

Cheers

Real Ale Rascal

 

[philip5660]

I give up. I've ordered my kit. I'll brew it up and report back :thumb:

Any feedback on this yet? I've ordered myself one too, hopefully it will be drinkable for xmas....

 

[BigYin]

Well, it didn't ferment particularly well. It stalled at 1020, and didn't shift despite stirring and even pitching a fresh batch of S04 yeast into it.

Eventually bottled it after 21 days in the FV - sample I tried on bottling days tasted nice though.

Haven't sampled a conditioned bottle yet - only bottled it 3 weeks ago - have plenty of other beers to drink and I suspect the Santa beer will benefit from a good long period of bottle conditioning :hmm:

 

[abeyptfc]

my dasher the flasher kit has been bottled for a good few weeks now, tried a bottle or 3 already and im impressed with it, im not a big ale drinker really but this kit is really good. really good head when pouring, its smooth and tastes nice, all that you are looking for in a homebrew. I followed the instructions on the box, didn't add anything else like extra sugar. I would have went on and bought another milestone kit to try, maybe old home wrecker but ive still got a coopers draught in the FV and a cerveza and lager to brew next...

gd luck with ur xmas brews guys, I'd give the dasher the flasher a mighty :thumb:

 

[philip5660]

Well, it didn't ferment particularly well. It stalled at 1020, and didn't shift despite stirring and even pitching a fresh batch of S04 yeast into it.

Eventually bottled it after 21 days in the FV - sample I tried on bottling days tasted nice though.

Haven't sampled a conditioned bottle yet - only bottled it 3 weeks ago - have plenty of other beers to drink and I suspect the Santa beer will benefit from a good long period of bottle conditioning :hmm:

Fair enough, I think I've read about others having these issues. So what temp did you brew at? Do u use a heater?

 

[Kyral210]

Not only have I brewed this, I drank a bottle of it about an hour ago.

My Thoughts:
Too sweet and a little lifeless.

It did finish at 1.014, that is after 4 or 5 weeks in the FV. It kind of got stuck around 1.019. I am really glad I gave it that extra time since if 1.014 is too sweet what would 1.019 be!! I guess the too sweet may be to my taste. But yeah, mine came out nice and smooth and not bad after weeks. Dont try it after 2, its just wasting beer. Im hoping the sweet notes calm down and the hoppy notes increase with time (by Christmas). In the last 3 weeks magic has happened, so lets see what happens in the next 3 weeks.

But it is a good beer. 5.8% in the bottle, red colour, smooth, tasty, sweet, slightly spicy notes coming through.

Tips on Brewing:
Very good brewing techniques and clenliness, bottle with DME or LME to ensure the beer is reinheitsgebot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinheitsgebot); we dont like sugar in our brew.

Would I brew again?
I don't think so. I think I would try a Beers of the World (brupacs) beer kit with 3 months maturing period. I guess you just about have enough time for this year. I am happy enough with my Muntons, and very happy it is reinheitsgebot, but next year I am upping my game.


P.S - Maybe my wort wasn't fresh enough, having said that I had no 'tang' in my brew...

 

[BigYin]

Well, it didn't ferment particularly well. It stalled at 1020, and didn't shift despite stirring and even pitching a fresh batch of S04 yeast into it.

Eventually bottled it after 21 days in the FV - sample I tried on bottling days tasted nice though.

Haven't sampled a conditioned bottle yet - only bottled it 3 weeks ago - have plenty of other beers to drink and I suspect the Santa beer will benefit from a good long period of bottle conditioning :hmm:

Fair enough, I think I've read about others having these issues. So what temp did you brew at? Do u use a heater?

I have an aquarium type heater in the FV, it was set to just under 20c, and it stayed fairly constant at that.

 

[Virgilartois]

I started my SWW kit on the 8th of November (a bit late) but so far it's bubbling merrily away in the FV. I have a brew belt around it and I'm hoping mine won't get stuck. I'll post back with my results when the beer's ready (probably a few weeks before though, knowing me).

 

[philip5660]

just pitched my yeast on this bad boy too - set the thermostat to 20 degrees - so lets see what happens!