Muntons Belgium brew confused

[Poppinjay]

Hi,

I have just bought this kit and the instructions are a little confusing

Do i take it you 1st ferment it, after 5 days or when FG comes down, syphon to second fermenter, add the malt and some trub, then when done you bottle as normal with the carb drops? Its adding the carb drops its not really clear on

Thanks for any help

 

[DavidDetroit]

Go by the FG reading with a hydrometer. Let it sit in the fermenter for a week and then check. The less checking done, the better.
Skip the secondary fermenter. It's not a useful action in the above recipe's case.
Bottle with the carb drops or ordinary table sugar (about a 1/2t for a 330ml bottle) and then cap.

 

[Poppinjay]

Cheers, so just leave out the malt it comes with

 

[Agentgonzo]

> (about a 1/2t for a 330ml bottle) and then cap.

And to clarify, this is "half a teaspoon per 300ml bottle", not "half a tonne per 330ml bottle"

 

[jof]

Is it this one?
https://www.muntons.com/home_brewing/belgian-style-ale/
Did you add both cans of malt, or did you start it with only 1 can.
(I'm a bit confused by what you said above)

 

[DavidDetroit]

1/2t

oh, my gosh. that's my personal abbreviation when I write recipes! Is there anyone who wouldn't understand "1/2t" in the context of the sentence?
Edit: I was wrong--not my personal abbreviation as it's listed in the dictionary as a symbol for teaspoon.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I read up on the kit (same as pictured above). All the available ingredients go in on brewing day except for sugar to prime the beers.
unless I'm looking at the wrong recipe. The can plus some added sugar makes up the wort. Fill with water to the correct level. When the temperature is right, add the yeast and cover.

 

[Clint]

I done that one. Chuck it all in on day one...except the carb stuff.

 

[Agentgonzo]

From internet instructions:

4. After five days when the gravity is below 1014, syphon the beer into a sterilised fermenting bin leaving behind the yeast sediment. Add the 500g of Spray malt Light and stir gently with a sterilised stirrer to mix the Spray malt into the beer. Using a sterilised cup or beaker, ‘scoop’ about half a cup full of the yeast ‘lees’ and pitch this into the beer and stir gently. Place the top on the fermenter and place in a warm room to keep the temperature between 20° and 24°C. Continue fermentation until the gravity remains constant below 1006. Then bottle or keg as normal.

 

[Poppinjay]

So, you do add carb drops on bottling? ( thats my thinking ) just on the spray malt it reads its a sugar alternative, so wasnt sure

 

[Poppinjay]

Is it this one?
https://www.muntons.com/home_brewing/belgian-style-ale/
Did you add both cans of malt, or did you start it with only 1 can.
(I'm a bit confused by what you said above)

Thats the one. Its just the spray malt on the packet says its a sugar alternative, so wasnt sure if to add a carb drop to each bottle when bottling

 

[DavidDetroit]

Yes, add the carb drop (or 1/2t of table sugar) to each bottle just before you cap it.

 

[Poppinjay]

Yes, add the carb drop (or 1/2t of table sugar) to each bottle just before you cap it.

Brilliant, thanks!

Time to get it going then

 

[HSD]

I made this as one of my first brews, I brewed as instructions and once it was down to 1.014 syphoned into 2nd FV having dissolved dme in a little of the wort first, adding couple of cups of the trub. Secondary fermentation took a couple of weeks. When I queried this with the brew shop owner he said it’s the Belgian yeast they use and this is the way to get a fuller depth of flavour, clean up any off ones. Carb drops just prior to capping. Nice pint worth keeping it really improved after 12 weeks or so.

 

[Poppinjay]

I made this as one of my first brews, I brewed as instructions and once it was down to 1.014 syphoned into 2nd FV having dissolved dme in a little of the wort first, adding couple of cups of the trub. Secondary fermentation took a couple of weeks. When I queried this with the brew shop owner he said it’s the Belgian yeast they use and this is the way to get a fuller depth of flavour, clean up any off ones. Carb drops just prior to capping. Nice pint worth keeping it really improved after 12 weeks or so.

Thanks for this

I know the instructions say to add the dme later, but would there be any harm adding at the start? I have a few fermenters, so no probs there, but is it a posibilty, or would it ruin the brew

 

[HSD]

It was one of my first kits so nervous not to mess things up followed advice and instructions, though to be honest you can’t go horribly wrong so long as everything’s sterile that touches the brew and temperature is steady & as recommended, from experience the second addition of dme and longer secondary ferment now makes sense to me. Enjoy it it’s a good pint!

 

[DavidDetroit]

No it won't ruin it.
Not pasteurizing ingredients before they go into the beer is dicey. I would skip the secondary too but not the amount of time waited.

 

[HSD]

You can go either way it will be fine. If it’s gone down to 1.014 the alcohol is there already so should ward off any nasties from adding dme, I was worried about adding dme and was also told it’s packaged in a sterile environment as it’s sugars. With this kit I think the double ferment is probably good for the Belgian saison yeast strain used, taking it off trub etc