Muntons Premium Beer Kit Brewing Instructions

Follow these instructions to brew your Muntons Premium beer kit. The standard recipe brews 40 UK pints (23 litres / 5 UK gallons). Special instructions for Barley Wine, Scottish Style Heavy Ale, and Old Ale are included below.

Muntons Premium Beer Kits

Equipment Required

A cleaned and sterilised fermenter and stirrer, large enough to hold 23 litres (5 UK gallons). See our Young's 25L Plastic Brew Bucket & Tap.
A syphon tube to transfer beer into bottles or a barrel.
Strong, reusable bottles or a pressure barrel — one-trip/non-reusable bottles are not suitable. See our 330ml Amber Glass Crown Cap Beer Bottles, Bottle Crown Caps (Pack of 100), and 25L Pressure Barrel with Pin Cap.
1kg Brewing Sugar (Dextrose/Glucose) — brewing sugar preferred.
A sterilising solution — we recommend VWP Cleaner Steriliser 400g or VWP Cleaner Steriliser 100g.
A Hydrometer (Wine & Beer) to confirm fermentation is complete.

Standard Brewing Instructions — 40 UK Pints

Sterilise your fermenter and stirrer.
Stand the can in hot water for 5 minutes to soften the contents. Then start boiling 3.5 litres (6 UK pints) of water.
Open the can and pour the contents into your cleaned and sterilised fermenter.
Add the boiling water to the fermenter.
Add 1kg (2.2lbs) of brewing sugar.
Thoroughly mix the contents to dissolve the sugar and malt extract.
Add 17.5 litres (31 UK pints) of cold water to bring the volume up to 23 litres (5 UK gallons). Stir and leave to stand until the temperature reaches 18–21°C (65–70°F).
Sprinkle the yeast supplied onto the surface of the beer — no need to stir.
Cover the fermenter, place in a warm area at 18–21°C (65–70°F), and leave to ferment.
Fermentation will be complete when bubbles cease to rise (usually after 4–6 days), or when your hydrometer gravity remains constant below 1008.
Syphon the beer into strong, reusable bottles or a pressure barrel, being careful not to disturb the yeast sediment.
Add half a teaspoon of sugar per pint to each bottle (or a maximum of 85g / 3oz per 5 UK gallon pressure barrel).
Cap and seal the bottles securely and stand in a warm place for two days.
Move the bottles or pressure barrel to a cool place for 14 days, or until the beer is clear, before drinking.

Special Instructions — Barley Wine

Follow the standard instructions above with these changes:

Step 2: Boil only 3 litres (5 UK pints) of water.
Step 7: Top up with cold tap water to just 13 litres (24 UK pints / 29 US pints). Stir and leave to stand until the temperature reaches 18–21°C (65–70°F).

Note: The Barley Wine kit makes just 13 litres (24 UK pints / 29 US pints) of beer. Follow the rest of the standard recipe to complete the brewing process.

Special Instructions — Scottish Style Heavy Ale

Follow the standard instructions above with this change:

Step 7: Top up with cold water to just 17 litres (30 UK pints / 36 US pints). Stir and leave to stand until the temperature reaches 18–21°C (65–70°F).

Note: The Scottish Style Heavy Ale kit makes just 17 litres (30 UK pints / 36 US pints) of beer. Follow the rest of the standard recipe to complete the brewing process.

Special Instructions — Old Ale

Clean and sterilise all equipment. Stand the can in hot water for 5 minutes. Pour the can contents into the sterilised fermenter.
Fill the empty can with boiling water and add to the malt extract in the fermenter — take care, the water will be hot! Add a further 4 cans of cold water, then thoroughly mix to make sure all contents are fully dissolved.
Stir in the yeast, cover the fermenter, and leave to stand for 6 days in a warm place (18–20°C / 65–70°F). Fermentation will be finished when bubbles cease to rise — or when your hydrometer gravity remains constant between 1018–1022.
Transfer the beer into bottles or a pressure barrel. Do not add priming sugar — fermentation will continue gently, which will condition the beer. Stand bottles or barrel in a warm place for two days, then leave for a minimum of four weeks in a cool place, or until the beer is clear.