Superior Strong Ale from Midwest -- Muntons Yeast?

Hi All,

First of all, I am a newbie brewer.

I purchased the Superior Strong Ale kit from Midwest, which came with the basic Munton's Yeast. I did the boil and pitched it on Saturday before reading here about the issues with this yeast and never hitting final gravity.

I also forgot to take an original hydrometer reading. The question is, what should I do now? Should I purchase another yeast packet from Midwest and then re-pitch? The main thing is that I would prefer to see the beer get close to 7% ABV, and I don't want any exploding bottles.

Thanks for any help in advance.

Yah, I hate to say it, but I think it is unlikely you'll get down to your target gravity with that yeast. Munton's website specifies that their basic yeast (as opposed to their premium gold, or whatever it is called) is not suitable for all-malt fermentation, let alone for relatively high gravity brews such as yours. My first batch was from a Midwest kit, and I did some research when it stalled out around 1.020. For dry yeast, I would recommend Fermentis US-05 for a brew such as yours; just rehydrate with boiled, cooled water and pitch. As long as you let it ferment out completely (i.e. same FG reading after 3 days, and give it a few weeks to get there), you shouldn't have to worry about exploding bottles on account of added yeast. Also, as long as your volumes were about right, you shouldn't have to worry about forgetting to do the OG reading, because with extracts the OG is extremely predictable.

Thanks for the response... I will order some Fermentis US-05 tonight and pitch when it gets here.

artguy said:

For dry yeast, I would recommend Fermentis US-05 for a brew such as yours; just rehydrate with boiled, cooled water and pitch.

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Safale S-04 is also a very good strain for a strong ale