No, I've checked and I have not done any of the Muntons Kits (Although, virtually all the kits are actually made by Muntons).

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tribs

Unfortunately yes...some must be buying it. Also took me to that Camp stuff.

BTW, Camp comes in a strange 241 ml bottle. 241 ??? weird man...any ideas ?

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

I drank the first couple of bottles of Smugglers over the weekend, still very young and not fully clear yet but by far the best tasting, cracking stuff, much better than the Wherry IMO, proper creamy ale, smooth and caramely, absolutely delicious.

I was impressed by the Woodfordes kits but this is something else.

I did something different this time, I used Tesco Value bottled water, no fluoride or whatever else they send down the pipe. I cant prove this has improved the taste but the beer does come across cleaner and smoother. The water is only 4p for 2ltr so it only adds around 30p to the overall cost.

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Yep, Im still here.

Don't know if chemicals affect the taste too much. Blind tasters often get cheap, middle-priced, expensive bottled water & tap water completely wrong.
Why I filter my water is to rid tea and coffee of that awful scum.

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

I understand what you say but Im thinking more of the fermentation process, a cleaner, purer water could lead to a cleaner fermentaion resulting in less 'off' flavours, richer depth of flavour and lower yeast bite.

Its just a theory, I cant prove it.

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Yep, Im still here.

Indeed. Who can unravel the depths of yeast biochemistry, microbiology and alcohol production?
Some philosopher's stone might give some minerality.

P.S. There was a report on TV re a family farm traditional cider maker. They have been keeping samples of every brew to start later ones for over a hundred years.

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

There are Bakers who do the same thing, keep rare strains of yeast going for years.

Cider is one of the simplest homebrews to make, it can be done with cartons of bog-standard apple juice and a Demijohn. Experiment with a few flowers and natural flavourings/honey and you can end up with a nice, strong brew for pennies.

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Yep, Im still here.

Water chemistry is quite an important part of brewing.

Here is quite a good explanation of it.

With kit brews, the mash is already done, so it's more the yeast nutrients.

It could be both the water and better ingredients in the kit. I might give it a go while I'm off over christmas.

What type of tap water do you have GK?

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tribs

Im not sure, its not particularly hard but I cant say for sure. The kettle doesnt seem to clog up and the taps stay clear of scale build up so Im guessing it isnt too hard. We have a Britta at home and I mostly drink bottled at work.

This brew is only two weeks old from bottling/conditioning, I should have waited but curiosity got the better of me.

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Yep, Im still here.