Muntons Premium Gold
Top of the Muntons heap is the Premium Gold range, which they declare to be the “finest beer kits on the market today!” Well now, the first thing that goes through my head is “they would say that, wouldn’t they”. The ingredients and expertise going into these kits should be top notch, however I cannot attest to the superiority of these kits above other brands. There are some new kits coming onto the market at the moment that would certainly challenge Muntons claim.
The Premium Gold range all consist of two large 1.8kg cans of malted barley and hop mix. The rather blandly designed carry box contains a sachet of yeast and a publicity leaflet covered in flowery descriptions of the Premium Gold range. To tell the truth, I think some of the descriptions are a little nutty. In the case of Smuggler’s Premium Ale, they recommend keeping it a secret and well hidden! A strange form of promotion for the product.
Instructions for brewing are printed on the side of the box and are exactly the same for all three kits, which are supposed to turn out ales rated at 5%ABV. I say “supposed” because I, and many other home brewers, have noticed that these kits frequently stick at 1020. I haven’t on any occasion achieved the promised 5%ABV from any of these kits. My experience is anything between 3.6% and 4.5% when I was lucky. But to be fair, they do taste pretty good.