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Sundew is Here....

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Woodfordes and Muntons have finally released the Sundew Ale kit that has been created as a replacement for the withdrawn Great Eastern Ale.

We received our first batch on our delivery after the Bank Holiday weekend. I requisitioned one pack to put on as a taster, but as both of my fermenters were in use (making all grain brews of Hop Back Summer Lightning and a Ruddles County) my kit didn't go on until this weekend. It is described as a cross between a lager and a pale ale and my kit, which was made using bottled water, was a pale gold colour, with a rich sweet taste and low obvious bitterness.

It is currently fermenting quite happily at the moment and gravity (and thus original sweetness) is dropping rapidly, so I should be barrelling it this weekend and have it available as a taster at the beginning of June.

UPDATE: July 2012. When I tasted this from the barrel, it had an obvious, pronounced "floral" aftertaste which was abit overpowering in the early stages but which mellowed quite dramatically as the beer aged and matured. At the time I put it in the barrel, I also bottled half a dozen pints. When these were served chilled, the "floral" aftertaste was slightly suppressed and the beer was much more enjoyable.

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Comments

  1. Chris

    Hi, just brewing this for first time. What's the expected final gravity? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Most of the two can kits suggest a target finish gravity of around 1014 provided you haven't added any more fermentable material to the base mixture. I've not stocked the Sundew for about 4 years so if its a kit you previously purchased from me, then you'll probably need to replace the yeast or accept that you may not hit the target stated on the side of the box. In any case, the FG is a target, not a hard and fast "definite", so if you get close (and it stays stable for two consecutive days) you are probably better off bottling or barrelling the beer and reducing the priming sugar slightly rather than leaving it sitting on the yeast cake in the primary fermenter for longer in the hope that it will drop the extra few gravity points. There are details in our FAQ section about how to decide how much priming sugar to use in these circumstances.

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  2. Dave Oliver

    Put this kit up on 20th May. Turned out very nice.Light summer ale almost the colour of lager. Rate almost as high as the Wherry kits. will be down next weekend to stock up on Woodfordes kits see you then. :)

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    Glad you liked it Dave. I thought it had an almost floral/citrus taste which mellowed if left for 4-6 weeks or was drunk chilled from the fridge just like a lager.

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  3. Colin

    Good stuff, I've tried the Woodfordes Wherry in a pub and wasn't too impressed but am tempted to try another of their kits instead.

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  4. Colin

    Looking forward to tasting it when it's ready!

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    Hi Colin, Three days in and the gravity has dropped to 1020, so it looks as though I am on target for barrelling this weekend and having it available as a taster just after the long bank holiday at the beginning of June.

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