Kicking off the Munton's Hand Crafted Oaked Ale

Having just cleaned up the gear after bottling the Woodforde's Wherry, it made sense to kick of the next brew right away. The final kit I got as a present at christmas was the most expensive, and the one I was looking forward to the most - Munton's Hand Crafted Oaked Ale. I'm easily sold...but the box looked smart, and everything gave the impression of quality, so I'm hoping it turns out well.

I ran the hot tap over the two large tins while waiting for the kettle to boil. I poured the hot water over the mixing spoon and the tins, then put the kettle back on while I opened the tins and poured them in. I filed the tins twice each from 2 more boiled  kettles to get the remains out of them, and get the right amount of hot water. this time I went for 3 full kettles up front.

Once it was mixed I took it to the brewing room and chucked in the remaining litres of cold water. Just before it reached the 23 litre level I measured the temperature and found it at about 22. I boiled the kettle to up it a bit, and added the final kettle and some cold. 

I measured the gravity and was surprised to find the gravity up at around 1046, rather than the 1040 of my previous beers. Its hard to imagine I did anything wrong given I added the right amount of water, and there was no need to add sugar, It does suggest the beer might get to 5%, so maybe thats it.

After pouring in the sachet of yeast, time for anotehr first - pouring in the sacket of oak wood chippings. I guess they will just float on the top and hopefully add a little depth to the beer. We shall see.

All done. now I just have to wait and see if the Stout recovers, the Wherry matures well, and if we can get this new beer down to final gravity before the hordes descend on the house at half term.