Recent content by Mr_Shinkai

I figured it out; it's the yeast that was causing the high alcohol content. I've been using champagne yeast (Lalvin EC-1118), which is what originally came in my Mr. Beer cider kit. Using an ale strain is much milder. That stuff makes some awesome wine though!

Mine is mildly carbonated, just the way I wanted, and my fiance and I just opened a bottle and enjoyed it! I used Lalvin EC-1118 yeast (champagne), and it's not too dry, not too sweet. Nice and balanced champagne! Time for another glass!

Honestly, I got a Mr. Beer Kit for Christmas; it's a great way to get into brewing. From there, you can learn a lot just by hanging out on HomeBrewTalk and subscribing to forums that catch your eye. Mr. Beer is relatively inexpensive and easy to use.

Preach, preacher!

I'm not a big beer drinker, but I just got into homebrew myself, and so far, I've enjoyed making couple of ciders, and I even made a hard lemonade and I'm working on a red and a white champagne. No strike against your man card. :mug:

Good deal! I checked the instructions for my Mr. Beer kit today (I got the cider kit) it states to keep the fermenter in an area that's 73-81 degrees. I downloaded the Mr. Beer premium instructions, and it says 68-76. The foam board cooler idea sounds great! Thank for all the help!

It looks like I'm going to have to wait until next winter to start brewing ales; it's been a mild winter here in ATL. Then again, maybe I can just brew for 7 days instead of 14...

I've had my Mr. Beer for a couple of months now, and no matter where I put it, in 2 weeks, my brews are always approximately 10% alcohol. I originally had the fermenter in the "boiler room" (the room in my garage where the furnace & water heater are located), where temps range between 74-78...

I did mine in a Mr. Beer fermenter, and it was clear after 2 weeks. My house is usually 70-72 degrees.

My goal is to have a moderately carbonated wine... like a beer. I just wanted to make sure there was no issues, such as hazardous cap removal, bottle bombs, etc. Besides, I kind of like the idea of single-serving wine... and I already have glass beer bottles and crown caps.

Good to know! Thanks!

Thank you! I was afraid it was some type of safety issue. I'm thinking about doing some single-serve bottles for my wedding; I'd hate kill a few folks on the big night.

I'm pretty new to the entire homebrew scene, and I'm curious; is there a specific reason why wine and champagne are bottled with corks? Could I bottle them in 12 oz glass bottles with crown caps? I've only done a couple of batches of cider so far, but I'm interested in making wine as well.

I'd also like to get cranking on all 4 cylinders, literally. (My fiancé liked the look of the clear barrels, and wants to use them as drink dispensers at the wedding this summer, so I got 3 more last week. Until then, I'd like to put these to good use).

Anyone else have the Mr. Beer cider kit? I've had mine for about 6 weeks, and I've been here on HBT for about a month. My first batch turned out fairly dry, and I experimented with several types of sweeteners to back sweeten. The only ones that really turned out the way I truly hoped were...