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Well we shall see. Went with the same recipe I had used for my Black Butte clone except replaced the extract with their Golden Ale kit. Only did a 30 min boil vs 90 as I doubt more time would make a difference then added the Golden Ale and quick chill. Didn't add any hops which may be a good thing as the ale extract smelled pretty hoppy. Went ahead with their yeast, no telling what it is. It's pretty dark but to be expected with the chocolate malts seeped in.

So basically Golden Ale kit in place of Light Malt Syrup and hops (Galena, Cascade and Tettnang) and short boil.

Beer machine mix calls for chilling after 3-4 days, it's one week out so I figured it was time to bottle. Took a sample and gravity was at 1.030, not good. Taste test was not to bad, certainly had the darker grains coming through, hops were weak but on the flat side with nothing happening in the mouth. Opened the top and it's got a full head of thick kraussen so I sealed it up and put it away. Will give it another week before testing but it's got a long way to go to get that gravity down.

Lesson learned though, never get everything ready to bottle before making sure the beer is ready. I had everything out, cleaned and ready to go, what a waste of time.
 
bpgreen said:
What temperature were the bottles stored at after bottling? What yeast did you use?

Bottles are stored at about 68. The fermometer is yellow. Not green so it's a little low I figured. Used the yeast that came with it
 
If 2 gallons makes about 22 bottles, 1/2 teaspoon is about right isn't it? I am ready to bottle my next batch (Oktoberfest) so I want to get this figured out soon. Should I just go 1 teaspoon and hope for no bombs?
Also, is the 2 teaspoons for the liter bottles good? Or should I go 2 1/2?

There might be some disagreement, but I've read that it's best to boil sugar in water for 5 - 10 minutes, and then bulk prime. That kills any bacteria that might be in the sugar. I once tried re-priming some bottles that had gone flat due to bad caps leaking by. Used 1/2 teaspoon of dry sugar per bottle. Some of these went bad - very sour. I'm a believer in boiling the sugar-water for priming.
 
There might be some disagreement, but I've read that it's best to boil sugar in water for 5 - 10 minutes, and then bulk prime. That kills any bacteria that might be in the sugar. I once tried re-priming some bottles that had gone flat due to bad caps leaking by. Used 1/2 teaspoon of dry sugar per bottle. Some of these went bad - very sour. I'm a believer in boiling the sugar-water for priming.

I'm not sure, but boiling sugar for 5-10 minutes sounds to me like a recipe for making candy.
 
bpgreen said:
I'm not sure, but boiling sugar for 5-10 minutes sounds to me like a recipe for making candy.

I don't currently have the equipment to do this so I need to prime each. Will try 3/4 teaspoons for next. How can I tell if the caps are leaking?
 
I don't currently have the equipment to do this so I need to prime each. Will try 3/4 teaspoons for next. How can I tell if the caps are leaking?

If you are using the PET bottles, give them a squeeze. If they are leaking you should be able to hear air releasing and being sucked back in. If the bottles get rock hard, the yeastie beasties are doing their job and the seal is holding.
 
BrewinHooligan said:
If you are using the PET bottles, give them a squeeze. If they are leaking you should be able to hear air releasing and being sucked back in. If the bottles get rock hard, the yeastie beasties are doing their job and the seal is holding.

I'm using 12oz Sam Adams bottles
 
JBDive said:
ok so I'm not going to go through over 100 pages to find this so excuse me up front.

Somewhere I read that you will get a much better beer out of the kit beer packs if you don't do as instructed and just toss the dry kit, yeast and water but go ahead and boil as you would with a normal DME/Mash recipe. Yes, no? If yes do you have a preferred boil time?

Like some others that have posted I'm just starting out although I stopped using the prepacked kits that came with this thing after the first batch of basically dullwiser. I'm about to bottle my Black Butte clone and have several more kits and thought I would go ahead and give it another shot vs. wasting them. Was hoping to bottle tomorrow but looks like I'm still fermenting after 3 weeks and I've keep the temp near perfect the entire time. Other than not drinking more than a few bottles a week so not needing 50 bottles or more taking up space aging the Mr. Beer and clones will fit inside a large cooler allowing you to really keep that temp where you want it no matter if the wife turns up the hear because she is cold plus if you have leakage it's contained.

Don't boil the canned liquid malt. It is already hopped, so boiling it will make the beer more bitter than you probably want.

Here's an easy way to get good (not great, not epic- but certainly drinkable) results from a Mr Beer canned kit: get a pound of light dry malt extract and boil it in about two quarts of water for ten minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the canned kit and, if you want, so hops of your choice for flavor. Cool to room temp. Add to the keg, top off with bottled water. Aerate with sanitized whisk. The yeast supplied comes from Coopers and is decent for many styles. There is nothing wrong with it, but depending on which kit you are making, you can always sub out for a different yeast of your choosing. Ferment for 2-3 weeks, bottle and carb for 2-3 weeks, then let it condition for another 2-3 weeks.
 
I don't currently have the equipment to do this so I need to prime each. Will try 3/4 teaspoons for next. How can I tell if the caps are leaking?

You could put some Saran wrap over the cap and tie off down the neck a little, like under the lip, with a rubber band. If gas is leaking from the caps it should inflate the Saran wrap a bit.

Also, the priming sugar measure that they sell on the Mr. Beer site is pretty inexpensive and makes things really easy if you're priming each bottle individually. Although, to be honest, I'd say you're better off, in the long run, getting/making/allocating a proper bottling bucket and batch priming. Saves time and increases consistency of carbonation.
 
You could put some Saran wrap over the cap and tie off down the neck a little, like under the lip, with a rubber band. If gas is leaking from the caps it should inflate the Saran wrap a bit.

Also, the priming sugar measure that they sell on the Mr. Beer site is pretty inexpensive and makes things really easy if you're priming each bottle individually. Although, to be honest, I'd say you're better off, in the long run, getting/making/allocating a proper bottling bucket and batch priming. Saves time and increases consistency of carbonation.

Think I spent $35 on a bucket, spring loaded bottle filler, tubing and siphon. The difference in amount of gunk making it into the bottle as well as the time spent filling the bottles made it a well spent $35.

Bottle filling now takes maybe 20 mins and that's mainly because your having to move the bottles around by yourself. Even with 22-28 bottles (TBM or MB) it's time well saved and a lot less messy.
 
I want to have some experience on how to make or what is the process for making a beer. Actually, this might sound interesting but, I want more information or any process to make this easy. Will you please give some thought?
 
skidoo2003 said:
12oz bottles.
So what can I do? Open them and add more sugar or drink them flat? I also have four of them in the plastic liter bottles. I can see how those have carbed. I used 2 teaspoons on those. Am I too low on the priming sugar?

I opened the PET bottle and got a little carb sound but when I poured the beer it is flat. :( 0-2 on mr beer. Lets hope the next one goes well.

Do you need more or less corn sugar that table sugar?
 
I opened the PET bottle and got a little carb sound but when I poured the beer it is flat. :( 0-2 on mr beer. Lets hope the next one goes well.

Do you need more or less corn sugar that table sugar?

Corn sugar is less fermentable than table sugar, so you need a little more corn sugar.
 
I want to have some experience on how to make or what is the process for making a beer. Actually, this might sound interesting but, I want more information or any process to make this easy. Will you please give some thought?

That's a pretty open-ended question. Do you have any brewing equipment or ingredients or are you asking how to do it from the very beginning?
 
Right now I have a Wittbier (my last Mr Beer kit of three) in primary fermentation since Sunday for which I brieflly boiled some Northern Brewer (I just threw it in without caring about measuring) and added a bit of honey.

I plan to dry hop with more Northern Brewer or another hop variety I have sitting around and adding oak chips as well....the question is about the oak chips. When I bought them, they recommended soaking it in a neutral spirit like Vodka,...I was wondering if soaking them in say Southern Comfort or a dark rum would overpower the beer I am brewing.

I'm looking for a new experience and don't care if it does not necessarily taste as the style normally does.
 
You've got a lot going on there, really.

A witbier typically has a citrus aroma and taste from orange and corriander and you've already added NB hops which are more piney/minty in flavor to it.

Then, you've got some honey which will bump the ABV a bit and dry out the beer - ok.

And you want to add oak chips AND some spirits to it?
 
You've got a lot going on there, really.

A witbier typically has a citrus aroma and taste from orange and corriander and you've already added NB hops which are more piney/minty in flavor to it.

Then, you've got some honey which will bump the ABV a bit and dry out the beer - ok.

And you want to add oak chips AND some spirits to it?

Clearly somebody that is tired of Bud Light ;)
 
Reading back my response it can be taken as poking fun of the poster, sorry. Not my intention. Just wanted to point out that you DO have a lot going on in there ;)
 
You've got a lot going on there, really.

A witbier typically has a citrus aroma and taste from orange and corriander and you've already added NB hops which are more piney/minty in flavor to it.

Then, you've got some honey which will bump the ABV a bit and dry out the beer - ok.

And you want to add oak chips AND some spirits to it?

I'm trying to just have a beer that will wow my taste buds with complexity since it won't have much body (I did not add enough honey to really change the ABV equation much) and if it does not work out well, it's just a stage on my homebrewing experience. I've already learned what to do better just from the prep on this brew.

I was going to just use coriander and dried orange peel, but lost the orange peel in the year since I bought it.

Edit: So I was able to use the vodka after-all and whole leaf (though their condition was poor due to shipping) Centennial as well....enough to make it a weak white IPA I think, which I wanted to do since a couple weeks ago today when I had my first at a bar....guess my subconscious was pretty clear on what it wanted me to brew.
 
So newbie here going with Mr. Beer, my wife had three LBK's so we did two batches. One is the Hefeweizen and the other Dark Forest stout. After reading through alot of this thread this is what I gather, please lmk if Im on the right path here:

1. Let fermenting go for atleast 14 days, In my closet at 70-72 deg.
2. Bottle condition for 3 weeks, same closet 70-72deg. Im bottling with New Belgium bottles.
3. Place in fridge for 3-7 days before opening.

That's what I've gathered so far.
 
So newbie here going with Mr. Beer, my wife had three LBK's so we did two batches. One is the Hefeweizen and the other Dark Forest stout. After reading through alot of this thread this is what I gather, please lmk if Im on the right path here:

1. Let fermenting go for atleast 14 days, In my closet at 70-72 deg.
2. Bottle condition for 3 weeks, same closet 70-72deg. Im bottling with New Belgium bottles.
3. Place in fridge for 3-7 days before opening.

That's what I've gathered so far.


If the air temperature is 70-72, your fermentation temperature is going to be about 75-80 during the most active portion of fermentation. I think the Mr beer yeast is more forgiving of night temperatures than many other yeast strains, but I'd ferment a little cooler if possible.
 
If the air temperature is 70-72, your fermentation temperature is going to be about 75-80 during the most active portion of fermentation. I think the Mr beer yeast is more forgiving of night temperatures than many other yeast strains, but I'd ferment a little cooler if possible.

I can move it downstairs where ambient temp is 60-62deg, so that would be what around 65-70deg during peak fermentation. Would that b better? Should I bottle condition downstairs too or is that to cold?
 
I can move it downstairs where ambient temp is 60-62deg, so that would be what around 65-70deg during peak fermentation. Would that b better? Should I bottle condition downstairs too or is that to cold?

If those were my choices, I'd brew downstairs. It might take a little longer at the cooler temperature, but you'll get a cleaner fermentation. If you don't mind the esters, you can brew upstairs. I actually ferment in a spot that's around 56-58, but I use Nottingham, which does well at lower temperatures.

You can bottle condition in either place. If you keep them downstairs, I'd wait at least 4 weeks before refrigerating.
 
If those were my choices, I'd brew downstairs. It might take a little longer at the cooler temperature, but you'll get a cleaner fermentation. If you don't mind the esters, you can brew upstairs. I actually ferment in a spot that's around 56-58, but I use Nottingham, which does well at lower temperatures.

You can bottle condition in either place. If you keep them downstairs, I'd wait at least 4 weeks before refrigerating.

Thanks for the advice. I'll move the LBK's downstairs but Ill bottle condition upstairs.
 
Just bought some hops and want to attempt to make a ultra hoppy ipa.

I ordered the diablo recipe and also picked up four different kids of hops.

What should I add?

I have 1 oz of the following.
Liberty
Glacier
Palisade
Fuggle.

What say y'all?
 
Of those options, I'd go with Fuggle. None of them are ideal for an American-style IPA, but Fuggle is an option for a British-style one.

I have to disagree, Palisade or Glacier are the closest for an American IPA. I'd suggest Palisade. You're right that Fuggle would work for an English style IPA, and Liberty is closer to a german style hop.
 
I have to disagree, Palisade or Glacier are the closest for an American IPA. I'd suggest Palisade. You're right that Fuggle would work for an English style IPA, and Liberty is closer to a german style hop.

I was under the impression that Palisade and Glacier were both Tettanger-ish varieties. Forgive me if I was mistaken.
 
Ok so I'll try glacier.

Next question.
Do I make the wort with the HME, then let set for a week in the mr beer fermenter, then add the pellet hops for a week?
Or add them when I add the wort to the fermenter?

Also, with pellet hops, should I use a muslin sack to avoid more gunk floating around?
 
If you are looking to make an IPA with bitterness, you need to boil the hops for ~60 minutes to get that out of them. Putting the hops in late (dry hopping) as you've mentioned is only going to get you aroma.

It's your choice on the bag. Some use one, some don't. There is no reason that you can't drop them in commando. They will eventually sink and you can help that with a cold crash.

Google "hop boil times" to get an idea of how long you need to boil hops for different results.

Do you have either DME or a soft pack of LME from Mr Beer as well? That is what you need to boil the hops in, not the HME.
 
The refill kit doesn't have it, but
I do take the extra step and add dry malt extract to water and boil prior to adding the HME and adding to the fermenter. So boil the sack of hops in the water with the malt extract for fifteen minutes then remove hopsack before adding HME and go to fermenter from there?

After I mix in the refrigerated water should I throw in the hop sack again?
 
If 15 minutes is what you want based on this, the DME and water boil sound sfine:

hop_utilization-500x282.jpg


Once you pull the hops at the end there is no reason to drop them back in.
 
Ok this maybe an odd question.

Instead of sugar, can I use organic agave nectar for carbonation when bottling?
 
Ok this maybe an odd question.

Instead of sugar, can I use organic agave nectar for carbonation when bottling?

You CAN, but that doesn't mean you SHOULD.

If you use something like organic agave nectar, how much would you use? You'd need to figure out how much sugar it has, and of that, how much is fermentable, then convert that to figure out how much to use for each bottle.

Also, if you're thinking it would add something special, I think you'll be disappointed. The amounts used for priming are so small that they don't do much to affect the flavor. The time to add things to affect flavor is when you're making the wort and fermenting the beer.
 
Not thinking anything special. Just have a bunch and can use it. I always end up with sugar sludge on the bottom of my bottles. Figure this may dilute easier?
 
Not thinking anything special. Just have a bunch and can use it. I always end up with sugar sludge on the bottom of my bottles. Figure this may dilute easier?

That isn't just sugar sludge you are seeing. It's sediment, a mixture of yeast, proteins, and hop particles. You will see it no matter what you prime with. Unless you pasteurize and filter your beer and force carb you will see sediment.
 
Not thinking anything special. Just have a bunch and can use it. I always end up with sugar sludge on the bottom of my bottles. Figure this may dilute easier?

What you see on the bottom of the bottles is not sugar sludge, it's trub. That's a by-product of the mini-fermentation that takes place when the yeast consume the sugar added to produce the carbonation and yeast that were in suspension and have settled out over time. It doesn't matter whether you use white sugar, honey, agave nectar or some other form of sugar, you're going to end up with a layer of trub on the bottom.

The only way to avoid that layer is to filter and force carbonate. I keg most of my batches and I force carbonate when I keg. Sometimes I bottle from the keg using a Blichmann beer gun. Since I don't filter, I still get a thin layer of trub.
 
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