Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

431brew said:

mmc.... out of the book; not sure how accurate:
1.21 lb can MRB LME (hopped or unhopped) = 2.3% abv
2 cups booster= 1.4% abv
1.5 cups white or brown cane sugar= 1.5% abv
1 cup honey or molasses= 0.9% abv
1 cup real maple syrup= 0.7% abv
15 ounce can fruit in syrup= 1.0% abv

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Thanks...that's exactly what I was looking for.

mmc

yeah, mr beer is awesome; look what i just read on their website

America's #1 selling Home Brewing System -- Mr.Beer® has taken the science out of brewing a great tasting beer at home!

Good thing we got that pesky science out of making brew at home

I've graduated from Mr. Beer to 5 gallon extract batches. I had terrible luck with Mr. Beer in the past. It was probably mostly due to using table sugar as priming sugar - per the Mr. Beer instuctions and me not knowing any better (prior to joining here).

Revvy was a huge help to me when I needed answers to questions about using up the remaining ingredients. He took the time to tell me how HE would do it and pointed out the mis-information that Mr. Beer's instructions feed you.

Well, I just made a Hill Town Honey Wheat from the remaining ingredients and bottled it last night (brewed on Feb 23rd) and took a sample. WOW, I'm not going to lie, it tastes GREAT. Even without carbonation.

I had my doubts since I made a lot of vinegar and cider from failed Mr. Beer recipes in the last year. Well if they would have tasted like THIS I would have been brewing a lot more. Again, without the help of people like Revvy and Yooperbrew I don't know where I would be.

This hobby rocks! Thanks Revvy, Yooperbrew, and all those who helped.

BTW - I also tasted my first 5 gallon extract batch - an IPA - INCREDIBLE! I can't believe how good it is.

I am on my last MRB recipe myself, and tweaked the last one using info that I got here. I have been acquiring equipment along the way to make the transition to 5 gal brewing. I am doing this not because of the MRB quality or taste, but because I want more involvement, a greater challenge, and, most importantly, MORE beer without buying two kits. MRB is not economical when you have to have the kits shipped to you.

MRB got me started and, to be honest, the three batches that I have made tasted pretty good. You cannot follow the directions word for word and drink the beer in two weeks. (Well, I guess you can, but they taste better with age as will any beer.) I do not taste a difference in the beer I carbed with cane sugar versus corn sugar. The biggest taste difference is in the age of the beer and that is going to be true with MRB or our own 5 gal brew.

Hey Guys,

I got a Mr. Beer from my wife that she bought on sale at a local drug store for $7.50. It has been sitting around the house for a couple of weeks and I finally got around to making the first batch. I have had thoughts of home brewing for a while, mostly for economic reasons but also because I love the taste of the Belgian pilsners such as Palm or going into the southern Netherlands Dommelse Pils. But it was a Mr. Beer on sale that got me going.

Hopefully, with guidance from this forum, I can eventually learn to make something I will like. If it works out, I will be the envy of all my beer drinking buddies. Plus I already know that 8.5 quarts per month is not enough beer. I am assuming that it will take three weeks to a month to brew this batch.

riethoven said:

Hey Guys,

I got a Mr. Beer from my wife that she bought on sale at a local drug store for $7.50. It has been sitting around the house for a couple of weeks and I finally got around to making the first batch. I have had thoughts of home brewing for a while, mostly for economic reasons but also because I love the taste of the Belgian pilsners such as Palm or going into the southern Netherlands Dommelse Pils. But it was a Mr. Beer on sale that got me going.

Hopefully, with guidance from this forum, I can eventually learn to make something I will like. If it works out, I will be the envy of all my beer drinking buddies. Plus I already know that 8.5 quarts per month is not enough beer. I am assuming that it will take three weeks to a month to brew this batch.

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Welcome to the forum AND more importantly welcome to youe new obsess...er, I mean, Hobby!

Just toos out the instructions that came with the mr beer and read through some of the posts on here, and your beer will be fine...the fact that you realize that your beer won't be ready in 2 weeks, but more like 2 months, means that you got a good head 0n your shoulders!

6 weeks minimum is the length of time for a simple, basic, not to high of a gravity beer to be drinkable....It really rests on 2 factors, the style of the beer, and the fickleness of the process.....Beer is a living thing...it is the byproduct of the life cycle of yeasts eating sugar, pooping carbon dioxide and alchohol, and reproducing (to eat and poop more)...And we get to benefit from that life cycle...But since it is a living dynamic process, it has it's own agenda and timeframe......

Revvy said:

means that you got a good head 0n your shoulders!

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and will end up with a good one on your beer!

Starting new batch this week. (Bat.#2)This is an experiment, so I might need suggestion for this recipe, I have 1 can of MB Vienna lager, 1 can MB Mallow Amber UME both are 1.21 lbs cans and a 3.3 lb. can of Muntons Drk malt extract, and a package of nottingham yeast.. The lager and Munton has hops in them. so no grains or addtional hops will be used (This is a poor boy's recipe) What I have on hand.
I'll be fermenting in a 3 gal carboying using my Mr Beer keg for bottling. or would a 5 gal. carboy be better? and how much water should I use with this much extract? would this be a good 4 gal. batch? and will I need blow-out tube w/this much fermentables?

thanks always in advance,
Jeffery


Bat. #1 Irish Stout carb. & cond., Drinking a bottle a week to test
this is the 2nd week and bottles are more carbed than last week end & tastes better than last week.

Question....

I am preparing to start a new batch using a pre hopped standard Mr Beer refill. My wife likes "honey lemon" beer. Can I just add lemon juice and honey to the wort? Does it need to be cooked? Will it affect the ABV?

Any input is appreciated.

SimpleMan said:

Question....

I am preparing to start a new batch using a pre hopped standard Mr Beer refill. My wife likes "honey lemon" beer. Can I just add lemon juice and honey to the wort? Does it need to be cooked? Will it affect the ABV?

Any input is appreciated.

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Don't boil your honey. Nice warm water to dissolve is all you need. Honey will ferment a little slow, so be sure fermentation has stopped before you bottle. I would hold the lemon until bottling at very least, and maybe add it fresh to the glass.

Just add the honey directly to the cooled wort before pitching yeast? How much extra time do you think it will take to ferment?

Sorry for all the noob questions...but hey...I am a NOOB!

SimpleMan said:

Just add the honey directly to the cooled wort before pitching yeast? How much extra time do you think it will take to ferment?

Sorry for all the noob questions...but hey...I am a NOOB!

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There's no way to tell how long it will take...beer is alive and has it's own agenda. It will probably take 2-3 weeks to ferment out.

I wanted to brew muntons wheat lme (3.3) #'s
I thought it was pre-hopped.. I was wrong....
I really wanted to brew.. I would not have another chance for at least 2 weeks....
here's what I did... I used a west coast pale ale kit.... without the "booster".. I added the 3.3 #'s of Muntons wheat extract and split the wort between 2 mr beer kegs.
I used the Muntons yeist packet between the kegs in classic mr beer fashion (no starter)

I am hoping there is enough hop flavor in that 1.2#'s of "MR BEER" to balance t he wheat.... I'm more of a malty beer fan anyway. But I don't want to drink pure sugar. When should I take a hydrometer reading .. now?

OK; What do you think the odds of this thing tasting OK are?
thanks...
timg the idiot beginner fool / mr beer hacker

jllund62 said:

Starting new batch this week. (Bat.#2)This is an experiment, so I might need suggestion for this recipe, I have 1 can of MB Vienna lager, 1 can MB Mallow Amber UME both are 1.21 lbs cans and a 3.3 lb. can of Muntons Drk malt extract, and a package of nottingham yeast.. The lager and Munton has hops in them. so no grains or addtional hops will be used (This is a poor boy's recipe) What I have on hand.
I'll be fermenting in a 3 gal carboying using my Mr Beer keg for bottling. or would a 5 gal. carboy be better? and how much water should I use with this much extract? would this be a good 4 gal. batch? and will I need blow-out tube w/this much fermentables?

thanks always in advance,
Jeffery


Bat. #1 Irish Stout carb. & cond., Drinking a bottle a week to test
this is the 2nd week and bottles are more carbed than last week end & tastes better than last week.

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interested in your progress as I'm doing a similar experiment....
thanks much............
timg

I figured you guys would all think I'm crazy...
hehehe

Actually thanks to this site, when my wife bought me a mr. beer for christmas, I told her we needed to return it and then I got me a big boy brew kit instead.

THANKS HBT :thumbs up:

Actually I bought 2 more mr beer kegs... I have 2 kids awife and a busy job. I enjoy the fact that with a minimal time investment I can bottle / brew. I am now using 3rd party extracts and hops though..... as mr beer ingreedients are $$$$$


timg

timgman said:

Actually I bought 2 more mr beer kegs... I have 2 kids awife and a busy job. I enjoy the fact that with a minimal time investment I can bottle / brew. I am now using 3rd party extracts and hops though..... as mr beer ingreedients are $$$$$

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I have 2 Mr. Beer kegs as well. I also picked up a 5 gallon set up to make a batch of Apfelwein. I'm also supplementing my remaining Mr. Beer ingredients with 3rd party Malt Extract, Hops, Nottingham and White Labs yeast and I have to say it makes some very tasty brew.

I've got a 6 gallon Mr. Beer kit and a Whispering Wheat Weizenbier and Octoberfest Vienna Lager(boosters with both). I found this stuff while helping clear out my parents basement and my dad doesn't use it anymore. The cans I've got are for the 2 gallon kit. I'm not really sure if I should pick up maybe another of the whispering wheat and a can of their west coast pale ale to make a batch of honey wheat and then another can of the lager and some of their pale export UME to make some 2 Hellenbock(each batch would also use some pellet hops in a hop sack). I would really like to get the buckets but I really only have room for this right now and I figured if I could end up with 12 gallons of some good beer for around $40, that wouldn't be too bad. I had also thought about just getting rid of the Mr. Beer cans and picking up some Coopers but being able to see the recipe on the Mr. Beer site makes it much easier(and makes my mouth water a bit).

Hill Town Honey Wheat
Flavor: Balanced
Alc/Vol: 5.1%
SRM (Color): 7
IBU (Bitterness): 24


2 Hellenbock
Flavor: Hoppy
Alc/Vol: 6.4%
SRM (Color): 14
IBU (Bitterness): 13

To be completely honest, I drink anything from Pabst Blue Ribbon to the newest micro-brew the local beer joint(really a restaurant but I've only had a liquid diet in there) has on tap. Any ideas?

Check the bottom of your ingreedient cans for an expiration date.

How long are they usually good for? I want to say its been a good 2 years since he messed with any homebrew. Might just keep the boosters and throw them in for some cider. I think the Coopers might be the way to go(if I can come up with some sort of recipes). I'm also looking at some stuff on ebay. If it goes for a decent price, I'm looking at a blackberry wheat(they're putting a kit together using coopers, briess, and muntons).

I guess my main thing right now is wanting to focus on a wheat beer(we drink quite a bit of hoegaarden and leinenkugel's sunset wheat and summer shandy in the warmer months). What exactly would I need say if I went with a 6 gallon Munton's kit(probably try some fruit extracts to find the flavors we like) what else do I need? I'm looking at the homebrewit.com site. Says the 4 pounds of the Muntons Connoisseurs extract and either the 3 pound DME, the 3.3 pound UME, or the 3 pound Corn Sugar...says the yeast is included. Its really that simple?

After seeing the prices for the Munton's, I'd rather go that way and maybe need to pick up something else to run the batches in than spend the money to try to put the Mr. Beer recipes together since it would be cheaper.

Just finished brewing my new batch(#2)last Wednesday,
Dang it smelt good when I was brewing ! can't wait to try it .
Heres the recipe

1 can Octoberfet Vienna Lager
1 can Mellow Amber UME
1 cup of honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamin (ground)
1/8 tsp. cloves (ground)
and a dash of vanilla exract
looks to be about 5.5% abv.

Fermenting pretty much finished up this last weekend and clearing has already started. Going to keep it in the keg for another two weeks (3 weeks total in MRB Keg) Had to move it into my closet on the first night, from my shop, because
of a cold front that was comming in. Glad I did, got down below 25 degrees.
decided not to use a secondary, was advised that, I could leave it in the Fermenter for over a month if I didn't desturb it...
Afterwards I'll store the bottles 3 weeks @ 70 degrees to carb and condition, After that i will move them into my shop which stays in the mid 50 -60s for further clearing intil around mid or late May. Will keep you posted

thanks Revvy for your help and advice,

Jeffery


On Deck: Experiment
Brewing:Vienna Lager w/honey ,Cinnamin , cloves, and vanilla
Bottled and drinking: Irish Stout w/ chocolate- Smooth and Tasty

jllund62 said:

Just finished brewing my new batch(#2)last Wednesday,
Dang it smelt good when I was brewing ! can't wait to try it .
Heres the recipe

1 can Octoberfet Vienna Lager
1 can Mellow Amber UME
1 cup of honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamin (ground)
1/8 tsp. cloves (ground)
and a dash of vanilla exract
looks to be about 5.5% abv.

Fermenting pretty much finished up this last weekend and clearing has already started. Going to keep it in the keg for another two weeks (3 weeks total in MRB Keg) Had to move it into my closet on the first night, from my shop, because
of a cold front that was comming in. Glad I did, got down below 25 degrees.
decided not to use a secondary, was advised that, I could leave it in the Fermenter for over a month if I didn't desturb it...
Afterwards I'll store the bottles 3 weeks @ 70 degrees to carb and condition, After that i will move them into my shop which stays in the mid 50 -60s for further clearing intil around mid or late May. Will keep you posted

thanks Revvy for your help and advice,

Jeffery

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So you did it, eh? Looks good....

I'm sick of this weather, one minute it's in the 70's, the next it is below freezing...AH, Michigan in springtime!!!

Hi, I just got the Mr. Beer kit and was looking for tips (other than returning it) for my first shot. So far, I see time is a big plus. What can I add, subtract, multiply or whatever to make my first batch somewhat successful?

I got my MRB about a month + ago, & your correct about time on your side.
first thing you need to do is through out the instructions. the time to make there beer is way too fast.
second, join this forum, and use it. it has helped me make my first batch successful. Time wise, I brewed my beer and kept it in the keg for 2 weeks at 70 degrees, bottled and carb. 3 week at 70 degrees. and then i'm cool conditioning
at 50-60 degrees for 3-4 weeks to help with clearing. the longer you let the beer condition the better it will taste.

I'm just a n00b, and this is what has worked and is working for me.:rockin:

hope you have great success.
Jeffery

Danny Boy® said:

Hi, I just got the Mr. Beer kit and was looking for tips (other than returning it) for my first shot. So far, I see time is a big plus. What can I add, subtract, multiply or whatever to make my first batch somewhat successful?

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Toss out the directions and read this thread....

Don't add any sugar if the instructions say to (except to bottle, and read the suggestions about using a bottling bucket to mix it in.)

If the recipe calls for adding sugar add 1 pound of light dry malt extract instead.

Have fun!!!

Hey Revvy you said "If the recipe calls for adding sugar add 1 pound of light dry malt extract instead."

When the light dry malt extract used as, do you sub it as 1 pound light DME instead of 1 pound sugar? and will the %ABV be the same as sugar?
thanks,
Jeffery

jllund62 said:

Hey Revvy you said "If the recipe calls for adding sugar add 1 pound of light dry malt extract instead."

When the light dry malt extract used as, do you sub it as 1 pound light DME instead of 1 pound sugar? and will the %ABV be the same as sugar?
thanks,
Jeffery

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Use a 1 for 1 swap on the dme, they'll be close enough in terms of ABV...

If you dissolved a one-pound bag of DME in one gallon of water it the resulting gravity would be 1.044 SG (specific gravity), If you dissolve one pound of sugar in a gallon of water the sg is 1.046...So they're close.

The beer will taste better with the DME, using sugar to bulk up the abv, just leaves the beer seeming thin and cidery.

With this Mr. Beer kit, arent all the ingrediants included? Should I add the malt extract anyway?

Danny Boy® said:

With this Mr. Beer kit, arent all the ingrediants included? Should I add the malt extract anyway?

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No, all the ingredients aren't included, that is if you want to make GOOD beer....And that's what we're talking about here (at least I am ), liberating Mr Beer users from all the snide comments people make about the quality of the product...

usually they give you a pack labeled "booster" which is maltodextrine & dextrose which will boost the ABV but make the beer taste cidery and crappy, it's an additive to be cost effective instead of giving you enough malt for good body and flavor. Most crappy thin commercial beers use some form of it to keep the profit margin high, not caring about making quality beer...If you read this thread, you'll see that the best use of the booster pack is in your meads and appfelwein....

Replacing any adjuncts like that or sugar with dry malt extract will make for a superior product....Some people on this thread also add some hops for flavor and aroma, since the hopped extract with the mr beer won't really deliver the same hoppiness and freshness of other homebrews...

So I replace the booster with malt extract? Sounds good to me. Thanks.

When Adding fruit to your beer, when is the best time to do this?
1. when brewing the beer and/or pouring it in the keg when you finish your
brew?
2. let brew finish fermenting then put fruit in secondary and then tranfer brew over on top of fruit for a second fermentation? if this is the case I would need a BETTER yeast.

Here's the RECIPE : Atonement Beer
1 Can West Coast Pale Ale
1 Pouch Booster I would sub 1# of light DME
1 Packet Dry Brewing Yeast (under lid of beer mix)and sub.What type of yeast
would I use?
1 Can Boysenberries in Light Syrup

I would ferment in a 3 gal. carboy then with the secondaryfermentation w/fruit
on the bottom use a 5 gal. cabouy. (beause these are the ferment vessles I have on hand) I also have a 5 gal pale for primary. oh yea and my MRB keg

Any suggestions? THANKS in advance
Jeffery

jllund62 said:

I would ferment in a 3 gal. carboy then with the secondaryfermentation w/fruit on the bottom use a 5 gal. cabouy.
Jeffery

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That's what I'd do, the fruit in the secondary...

You may after a couple weeks, consider racking it into a tertiary (even back into the 3 gallon) for a couple more weeks to let the beer actually have a chance to clear. One of my AG friends does that for all of his fruit beers....

That's my preferred method as well. Fruit in primary tends to lose most of its fruity flavor, leaving the bitter components like chewing on rasberry seeds. When used in secondary, fermentation restarts but only at a very low level. The simplest sugars in the fruit ferment, but much of the flavor will remain. I've heard that leaving beer on fruit for long periods of time can release too much tannin causing astringent flavor, so I keep the time on fruit down to 1 - 2 weeks. Clearing is critical for fruit beer. You just have to wait till it's clear or it will taste obnoxiously fruity. Kinda like a horrible bastard child of wine and beer.

Danny Boy® said:

Hi, I just got the Mr. Beer kit and was looking for tips (other than returning it) for my first shot. So far, I see time is a big plus. What can I add, subtract, multiply or whatever to make my first batch somewhat successful?

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Only having made two Mr. Beer batches so far I can only impart the little bit of advice I’ve gathered so far from the notes I’ve taken thanks to the advice I've gotten here. Doing these few things have made my first two batches a success so hopefully it will help you too.



• Two main things, stay away from table sugar and the booster pack. It’s better to use a can of (UME) Unhopped Malt Extract instead and use Corn Sugar (Dextrose) for priming the bottles.

• You might want to get better yeast than the packet that comes with the kit but you can use it (I did for my first batch and it worked fine) but it might help if you re-hydrate before pitching.

• After you pour the wort into the keg stir it up good with a sanitized whisk to aerate the wort before pitching the yeast.

• When bottling don’t add dry priming sugar directly to the bottles, make a syrup by boiling the sugar in water and either add the syrup to the bottles or to the keg and gently stir.

• As mentioned before, ferment for at least two weeks, and let it condition in the bottle for a month for best results.




If anyone disagrees with anything I've said please feel free to correct my advice. I'm not quite the Mr. Beer master yet...

Best of luck with your brew.

Its done....now I just hurry up and wait....one thing though, I have the ultimate spot for fermentation...at work! Can I tranfer this in my car tomorrow morning? Or will it be disturbed?

Anyone? I leave soon! Arghhh!

Danny Boy® said:

Anyone? I leave soon! Arghhh!

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Sorry, for some reason this didn't come up on my User's CP or I would have answered....

I wouldn't move it once it's fermenting....The sloshing in transport could be a big oxidation risk....Plus that stupid top doesn't seal so it will make for a messy drive...
Brewing beer at work eh? :rockin:

FYI...

I noticed there's a sale on Mr Beer ingrient kits if anyone is interested, through the end of the month.

For a limited time Save up to 25% on these award-winning refills! These pre hopped all-malt beers taste terrific, and are even easier to brew then our standard brew packs! Offer ends Wednesday, April 30th.

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http://www.mrbeer.com/category-exec/category_id/9

FYI...

I noticed there's a sale on Mr Beer ingredient kits if anyone is interested, through the end of the month.

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I'd definitely check out Bed Bath & Beyond because I bought a 3-Pack Refill Kit for $14.99 on the Clearance Rack and they normally go for $35