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I started on Mr Beer and the residual amount of sugar that will stick to the funnel is not gonna have an effect on your final carb. Relax and remember we have the most enjoyable and fun hobby ever!
 
Two Mr. Beer kits $15 clearance at Ralphs. Got them for the small batch fermenters.

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I bought a 3 gallon carboy and I always secondary my mr beer for a week. I go one week fern. One week secondary and bottle a week. Fridge for a day lol
 
I bought a 3 gallon carboy and I always secondary my mr beer for a week. I go one week fern. One week secondary and bottle a week. Fridge for a day lol

If I could offer a word of advice...give it 3 weeks in the fermenter (really no need for a secondary), 3 weeks in the bootle, and a few days in the fridge and you'll get noticeably better beer:mug:
 
So it has been 15 days now, and I tested the FG yesterday. It read between 1.000 and 1.010. That's about where it should be right? Problem is, it tastes sweet still.

Its the MRB Mexican Cerveza recipe.

It sat in a closet in the dark for the first week and a half, at a constant (room temp) of about 70.

Then, we had a heat wave where I live, and it got up to 78, so I put it in the bathtub with some frozen 2-liter bottles. This took it way too low, down to 49 degrees (water around the LBK). I took it out 3 days ago so that the trub could settle (the temp has normalized again at about 70 degrees).

I'm concerned that it is still pretty sweet.

What should I do? Should I leave it in there for a few more days, or bottle it?
 
So it has been 15 days now, and I tested the FG yesterday. It read between 1.000 and 1.010. That's about where it should be right? Problem is, it tastes sweet still.

Its the MRB Mexican Cerveza recipe.

It sat in a closet in the dark for the first week and a half, at a constant (room temp) of about 70.

Then, we had a heat wave where I live, and it got up to 78, so I put it in the bathtub with some frozen 2-liter bottles. This took it way too low, down to 49 degrees (water around the LBK). I took it out 3 days ago so that the trub could settle (the temp has normalized again at about 70 degrees).

I'm concerned that it is still pretty sweet.

What should I do? Should I leave it in there for a few more days, or bottle it?
It could be that this particular beer is just sweeter than your expecting.

What was the OG? And what was the gravity when you checked it a few days ago? Between 1.0 and 1.010 is a pretty big range.
 
I hear you. First batch just bottled; 8 33.5 oz (1 liter) bottles. Question - I filled the bottles to just above the base of the neck.. is that too much space for air? What might I be experiencing in 3 weeks?
 
I hear you. First batch just bottled; 8 33.5 oz (1 liter) bottles. Question - I filled the bottles to just above the base of the neck.. is that too much space for air? What might I be experiencing in 3 weeks?

Next time fill it close to the top, just like you see the commercial bottles but I dont think it will have a ill effect. In three weeks you will be experiencing delicious beer made by your hands!
 
I just bottled my first batch last week and was at odds of how much to fill. I did a couple of different levels and then actually stopped to go watch the Mr. Beer video to see where he was filling them and went back and filled them up more. I stopped a little above the line where the neck itself starts coning in and it ended up at that line after the bottling wand was pulled.
 
If you're using a bottling wand, fill it to the top, then you will have the perfect amount of headspace when you withdraw the bottling wand.
 
So it has been 15 days now, and I tested the FG yesterday. It read between 1.000 and 1.010. That's about where it should be right? Problem is, it tastes sweet still.

Its the MRB Mexican Cerveza recipe.

It sat in a closet in the dark for the first week and a half, at a constant (room temp) of about 70.

Then, we had a heat wave where I live, and it got up to 78, so I put it in the bathtub with some frozen 2-liter bottles. This took it way too low, down to 49 degrees (water around the LBK). I took it out 3 days ago so that the trub could settle (the temp has normalized again at about 70 degrees).

I'm concerned that it is still pretty sweet.

What should I do? Should I leave it in there for a few more days, or bottle it?

Last week I bottled a batch of Mexican Cerveza too. I think the recipe is just a wee bit sweet. I left mine in the keg for almost 5 weeks and it still tasted a bit sweet. I'd say give it another week and test FG to see if it moved at all, then bottle it.
 
Mr.B First batch, going into bottles today.

I plan on using my bottling bucket.

How much Corn Sugar should I boil into how much water for priming.

I read that for a 5 gallon batch you use 4-5oz of sugar, I think MRB is around 2 gallons, so how much sugar should I use?
 
I'm a inspiring beginner what brand brew kit would serve me best?

To be a truly inspiring beginner I think you might need to start with all-grain and temperature control and your first beer should be amazing.

But if you're an aspiring beginner, there are plenty of great kits out there. Mr. Beer works well if you're looking for something quick and easy to get into. If you think you want to get more in depth with the hobby you can start out with a five-gallon kit from any online vendor or better yet your local home-brew store (lhbs) if you have one. I recommend going with a kit that uses buckets instead of a glass carboy. They're easier to clean and much safer.
 
I'm a inspiring beginner what brand brew kit would serve me best?

Well if your in Alabama (I just assume because of your name) you wont find a LHBS because homebrewing is still illegal there. If not in Alabama Mr. Beer id a great start if you know nothing about homebrewing. A few batches and you should be ready to move on to a step up in difficulty if you like the hobby.
 
Have to agree with the posts above. For a beginner Mr Beer is a great place to start and learn the basics of the process (make some reasonable beer too). Then, if you feel comfortable and enjoy the hobby, step up to some good extract kits, then progress to all grain.

IMHO, the trick is to have a good time, learn as you go, and have enjoy the hobby at whatever level you're at
 
Well if your in Alabama (I just assume because of your name) you wont find a LHBS because homebrewing is still illegal there. If not in Alabama Mr. Beer id a great start if you know nothing about homebrewing. A few batches and you should be ready to move on to a step up in difficulty if you like the hobby.

I also live in AL. There are LHBS here. There is one in Mobile called the Winesmith.

However, I did start with MRB too. I also order my supplies from morebeer.com. Free shipping over $59. Great customer service. Matt is pure awesome.

I got some yeast from my LHBS though, and a few other small items I forgot to order.

Its 45 min from my house. Online is just more convenient and cheaper.
 
Mr.B First batch, going into bottles today.

I plan on using my bottling bucket.

How much Corn Sugar should I boil into how much water for priming.

I read that for a 5 gallon batch you use 4-5oz of sugar, I think MRB is around 2 gallons, so how much sugar should I use?

I still need help with this.
 
Quick question? In the mr beer instructions it says use "refrigerated" water to top of the fermenter. My problem is I am making 4 different two gallon batches and there is no way I refrigerate that water at once. Can I move forward with room temp (66 degrees) spring water? Is it just so I don't dump the yeast in while its to hot? A quick reply would be so thankful!
 
Quick question? In the mr beer instructions it says use "refrigerated" water to top of the fermenter. My problem is I am making 4 different two gallon batches and there is no way I refrigerate that water at once. Can I move forward with room temp (66 degrees) spring water? Is it just so I don't dump the yeast in while its to hot? A quick reply would be so thankful!
Topping it off with cold water brings the temperature down quickly so you can add the year. You generally don't want it sitting around a long time before adding the yeast because that increases the chances for infection.
 
In the mr beer instructions it says use "refrigerated" water to top of the fermenter. ................................................................. Can I move forward with room temp (66 degrees) spring water? Is it just so I don't dump the yeast in while its to hot? A quick reply would be so thankful!

Yes, using cooled water to top off is essentially just to help you get the wort down to reasonable pitching temps quickly, as most new brewers don't have wort chillers to help in that department.
 
Thanks gang I guessed right and just let it cool a little lid on extra sanitized for 15 min before yeast. Question ever mix yeast strains for new favors? Sorry prob noob question. Or do u stay with a single strain no matter what?
 
Question ever mix yeast strains for new favors? Sorry prob noob question. Or do u stay with a single strain no matter what?



When I first started doing Mr. Beer kits I used to chuck in the Mr.Beer yeast along with the pack of Safale S-04 just for good measure. I think in that type of scenario the greater volume of S-04 would have been the dominant strain, as far as flavours, aromas and whatnot, and the lesser volume of Mr.Beer yeast probably wouldn't have managed to contribute much, if anything, in those departments, other than just being there at the party.

After a few brews like this I eventually realized that one pack of the Safale (11.5g) was more than enough for a healthy fermentation and that I was probably better chucking the Mr. Beer yeast into the boil at the last 5 to 10 minutes so that it'd become a yeast nutrient for the S-04.

Never really thought about using two different good strains of yeast to mix and pitch, as it just makes things more expensive, but I suppose it is plausible. Might have to be careful in selecting which ones to combine.
 
Thanks gang I guessed right and just let it cool a little lid on extra sanitized for 15 min before yeast. Question ever mix yeast strains for new favors? Sorry prob noob question. Or do u stay with a single strain no matter what?
I generally use one strains of yeast, based on the type of beer I'm brewing. The are yeasts available commercially that are mixes of different strains, so it's definitely something that can be done. My preference (and this is just me) is to let the malt and hops drive the flavor, so I generally use yeasts that are "clean fermenting" yeasts.
 
Well here is what happened, I made 4 two gallon batches and most of them where recipes that I got off the mr beer web site. Most I used two different cans of HME etc. and each can with its own yeast pack. Both different based on the small number print on the back of the foil packet. All where gold except a couple. Any way I used the yeast packet that came with the craft series HME. Then as I am on the third batch I realized the recipes asked for both packets of yeast under each HME. Well at this point I had them mixed together and could no longer tell what second yeast pack would go to what recipe. So I went on the web site looked up the yeast they sell and it is not possible to match back what goes to what HME can. The only info on the foil packs is a number like "brewers yeast 2045" and no reference to that number on the web site. So I took a gamble and made my best bet what pack went to what batch, basically could really only remember what batch was to get the silver pack and the other three got a random gold second pack. So unless I am incredibly lucky there is now a different second yeast strain in at least one or two if not all of the other three batches. My guess is t will be fine and just effect the flavor based on what the recipe intended but hopefully in a good way. What does the panel think will happen? I just spent over a hundred and 50 bucks on these, soft packs, hops, boosters etc. hoping for he best.
 
Well here is what happened, I made 4 two gallon batches and most of them where recipes that I got off the mr beer web site. Most I used two different cans of HME etc. and each can with its own yeast pack. Both different based on the small number print on the back of the foil packet. All where gold except a couple. Any way I used the yeast packet that came with the craft series HME. Then as I am on the third batch I realized the recipes asked for both packets of yeast under each HME. Well at this point I had them mixed together and could no longer tell what second yeast pack would go to what recipe. So I went on the web site looked up the yeast they sell and it is not possible to match back what goes to what HME can. The only info on the foil packs is a number like "brewers yeast 2045" and no reference to that number on the web site. So I took a gamble and made my best bet what pack went to what batch, basically could really only remember what batch was to get the silver pack and the other three got a random gold second pack. So unless I am incredibly lucky there is now a different second yeast strain in at least one or two if not all of the other three batches. My guess is t will be fine and just effect the flavor based on what the recipe intended but hopefully in a good way. What does the panel think will happen? I just spent over a hundred and 50 bucks on these, soft packs, hops, boosters etc. hoping for he best.
Other than specialty refills, Mr beer uses two yeasts. One is a wheat yeast and the other is a generic ale yeast (probably coopers yeast). The numbers on the packet are a batch number that tells the date of manufacture. It's probably something like 23412, which would be day 234 of 2013.
 
Day 21 is today.

I plan to use some Grolsch bottles I saved but are kinda dirty from being in the garage for a few months. I don't have a dishwasher, was thinking of boiling them before I sanitize, or just washing them with dish soap, but MrBeer says dish soap isn't good.

How would you clean them before sanitizing? Is hot water good enough?

Also, if I just put sugar/honey straight in the bottle, will the yeast get to it ok if some sticks to the bottom of the bottle?
 
Oxiclean free is good for cleaning,,,might want to check or replace the seals as well. Let soak a couple hours in the oxi and hot water, then use bottle brush if you have one,,,,rinse well then sanatize.

With honey you might want to do a batch prime, hard to get the right amount in the bottle. With all the variables, and no taste benefit from going with honey, you might want to just use table sugar.
 
Am I the only one who thinks the basic out of the box Mr. beer kits all taste very similar?
 
Am I the only one who thinks the basic out of the box Mr. beer kits all taste very similar?

Many of the Basic kits are low on the exciting scale. Craft kits are much more distinctive. All HMEs are a bit low on hop taste and aroma due to the nature of the packaging, processing, and shipping of the hops. (inside the wort)

But all can be a great base for getting creative, add, malt, or hops to make them as exciting as you like.
 
bottled my first batch last saturday and brewed the second batch sunday. time to order the good craft ones and a bottle capper i'm not feelin the big bottles the kit came with. got plenty of bottles down stairs been hording them for about a year now and can finally put them to use. lol
 
Am I the only one who thinks the basic out of the box Mr. beer kits all taste very similar?

Add a pound of light DME, use some hops in the boil an/or dry hop, and experiment with some different yeast and you will lose the singular dimension of the basic kits. Danstar Munich is a pretty decent Bavarian Weizen dry yeast, and T-58 is a really good Belgian dry yeast and they will make a huge difference in the flavor of the finished product if you are looking to branch out to different styles. You can also browse the recipe section here and halve any 5 gallon recipe (you will almost certainly save $ doing this over Mr Beer refills) you find and make that in your LBK. The only thing you can't do with Mr Beer is make 5 gallons at a time unless you have 2. Don't limit yourself to the basic refills.
 
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