First brew, have my fingers crossed

Hey how's it going? So for Xmas the wife surprised me and got me a mr beer setup, pretty big surprise considering how against homebrewing she has been in the past to even obtain a mr beer. I've Lurked around here long enough to read all the stickies and obtain a basic knowledge even with the lack of a kit to put theory to practice. I know a mr beer is a joke as far as serious homebrewing goes but I look at it as an important first step in convincing the wife that I need a nice 5 gl setup.

For my first brew I took a trip to my lhbs and bought a 1lb bag of muntons light dme and just on impulse bought a bag of brewers best conditioning tablets for the bottling process. That place is like a toy store! Anyways I came home sanitized thoroughly and started mixing in 1 lb of DME to my 4 cups of spring water and brought it to a boil. Right before it foamed over I removed it from heat and lowered heat a little and then returned the pot to heat and let it boil for 10 mins. I then removed it from hear and mixed in the can of mr beer American classic light HME. Added it to mr beer, topped off with cool ozarka spring water, stirred vigorously and then pitched yeast all as per mr beer instructions. It is now sitting in a pantry for the time being until it can be moved to final resting place in my closet with a temp generally between 70-75 degrees.

I did have one question though what is the recommended timeline for this brew? I've heard people say 2/2/2 and others that say different. Any advice?

I am extremely happy to finally join the HB rank (albeit with a mr beer) and am looking forward to seeing how this batch turns out. I will most likely be upgrading to a real set up shortly and am looking forward to being a fixture here picking everyone's brains.

The 2/2/2 rule is a pretty good rule with the Mr beer stuff, though even a bit more time to condition it will improve the results. Try a few after two weeks carbonating and two weeks conditioning. Then try some more two weeks later. You'll likely see some improvement. Also, try and get your fermentation temps down some if you can.

Also, nothing wrong with starting with Mr beer! You can make some decent stuff with their ingredients, and its a good introduction to the hobby. Plus, the little brown keg will be handy to have later for small batches later after you upgrade! Welcome to the hobby!

Welcome to the hobby, addiction, obsession.
Recipes can be scaled down for the LBK and you will be making "real" beer. Check out the Mr. Beer sticky

RDWHAHB.

Congrats! Maybe I missed it in your type-up, but what type of hops did you use?

Also when you get impatient, as you invariably will, just remember to give it some more time. Grab a craft brew and don't worry!

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I moved the lbk to its actually resting place with the temp a tad bit lower at 68 degrees. For the hops I used the can of mr beer HME that came with the kit it was called "American Classic Light". After reading up on it I decided that adding the DME was the only way to go for me because A.) I'm just naturally a mad scientist (first brew ever be damned) and B.) I think my tap water has more body and a higher alcohol content then this 3.7% straight from the can mix. I was going to do a small hop boil just in case to offset the increase in malt and try and balance it out a little bit but from reading around here the increase is negligible for the amount that Im adding and even if it does lean a little bit to the malty side I can live with that for my first brew. My next couple of brews will definitely include adding my own hops though.

Get beersmith2 You can use it to scale down recipes for the LBK and much much more.
Enjoy

Thank you I definitely will be getting beer smith 2. Hopefully I will be upgrading to a proper 5 gal setup soon, but I am eager to start with some good recipes.

Lots of proven recipes here. Have fun and most of all RDWHAHB. Or craft brew until yours are ready.

timduncan200021 said:

I've Lurked around here long enough to read all the stickies and obtain a basic knowledge even with the lack of a kit to put theory to practice.

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Reading a lot before you start is a great idea. If you haven't already, get a good book, too. The on-line How To Brew is a little outdated, but still good.

And don't be ashamed of the Mr Beer, alot of us started with that kit, myself included...Around 5 or 6 years ago now.

Gotcha! Sorry I've never used any HME, so I was unaware it didn't require any additional hops. See? You never stop learning.

Another book you can buy which I find to be my favourite is the Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian.

Thank you. So I just checked my first brew, a mixture of 1lb of muntons light DME, and one can of mr beer's American classic light that came with the kit. I pitched it last night at roughly 11 pm and just checked on it and it is bubbling out of the lbk top lots of krausen. I'm taking this as a good sign that it's so active but I could be wrong, is there anything bad about it doing this?

Just make sure the notches that vent the keg dont get clogged, but it sounds like its fermenting away healthily! If it really starts to overflow, sanitize a spoon and scrape a bit of krausen off the top and clear the notches.

Thank you. I did wipe off the overflow, it was bubbling out of the top pretty fast last night, (top was very secure). Today no bubbling over, still a healthy layer of krausen but not as much activity inside the lbk when shining a flashlight. It's only been roughly 40 hrs since I pitched the yeast, seems like this batch started off like a rocket and is settling into a slower pace. I did loosen the lid for a second while cleaning the excess bubble over but did not remove completely. Is there anyway I could have slowed down the process or is it normal for a batch that starts off this fast to slow down? I'm doing 2/2/2 for this batch so would this development change that or just wait till the 2 weeks are up?

Its normal for it to slow some, you didnt mess anything up. 2/2/2 is a pretty good rule of thumb for most beers, even 3/2/2.

It won't be long until you are begging the wife for a 5 gallon setup! I just made the switch a month or so ago and have an empty fermenter and its annoying the hell out of me! I just purchased some ingredients, I am still in the extract/partial mash stage until I can get my equipment upgrades, but its addicting for sure! Lots of great info and good people here too as well. Save that LBK too because it works great for smaller/test batches!

Welcome to the hobby and forum. I started with a Mr Beer about two yeas ago. I have now been brewing five gallon batches about one and a half years now but the Mr Beer kit was great and I had a lot of fun with it.

Roger

Thank you for the warm welcome all. So after a little more research I found that the overflow problem has become a lot more common with the newer mr beer kits, I guess the yeast packets they are using are a lot more active then previously. Better to have happy healthy yeast then under pitched slow fermenting beer I guess. I did clean the dried wort off of the outside in fear of some type of infection, and I removed the lid to check the vents to make sure they weren't clogged. I had lid off for about 10 secs. So should not be a problem there. I am definitely going to have to repeat the mantra RDWHAHB in my head for the next couple weeks during my first brew even though I have yet to enjoy a home brew. No one warned me this stuff was addictive, I am now planning my next brew already in my soon to be purchased 5 gal set up. I tried a Belgian triple/strong golden ale by VIctory called "Golden Monkey" and I fell in love. I'm planning a partial mash of a clone of this. Here is the recipe I found, very big step for the second brew but I figure if I try it and fall short at least I end up with beer.... Even if I might have to force it down : )

Golden Monkey(Conn's)

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

18-C Strong Belgian Ale, Belgian Strong Golden Ale

Min OG: 1.065 Max OG: 1.080
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 35
Min Clr: 4 Max Clr: 6 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 15.25
Anticipated OG: 1.082 Plato: 19.67
Anticipated SRM: 6.0
Anticipated IBU: 34.3
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.47 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.069 SG 16.89 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
% Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
82.0 12.50 lbs. Pilsener Belgium 1.037 2
3.3 0.50 lbs. Flaked Barley America 1.032 2
3.3 0.50 lbs. Aromatic Malt Belgium 1.036 25
1.6 0.25 lbs. Biscuit Malt Belgium 1.035 24
9.8 1.50 lbs. Cane Sugar Generic 1.046 0

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.75 oz. Horizon Whole 13.00 34.3 60 min.
0.50 oz. Strisselspalt Whole 0.00 0.0 10 min.


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.30 Oz Corriander Seed Spice 5 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----

WYeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes


Water Profile
-------------

Profile:
Profile known for:

Calcium(Ca): 0.0 ppm
Magnesium(Mg): 0.0 ppm
Sodium(Na): 0.0 ppm
Sulfate(SO4): 0.0 ppm
Chloride(Cl): 0.0 ppm
biCarbonate(HCO3): 0.0 ppm

pH: 0.00


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Name:

Total Grain Lbs: 13.75
Total Water Qts: 13.75 - Before Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 3.44 - Before Additional Infusions

Tun Thermal Mass: 0.00
Grain Temp: 80.00 F


Step Rest Start Stop Heat Infuse Infuse Infuse
Step Name Time Time Temp Temp Type Temp Amount Ratio
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
low sach 5 90 146 144 Infuse 159 13.75 1.00


Total Water Qts: 13.75 - After Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 3.44 - After Additional Infusions
Total Mash Volume Gal: 4.54 - After Additional Infusions

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.
All infusion amounts are in Quarts.
All infusion ratios are Quarts/Lbs.

timduncan200021 said:

I know a mr beer is a joke as far as serious homebrewing goes

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Hey it got you started in the right direction so I don't find it to be that big of a joke

congrats on your new hobby/obsession

Thank you. So quick question, my wife sent me to the store to get some stuff for her and when I returned she told me she moved my mr beer from the closet to under my sink. Very very sneaky... Send me out on errands and then move it. Anyways she said she was gentle with it but who knows. There is still trub on the bottom but it doesn't appear to be as thick as before. How will this effect my beer? Will the re aggitation of any yeast cause this batch to need a longer fermentation time for it to all settle and clean itself up now?

Welcome to your new addiction. You are doomed now, no turning back.

Her moving it should not have any adverse affects, provided the temps between your closet and under-sink cabinet aren't too drastically different (hopefully she didn't drop it, slosh it around too much). Things are probably in suspension, and will settle back down.

nothing wrong with starting with mr beer

funny thing is like 8 years ago i tried a mr beer knockoff and it was atrocious. then a little over 2 years ago i bought mr beer and it was not good... but i knew people brewed good homebrew so i did research and found this site. unfortunatly for my pocketbook i became addicted

Good to hear that it shouldn't effect it to much. And I am keeping this mr beer to do small batches in, seems to be pretty useful for that.

Anyways.. I went to the lhbs and picked up a fermometer strip and a hydrometer. I went home and stuck the strip about 3/4 of the way down on the outside of the lbk and waited awhile to get a more accurate reading. It was reading in the70-72 range and since I know that fermentation is an exothermic process that my brew was probably sitting at around 75-80. I lowered temps, (opened A window) and its now sitting around 66 on the fermometer. Hopefully that didn't cause any off flavors because that closet has been about that same temp ever since I pitched 5 days ago. I did have an overflow on day one but since then the yeast have seemed to be pretty happy.

I just did a hydrometer test of the batch for the first time and it is reading at 1.010, I adjusted it up to 1.011 for the difference in temp when I took the reading. After researching it looks like the mr beer american classic light with 1 lb of light DME Is supposed to have a OG of 1.046 and a FG of 1.011. So did I hit this right on the money and it is done fermenting? It's only been 5 days... I still plan on keeping it in there till the two weeks is up because it was a bit cloudy, (the sample tasted amazing though), is there any downfall to letting it sit longer even though FG has been hit? Would you guys recommend cold crashing it at the end in order to help clear it up a bit? ( I think it might be due to SWMBO moving it from the closet to under the sink).

Very excited that things are turning out well so far, I am completely addicted now.

Even if you've hit your fg the yeast is still cleaning up after only five days. Nothing wrong letting it sit for the rest of the two weeks, the beer will be better for it. Cold crashing is a personal preference. It certainly doesnt hurt, but you can get clear beer not doing it too. Just make sure once you've bottled you give a bottle at least a week in the fridge after youve conditioned them to settle everything and get rid of any chill haze.

Also, reaching the target FG doesn't mean it's finished. It should stay exactly the same gravity for 2 - 3 days to know it's done. For bottling, this is mainly a safety measure to prevent bottle bombs.

ncbrewer said:

Also, reaching the target FG doesn't mean it's finished. It should stay exactly the same gravity for 2 - 3 days to know it's done. For bottling, this is mainly a safety measure to prevent bottle bombs.

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+1 for this. Always make sure that your fg readings are the same on two readings at least a day apart. I check mine after 2-3 weeks and again two days later, rack to secondary, and then do an actual final on bottling day to record the ABV%.

timduncan200021 said:

Good to hear that it shouldn't effect it to much. And I am keeping this mr beer to do small batches in, seems to be pretty useful for that.

Click to expand...

I said the same thing when i got my first 5 gal kit! I haven't used it since! Lol mr beer was great to start the addiction, but why do 2 gal sample batch when for the same amount of time and just a little more money you can do a 5 gal batch! Just sayin! The one time i did a two gallon test batch it was so good i wished it was a five! Cheers!

Tested the sg again today. Reading at 1.011 again, tasted very good, the infection that I thought might be present turned out to be nothing and so far very happy with the results. One week in and one more week of fermentation left until I put it into bottles to condition. I am definitely thinking of throwing the lbk into the tub with some ice water for 2-3 days to cold crash it.