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He asked about this on a couple different threads...

Sockman, you want the gravity to get down well under 1.015 - probably somewhere in the 1.010-1.012 range - and you want to make sure it is stable before you consider taking any next steps. That means checking the gravity twice with a 3-day interval between readings and making sure it doesn't change. If it changes at all, wait longer.

Making beer is a lot of fun, and it is tough to be patient on your first batch, but your patience is rewarded with beer that is way better than what you get by rushing.
 
Sorry, I was asking to see there was a specific number for this kit, as other recipes I have used gave a original gravity and final gravity to go by.
 
So I finished several Brew Demon kits in my LBK. Some notes:

I did a Dante's Delight Wisenbier with the Pale unhopped can (instead of the Golden they recommend). I REALLY like it. Good balance and flavor profile for my taste.

I also made a single gallon of the Wild Spirit IPA. People who are looking for really bitter beer might like it, but it's not to my taste. They say 1 can makes 1 gallon, but I might actually try 1 can of the HME and 1 can of pale DME in 2 gallons and see if that works better for my taste.
 
Question: I just did the Mr. Beer Spring IPA kit and followed it to a T this first batch I may try another and add some things but thats another thread. Anyway it says to just add the yeast without stirring it in. Did that and put it in my basement, its at 63-65deg now, where I let the first two previous batches ferment, one a stout and one a hefewiezen and it was warmer outside temps then, with no issue, I checked this one after almost 48hrs and noticed very little Krausen or yeast activity, just a little foam is all I saw. I moved the keg upstairs where its a little warmer thinking this will activate the yeast a little more and then when I notice activity I may leave it a week then put it back in the basement. Is this a good strategy? Its been cool here in michigan so Im thinking it may be a little to cool in the basement but if it warms up here into the 70's it may hit the high range for fermentation so that's why I'll move the LBK back to the basement. I plan on fermenting for 2-3 weeks anyway. THanks for any input.
 
olotti said:
Question: I just did the Mr. Beer Spring IPA kit and followed it to a T this first batch I may try another and add some things but thats another thread. Anyway it says to just add the yeast without stirring it in. Did that and put it in my basement, its at 63-65deg now, where I let the first two previous batches ferment, one a stout and one a hefewiezen and it was warmer outside temps then, with no issue, I checked this one after almost 48hrs and noticed very little Krausen or yeast activity, just a little foam is all I saw. I moved the keg upstairs where its a little warmer thinking this will activate the yeast a little more and then when I notice activity I may leave it a week then put it back in the basement. Is this a good strategy? Its been cool here in michigan so Im thinking it may be a little to cool in the basement but if it warms up here into the 70's it may hit the high range for fermentation so that's why I'll move the LBK back to the basement. I plan on fermenting for 2-3 weeks anyway. THanks for any input.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a plan. One thing to note is that not every batch produces a lot of krausen. If you've got trub forming on the bottom, you've got fermentation going on.
 
Hi -

So I just purchased a Mr Beer fermenter for some small batch brewing. First thing I noticed was that there was no hole for a airlock/blowoff tube. So lots of research later I learned that the notches eliminate the need of the airlock and or blow off. Frankly I don't trust those notches and it just seems like its going to be a disaster from the beginning. So I am planning on mod-ing my Mr Beer fermenter by drilling a hole in the lid, where i can then place the a stopper/ blowoff tube. Does anyone have experience with this? Has anyone moded their Mr Beer is similar fashion? I'd appreciate the input.
 
You don't need to do that, the notches work as they are supposed to. What diasaster could there be that you are worried about? I have had a MrBeer LBK bubble over, I pitched around 80* and the fermentation was super active. I had it in a cooler, so the mess was contained and I just wiped up the mess. I bottled like normal and the beer was fine. I did the same thing in a bucket with an airlock, but this time I heard it overflowing and wiped it up before it spilled over the bucket lid.

Both times I pitched at too high a temp, and an overflow tube into a bowl of water would have prevented any problems.

If you follow the instructions, you won't have any problems with an LBK.

So what is it you think might be a problem?
 
Thx Bzwyatt -

I figure since I won't be using any Mr beer kits for my LBK, but rather my own recipes I'll be dealing with situations that haven't been accounted for in the development of the product. I usually make brews with rather high gravity, so fermentation is always a riot, to a point where I even install blow off tubes on my 1 gal jugs. I want to use this LBK mainly to do some experiments, tooling around on some of my recipes. That's what concerns me. I'll take your word for it, but the whole notch things seems "iffy". I guess the only way I would know is to actually try it out, nay? Close my eyes and see what happens... I just thought the LBK would be a great primary, from which I would then rack into 1 gal secondaries.
So I guess the problem I have would be fermentation of high gravity wort.
Say a Session beer would be no problem with the LBK, but a Double IPA would cause meltdown!?
:rockin::rockin:
 
Well, I've brewed two Belgian blond ales in them. Both half the ingredients of a 5-gallon recipe, so a little concentrated, and neither had a problem. I have two LBKs and I've got a 5-gallon setup now, but I'm still using the LBKs to ferment in too.
 
I haven't brewed anything over about 1.077 og, but no overflows either. The notches work fine as vents. I think the biggest advantage of MrBeer is it's simplicity. On the other hand, adding an airlock to it isn't exactly painting a mustache on Mona Lisa.
 
simplicity may be its downfall. I just tried my first mr beer batch the other day and it was nothing great. pretty sweet tasting still and was plain/bodiless, the alcohol taste was faint as well. Im not sure if maybe i screwed something up but I will be sticking to my five gallon batches if none of my mr beer comes out good. it is too expensive to be making ok beer with
 
Not everyone likes the MrBeer refills, I think the basic recipes need help. But the LBK can be used to ferment anything. I have two AG batches in them now, and may use other LME and hops for my own recipes. I use MrBeer due to space limits and inexperience. My first three batches were mediocre. Six gallons of ok beer was acceptable, fifteen would be a burden.
 
ya i am also going to use them the same way you are when i run out of these dang refills, and do either 2 gallon experiment batches or split a 6 gallon batch
 
I did one batch with the supplied ingredients (2 different HMEs actually...haha) and now I'm doing BIAB. I'll only do it this way from now on. Almost ready to bottle!
 
I didn't like MrBeer beer. I did 4 or 5 batches - light lager twice, patriot lager and their porter... so I guess 4. The porter was pretty good. Some people I know liked it (the lagers, not the porter) a lot, but they were people who like light beers, and said it was better than budweiser because it wasn't as bitter as bud!

I haven't actually had any of my beer from partial boils with specialty grains yet, but I think they will be a lot better than the MrB extract, and not because they are bad, but mostly because their kits are for people who like BMC, I think.
 
I have their Spring White seasonal fermenting now. And I ordered a couple of craft refills when they were on sale. More malt, hopefully more flavor. But I'm not sticking strictly to MrBeer products to use in their fermenters.
 
Question? If I confused the yeast of an Octoberfest LME, and the Mexican LME will that cause an issue? Off flavors ect?
 
Brauman said:
Hi -

So I just purchased a Mr Beer fermenter for some small batch brewing. First thing I noticed was that there was no hole for a airlock/blowoff tube. So lots of research later I learned that the notches eliminate the need of the airlock and or blow off. Frankly I don't trust those notches and it just seems like its going to be a disaster from the beginning. So I am planning on mod-ing my Mr Beer fermenter by drilling a hole in the lid, where i can then place the a stopper/ blowoff tube. Does anyone have experience with this? Has anyone moded their Mr Beer is similar fashion? I'd appreciate the input.
Click to expand...

There are folks that have done it. Patched the notches with auto filler or some other sort of filler. But why? Unless you are looking to do very big beers and would frequently require a blow off tube, the notches work just fine. The co2 gets out by lifting the lid and flowing out through the threads in the lid, which sits back down when pressure is less. For something bad to get in, it would have to crawl up the threads. Not perfect, but neither is an air lock.
 
develdee42 said:
Question? If I confused the yeast of an Octoberfest LME, and the Mexican LME will that cause an issue? Off flavors ect?
Click to expand...

No. Those are the same yeast. For the regular refills, they all have the same yeast except for the wheat refills.
 
The brew I made yesterday, which is now in my Mr Beer fermenter, turned out to be 1.070. I was aiming for 1.050. The fermenter hasn't blown up yet. Wish me luck.

:rockin:
 
it may not turn out good if your OG was that much off, you probably should have put more water in there to bring it down closer to 1.050
 
I got my first MrB kit after I purchased one for an office Christmas party gift last year. Saw it at Target, never heard of it, but got one. Later I got one for myself. Now I'm about to do my first AG batch this weekend, after several extract brews (thanks to BPGreen and other guys in here for answering Qs).

I asked the guy who won the gift if he ever brewed it, he said no and he gave it to me. So I have another LBK and a Light amer.lager HME can. I want to add something, maybe a few specialty grains and some hops. Maybe a scoop of sugar? Nothing huge, just a little something. I'm going to have people over for dinner tomorrow and probably brew it up after.

What would you add for a little extra flavor?
 
I've doctored an Aztec Mexican Cerveza with DME and hops, but it's still conditioning. I think there are recipe modifications on Mr Beer's website, I know there are on that forum.
 
bzwyatt - I'm pretty sure you can stretch your brew a long way, by deviating from the original recipe and adding some extra hops to the brew. Maybe steep 10 oz of 2Row Malt, throw in 5oz of corn sugar, the options are out there. What I would do above and beyond is get 2oz of your favorite hops from your homebrewing store and spice up the beer with extra hop additions. Basically you could go for a nice smash beer, keeping things simple. I'd use whatever hops was used to spice the malt, to keep the brew simple. Sugar will amp up the gravity and the grain will add to the body of your brew. Why not try a nice and light 2IPA?
 
Noob here with a quick question about Mr. Beer. I'm all set and ready to start when I check the temp in my "Fermentation Room". It's 80*. So I find a small fridge to put down there but can't pick it up until tomorrow. My question is, will it be okay to brew tonight and move it tomorrow after fridge is set up and cooled to 70, or should I just wait to have the room prepped before I start? Not too big a deal to wait, but I've got much more free time tonight.

Thanks in advance.
 
sxharr05 said:
Noob here with a quick question about Mr. Beer. I'm all set and ready to start when I check the temp in my "Fermentation Room". It's 80*. So I find a small fridge to put down there but can't pick it up until tomorrow. My question is, will it be okay to brew tonight and move it tomorrow after fridge is set up and cooled to 70, or should I just wait to have the room prepped before I start? Not too big a deal to wait, but I've got much more free time tonight.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I'd wait. Warmer fermentation temperatures lead to off flavors and the early stages of fermentation are even more important.
 
So I was an idiot and thought it'd be a good idea to sanitize my plastic Mr Beer bottles in the dishwasher and deformed every one of them. I can't afford to go buy bottles until I get paid on Friday.

Will my "Classic American Light" be ok in primary for an extra week? It's been in there for 15 days now and I don't want my first brew ever to turn out funky cuz it picked up off flavored from the trub.
 
If you were nearby you could have some of my PETs, I'm using glass. You might switch to glass, but you'd still need a capper and caps. I save glass bottles from craft beer, or buy them used from the beverage center for the deposit, 5c@.
 
My last two batches (Cowgirl Honey Light and Bohemian Bronze) have both had a sour, citrusy taste on the finish that made it difficult to enjoy. The only new thing I'd tried with these two is the Avinatore bottle rinser. I'm wondering if the bottles are being properly sanitized - I'm using the packet that comes in the MB kits. Does the sanitizer need to remain in contact with the bottle longer than the few splashes provided by the rinser?
 

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