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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.

The kits include hopped LME (HME in Mr Beer parlance). The hops in an HME have already been boiled at different times to provide bitterness, flavor and aroma. If you boil an HME, you'll move the aroma hops to flavor hops (and possibly to bittering hops if you boil long enough) and the flavor hops to bittering hops. So you'll completely change the character of the HME.

I'm not sure what you mean by tossing the dry kit, yeast and water.

You can use a different yeast if you want (I like US-05 or Nottingham in cooler weather for "clean" fermentation, for example). The yeast that comes with the kit is pretty tolerant of a wide temperature range, and that's why they use it.

You can certainly add more malt, either LME, DME, or, if you have the time, you can do a partial mash. If you add more malt, the beer will be sweeter unless you also do a hop boil. Boil the hops in the malt you add (use enough water for a gravity of about 1.030-1.040; if you don't have a hydrometer, use brewing software to estimate) and add the HME at flameout.
 
By tossing I mean the kit ingredients more or less say fill the key, drop in the dry mix, shake it around, add the yeast, top it off and done.

So contrary, and I wish I could find it, the post I read about boiling don't do that in any way, shape or form. Actually wouldn't mind a slightly more bitter beer. Anything is better than the selection around here for the most part although at least I can get Rogue Mocha Porter now, to darn high though.
 
By tossing I mean the kit ingredients more or less say fill the key, drop in the dry mix, shake it around, add the yeast, top it off and done.

So contrary, and I wish I could find it, the post I read about boiling don't do that in any way, shape or form. Actually wouldn't mind a slightly more bitter beer. Anything is better than the selection around here for the most part although at least I can get Rogue Mocha Porter now, to darn high though.

The dry mix? Are you talking about Mr beer or the beer machine? The beer machine uses hopped DME, but Mr beer uses hopped LME. I'm much more comfortable with the quality of the Mr beer ingredients than the beer machine ingredients. If you use either as is, you can get a fairly bland, okay beer. It's easier to improve the Mr beer to a good beer, although you can improve the beer machine results, also.
 
The dry mix? Are you talking about Mr beer or the beer machine? The beer machine uses hopped DME, but Mr beer uses hopped LME. I'm much more comfortable with the quality of the Mr beer ingredients than the beer machine ingredients. If you use either as is, you can get a fairly bland, okay beer. It's easier to improve the Mr beer to a good beer, although you can improve the beer machine results, also.

One thing to note. If you're using Beer Machine mixes in a Mr Beer LBK, you'll end up with a slightly stronger beer (with more mouthfeel and body since it's all malt). On the one hand, that's good, since you've got more malt, alcohol, body, etc. On the other hand, it gives you less room for adding your own twists to the recipes.

I've used beer machine mixes (they were really cheap in a post holiday sale last year at Cabela's). But I usually made 5 gallon batches, doing a partial mash with a full hop boil so I could get the beer where I wanted it.
 
The dry mix? Are you talking about Mr beer or the beer machine? The beer machine uses hopped DME, but Mr beer uses hopped LME. I'm much more comfortable with the quality of the Mr beer ingredients than the beer machine ingredients. If you use either as is, you can get a fairly bland, okay beer. It's easier to improve the Mr beer to a good beer, although you can improve the beer machine results, also.

Sorry, Beer Machine, assumed the two were more or less the same in their kits. I hate to toss these packs, wife bought like 6 of them and worse still is 4 are lagers, hate lagers although from everything I've read here they are probably closer to an ale than a real lager.
 
One thing to note. If you're using Beer Machine mixes in a Mr Beer LBK, you'll end up with a slightly stronger beer (with more mouthfeel and body since it's all malt). On the one hand, that's good, since you've got more malt, alcohol, body, etc. On the other hand, it gives you less room for adding your own twists to the recipes.

I've used beer machine mixes (they were really cheap in a post holiday sale last year at Cabela's). But I usually made 5 gallon batches, doing a partial mash with a full hop boil so I could get the beer where I wanted it.

Beer Machine mix and Beer Machine key. I've got leftovers from my Black Butte clone so I could certainly do a partial mash and add some hops then use the BM mix to finish it out, might be tough to come up with the weights although if this brown ale mix came out more like a heavy porter it wouldn't bother me one bit.

No clue what to do with the Pilnser mix she bought, not wasting time and bottles for that.

I was going back through the older post and saw one user found Briess CBW Porter, that looks tempting for a simple and quick recipe, anyone used it and have a recipe they kept up with?
 
Sorry, Beer Machine, assumed the two were more or less the same in their kits. I hate to toss these packs, wife bought like 6 of them and worse still is 4 are lagers, hate lagers although from everything I've read here they are probably closer to an ale than a real lager.

Mr Beer and TBM both use lager in mix names, but supply ale yeast with the mixes. The beers that result are ales, but are designed to be similar to lagers that people know.

The Beer Machine (TBM) and Mr Beer have the same target audience (people who want to make beer fast and not have to do a lot of work to make them), but there are also some differences. Are you fermenting in a Mr Beer fermenter or a TBM fermenter? I'll assume TBM.

You can make pretty good beer with what you've got. The TBM fermenter is sealed and designed to ferment and carbonate all in one, so I'm not sure how that would affect some of the process, but most of this will still work.

I've made some really good beers that have TBM mixes in them.
Since I don't know whether you've got the TBM fermenter or the LBK with TBM mixes, I'll try to provide guidance for both approaches.

First, get some good yeast. I don't know enough about the TBM yeast, so I just don't trust it. I add it to the boil so it's a nutrient to my yeast of choice.

Buy some hops. I buy mine in bulk (until my bines start producing enough that I can stop buying), but I brew 5 gallon batches and I have a vacuum sealer and a dedicated freezer. For a LBK or TBM sized batch, an ounce will work fine.

I've always used dry yeast because my LHBS isn't convenient and dry yeast lasts longer. My brother has always used liquid yeast. Your yeast choice can have a huge impact on the final product. I tend to like lagers (and lager-like ales), so I like to use US-05 around 60-65 or Nottingham around 55-60. When it warms up above 65, I change yeasts. Last summer, I used some bottle harvested yeast that really did well. I think I'm going to try a new dry yeast (BRY-97) this summer.

Refrigerate a couple of gallons of filtered tap water (Britta or Pur filters) or some spring (if mashing) or distilled water.

If you're using the LBK, take about a cup of the TBM mix, dissolve it in a gallon of water and bring it to a boil. You may need to remove it from the heat several times until it stops foaming. This is the hot break. The next steps follow (common to all approaches).

If you're using the TBM, the next step depends on whether you want to mash.

If you want to mash, crush 1-2 lbs of two row, add 1.25 qts/lb of water (filtered or spring, but not distilled or RO) heated to 170F and let it sit for an hour in an insulated cooler or in a big pot wrapped in towels or set in an oven set on low to keep the temperature near 150F.

If you don't want to mash, add around a pound of LME or DME to a gallon of water.

Common to all approaches
Bring the wort to a boil. Add 1/3 of the hops and set a timer to 40 minutes. When the timer goes off, add 1/3 of the hops and set the timer to 13 minutes. When the timer goes off, add the rest of the hops and set the timer to 7 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and add the remaining mix.

If you can, cover the pot and set it in a sink of cold water (cold water with some ice is even better) for 15 minuttes to a half hour. Pour a gallon of refrigerated water in the fermenter, add the wort, then top off with refrigerated water to the fill point.

Whisk it to aerate it, then add the yeast.

Wait a minimum of two weeks at room temperature. If you're using the LBK, bottle and leave the bottles at room temperature for two weeks. If you're using the TBM fermenter, just wait two more weeks. Refrigerate for at least two weeks. Enjoy.
 
No clue what to do with the Pilnser mix she bought, not wasting time and bottles for that.

No need to overreact and toss it. It's not at all a waste of time. It gives you the most room to play and put your own stamp on it.

You like darker beers? use some specialty grains for that.

Since you're open to mashing, get a pound of two row and 4 ounces of crystal 60. An ounce of the hops that strike your fancy. Follow the instructions in my earlier post and you're good to go.
 
Mr Beer and TBM both use lager in mix names, but supply ale yeast with the mixes. The beers that result are ales, but are designed to be similar to lagers that people know.

The Beer Machine (TBM) and Mr Beer have the same target audience (people who want to make beer fast and not have to do a lot of work to make them), but there are also some differences. Are you fermenting in a Mr Beer fermenter or a TBM fermenter? I'll assume TBM.

You can make pretty good beer with what you've got. The TBM fermenter is sealed and designed to ferment and carbonate all in one, so I'm not sure how that would affect some of the process, but most of this will still work.

I've made some really good beers that have TBM mixes in them.
Since I don't know whether you've got the TBM fermenter or the LBK with TBM mixes, I'll try to provide guidance for both approaches.

First, get some good yeast. I don't know enough about the TBM yeast, so I just don't trust it. I add it to the boil so it's a nutrient to my yeast of choice.

Buy some hops. I buy mine in bulk (until my bines start producing enough that I can stop buying), but I brew 5 gallon batches and I have a vacuum sealer and a dedicated freezer. For a LBK or TBM sized batch, an ounce will work fine.

I've always used dry yeast because my LHBS isn't convenient and dry yeast lasts longer. My brother has always used liquid yeast. Your yeast choice can have a huge impact on the final product. I tend to like lagers (and lager-like ales), so I like to use US-05 around 60-65 or Nottingham around 55-60. When it warms up above 65, I change yeasts. Last summer, I used some bottle harvested yeast that really did well. I think I'm going to try a new dry yeast (BRY-97) this summer.

Refrigerate a couple of gallons of filtered tap water (Britta or Pur filters) or some spring (if mashing) or distilled water.

If you're using the LBK, take about a cup of the TBM mix, dissolve it in a gallon of water and bring it to a boil. You may need to remove it from the heat several times until it stops foaming. This is the hot break. The next steps follow (common to all approaches).

If you're using the TBM, the next step depends on whether you want to mash.

If you want to mash, crush 1-2 lbs of two row, add 1.25 qts/lb of water (filtered or spring, but not distilled or RO) heated to 170F and let it sit for an hour in an insulated cooler or in a big pot wrapped in towels or set in an oven set on low to keep the temperature near 150F.

If you don't want to mash, add around a pound of LME or DME to a gallon of water.

Common to all approaches
Bring the wort to a boil. Add 1/3 of the hops and set a timer to 40 minutes. When the timer goes off, add 1/3 of the hops and set the timer to 13 minutes. When the timer goes off, add the rest of the hops and set the timer to 7 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and add the remaining mix.

If you can, cover the pot and set it in a sink of cold water (cold water with some ice is even better) for 15 minuttes to a half hour. Pour a gallon of refrigerated water in the fermenter, add the wort, then top off with refrigerated water to the fill point.

Whisk it to aerate it, then add the yeast.

Wait a minimum of two weeks at room temperature. If you're using the LBK, bottle and leave the bottles at room temperature for two weeks. If you're using the TBM fermenter, just wait two more weeks. Refrigerate for at least two weeks. Enjoy.


Man.......What an epic post:rockin:

Helpful, knowledgable and informative. This is what makes HBT such a great resource and place to hang out.:mug:

Wish I could shake your hand in person but will have to be content with doing it virtually.:tank:
 
I had already switched to my own recipes or variation of published ones using mixed grains and Dry Malt/Liquid Malt plus mix of hops. What I was looking to do was to use up these kits she bought, one not to waste them and two not to get yelled at for not using the things she buys me (those with wives know). TBM works just fine as a fermenter and considering I don't need 50 bottles of beer aging the 2.5 gallons is about right.

So let's take the Golden Lager that I have. I have no use for that as a beer so the suggestion appears to be to go with a basic recipe and use TBM mix in place of some dry malt extract however a few post back it was stated not to boil TBM mix because of the included hops.
 
I had already switched to my own recipes or variation of published ones using mixed grains and Dry Malt/Liquid Malt plus mix of hops. ............................

So let's take the Golden Lager that I have. I have no use for that as a beer so the suggestion appears to be to go with a basic recipe and use TBM mix in place of some dry malt extract however a few post back it was stated not to boil TBM mix because of the included hops.

Do as bpgreen suggests. Use a small amount of DME/LME, or mini mash/steep some grain, and do a boil with some hop additions then add the Beer Machine hopped dry malt extract at the end of the boil. That way you won't alter the balance of the beer machine extract part of your total recipe.

you're going to have to adjust hop amounts according to volume of brew and amount of extracts/grains you decide to use in your recipe, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem as you've already done a bit of recipe formulation
 
So I just found my Whispering Wheat.

I want to dry hop the beer, can I just pour the hops (and other ingredients) into the fermentor without worrying about using a cheese cloth, etc. Meaning, will it just settle down into the resevoir without any adverse affects on the final product.

Between Galena, Northern Brewer, Nugget, Zeus, and Millennium pellets and Centennial whole hops, what would be the best choice for dry hopping?
 
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.

I didn't read the responses, but you could make a different wort with DME / LME and some hops, then add the Mr B mix at the end so it doesn't change the hops in the LME. It would be tricky to figure out exactly what you are making, though!!
 
I didn't read the responses, but you could make a different wort with DME / LME and some hops, then add the Mr B mix at the end so it doesn't change the hops in the LME. It would be tricky to figure out exactly what you are making, though!!

That's what I'm thinking of doing. Taking some of my darker grains, add some DME and Cascade/Galena and doing a super mini mash then adding in the Golden Ale to maybe come up with something like a Red but lighter than a Porter. As I said up front anything is better than dullwiser and I might just get lucky with a winner. Will have to be careful on the hops and maybe skip their yeast and go with Safale S-04 Ale Yeast. I've got plenty of dark choc and light choc malt plus Carapils grains from my Black Butte attempt as well as dry LME, weight might be hard to guess on the LME.
 
JBDive said:
That's what I'm thinking of doing. Taking some of my darker grains, add some DME and Cascade/Galena and doing a super mini mash then adding in the Golden Ale to maybe come up with something like a Red but lighter than a Porter. As I said up front anything is better than dullwiser and I might just get lucky with a winner. Will have to be careful on the hops and maybe skip their yeast and go with Safale S-04 Ale Yeast. I've got plenty of dark choc and light choc malt plus Carapils grains from my Black Butte attempt as well as dry LME, weight might be hard to guess on the LME.

Yes, Sounds like it could be a light porter. Or a brown. If you had some roasted barley it could be an Irish red. In any of those, you could provably rely on the hops that are already in it. In fact, wouldn't a short boil get rid of the aroma? That's a little more true to style for those English styles anyway.
 
I started brewing with a Mr. Beer, then moved to a 5 gallon extract setup, where I am currently pleased. I would like to use my L.B.K. to ferment smaller, experimental batches. I've been buying 11.5 gram yeast packs for my 5-gallon batches, and am wondering if these would be too much for a 2 gallon batch. Should I try to divide the yeast in half, or should I use it all? If I divide it, does sanitization become an issue for me, holding on to a half-pack of yeast?
For what it's worth, I'll be experimenting with brews with an OG in the neighborhood of 1.05-1.07.
Thanks again, HBT brewers!
:mug:
 
I started brewing with a Mr. Beer, then moved to a 5 gallon extract setup, where I am currently pleased. I would like to use my L.B.K. to ferment smaller, experimental batches. I've been buying 11.5 gram yeast packs for my 5-gallon batches, and am wondering if these would be too much for a 2 gallon batch. Should I try to divide the yeast in half, or should I use it all? If I divide it, does sanitization become an issue for me, holding on to a half-pack of yeast?
For what it's worth, I'll be experimenting with brews with an OG in the neighborhood of 1.05-1.07.
Thanks again, HBT brewers!
:mug:
Using the full packet is fine. You can split if you're careful about sanitization. Use half, tape the packet shut and put it in the fridge. Use it within a week. If you won't be using it within a week, just use the whole thing.
 
The test batches will be more like 3 weeks apart, so I'll just pitch the whole packet. Thanks, bpgreen, for the advice!
:mug:
 
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.
 
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.
The recipe called for a 90 minute boil? Did it include a mash with pilsner malt, by any chance? If so, the long boil is to drive off DMS.
 
yeah several of the Black Butte recipes call for 90 mins.

I think you misunderstood what I wanted to know. I probably confused the issue by asking two questions at once, one of which wasn't very important and one of which was important.

I'll ask just the important question this time.

Did the recipe include a mash of pilsner malt?
 
I think you misunderstood what I wanted to know. I probably confused the issue by asking two questions at once, one of which wasn't very important and one of which was important.

I'll ask just the important question this time.

Did the recipe include a mash of pilsner malt?

No. Variation on this
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/ag-black-butte-porter-clone-confirmation-260600/

and others as well as looking at what is in the Northern Brewers clone kit.

Light Malt Syrup
Mutons Wheat DME

English Choco Malt 350
Pale Choco Malt 200
Carapils
Crystal 80L

Galena
Cascade
Tettnang

I bottled my first run on this today which freed the fermenter to give a go at using the kits again. Sample tasting seemed promising, probably light on hops but I knew that would likely be the case as I didn't want to over hop on my first try so I cut everything back especially Tettnang. So other than the yeast and hops in the Golden Ale kit the actual extract shouldn't be all that far off from just plain light malt syrup.
 
The Mr. BEER lid blew off this morning. I heard hissing coming from the cabinet. Touched the lid and POP. It flew off.

Last night I brewed a batch of all wheat DME with hops and Muntons Ale Yeast. I used 3 pounds of DME for a 2.5 gallon batch. Starting temp was a little high and there was lots of krausen.

Needless to say after the cap blew, wort foamed out all over. I grabbed a food grade bucket, rinsed it and dumped the wort in.
 
Suggestion for Mr. Beer... make the LBK the ideal size for brewing with 3 pound bag of DME. That seems to be a standard size for buying DME. This way, no measurement is needed. It will keep using the kit for small batches and may increase kit sales.

I used too much DME and I think thats why my Mr Beer exploded.
 
Going to try a beer this coming Monday that has been bottle conditioning at room temperature for one week. It's the defibrillator dopplebock. Think that is too soon?

Wait a little longer. That is a heavy beer. I tried the DD after 12 days conditioning and it still wasn't ready. This beer needs 3 weeks minimum.
 
Suggestion for Mr. Beer... make the LBK the ideal size for brewing with 3 pound bag of DME. That seems to be a standard size for buying DME. This way, no measurement is needed. It will keep using the kit for small batches and may increase kit sales.

I used too much DME and I think thats why my Mr Beer exploded.

hmm, I used 3 lbs Light Malt Syrup and .7 lbs of Wheat DME with no issues in a Beer Machine. Pressure did get up there for a short time but considering the Beer Machine is a two piece system with a gasket it didn't leak anywhere and certainly didn't blow it's top. Yeast maybe, you said it was a touch warm when you put it in I think? I've been making sure to chill to low 60's before adding yeast. Downside is it does take a bit longer for the temp to return so yeast will get going.
 
I'm planning on using 3lbs of DME in each of a few experimental LBK brews...I have an extra o-ring/grommet intended for an airlock. Think I should drill out the top of the Mr. Beer lid for a blowoff tube?
:mug:

PS: I realize the lid is already vented, but this talk of blowouts has me a little concerned, and I may be able to prevent a bad thing.
 
Unless you have a truly exceptional amount of krausen, or are really overfilling the LBK, the blowouts are probably due to overtightening the lid.

Ease off, guys- that lid should just barely make contact. If you tighten it too much, you're closing off the vents, and building pressure. This could be dangerous since that container isn't designed to hold it.

Exploding plastic can fly at high speed, and even if you snort derisively at the idea that it's going to cause real harm, consider the much worse implication:
If your LBK blows up, you're going to waste beer!
 
If your LBK blows up, you're going to waste beer!

NOOOO!!!!!!!!

And I agree, 3lbs of either LME or DME isn't an issue in most cases so don't get hung up on the that piece of the puzzle.
 
Mr. Beer isn't really a 2.5 gallon kit. Don't fill it up with as much wort and you won't have these issues. Same as not filling up a 5 gallon bucket with 5 gallons.
 
hmm, I used 3 lbs Light Malt Syrup and .7 lbs of Wheat DME with no issues in a Beer Machine.

Keep in mind that the Beer Machine is designed for 10 liter (2.64 gallon) batches. The Mr Beer fermenter is designed for 8.5 qt (2.13 gallon) batches.
 
Keep in mind that the Beer Machine is designed for 10 liter (2.64 gallon) batches. The Mr Beer fermenter is designed for 8.5 qt (2.13 gallon) batches.

I've got my mixed batch in now, Kit plus grain/extract, that I mentioned in above post and today it's been building up some major pressure. The BM has a pressure gauge on it and it's tried to cross 17 psi several times. I've been loosening the cap to release pressure off and on but don't want to leave it open just in case I did get a blow out. Granted I did overfill just a bit but I suspect the difference in this run and the last where I had no pressure issues is all about the yeast. This batch is with their yeast which is very active and fast, remember they say go to the frig after 3-4 days.

Obviously their little pressure gauge isn't going to be the most accurate but I just checked it again and let out most of the pressure then watched it for less than two minutes as it gained an easy 2 psi. That's some hungry yeastie boys (get it)... Very active, 1.5 inches or more or krausen which you can watch churn and this is at 67-68 degrees.
 
My wife wants me to make her the blue patriot recipe. Anyone ever make this and how did you like it??
 
I bottled a winter dark ale on 2/10. Tried one today, it has no head. I had a nice crisp sound when I popped the cap, but definitely not carbed enough yet. I only used 1/2 teaspoon of corn sugar for priming, I know it was low, but can't change that now. My question is, do I just leave it for another few weeks to see if I get more carbonation or try to shake it up at all to get the yeast going again?

Good news is, it tastes good enough to drink enough tho its not carbed. ;)
 
I bottled a winter dark ale on 2/10. Tried one today, it has no head. I had a nice crisp sound when I popped the cap, but definitely not carbed enough yet. I only used 1/2 teaspoon of corn sugar for priming, I know it was low, but can't change that now. My question is, do I just leave it for another few weeks to see if I get more carbonation or try to shake it up at all to get the yeast going again?

Good news is, it tastes good enough to drink enough tho its not carbed. ;)

What size bottles are these? I suspect that the problem is that there isn't enough sugar. The sugar that you added has already been eaten and converted to co2 and alcohol. Waiting longer isn't going to help. Neither is shaking it. There's nothing left foot the yeast to get going on.
 
bpgreen said:
What size bottles are these? I suspect that the problem is that there isn't enough sugar. The sugar that you added has already been eaten and converted to co2 and alcohol. Waiting longer isn't going to help. Neither is shaking it. There's nothing left foot the yeast to get going on.

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?
 
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?

Where did you come up with the amounts for the corn sugar?

The Mr beer recommendations are 3/4 tsp for 12 oz bottles and 2 1/2 tsp for 1 liter bottles. I think the Mr beer amounts are on the high side, but those recommendations are for white sugar. You used corn sugar, which is less fermentable.

Your beers aren't uncarbonated, just under carbonated. The larger bottles are probably okay.

You could try opening each bottle, add some sugar and recap, buy there are potential problems with that. For one thing, it's difficult to come up with the right amount to add. The beers have some carbonation, but they lose some when you open the bottle. Also, when you add sugar to beer, you provide a whole bunch of nucleation sites, so you get a lot of foaming. You can try it, but it may not work well. It may work just fine, but remember you'll be resetting the click on the carb phase.

One thing you can do is mix one of these with a beer that is more highly carbonated. I've done that in the past.
 
bpgreen said:
Where did you come up with the amounts for the corn sugar?

The Mr beer recommendations are 3/4 tsp for 12 oz bottles and 2 1/2 tsp for 1 liter bottles. I think the Mr beer amounts are on the high side, but those recommendations are for white sugar. You used corn sugar, which is less fermentable

One thing you can do is mix one of these with a beer that is more highly carbonated. I've done that in the past.

I did quick research for the amount. Don't remember exactly where I came up with it but it was bottling day and I completely forgot about looking into it so I was rushed. Lesson learned.

What is recommended for 12oz bottles with corn sugar. I actually went to a calculator and put in winter ale and 2 gallons and got 0.21 cups (~10 teaspoons?). 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?

Good tip on the mixing less carbed with more carbed. I will try that out if I find my liter bottles are carbed well.

Thanks for all of the help so far. I've been learning a ton already with my first three batches and am excited to keep improving!!
 
I did quick research for the amount. Don't remember exactly where I came up with it but it was bottling day and I completely forgot about looking into it so I was rushed. Lesson learned.

What is recommended for 12oz bottles with corn sugar. I actually went to a calculator and put in winter ale and 2 gallons and got 0.21 cups (~10 teaspoons?). 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?

Good tip on the mixing less carbed with more carbed. I will try that out if I find my liter bottles are carbed well.

Thanks for all of the help so far. I've been learning a ton already with my first three batches and am excited to keep improving!!

A full teaspoon could lead to bottle bombs. I mostly keg now and when I bottled, I batch primed by weight, so I kind of forget the details. Your math is right, so if you found someplace that recommended .21 cups for two gallons, that would translate to just more than a half teaspoon per bottle. What temperature were the bottles stored at after bottling? What yeast did you use?
 
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