Bottling Mr.Beer after 7 days and letting the rest sit?

I asked this question in the Mr.Beer thread, yet, I wonder if anyone else has any suggestions that have used Mr.Beer.

I am on day seven of fermentation and I was wondering if I could bottle just one bottle then let the rest sit for another week. The reason I want to do this is because it is my first Mr.Beer batch and I want to taste the difference between beer that was bottled after the minimum recomended fermentation period versus letting the beer ferment for another week.

The beauty of homebrewing is that you can do what ever you want. Go for it. Just be sure that it is done fermenting or you could create a bottle bomb.

Yeah, that is the nice thing about home brewing. The only reason I ask is because Mr.Beer doesn't allow for a hydrometer. Since it's my first batch, not one of the countless batches that I have helped my friend with, I will try it and see how it works

F**k it. It's my first batch so I'll do it anyway. If anything it will be either a learning exprience or a good science project!

Report back in this thread with the results of your test once you've concluded it. That way others may benefit from your experience.

Experimentation is fun, by the way. I highly recommend it.

No worries. I will. I guess a few micros and some liquid courage goes a long way!


Yet, I would not necessarily recomend drunk courage to anyone...use with extreme caution!


Report of this experiment due in 7-14 days.

SudsItUp said:

The only reason I ask is because Mr.Beer doesn't allow for a hydrometer.

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Huh? I use a hydrometer with my Mr. Beer fermenters. Why couldn't you?

I would either make 100% sure fermentation was complete with a hydrometer reading, or I would wrap the bottle in a plastic bag, put it in a box, and leave it somewhere that you wouldn't mind getting beer all over.

Parks said:

Huh? I use a hydrometer with my Mr. Beer fermenters. Why couldn't you?

I would either make 100% sure fermentation was complete with a hydrometer reading, or I would wrap the bottle in a plastic bag, put it in a box, and leave it somewhere that you wouldn't mind getting beer all over.

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How are taking your sample? Are you opening the lid, or using the spigot? I am on my first batch (Day 11) and am considering taking a hydrometer reading as well.

Thanks.

I use the spigot to pour a sample into a vial barely big enough to use a hydrometer with.

I suppose it gives a small chance of infection in doing so (I've never had a problem with it), but its certainly less than the chance of opening it up and using a sterilized wine thief/baster. Opening the lid would also risk oxidation if you shook the fermenter around a little bit.

Hydrometers are cheap, and you will need one eventually anyway. They make a good investment (until you drop them).

I guess I never really thought of using the spigot (duh). I'll have to go pick up a hydrometer from my local brew store.

I would consider bottling in a soda bottleor one ofthe PET bottles you can get from Mr Beer. That way you limit some of the potential maiming action of bottle bombs.

I think you will find that there is a lot of yeast sediment, and it will taste more harsh than is you let it sit for a while longer. I will never discourage someone from experimenting and finding out for yourself though.

Let us know how it turns out. I didn't bottle my Mr. Beer batch until 2 weeks in the fermenter. I've got about 2 1/2 weeks to go before I'm even going to put one in the fridge. So, I'm almost a month from my first glass. However, I poured about a 2 oz sample from the dregs of the keg and it actually didn't taste too bad. Like beer, flat beer, but beer nonetheless.

Parks,
Thanks. I am leaning toward taking a sample from the spigot as well.

I know it is a little late but, I just joined the site. I have my first batch in the bottles right now. I took a sample from the spigot at 7 days and tasted it. It was a little sweet so, i let it go for 4 more days. What a difference in taste! It also was quite a bit more clear. I don't know if that will translate to the conditioned beer or not. It actually tasted pretty good. I am excited to see what the finished beer tastes like.

It's been about two and a half weeks since I started my Mr. Beer batch. I bottled one bottle after the minimum of 7 days and let it carbonate for the minimum of 7 days. Then I put it in the fridge for about 3 days. The result was a very carbonated beer with a harsh taste (although it did taste like beer and there was alcohol in it). The original fermentation has been fermenting at a constant temp. of 68 degrees as well as the carbonating beer. I am going to wait till the end of the week to bottle the rest of my beer and i am going to let it carbonate for around a week and a half to two weeks. I'll report back as to how those turned out.

However, I think that I am going to come to the ultimate conclusion that letting the beer ferment and carbonate longer will be better. I will keep you guys posted.

I just drank my first bottle after two weeks of conditioning and it tasted better than the first bottle yet it still had subtle overtones of the original harsh flavor that the first bottle had. I think that I need to let the beer condition for another week or two.

3 weeks primary fermenter.
3 weeks bottle conditioning.

Beer has been being made for centuries in old rock castles where they didn't have fancy sanitizer and hydrometers. Who knows what kind of beer they made though. Hydrometers are cheap though, so it's a good idea to get one. However, you can make due in the mean time by tasting the beer and seeing how sweet it is. If it is sweet, it's not done yet.