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Gonzo437 said:
I added the hops to the boil and boiled 10 minutes

One problem, I was not able to strain the hops out when I put the wort into the fermenter. Is that going to cause issues?
Click to expand...

Hops are naturally anti-bacterial, so even if you don't boil them at all, they won't cause problems.

With a ten-minute boil, you extracted very little bitterness from them, but you should have decent aroma. I'd say that should turn out pretty good, except of course I would be concerned about the amount of adjuncts (non-malt sugars) you used.

I'd say your beer will probably resemble a commercial beer, rather than what my wife's uncles call "chewy beer", but of course your beer will have a lot more kick. ;)

EDIT: As malticulous mentioned, hops generally settle to the bottom. They don't cause problems, but sometimes the volume of them reduces the amount of beer you can bottle. If you add way too many, they can get sucked into the MrB bottling spout, where they could cause either blockages or they could get into your bottles. I have accidentally bottled hop residue in the past, and it's not a big deal even if it gets into your bottle, so long as you do the "homebrew pour" and leave the last bit of beer in the bottom of the bottle.
 
flushdrew42 said:
First Post... figure it should go here...
i too, got a mr beer from woot, b/c well, i was on christmas break from work and thought, "I like beer, i like to learn how things are made, why not make some beer?"

I work with a guy who is a longtime homebrewer, and his stuff is great, but I felt the cost was "prohibitive" to getting started. (sounds familiar i realize, after reading 300+ pages of this thread)

I am very glad I found this place before brewing my first kit, which arrived yesterday. I was able to get some UME from my coworker, and replaced the booster. It's currently in the fermenter, bubbling away...

i'm now shopping for supplies for my second brew.

i have extremely limited space, to brew/ferment in and am considering a northern brewer 2 gallon bucket, so i can alternate the mr beer and then the brewbucket, and still produce smaller batches. anyone tried one of these? pros/cons?

my first "drewbrew" recipe at the moment i think, will be this.
NB Gold Malt Extract
Cascade Hops
dark brown sugar
Muntons brewer's yeast.

any "gotchas" in my first batch outside of the mr beer? thanks in advance, and thanks for the hundreds of awesome ideas i've gained from reading this entire thread. (not to mention the hours i spent) :) :mug:

drew
Click to expand...

You read 300+ pages? You are dedicated. :mug:

I've used a two-gallon bucket before. No problems. The yeast cake is a relatively larger proportion of the volume as compared to a 5-gallon bucket, so don't get too "greedy" trying to get the last couple of ounces of beer. That's my only advice vis-a-vis a two gallon bucket.

You didn't say 1) how many ounces of hops or 2) how long you will boil them. Also, with your recipe, what style are you going for? I would say that if you used cane sugar or corn sugar it could be a "cream ale", but with brown sugar I don't know what that would be...

Cream Ale - BeerAdvocate

As for how many ounces of hops, my general rule of thumb (and this depends on style, of course) would be 1-1.5 ounces of 5% AA per 5 gallons, with half at 45-60 minutes and half at 10 minutes. Of course each recipe should be individually tailored, but if you are just basically pulling the recipe out of your hindquarters (;)), then that's as good a place to start as any.

Once you get the recipe to a place you like, you should post it in the newbie forum and ask for feedback. Be specific on volumes, boil times, measurements, etc., so that people can give you detailed answers.

Good luck, and enjoy the process!

EDIT: when I used a 2 gallon bucket, it was for 1 gallon of beer. If you want to make 2 gallons of beer in a bucket, either use Fermcap-S to control the kreusen (foam), or make a blow-off tube, or use a 3-4 gallon bucket. That is a very important thing to remember.
 
Justibone,
thanks for the reply!
You read 300+ pages? You are dedicated.
Click to expand...
i did read them all... because i really don't want to screw this up, and i got hooked in the stories of how people got started, or how they made this cheap fermenting kit work to make good beer. I am pleased to say i have a LOT of bubbles atop my modified WCPA in my Mr. Beer this morning, looks good. lots of "up and down" movement in the keg.

when I used a 2 gallon bucket, it was for 1 gallon of beer.
Click to expand...

i wasn't thinking about making only a gallon from the 2 gal fermenter, but it might actually help, b/c i don't have a lot of bottles at the moment, and i could benefit from a smaller batch in between.

i could set up a blowoff tube to prevent disasters too...


Also, with your recipe, what style are you going for?
Click to expand...
as far as the recipe,
i got the basic idea from my coworker, i'm going for a dark gold ale, he has a "similar" recipe that uses the same extract and dark brown sugar(DBS), he however, steeps some grains, and uses a more exotic hops process.

i like the end product he gets, it's not quite brown, but darker than gold, and has a very smooth taste/mouthfeel. (if i am using those words right- noob)

he recommended the cascade hops b/c they are popular, neutral, and consistent. (his words, not mine)

i'm planning this for my 2gal fermenter, so in light of your info, i'm adjusting my recipe a bit, but my original thought was this.

3.15lbs NB gold LME
1/2 c DBS
1/2 oz cascade hops 45min boil

2 weeks in fermenter, 2 weeks in bottles.

just waiting on my supplies to arrive from northernbrewer and we'll see.

stupid question... if LME doesn't list that it's "hopped" is that a guarantee that it is Unhopped?


thanks again! i'll post my recipe in the newbie recipe area soon.
 
Walzenbrew said:
I have a batch in the fermentor and am bottling soon. I don't have a bottling bucket and was considering just placing the priming sugar in the bottles as per instructions. Would mixing the sugar in water and adding it directly to the mr beer keg stir up too much trub? I'm buying my 5 gal kit this weekend so I won't have to worry for too much longer, because I can add the sugar to the secondary with that kit. Any advice? I know I read a similar post earlier but cannot find it.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes, you are going to stir up a LOT of trub if you prime in the primary fermenter. If you really want to batch prime and don't have a second MrB keg you can go to Walmart (or similar store) and look for a slimline water container. Many people use those for priming and/or cold crashing.
 
flushdrew42 said:
as far as the recipe,
i got the basic idea from my coworker, i'm going for a dark gold ale, he has a "similar" recipe that uses the same extract and dark brown sugar(DBS), he however, steeps some grains, and uses a more exotic hops process.

i like the end product he gets, it's not quite brown, but darker than gold, and has a very smooth taste/mouthfeel. (if i am using those words right- noob)
Click to expand...

His mouthfeel probably comes from the proteins he gets in the mash or steep. If you can add "head enhancer" it will help in that regard, but when you do all extract, the head and mouthfeel on your beers tend to - but are not guaranteed to - be less complete.

he recommended the cascade hops b/c they are popular, neutral, and consistent. (his words, not mine)
Click to expand...

True, kind-of true, and true. But that's just my opinion! ;)

Cascade is still a good choice. If I was going for a brown sugar feel, though, I'd be more comfortable with a Fuggles or East Kent Goldings... a hop that is in my opinion more accustomed to a nutty beer, just in case the non-fermentables in that DBS come through.

i'm planning this for my 2gal fermenter, so in light of your info, i'm adjusting my recipe a bit, but my original thought was this.

3.15lbs NB gold LME
1/2 c DBS
1/2 oz cascade hops 45min boil
Click to expand...

Is that 4 lbs. of fermentables in one gallon? My rule of thumb for fermentables is: 1 lb. of sugar in 1 gallon of beer equals approximately 5% alcohol. Of course it will be less than that because LME is not 100% fermentable, but it is still going to be about champagne strength!

You can use The Beer Recipator - Home to calculate recipe variables and get a better idea of ABV% and IBUs.

stupid question... if LME doesn't list that it's "hopped" is that a guarantee that it is Unhopped?
Click to expand...

"There are no stupid questions"... okay, there is such a thing. But that's not one. ;)

Anyways, if it doesn't say hopped, it's not hopped. Often we call hopped malt extract HME instead of LME for that reason. MrB extract is always hopped as I understand it, but other malts may or may not be.
 
justibone - thanks a ton!

per your info, i'm adjusting my recipe to come closer to that 5% mark.

good to know on the hops, i'm going to order some that will closer match the type of beer output i'm hoping to come out with. fuggles sound like i could make a "fugglin' gold ale" so i'm probably going with those. (name alone)

it appears with the supplies i already have on the way, i'd be able to make the 2G bucket twice, or it and the MrB each with what i was planning for one batch. which could be interesting to see how they differ just b/c of a different fermenter.

i'd like to do a dark after this, my coworker (literally) just brought me a jug of dark LME(unhopped) and 3 ounces of his preferred dark beer hops. (he's forgetting i have a very limited space, and small fermenters.) but it is a great problem to have, i guess.

after looking at the recipator thing, i apparently need a manual to figure it out :confused: but i'll get there.

thanks again for all the help.
 
Justibone said:
MrB extract is always hopped as I understand it, but other malts may or may not be.
Click to expand...

That is the one thing I will correct.

MrB refers to their extracts as either HME (hopped malt extract) or UME (unhopped malt extract).

It will state on the can which is which.

Otherwise I agree with everything he said.
 
I am also new here and also got a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas. I have let it sit in my closet for 7 days now and took a taste test and to my suprise it taste drinkable. I will leave it for a few more days and then it's bottling time. As for now I am happy with what I have done even thought it's not real brewing. I will be lurking around some more to see what I can do next.

Scott
 
Day 4... and i am finally starting to feel the "isn't it beer yet?!?!" aggravation.

it helps that i have equipment coming for batch 2 and 3, new fermenter etc.

but the part i wasn't prepared for is the lack of knowing how ANY batch will come out yet. part of my head keeps thinking, "what if they suck? what if you have NO idea what you're doing?"
i can't even imagine how the WCPA (altered) batch that is still weeks away from tasting will be... let alone the brews i have planned.

oh well. at least i'm reading TONS here to help me succeed. (vent over)
 
Justibone said:
Consistency comes with time.
Click to expand...

And I will add that you have to set expectations accordingly. You ARE making beer. The quality of that beer will vary with how well you followed directions, controlled your temps, etc.

Here's what I will caution you on: Soon (a few batches down the road) you're going to understand how to make your beer even better (hop additions, ME additions, different yeast, temperatures and time aging). You may be tempted at that point to 'blame' the MrB product(s) for your first beer that was just "ok" and decide to move away from them thinking that they are the problem. Keep in mind that it's not an apples to apples comparison.

My first WCPA was "ok" but it was my first home brew so I LOVED it. I went back after about a year of brewing with extracts and AG and re-did the WCPA with extra DME and a better yeast and it made a REALLY good beer.
 
Kealia said:
And I will add that you have to set expectations accordingly. You ARE making beer. The quality of that beer will vary with how well you followed directions, controlled your temps, etc.

Here's what I will caution you on: Soon (a few batches down the road) you're going to understand how to make your beer even better (hop additions, ME additions, different yeast, temperatures and time aging). You may be tempted at that point to 'blame' the MrB product(s) for your first beer that was just "ok" and decide to move away from them thinking that they are the problem. Keep in mind that it's not an apples to apples comparison.

My first WCPA was "ok" but it was my first home brew so I LOVED it. I went back after about a year of brewing with extracts and AG and re-did the WCPA with extra DME and a better yeast and it made a REALLY good beer.
Click to expand...

+1

I still use my Mr Beer fermenters sometimes, but also do a lot of 4 and 5 gallon batches. Some of my batches are extract, some partial mashes, and I finally have the equipment to do some all grain batches. But the keg I tapped the other day is a 5 gallon OVL batch that is almost unmodified. I used more cans of HME and fewer bags of Booster than a strict volume conversion would warrant, but I didn't do a PM or add a hop boil or anything, just used the Mr Beer ingredients. It's really tasty and took less than an hour from the time I got out the ingredients to the time I pour it in the fermenter.
 
I need some suggestions. My first ever brew, Mr. Beer West Coast Pale Ale has been in primary for 17 days now. I had wanted to bottle it tonight because I finally have the time, but I just remembered: I got a small bag of Willamette pellet hops thanks to the "official 2011 pay it forward thread". The bag is a sandwich sized ziploc, that the previous owner wrote "Willamette 5.5 A" on, and has been sitting in my garage since. Not 100% sure exactly what that means, or if they're still usable. Would anybody advise dry hopping with them for a week and then bottle? Or since it's my first batch should I just bottle as is so I can learn to taste the differences in my techniques? I'm leaning towards just bottling as is and dry hopping in the future, but after a taste test at day 14, the WCPA didn't seem all that hoppy. I really enjoy super hopped pale ales (Dogfish head 90 minute, SN Torpedo, etc.)

Anybody ever in a similar situation care to advise? TIA

-Grayson
 
NCGrayson said:
I need some suggestions. My first ever brew, Mr. Beer West Coast Pale Ale has been in primary for 17 days now. I had wanted to bottle it tonight because I finally have the time, but I just remembered: I got a small bag of Willamette pellet hops thanks to the "official 2011 pay it forward thread". The bag is a sandwich sized ziploc, that the previous owner wrote "Willamette 5.5 A" on, and has been sitting in my garage since. Not 100% sure exactly what that means, or if they're still usable. Would anybody advise dry hopping with them for a week and then bottle? Or since it's my first batch should I just bottle as is so I can learn to taste the differences in my techniques? I'm leaning towards just bottling as is and dry hopping in the future, but after a taste test at day 14, the WCPA didn't seem all that hoppy. I really enjoy super hopped pale ales (Dogfish head 90 minute, SN Torpedo, etc.)

Anybody ever in a similar situation care to advise? TIA

-Grayson
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with the 2011 pay it forward thread. When was it? May? November? It makes a difference how long the hops were sitting. How hot did the garage get while the hops were sitting in it?

You could open the bag and smell them to see if they still smell good. They tend to get a "cheesy" smell when they get old.

Keep in mind that if you dry hop, you'll get aroma but no flavor or bitterness, so if the hoppy characteristic you want is the flavor or bitterness, you'll need to go back in time and do a hop boil (or save them for another batch).

The 5.5 A on the bag means 5.5% Alpha Acid. That's a measurement of how much bitterness they add when boiled. You can plug that in to software like Qbrew, Beersmith, etc.
 
Thanks to the 50% off sale after Christmas that Bed Bath & Beyond had, I have a few cans of Whispering Wheat and Canadian Draft. I am wanting to tinker a little and am looking for suggestions for specialty grains that would go well with these two. Any recomendations and reasons (I like to know why I am doing something) are greatly appreciated! :fro:
 
I got a Mr Beer kit for Christmas from my sister in law and thought i'd share my experience so far as a first time home brewer. So the WCPA that the kit came with has been fermenting for 10 days. A little taste test at 7 days indicated that it was coming along just fine. It was very cloudy and yeasty, but it tasted like beer for sure. On days 1-5, it was quite foamy with about an inch of krausen. Now it's pretty settled looking and it seems to be starting to clear up. Can't wait to taste it after some conditioning and carbing!
 
Question - I have moved on from my Mr. Beer kit to some more "advanced" extract brewing, but I still have some leftover Mr. Beer stuff...is there anything I can do with a couple bags of booster, a can of Blonde Ale HME and a pound of Cowboy Golden Lager HME aside from just the straight forward Mr. Beer recipes? Also, is the yeast that comes with the Mr. Beer kits decent?
 
With some steeping grains you can make about anything out of that hopped extract. Just use it as regular LME. You will have to calculate the IBU it contributes.

You can use the boosters as adjunct. 10% in a beer is barely noticable, 20-30% is more like cream ale/American Lager.

The only problem with the yeast is it's only 2 grams. It's not enough for a bigger batch, or even a high gravity Mr. Beer batch.
 
Malticulous said:
With some steeping grains you can make about anything out of that hopped extract. Just use it as regular LME. You will have to calculate the IBU it contributes.

You can use the boosters as adjunct. 10% in a beer is barely noticable, 20-30% is more like cream ale/American Lager.

The only problem with the yeast is it's only 2 grams. It's not enough for a bigger batch, or even a high gravity Mr. Beer batch.
Click to expand...

Thanks, another question...since one of the HME cans I have left claims it's a Lager extract, is it OK to use it in Ales? I thought that Lagering just involved a different fermentation duration/temp and a different yeast.
 
I just got the Mr. Beer kit for Christmas as well. It came with the West Coast Ale and has been fermenting for 8 days as of today. Trub has built up along the bottom of the keg. I'm planning on waiting 2 weeks, placing the keg in the fridge and propping the back end up slightly (to help with bottling) for a 24-48 hour cold crash, and then bottling using the spigot and the 1L PET bottles the kit came with.

1)Is it ok to move from a cold crash, into bottles, then into warm conditioning for 2 weeks? Then cold conditioning for 2 weeks?

2)The instructions say use 2 1/2 teaspoons white sugar, but I've read on here that corn sugar is better. I'm sure my local homebrew supply sells corn sugar, so it's a 1:1 ratio? 2 1/2 teaspoons corn sugar per 1L bottle?

3)I've also read on here it's easier to dissolve all your sugar in a small amount of hot water, then add it directly to the keg just before bottling versus adding to the bottles individually. Adding more water to the mix is ok? And though it will blend with the wort some, I would need it to be well mixed to ensure each bottle receives the same amount of sugars. Is it ok to gently stir the wort after the sugar water is added? Won't that stir up the trub greatly?

I have read through the stickies some and also various other message boards. Quite honestly, most of them are still over my head. I have much to learn.
 
1- That's fine. Crashing will drop out some yeast. The last bottles will be from the top of the fermenter where there is less yeast. Those bottles could take longer to carb.

2- The difference between corn and table sugar for priming is not something that can be tasted. I use table sugar. The different amount needed is to small to measure for just one liter. If you bulk prime there is a measurable difference in the weight needed. It's much more precise .

3- If you bulk prime you add it to water and bring it to a boil before adding it. Most people will just siphon on top of the priming solution. I stir (not splashing at all) it so the sugar and yeast are more even from bottle to bottle. Your not bulk priming. Just putting granulated sugar in the bottle will work, but again it's less precise. You could look into carb tabs.
 
Thank you for your response.

I know the instructions want me to put the sugar into each bottle, but then it also says you're suppose to turn the bottles upside down a few times to help mix/dissolved the sugar. I know you're not suppose to aerate the brew at all, so this seemed like a less than optimal method. Dissolving all the sugar in boiling water first (bulk priming?) seems like a much better method to ensure all the sugar is dissolved. I just wanted to make sure each bottle gets the same amount of sugars in it though.

I may just use white sugar anyway, but what would be the ratio of white sugar to corn sugar? 20 teaspoons of white sugar (2.5 x 8) equals how many corn sugar?
 
Firebirddude, I'm right there with you. I'll be bottling for the first time Monday. I've seen people suggest GENTLY rolling the bottles on a table instead of turning them upside down. That's what I plan on doing. I'll also be using table sugar and adding it dry to the bottles to avoid stirring up the crap at the bottom of the keg. My wife's uncle brews some really great beer, but he stirs in a sugar/water mix to the fermenter and he has trouble with stuff floating in the bottles. I realize that can be caused by a lot of factors, but still.
 
I am planning on bottling my first Mr. Beer batch tomorrow. I have a bottling bucket so I wanted to batch prime it. After researching, it should be ok to put the sugar in the bottling bucket and then just rack the beer into it, correct? Also, how much table sugar would be necessary for a 2 gallon batch?
 
All - if you plan on batch/bulk priming you really need a second vessel (bottling bucket, MrB keg, etc.). You do not want to add your sugar/water solution to the keg where you fermented because when you stir it to mix the sugar in you are going to be disturbing the trub and getting that all in your bottles.

In terms of how much sugar to use, there are a number of good calculators out there to use including this one.

Here's a link to a write up on the process and how to use the calculators as well.
 
Malticulous said:
You might want to read Revvy's thread.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/
Click to expand...
Thanks. Reading it now.
Kealia said:
All - if you plan on batch/bulk priming you really need a second vessel (bottling bucket, MrB keg, etc.). You do not want to add your sugar/water solution to the keg where you fermented because when you stir it to mix the sugar in you are going to be disturbing the trub and getting that all in your bottles.

In terms of how much sugar to use, there are a number of good calculators out there to use including this one.

Here's a link to a write up on the process and how to use the calculators as well.
Click to expand...
How do you transfer the brew into a secondary bottling bucket without aerating it?

Sorry for the stupid questions. Like I said, I have much to learn and a lot of the Wikis/stickies out there are still over my head.
 
Kealia said:
All - if you plan on batch/bulk priming you really need a second vessel (bottling bucket, MrB keg, etc.). You do not want to add your sugar/water solution to the keg where you fermented because when you stir it to mix the sugar in you are going to be disturbing the trub and getting that all in your bottles.

In terms of how much sugar to use, there are a number of good calculators out there to use including this one.

Here's a link to a write up on the process and how to use the calculators as well.
Click to expand...

Just what I was looking for, Thanks :mug:
 
MrB temporarily discontinued their locking spigots while they change to a new version. IIRC, that and the wand should be ready mid-January. Check their site.
 

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