bigtuna101
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Hello everyone, first post here and first time brewing. I received a mr beer for Christmas from my father. We were talking about home brew one day so he decided to grab it to get me started.
Anyway, 4 weeks ago I brewed up the Chzech pilsner. I figured I would let it ferment for 2-3 weeks and then bottle it. I ended up waiting 4 weeks. While I was bottling today I noticed that the beer smelt sweet, almost like a wine. It also tasted kind of sweet too. Should I expect this to go away after it bottle conditions for a few more weeks?
Btw I didn't feel comfortable doing the whole add sugar to the bottles thing. Instead I boiled a cup or so of water, removed from heat, added about a 1/4 cup of sugar, added that to a bottling bucket and proceeded to transfer then bottle. I got the sugar measurement from the calculator on northern brewer site.
The color and clarity of the beer is great, just wondering about the sweet taste.
Quick question. I have 4 mr beer 2gallon tanks and have four batches going, they are all strong beers with most having at least two cans of the HME and maybe a booster (recipes from the web site) any way they have all been sitting a little over two weeks and are all starting to taste great (little sips every three days or so) but I have noticed that when I poor a little test taste into a glass they all have white creamy looking things at the bottom of the glass. I assume this is a sign the ferment is not complete etc. But thought I would ask.
Ostomo517 said:Probably yeast, just fyi I wouldnt risk infection by opening and tasting every few days.
So I was cleaning out the fridge and I found that someone had filled one of those lidded bowls with cherries. They look a little dried out, but I hate to see them go to waste, can I use these in my next brew? I was thinking of blending them up and throwing them in with the St. Pat's stout, but they are not exactly "fresh."
abandonhope16 said:I assume you haven't de-labeled then? Oxyclean is good of that. I usually do it in my sink bc there is more space. I do about half a scoop with however much water (hottish) is required to submerge the bottles. After about 20-30 minutes, the labels will either fall off on their own or slide off pretty easily. Rinse thoroughly. Then I soak in the no rinse sanitizer, making sure its gets in the bottle, then plug the hole with your thumb/finger and shake for several seconds. Allow to air dry. I guess you could also mix up some sanitising solution and pour directly into the bottles and shake.
Capper is pretty easy. Just center up the cap, place capper without shifting the cap too much and swing the arms down. Make sure to do this on a flat, hard surface. I prefer capping on the floor.
Oxy worked awesome!! Capper worked awesome too. Let the conditioning commence.
Question, I wasn't sure what to use for priming sugar on the 12oz. I did quick research and found 1/2 teaspoon. That is what I used but mr beer says 2 1/2 teaspoons for the liter bottles. Also read to use 2 teaspoons for the liter bottles. And I did use 2 teaspoons. Will I have any carbing issues?
I too am in the cidery smell and flavor boat. I let my first batch sit for 3 weeks in the LBK and now its been 3 weeks in the bottles and still cidery.
My second batch is at the 3 week mark in the LBK and who would have guess....... CIDER AGAIN!!! I suppose I'll let it sit for another week or two before putting it in bottles for a LONG time.
You might be fermenting too warm. What temps are you using to ferment/carb?
Theres a Morebeer article about off flavors: http://morebeer.com/content/homebrew-off-flavors that discusses cidery flavors.
Cidery
Tastes/Smells Like:
Apple Cider, Wine, Acetaldehyde (apples)
Possible Causes:
Using too much corn or cane sugar is the most common cause for wine or cidery
flavors. Generally, 1lb of sugar per 5 gallon batch is considered the limit before cidery
flavors start developing. Acetaldehyde can also give off a cider-like quality.
How to Avoid:
Try cutting down on the amount of corn or cane sugar being used. Using an alternate
source of fermentable sugar can help to reduce cidery or winey flavors. Dried or Liquid
malt extract will not give off any cider flavors. Honey is another good substitution as
it is almost fully fermentable but it will leave a slight to strong honey aroma and taste
depending on how much is used. If the cause is the yeast rather than cane or corn
sugar, lagering may help cidery flavors to dissipate over time.
Tastes like cider and smells like cider before adding any sugar.
Some of the 'basic' refills do come across a bit thin and cidery but with aging they ten to get rid of that. The more 'advanced' recipes/refills contain more malt extract and if fermented correctly don't have that same cidery tone to them.
Don't be surprised if you need to condition for up to 6 weeks (warm) before chilling them to get them where you like them.
Quoting myself
Really it's a matter of a 'thin' beer which is what the basic MrB kits are. Don;t get me wrong, their advanced recipes and refills are good, just don't expect much in terms of mouthfeel and malty flavors from the basic kits. They are there to ease you into things and teach you how to brew (i.e. the process).
The BYO info is referring to sugar used in the boil - not the priming sugar. Did you use a lot of sugar in the boil?
I brewed a batch of MB mexican cerveza back in early-December. I did not add any sugar, just 1 lb of light DME. I left it in the keg almost 5 weeks and then bottled with table sugar. I just opened my first one (after 2 weeks of carbing and 4 days cold conditioning) last night. BAM major cider taste. I'm thinking/hoping the one I opened was the last one filled and maybe I just got some trub in it; otherwise I may dump the batch. It was not bad but definitely not good either.
I brewed a batch of MB mexican cerveza back in early-December. I did not add any sugar, just 1 lb of light DME. I left it in the keg almost 5 weeks and then bottled with table sugar. I just opened my first one (after 2 weeks of carbing and 4 days cold conditioning) last night. BAM major cider taste. I'm thinking/hoping the one I opened was the last one filled and maybe I just got some trub in it; otherwise I may dump the batch. It was not bad but definitely not good either.
Feels good, doesn't it?. Won't be long before you want to get into 5 gallon batches, and kegging, and ......
Mr Beer is a gateway drug.
Feels good, doesn't it?. Won't be long before you want to get into 5 gallon batches, and kegging, and ......
Mr Beer is a gateway drug.
If using a bottling bucket, how much priming sugar should I use for one LBK?
Also, how much water should I use to dissolve it in?
I should add that I'm using corn sugar.
If you started it on February 9, I'd wait until Saturday (Feb 23) to bottle. I know the instructions say you can bottle after a week, but you'll have better luck if you give it two weeks. Some people wait three.I made my first batch on Feb 9th. I have three mr beer kits. Clearance at target. I scored.
I made the American light and the st Patrick's Irish stout, and added extra malt extract to both for a lil extra funk.
I'm pretty excited. i plan to let the stout set in bottles from the 2nd to the 14th and then fridge it for three days so we can slug it down on st party's.
The light I'm gonna chuck in bottles probably tonight And get it to the fridge on the 28th. Probably drink those march 8, 9 and 10th.
Wish me luck.
bpgreen said:If you started it on February 9, I'd wait until Saturday (Feb 23) to bottle. I know the instructions say you can bottle after a week, but you'll have better luck if you give it two weeks. Some people wait three.
After that, I'd leave it at room temperature for at least two weeks(longer if you can wait), then put it in the fridge for at least a week.
I put Irish stout in on the 22nd of Jan and have read darker beer takes longer. Any help on when I should bottle? Also I did a pilsner before the stout and the sugar I put into the 12oz bottles settled in the bottom. Is that normal and should I expect it from the stout. Any help or tips welcomed.
Cheers
Kevin
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