Changing Ingredients in Mr. Beer

I am getting ready to start a new batch, my 2nd, using the Mr. Beer system; but I am changing out some of the ingredients, do I need to alter the brewing process itself?

I will be using a "Whispering Wheat" Weizenbier HME but scrapping the packet of 'Booster' and using a Bavarian Wheat DME malt extract instead. Do I simply change out the ingredient, but still add it at the same stage as you would the booster?

Any pointers or other advice is appreciated.

Yeah add it in the boil. I would also recommend using a Hefeweizen yeast in place of the mr.B yeast. I did and it came out pretty good

I forgot to mention the yeast. I am going to be switching out the included yeast for a Safbrew WB-06 dry wheat beer yeast. the guy at the HB shop said it would be the right one for it.

As for adding the DME, basic Mr. Beer instructions had you adding the booster to a pot of water, bringing it to boil and then removing from heat and adding the HME, then putting the resulting wort into the fermenter tank.

Do I do the same with using the DME, or does it need to boil for a longer period etc.

No just stir it in before you get to a boil or add it when you add the HME watch out though adding DME to boiling wort will cause foaming and potential boil overs. I usually stir in the DME Before boiling then bring it up to temp.

Sounds good Gil - that is exactly what I was looking for. Sounds like I don't really change the procedure much.. just the ingredient, in this case.

No problem happy to help spread the addiction!!!!
Happy Brewing

I no longer use Mr Beer ingredients, but brewed the Whispering Wheat twice. Both times I added the booster along with 1lb wheat DME and used Danstar Munich yeast. Those were my very best Mr Beer batches. The process listed above is perfect. Enjoy!

OClairBrew - Using BOTH the Booster (corn syrup sugar solids) and the DME I have will not cause issues?

Is there any change needed regarding the yeast or water amounts etc? I understand swapping the DME for the Booster, but am new at this and not sure about adding it in ADDITION to the Booster.

One other question I thought of. I have not seen anything in the instructions about a time at boil... it just says to bring it TO a boil and then remove from heat before adding the HME. Especially with using the DME now, and possibly the Booster too, is there a certain amount of time I need to let it sit at boil?

I added both many times to get an abv around 5%. I would overfill to just under the Q on the side yeilding approximately 2.5 gallons. I would use the whole packet of yeast which is around 11grams. I would add everything to the water while it was heating up and stir to ensure even mixing then boil for approximately 10 minutes to make sure any nasties were killed off. Some will tell you you just need to keep it around 190f for a period of time without even boiling.

What I did was add the dme before the boil. It tends to clump up so add a little at a time and stir, stir, stir. Watch very carefully as the mix comes to a boil, it'll start to foam up and happen really fast. Keep a spray bottle handy and shoot the foam if it looks like it'll boil over your pot. Watch for the hot break (period when foam goes away and you have rolling boil going). Let boil for about 10-15 min and remove completely from heat. Add hme and stir it in really good while wort is hot. Chill to pitch temps, add yeast, done.

Well, I WAS going to be posting tonight about how the brew for this batch went... but I just discovered a problem which will delay the brew for several days.

Somehow, the inner nut for the spigot on my LBK has walked off... I don't know for sure if I didn't get it from the rack when I cleaned everything the other day... or if my two year old got into the box I had the unit stored in ( he tends to get into anything that is in reach ... and this was on the floor in my office closet)

Either way, the brew is now on hold until the arrival of the replacement, or discovery of the missing piece.

Guess I will have to suffer, and just sit here and drink a couple of the bottles from that first batch

I started the batch today.
This is what I used

1 Can Mr. Beer Whispering Wheat HME
1 Bag Mr. Beer Booster
1 lb Briess Bavarian Wheat DME
Safbrew WB-06 dry yeast packet
1/2 tab Whirlfloc

I followed the basic plan outlined in here in the thread and everything went pretty smooth.

Initial gravity was 1.052 (temp adjusted at 77 degrees per the hydrometer instructions table)

I know the expected ABV should be 'somewhere' around 5%; but I am not sure what the DME would add. The Mr. Beer ingredients list out at 3.7 and I would assume the DME to be between 1.2 - 1.4??

Can anyone verify the DME number?
and what should I be looking for as a FG?

This batch smelled really good and looked great going into the LBK... I can't wait to see how it turns out.:fro:

Should be real good! Plug the fugures into hopville.coms beercalculus and it will give you the og and estimated fg. Since it's a hefe, this one should still be a bit cloudy from the yeast.

Should finish out around 1.012FG depending on how fermentable the extract is I had one batch finish 1.018

Just a quick note:

Whirfloc typically gets added with 10-15 left in the boil so just adding it at flameout likely didn't gain you anything. Likewise it is used to clarify beer which you typically don't want to do in a wheat beer. Just FYI in case you didn't know.

Kealia - I drifted slightly off of the normal Mr. Beer procedure and actually did a 30 minute boil of all ingredients... minus the whirlfloc, which went in at the halfway point.

I know that usually you wouldn't worry about clarifying a wheat beer, but I had a fairly cloudy first batch and didn't care for the way it worked out, so decided to drop a 1/2 tab in.

Gil - I think I'll be happy if it gets anywhere around 1.018 or lower

OClairBrew - Thanks for the weblink... I have that bookmarked now for future use.

The beer has been in ferment for 7 days, now; smells like it should and seems to be chugging along nicely.

At what point should I start doing daily gravity readings?

I didn't have the hydrometer to take initial gravities on the first batch I did; which I racked over to bottles at 8 days. (blame impatience there, but it seems to have been fine)

I would like to make sure it has plenty of time to ferment, but don't want to have it sit unnecessarily.
It will be at least another 2 to 3 days before I bottle it anyhow, since I am planning on using regular 12oz size bottles and am waiting on the capper and caps to arrive yet.

I personally start checking gravity around the 7 day mark to see how things are coming along. I take 2 more readings throughout the week and bottle on day 14 if things are stable. Many people suggest letting it sit longer, but if you are controlling the fermenting temps and pitching enough healthy yeast it can be ready to package in a short timeframe for low gravity beers.

Eight days into ferment; gravity reading is 1.014. I will check it again either tomorrow night or Saturday.
If it is stable AND my bottle capper and caps gets here in the mail, I may be bottling on Saturday or Sunday.

It is still a bit clouded looking, but you guys say to expect that with a wheat, so I am thinking it may be near ready. There was not much for anything on the surfacewhen I checked it and did the gravity read.

All bottled up.
I did it yesterday, so 10 days in the LBK total.
I split this batch between the what was supposed to be six regular size beer bottles and the rest into 1 liter Mr. Beer bottles. There are only 5 twelve oz bottles now though; due to a slight mishap during the capping attempt on bottle number one.
The bottle shifted on the counter and I wasn't able to stop pressing fast enough so it slid out and tipped

I will let these sit now for bottle conditioning. This is the tough part... seeing the bottles all sitting there just waiting to be chilled and enjoyed.

The Basic Brewing guys did a video on a Mr. Beer batch they brewed. There are some great tips on how to get more out of your kits. Doing some of these things will also help you ease into brewing extract and steeping grains on a little larger scale.

Mike-try to let it sit 3 weeks to carb and bottle condition. I know its tough to wait, but you'll get a lot better beer.

What are you thinking about for the next batch?

Steve - I will do what I can to make myself wait out the time... but may stick a bottle or two in the fridge somewhere after 7-10 days... just for experimentation

Next batch will be the Mr Beer West Coast Pale Ale HME... but I am debating on trying a partial mash this time, even if just for a little bit of color. I really don't like overly sweet or citrus-y beers, so I would like to bump this one up a little.

I already have a pound of Muntons Plain Light DME sitting here that I can add in, to try and up the malty feel, but would like to work out a small grain bill that might add some body or at least a little color and smooth out the flavor a bit