Off to a start (Mr. Beer)

I just put together my first batch today. I am using the West Coast Pale ale that came in the kit.

A few things made more sense while I was in the process, correct me if I am wrong here. I want to learn about this process and as much as I read, doing it drives it home.

Booster- This is corn sugar used to feed the yeasties and produce more alcohol without really adding much flavor to the recipe.

HME- this is like concentrated orange juice. Malt, hops, everything is in, all I had to do was rehydrate. This contains what will become the beers flavor and color. I had to lick the empty can to see what this was, cause holy crap did the kitchen smell good at this stage. It tasted neat, but I don't think I'd put it on my sausage.

Yeast- the organism that eats the Malt and sugar, creating the alcohol and I guees taking the sweet flavor away from the HME.




Looking ahead, I'll be VERY interested in finding a recipe I can make once for a baseline, then begin changing things one at a time so I can see the effects of each ingredient and how its added on a specific beer. I kinda think this will be useful in understanding exactly how to brew the beer of my dreams. I plan on hitting up the local brew store before bottling. I have been reading the huge MR. Beer thread here in my free time, which is minimal when you have a 2 year old and a 9month prego wife.

Happy Brewing!

wlcome, i just did my mr beer two weeks ago, i already have 5 gallons of american wheat fermenting. get ready to visit you lhbs, its addicting.

You pretty much got the basic idea. If you like the Mr. Beer ingredients, you might consider upgrading to the deluxe or premium packs (or the custom recipes) that use more malt extract instead of the booster.

Once you have 3-4 batches under your belt, you'll probably want to look into making 5-gallon extract batches using premium ingredients from suppliers like Austin Homebrew Supply for more control over your process and better-tasting beers.

ArcaneXor said:

You pretty much got the basic idea. If you like the Mr. Beer ingredients, you might consider upgrading to the deluxe or premium packs (or the custom recipes) that use more malt extract instead of the booster.

Once you have 3-4 batches under your belt, you'll probably want to look into making 5-gallon extract batches using premium ingredients from suppliers like Austin Homebrew Supply for more control over your process and better-tasting beers.

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3 or 4 batches? i was bottling my first MrBeer batch as i cooked my wort for 5 gallons of american wheat. i do have an issue of diving into a new hobby all out, maybe im not normal!

nvr2low said:

3 or 4 batches? i was bottling my first MrBeer batch as i cooked my wort for 5 gallons of american wheat. i do have an issue of diving into a new hobby all out, maybe im not normal!

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Nah, you're not that bad. My first Mr. Beer batch is still bottle conditioning and I've already been down to the LHBS and picked up a basic 5 gallon equipment kit as well. You sound like me, once I start something I dive in quickly, but I also tend to do a lot of research before I take that initial plunge.

Shooter said:

Nah, you're not that bad. My first Mr. Beer batch is still bottle conditioning and I've already been down to the LHBS and picked up a basic 5 gallon equipment kit as well. You sound like me, once I start something I dive in quickly, but I also tend to do a lot of research before I take that initial plunge.

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Same story, nearly to a T.

Welcome to a great hobby. You'll find a steady progression of things you may choose to do to improve the quality of your beer. You aren't limited to using Mr. B ingredients with the Mr. B keg.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I started with a Mr. Beer, the best thing I can tell you is to keep your fermentation temps as close to 65* as possible, and double the time tables they give in their instructions. I made some decent beer once I figured that out (thanks to HBT).

Thanks.


Last night I was picturing little yeasties running around eating sugar, pissing alcohol, farting carbonation, and pooping sediment.

NoMoore said:

Thanks.


Last night I was picturing little yeasties running around eating sugar, pissing alcohol, farting carbonation, and pooping sediment.

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Now that's funny !!!!!!!

Scott

Last night I was picturing little yeasties running around eating sugar, pissing alcohol, farting carbonation, and pooping sediment.

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My wife and I have a running joke about loving yeast feces, best stuff ever.