Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

irunxcjm said:

Yes, that could be the case. An easier way than squirting the priming solution into each bottle is to pour that solution into your beer. (I'm assuming you are using only the Mr. Beer fermenter). Then stir very gently to mix it evenly. If you do rack it to a bottling bucket of sorts, then pour the solution into the bucket and rack the beer on top of it to mix.

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Yes, I am still restricted (per the Mrs. orders) to my Mr. Beer barrel. We're still in an apartment and simply have no room for a bigger setup. But once we have a house my beer making endeavors are going to expand like Rosie O'Donnell's belly.
On my first batch I did what you suggested.......I poured the dextrose right into the barrel and mixed it in. There are two problems I see with this, though. One, it's not sterilized. Two, this being the case wtih my second batch, there was a lot of setiment on the bottom of the barrel I didn't want in my bottles. That's why I used the injector with my dissolved dextrose. This ensured a sterile dextrose addition (through boiling) AND it kept me from having to deal with all that crap at the bottom of my beloved creation

Now that I know I can prime with other sugar sources (ie: honey, maple syrup) I'm going to give it a try. And I'll be sure to ease up on the priming source to eliminate some of the foam that comes from pouring my liquid goodness. Damn......I'm really liking this site. I've received more help from the people here than I EVER did calling a LHBS. Thank for the words of wisdom, folks!

Mr. Beer is today's item on woot.com! FYI.

Not a bad couple of bucks to get a MRB kit for a friend to get them introduced to homebrewing.

cstrub said:

Mr. Beer is today's item on woot.com! FYI.

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Prepare for an influx of newcomers to the hobby!

MrBeer is also giving a 20% off on everything today only to go with the woot deal. Use coupon code: WBD33 at checkout. (mrbeer.com/woot for details)

I've been using mr. beer for a while and have made 4 batches (with a 5th in process) and am looking to move on up in the word of beer making.

I read the first 300 or so comments to this thread and saw a lot of good suggestions for equipment. What are some good websites to buy the raw materials from? (or a good homebrew store in the chicago area?) where can i buy the malt and hops to make 2-2.5 gallons of beer from?

ArcaneXor said:

Prepare for an influx of newcomers to the hobby!

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New influx from Woot! checking in!

I ordered a couple of nicer beers to try after my pale ale (the four pack of premiums). If I get hooked I will probably get a nicer setup after that, but at the price Woot! had this it was a great way to test the waters without paying a fortune.

I am curious if I can use a hard cider refill the beer kit (and if so which cider refills are the best).

*Since the cider one says it can be used for ale I assume the opposite is true.... but being a newbie I don't know


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Okay, I started reading backwards through the thread to see the most recent info. Everything I see is about temp and Apfelwein. While I am very interested in the Apfelwein recepie people are using for MB, I am more concerned about making my first batch when the temp is starting to get warm. How hard is it to keep the temp down, would a cooler with an ice pack I change out each day be enough to keep it down?

I just ordered mine yesterday off of Woot, and I am very excited to start in the beginner world of Home Brewing. My first question is can I keep the beer in the Keg, or do I have to bottle it?

Main reason I ask, it'd be nice to just keep it in the Keg with the Spout I believe it has so I can fill my Mikasa Brewmaster Glasses instead of using the bottles to pour them in only about half way.

thegame310 said:

I just ordered mine yesterday off of Woot, and I am very excited to start in the beginner world of Home Brewing. My first question is can I keep the beer in the Keg, or do I have to bottle it?

Main reason I ask, it'd be nice to just keep it in the Keg with the Spout I believe it has so I can fill my Mikasa Brewmaster Glasses instead of using the bottles to pour them in only about half way.

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You need to bottle it. The lid on the Mr Beer keg is vented, so it won't hold carbonation.

Thanks for the response...I think I'll purchase more bottles then to be sure I have enough.

thegame310 said:

I just ordered mine yesterday off of Woot, and I am very excited to start in the beginner world of Home Brewing. My first question is can I keep the beer in the Keg, or do I have to bottle it?

Main reason I ask, it'd be nice to just keep it in the Keg with the Spout I believe it has so I can fill my Mikasa Brewmaster Glasses instead of using the bottles to pour them in only about half way.

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You definately need to bottle it. You cannot carbonate in the Mr Beer keg. I can't find it or I'd post the link......theres a guide on here that suggests how much sugar to use for priming when you bottle your beer. It's a good bit of info to have but the same is available in your brew kit from Mr Beer. I suggest dissolving your priming sugar in boiling water then cooling it and injecting equal portions into each bottle before filling said bottles with beer. It reduces sediment at the bottom of each bottle.

You can use plastic or glass for bottling. I use glass because its easier to clean. And I just dont like drinking beer from a plastic bottle! Hint for brewing......keep a pot with sanitizing solution in it when you brew. You never know when you're going to pick upa kitchen utensil to use that hasn't been sanitized yet.

Ah....I see the good Llama already offered his expertise in the way of brewing with Mr Beer:rockin:

Ok, I've decided I really dont want to bottle it... so I'm looking on there website. And they have a 2-Liter Classic Growler for sale

Welcome to MR.BEER® - 2-Liter Classic Growler

However, that's not large enough...are there any alternatives to bottling and possibly being able to use something larger that I could tap?

thegame310 said:

Ok, I've decided I really dont want to bottle it... so I'm looking on there website. And they have a 2-Liter Classic Growler for sale

Welcome to MR.BEER® - 2-Liter Classic Growler

However, that's not large enough...are there any alternatives to bottling and possibly being able to use something larger that I could tap?

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You can keg, but that is a pretty steep up-front investment. Google or search these forums for "Party Pig" or "Tap-a-Draft" for more low-budget alternatives to bulk storage.

ArcaneXor said:

You can keg, but that is a pretty steep up-front investment. Google or search these forums for "Party Pig" or "Tap-a-Draft" for more low-budget alternatives to bulk storage.

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Thank you so much! The Party Pig looks like the way I'm going to go. Thanks again I really appreciate it.

If I remember correctly Mr Beer also sells a tap assembly for that growler. You'd have to buy two but it will still be cheaper than purchasing a keg system.

Howdy,

I just bought one of these guys + 5 mixes from the website due to the Woot deal and I'm super-excited about this. One thing I'm concerned about is that I'm in an apartment in downtown Seattle without AC. I've come up with a few options:

1) Just do the best to keep the apartment cool. It might sometimes get up towards 80F during the summer.
2) Buy a cooler and stick the fermenter in that.
2a) Maybe add some ice before I go to work every day?
3) Use a mini-fridge set to the lowest setting and hope it doesn't get too cool.
4) Put the fermenter in my storage unit in the basement where it stays cool and a constant temperature.

I'm leaning towards #3 or #4. My primary problem with #4 is moving the fermenter up 3 floors might disturb it when I go to bottle and that it might stink up the storage unit. Could I put it in a gigantic plastic garbage bag to contain the smell?

Could I keep a mini-fridge at the right temp or is that not going to work?

#4 is my choice, plus out of sight = out of mind. That's a good thing with your first few brews.

Henny said:

#4 is my choice, plus out of sight = out of mind. That's a good thing with your first few brews.

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Probably not a bad idea. My first Mr Beer brew came out okay and it would have been much better had I tossed out the "Booster," and replaced it with extra pale or pilsner LME. I tossed the keg in a below-ground closet during the winter, which generally stayed in the low 60's. It was okay, but was quite watered down. I would probably have failed the Pepsi challenge with that stuff compared to Natural Light.

My second Mr Beer kit (Irish Stout) had no Booster, just 2 cans of LME and a packet of Munton's Ale Yeast. It came out pretty damn tasty, but not quite good enough to dissuade me from dropping a few hundred bucks on proper brewing equipment.

Henny said:

#4 is my choice, plus out of sight = out of mind. That's a good thing with your first few brews.

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What about the smell? The storage closet houses like 12 to 18 closets so other people are sharing it. All that delineates mine is some chicken wire. Are people going to complain about the smell?

popester said:

What about the smell? The storage closet houses like 12 to 18 closets so other people are sharing it. All that delineates mine is some chicken wire. Are people going to complain about the smell?

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Once it's in the keg and germenting you don't have to worry about the smell. I keep my Mr Beer kegs in the closet under the Mrs. clothes.....she hasn't castrated me yet

I haven't really noticed that much smell from the Mr. Beer batches I've brewed, but I do keep the fermenter inside of a sealed ice chest. I just fired up a Mr. Beer batch this afternoon. One nice thing about Mr. Beer is they brew up pretty quickly.

Listen to llazy_llama's advice on the booster. Ditch it and either replace it with another can of liquid extract or a pound of light dry malt extract. I boil the dry extract for a little while, but even with that additional time it's really easy to put up a batch while the kids are napping. Probably one reason why I will continue to use Mr. Beer right alongside my full 5 gallon setup.

Oh, and get better yeast. I used Nottingham on this latest batch, but if you want to go cheaper I'd bet even a Cooper's yeast would be better than the indeterminate aged yeast included with the kit.

i want to learn the art of beer making, i want to know the methods of hybridizing various brands together. i want to experiment with the beer to get a better taste altogether.help me with this.

nyctreasure said:

i want to learn the art of beer making, i want to know the methods of hybridizing various brands together. i want to experiment with the beer to get a better taste altogether.help me with this.

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Read this: How to Brew - By John Palmer - Introduction

Then practice a bit, get a few recipe kits or brew some proven recipes. Once you have a taste for the ingredients, read Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels.

Greetings, this happens to be my first post. My dive into home brewing started 4 days ago with a visit to a friend who had a Mr Beer kit. He brewed one batch with Mr Beer that he enjoyed (though I never tasted it). His second batch was with equipment he cobbled together. That batch remains to be seen if it worked out. I went over to his house the other day and he showed me how Mr Beer worked. After that, I went to a local liquor retailer and bought a Mr Beer refill kit, and a 2.5 gallon jug (for $21) from the grocery store. Without actually buying the kit with the plastic keg, I am brewing the first batch in the glass jar. I will be sure to let y'all know how it works out. I figure that if I move onto more complicated (all grain) brewing, I should still be able to use the big jar for brewing. I basicaly crammed for a week with "Home Brewing For Dummies", and "Joy of Home Brewing" before starting this hobby.

My first post here. New guy. Just got my Mr. Beer kit from woot.com. I am one to experiment. Using the WCPA mix that came with the kit, can I add about a cup of honey to the entire recipe and if so, how will it affect it?

I am not sure about the honey, but someone else here will know. I do know that I added 1 lb. of light DME in place of the booster pack that came with the WCPA kit. I really liked that beer. I still have a six pack and am trying hard to save them for a few more months.

I know the booklet that comes with the kit states that you can substitute 3/4 cup of honey for 1 cup of booster. I am wondering if I can add a cup of honey along with the entire packet of booster to the WCPA mix, I am assuming it would increase the alcohol content as well as adding some flavor. I am also considering using brown sugar instead of corn sugar or gran sugar for bottling. Suggestions?

I just got my kit today, will probably brew my first batch this weekend. I am thinking of using honey also (too many people saying don't use the booster and that the pale ale it comes with is lousy). I was wondering if raw honey is fine or if that would cause any problems (Specifically thinking of tupelo honey).

As I recall, from others posting about brewing with honey, it takes longer to ferment out and the honey taste is lost.

Since Mr.Beer kits don't come with a hydrometer, I'd advise getting one just to make sure your fermentation has finished. Otherwise, you may end up with bottle bombs!

Pogo

Oh yeah...adding sugar/honey to an existing recipe will increase the alcohol content of the finished product!!!

wolfstar said:

Greetings, this happens to be my first post. My dive into home brewing started 4 days ago with a visit to a friend who had a Mr Beer kit. He brewed one batch with Mr Beer that he enjoyed (though I never tasted it). His second batch was with equipment he cobbled together. That batch remains to be seen if it worked out. I went over to his house the other day and he showed me how Mr Beer worked. After that, I went to a local liquor retailer and bought a Mr Beer refill kit, and a 2.5 gallon jug (for $21) from the grocery store. Without actually buying the kit with the plastic keg, I am brewing the first batch in the glass jar. I will be sure to let y'all know how it works out. I figure that if I move onto more complicated (all grain) brewing, I should still be able to use the big jar for brewing. I basicaly crammed for a week with "Home Brewing For Dummies", and "Joy of Home Brewing" before starting this hobby.

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Make sure it vents to release the pressure created during fermentation or you'll end up with a BIG mess on your hands.

n8r0n said:

My first post here. New guy. Just got my Mr. Beer kit from woot.com. I am one to experiment. Using the WCPA mix that came with the kit, can I add about a cup of honey to the entire recipe and if so, how will it affect it?

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I also bought one on woot, and brewed today. I know that this is the Easy Mac version of homebrewing, but like so many have said, it's a low-barrier entrance into the hobby that is frankly, a little intimidating.

I'm excited to see how the beer comes out - I added some table sugar to increase the gravity and some lime juice as it will be ready in time for summer. Hopefully I didn't ruin my first-ever batch?

I also bought mine on woot. I went to set everything up, kind of excited to try it out, and hey, look at that. I'm missing the nut for the tap assembly, so it leaks.. a lot.

I am ready to bottle my first ever batch on Saturday after 3 weeks of fermenting. I will be heading over to MLHBS Friday to pick up a capping tool and the corn sugar. I have a few questions though.
First, when I cooked up the batch, I used a Mr. Beer premium recipe (The Proud Papa Pils). The instructions stated, "put into the boiling water the two cans and the hop sack. This is your wort. Pour your wort in the fermenter." Was the hop sack supposed to stay in, or does that get removed?
Also, how many 12oz bottles will I need to sanitize for the standard Mr. Beer batch? What if I go with all 22 oz bombers?
And lastly, I want to go the home made dextrose route when I bottle, but everything is kind of lost in this thread. The quick jumps provided by Orfy unfortunatly no longer seem to land in the right place. Anyone with knowledge care to repeat the advice here?
Thank you in advance. This really is a great site and I look forward to posting here more as I get deeper into the world homebrewing.

CCBW,
1. The hop sack was supposed to come out when you transfered to the fermenter.
2. Its been a while since I used my MB, but if you have a 2.5 gallon batch the math is like this.
128 oz.per gallon.
2.5 gallons = 320 oz.
320 oz. divided by 12=26.6
320 oz. divided by 22=14.6
We must consider that we can not get all of the beer out of the fermenter with out geting a lot of yeast/trub from the bottom, but plan to have a couple of extra bottles on hand just in case.
3. I don't know about home made dextrose or the quick links-sorry.

In my instructions it says in gigantic caps to keep the hop sack with the wort the entire time.

Thumper said:

CCBW,
1. The hop sack was supposed to come out when you transfered to the fermenter.

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First, thank you very much for the info.
Second, did I ruin the beer by leaving it in?

CCBW said:

First, thank you very much for the info.
Second, did I ruin the beer by leaving it in?

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I would think that your beer will be fine. It is very hard to completly ruin beer. I don't think that you will even be able to tell the differance.

popester said "In my instructions it says in gigantic caps to keep the hop sack with the wort the entire time."

I stand corrected, but I do think that the beer will be fine.

Thumper said:

CCBW,
1. The hop sack was supposed to come out when you transfered to the fermenter.

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With the Mr. Beer recipes I did that included additional hops, their instructions actually tell you to leave it in during the fermenting process. It doesn't hurt anything either, but dry hopping really isn't effective if done during fermentation.

ifishsum said:

With the Mr. Beer recipes I did that included additional hops, their instructions actually tell you to leave it in during the fermenting process. It doesn't hurt anything either, but dry hopping really isn't effective if done during fermentation.

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Thanks for helping clear that up! That is what I was thinking. I had never heard of dry hopping during fermetnation, but I am new at this as well.