Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

olephart said:

I opened one a few minutes ago, (carbing 4 days so far), not much of a pop when it was opened, but after about 5 seconds the "foam volcano thing" happened. The OG was 1.050, FG before adding the DME for carbonating was 1.010, it is now 1.017. Kinda tastes like a Guinness stout .



Will the "foam volcano thing" go away in the next couple of weeks of carbination. Any thoughts.

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The one batch I way over carbed started off exactly like this scenario. Had a couple less than adequately carbed batches, so bumped it up. Unfortunately, there's some pretty big variance in fermentables with different DME brands, as shown on the calculator, so you're flying somewhat blindly not having Briess specifically on the list. My batch did the volcano thing pretty early on. I had a mix of regular mixed brand 12 is bottles as well as grolsch swing tops. They all ended up exploding in a pretty violent manner after several weeks. Not trying to scare you, and you may be fine, but I would be very cautious. My recommendations are try them frequently. If they are already gushing, I'd suggest placing a few in the fridge for at least 48 hours to let the c02 absorb, and see how the carbonation's coming along. If it's decent, I'd consider throwing them all in the fridge at that point, and be very careful opening them.

Again - not trying to scare you, but bottle bombs are real and very dangerous.

Yeah, thinking of pasturing this batch Real soon. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=193295. Probably in a few days. Oh well, I guess my third batch is gonna be a little malty. Think I should pop open the flip-tops for a second or two and reclose them to release some of the pressure before pasturing?

olephart said:

Yeah, thinking of pasturing this batch Real soon. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=193295. Probably in a few days. Oh well, I guess my third batch is gonna be a little malty. Think I should pop open the flip-tops for a second or two and reclose them to release some of the pressure before pasturing?

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All pasteurized... and a couple in the fridge to "test":cross: I opened and closed them quickly to release some pressure. Some popped louder than others.

Then sat them in a basin of hot tap water while my big pot heated up go 180*. I even put an empty bottle with room temp water to check, and sure enough about 1/3 to 1/2 way through the ten minute 180* bath, the temp in the open water bottle reached and passed 165*.

Now i have to wait and see how they turn out...

By the way, anybody happen to know what the apparent attenuation of Breiss CBW Sparkling Amber DME might be?

olephart said:

All pasteurized... and a couple in the fridge to "test":cross: I opened and closed them quickly to release some pressure. Some popped louder than others.

Then sat them in a basin of hot tap water while my big pot heated up go 180*. I even put an empty bottle with room temp water to check, and sure enough about 1/3 to 1/2 way through the ten minute 180* bath, the temp in the open water bottle reached and passed 165*.

Now i have to wait and see how they turn out...

By the way, anybody happen to know what the apparent attenuation of Breiss CBW Sparkling Amber DME might be?

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I just heard from Briess "...use 1 ounce of DME per gallon of beer,"... "When a recipe calls for priming sugar you can use it (Briess DME) in as a direct 1:1 replacement.".

So my 5.5 oz of Briess DME would have been good for a 5.5 gallon batch.
I should have used 2.5 oz of Briess DME to bottle carbonate my 2.5 gallon batch.
:smack:

olephart said:

I am wanting to brew Briess Turtle on a Log; http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Recipes/beer/display/turtle-on-a-log



(2.5 gal instead of 5 gal.)



But I'm not sure how long to ferment it for. The recipe uses Wyeast 1056 Ale Yeast, (Temperature Range 60-72 F. My local home brew only had Fermentis Safale US-05 (Temperature Range 53.6-77F [ideally 59.7-71.6 F]) . The Briess recipe says to “cool to 55-60 F and transfer to primary fermenter”, “top off with cold water, Oxygenate and pitch yeast” and basically stops there…

It's a dark ale, I think I'm going to ferment at about 60 F, the Yeast producer (Fermentis) recommends 59.7-71.6 F.



Any thoughts on how long to ferment?

Secondary fermentation, if so how long?



I tried emailing Briess about a couple of their recipes but only got a reply on one, after a couple of weeks.

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I'd personally not go below 64-66 with wlp001/wy1056/us-05 as it can get a little fruity and solvent like in my experience. Just let it roll at 68f for a week and this will be done and any byproducts will be cleaned up quite well. Cold crash for a couple of days and package your beer.

olephart said:

Yeah, thinking of pasturing this batch Real soon. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=193295. Probably in a few days. Oh well, I guess my third batch is gonna be a little malty. Think I should pop open the flip-tops for a second or two and reclose them to release some of the pressure before pasturing?

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Be careful pasteurizing. You are taking an already over pressure bottle and heating it adding more pressure. I'd toss em all in a cold, cold fridge next to the coots mountains and just drink them all up soon.

olephart said:

I just heard from Briess "...use 1 ounce of DME per gallon of beer,"... "When a recipe calls for priming sugar you can use it (Briess DME) in as a direct 1:1 replacement.".

So my 5.5 oz of Briess DME would have been good for a 5.5 gallon batch.
I should have used 2.5 oz of Briess DME to bottle carbonate my 2.5 gallon batch.
:smack:

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That's good to know.

As you've found out, Laaglander is probably the least fermentable dme. Briess is one of the most fermentable (maybe the most fermentable).

My 1st batch o' brew is IN the bottle. Some interesting developments in fermentation though. For example when I opened the ice chest it's been fermenting in for 3 weeks there had obviously been some seepage (?) out the cap. But not too much.

fedoradude said:

My 1st batch o' brew is IN the bottle. Some interesting developments in fermentation though. For example when I opened the ice chest it's been fermenting in for 3 weeks there had obviously been some seepage (?) out the cap. But not too much.

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What we're the temperatures where you were fermenting? Were you swapping bottles of ice in the ice chest?

Fermentation is exothermic, so if the room temperature was 65, the fermentation temperature could be more than 70. If you had it in a cooler stoutly ice, it was probably even warmer than that.

Warmer temperatures lead to very active fermentation. That can lead to overflows.

bpgreen said:

What we're the temperatures where you were fermenting? Were you swapping bottles of ice in the ice chest?

Fermentation is exothermic, so if the room temperature was 65, the fermentation temperature could be more than 70. If you had it in a cooler stoutly ice, it was probably even warmer than that.

Warmer temperatures lead to very active fermentation. That can lead to overflows.

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I just left it in the cooler but at room temp - 70 degs or so. That's what I understood the MB video instructions to say.

And I've got it in the bottles back in that same cooler at room temp for 2 weeks per the video.

Overflow was par for the course in my experience. How's it taste? You may have a yeastyness like rising bread, that's from too hot of a fermentation. If it tastes tart/sour or has an acetic (vinegar) note you probably have an infection. Bottom line, taste what you have and see how much you like it. If it isn't what you hoped for post again with what you are picking up using whatever descriptors come to mind and we'll help troubleshoot it with you.

brewski09 said:

How's it taste?

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I had a devil of a sinus headcold and didn't taste it when I bottled it. Figured my messed up nose and sinuses wouldn't have been anywhere near accurate.

But I did notice the room in which it was fermenting in smelled quite yeasty a couple days before the bottling.

I've been homebrewing off and on since since 1995,and have found,that if your brew doesn't come out as expecting,MIX-IT.If it's too bitter mix it with cream soda.If it is sour ,mix it with V-8 juice.This may be faulty advice,but that is what I do if I experience an Off-Kilter batch.I've only dumped 1 batch,b/c it smelled like brake fluid!......cheers,keep brewing

Hop Suggestions for Mr Beer CBB Extract…???

...So I've got this can of MR Beer Canadian Blond Brewing Extract that “needs” to be brewed. So I looked at brewing instructions for a couple Mr Beer kits that use the CBB.

The “Bee's Knees”, and “Beach Babe Blonde”.

-----------------------------------
The Bee's Knees comes with;
SafAle S-33 yeast, and
a BrewMax LME Golden 8.81 oz. I think I would substitute Briess CWB Golden DME. (dry would be easier for me to use 8 or 9 oz. and save the rest for later).

I would have to provide;
1 cup of honey and
1 tsp Coriander, freshly crushed.

------------------------------------
The Beach Blonde babe comes with;
a 12.5 oz Pouch Booster (...It provides a full and balanced range of both fermentable and unfermentable sugars that are designed to mimic the carbohydrate profile of all-malt wort, consisting of 8% glucose, 56% maltose, 16% maltotriose, and 20% dextrins.) Thinking of Briess CBW Pilsen Light or Golden Light, as a replacement.

I would have to provide;
juice and zest of two small limes (about 2 oz).



Which one would you vote for?

Does any one have suggestions for hops? Not a bittering Hop, but something that would go good with the style.

Thanks

Aren't the Mr. Beer extract cans already hopped? No idea what you mean by "not a bittering hop", as any hop can be a bittering hop...

Yes they are pre hoped, but I've not noticed any. I might put the hops in at flameout, or dry hop to get more hop aroma/flavors.

olephart said:

Yes they are pre hoped, but I've not noticed any. I might put the hops in at flameout, or dry hop to get more hop aroma/flavors.

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Saaz is probably a safe bet for either of those recipes.

douglasbarbin said:

Saaz is probably a safe bet for either of those recipes.

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I was looking around the Mr Beer website, searching for recipes that use Canadian Blond and Saaz hops. I came across Amberosia Tripel.
It sounds yummy, “A cornucopia of fruit, spice and caramel malt, with a little licorice and peat in the background. A tripel such as this could be what they were partaking of on Olympus in ancient times. Ye Gods, it is simply divine!”

http://www.mrbeer.com/amberosia-tripel-recipe

It uses the Canadian Blonde extract and 1 Can Grand Bohemian Czech Pilsner Brewing Extract, and Safbrew T-58 Dry Yeast.

I could get me some Briess CBW Pilsen DME and toss it in with the Canadian Blonde, with some Sterling hops, (looks like the Czech Pilsner Brewing Extract is brewed already with the Saaz hops).

Not sure about adding the 1 cup of granulated sugar though, an extra cup of CBW Pilsen DME sounds better to me.

Revvy said:

Many of us leave all our beer in primary for 3-4 weeks, skip secondary and bottle...for many of us the only time we secondary is if we are dry hopping or adding fruit, or oak...or if we have made a beer like a pumpkin whith a huge amount of trub in primary..but for most of our beers we just leave it and let the yeasties clean up after themselves...

Even palmer mentions it in How to brew....

From How To Brew;

Leaving an ale beer in the primary fermentor for a total of 2-3 weeks (instead of just the one week most kits recommend), will provide time for the conditioning reactions and improve the beer. This extra time will also let more sediment settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer and easier pouring. And, three weeks in the primary fermentor is usually not enough time for off-flavors to occur.

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And this...

....As a final note on this subject, I should mention that by brewing with healthy yeast in a well-prepared wort, many experienced brewers, myself included, have been able to leave a beer in the primary fermenter for several months without any evidence of autolysis.

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This get's discussed almost daily, there are plenty of threads on it...you could do a search for "long primary" or "no secondary" for more of the discussions, or just look at all the threads in the beginners section with the words "should I rack" or "how long in primary" and you'll see all our answers...we've kind of hashed and discussed it to death, and cited reasons whay we do...you you will find and abundance of info on the topic...but ultiamtely you'll have to make up your own mind.

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So I have this wheat beer fermenting, (2.5 gal batch...3.3 lbs Briess Bavarian Wheat LME, Cascade Hops, Safale S-40 yeast..). First 7 days at 68°, and I'll soon be finished with 7 more days at 63°. The past two days gravity readings were 1.016 and 1.015.

I'm going to leave it in the fermenter another week, would 58° sound like a good idea?

This yeast's fermentation temperature range is 53.6° to 77°, (ideally 59° to 68°).
Thanks

Normally, you want to start fermentation at a relatively low temperature, then ramp it up near the end. You seem to have done the opposite. May I ask why?

douglasbarbin said:

Normally, you want to start fermentation at a relatively low temperature, then ramp it up near the end. You seem to have done the opposite. May I ask why?

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My Mr. Beer video says to let it stay in the bottle at room temperature for 2 weeks then to put the bottles in the fridge for a longer time. That's why I'm doing it. Just followin' directions.

douglasbarbin said:

Normally, you want to start fermentation at a relatively low temperature, then ramp it up near the end. You seem to have done the opposite. May I ask why?

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I am (very) Loosely following this briess recipe;
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Recipes/beer/display/ditchberry-beer

Musta been a typo..

Primary Fermentation: 7 days at 70ºF
Secondary Fermentation: 7 days at 65ºF
Fermentation Notes:
Original Gravity:
Final Gravity:

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Maybe I should have reversed the temps.

I reset the temp controller from 63° to 73° about 24 hrs ago. Still only at 67.4° and climbing, must be well insulated. Thinking about unplugging this cooler, with the door ajar and going with room temp.

fedoradude said:

My Mr. Beer video says to let it stay in the bottle at room temperature for 2 weeks then to put the bottles in the fridge for a longer time. That's why I'm doing it. Just followin' directions.

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Those are some pretty awful directions, then. That isn't what you want to be doing at all. Let me know how that beer turns out. I don't think it will ever carbonate if you put it in the fridge immediately after priming/bottling.

What you should want to do is this:
1) Let it ferment at whichever temperature is appropriate for the yeast strain you are using.
2) Let it ferment until Final Gravity is confirmed using a hydrometer. Often this involves raising the temperature at the end to allow the yeast to clean up fermentation byproducts. This is especially important with lagers (see "diacetyl rest").
3) Only in the case of lagers do you want to reduce the temperature to what you would find in your fridge. You don't do that at all for ales. Regardless, you want to raise the temperature back to room temperature after you add your priming sugar and bottle your beer. This will allow your beer to carbonate. A refrigerator is too cold for most strains of yeast.

olephart said:

I am (very) Loosely following this briess recipe;
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Recipes/beer/display/ditchberry-beer

Musta been a typo..



Maybe I should have reversed the temps.

I reset the temp controller from 63° to 73° about 24 hrs ago. Still only at 67.4° and climbing, must be well insulated. Thinking about unplugging this cooler, with the door ajar and going with room temp.

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I don't think it was a typo, just bad instructions. I just took a look at them, and those are awful.

The only "3056" yeast I know of is Wyeast 3056, and it is a blend of ale yeasts. There is no "3056 lager yeast" that I am aware of. Also, 65-70 degrees is too warm for any lager yeast, unless you are doing a California Common beer, which this is not. 14 days of fermentation is also pretty ambitious for a lager, probably far beyond the capability of anyone who would be following these instructions. So that part of the directions is wrong.

The bit about the temperatures is questionable as well. You are adding more fermentable sugars to the wort when you add the fruit, so you probably don't want to drop the temperature, as this will most likely make the yeast "lazy". However, in the case of a fruit beer, you might actually want that, since you want to keep some of the residual sugars and flavors from the fruit. In this case, I'd say "maybe" about lowering the temperature. But if it were me, I would probably just ferment at 65F the entire time.

douglasbarbin said:

Those are some pretty awful directions, then. That isn't what you want to be doing at all... I don't think it will ever carbonate if you put it in the fridge immediately after priming/bottling.

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That isn't what I'm doing. The MBK directions said to after adding the carbonation tablets during the bottling process to then let it set at room temp (where it did primary fermentation) for 2 weeks. THEN put it in the fridge.

This is what I'm doing.

I find this confirmed in the following directions from this website http://www.beveragefactory.com/mrbeer_brewing.shtml


"Step 4: Conditioning (Age or Lager)
"After your beer has carbonated it is ready to drink. However, to improve the flavor of your beer even more you may want to condition it for weeks or even months. This can be done one of two ways:

"A. Warm conditioning (aging): Place beer in a dark, dry location away from sunlight that is 50°-70° F.

"B. Cold conditioning (lagering): Place beer into a refrigerator, or dark dry location that is 35°-49° F.

"Whether you choose to condition your beer or not, it will always taste best if chilled for at least two or more days before drinking.

"TIP: Drink your beer within 4 months of bottling."

^ That makes a bit more sense, then. I assumed the 2 weeks you were talking about was primary fermentation. So you did a lager?

douglasbarbin said:

So you did a lager?

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Beats me. I did what came with the kit. But I think it was a lager kit.

fedoradude said:

Beats me. I did what came with the kit. But I think it was a lager kit.

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If it's an ale, you are wasting your time keeping it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Unless your refrigerator is really warm, it will be too cold for ale yeast to condition.

If it's a lager, then you will be in good shape. I would probably leave it a little longer than 2 weeks, even.

douglasbarbin said:

If it's an ale, you are wasting your time keeping it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Unless your refrigerator is really warm, it will be too cold for ale yeast to condition.

If it's a lager, then you will be in good shape. I would probably leave it a little longer than 2 weeks, even.

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The kit may have had lager in the name, but unless it was a special kit, it was an ale.

I disagree with the contention that there is no benefit to cold conditioning an ale. If you're only going to leave it it the bottle for 4 weeks, you're better off warm conditioning it the whole time. But if you can wait 2 more weeks, try putting a few bottles in the refrigerator for two weeks and compare those with a few bottles you only cool for a few days.

I found this out by accident when I had to go out of town unexpectedly and had some bottles in the fridge when I left.

I keg now, but when I bottled, I would warm condition for at least a month and cold condition for at least two weeks.

bpgreen said:

The kit may have had lager in the name, but unless it was a special kit, it was an ale.

I disagree with the contention that there is no benefit to cold conditioning an ale. If you're only going to leave it it the bottle for 4 weeks, you're better off warm conditioning it the whole time. But if you can wait 2 more weeks, try putting a few bottles in the refrigerator for two weeks and compare those with a few bottles you only cool for a few days.

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Why wouldn't you just warm condition it for another 2 weeks if you're waiting the extra 2 weeks anyway? Any benefit you saw from 2 weeks in the refrigerator was more likely the result of cold crashing and yeast/trub/etc. dropping out of suspension.

olephart said:

So I have this wheat beer fermenting, (2.5 gal batch...3.3 lbs Briess Bavarian Wheat LME, Cascade Hops, Safale S-40 yeast..). First 7 days at 68°, and I'll soon be finished with 7 more days at 63°. The past two days gravity readings were 1.016 and 1.015.

I'm going to leave it in the fermenter another week, would 58° sound like a good idea?

This yeast's fermentation temperature range is 53.6° to 77°, (ideally 59° to 68°).
Thanks

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...Well it's been three weeks now, (this last week at 70° as per advice received in another post in this thread) I just checked the gravity, still the same as last week, 1.015, (OG was 1.042). Should I add more yeast, or call it done and bottle?


It has cleared up nicely in this last week.

olephart said:

...Well it's been three weeks now, (this last week at 70° as per advice received in another post in this thread) I just checked the gravity, still the same as last week, 1.015, (OG was 1.042). Should I add more yeast, or call it done and bottle?


It has cleared up nicely in this last week.

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I do have some yeast nutrient left over from my attempt at Yooper's Welch's frozen grape juice wine recipe, I could put some in and see what happens.

I'd say it's done and bottle it. Just my .02

olephart said:

I do have some yeast nutrient left over from my attempt at Yooper's Welch's frozen grape juice wine recipe, I could put some in and see what happens.

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Yeast nutrient isn't going to help at this point. Your wort is probably fermented as much as it's going to with the yeast you pitched. It could be a low-attenuating yeast strain, or you might have a lot of unfermentable sugars or starches in your wort. Either way, adding yeast nutrient isn't going to improve the beer.

1.015 may be the target final gravity

SulBruin3 said:

Infection question. I have the Diablo and its fermented for 3 weeks. There is a ton of white floating things which i assume are yeast colonies although i have not had anything like this before. I tasted the brew and it was not pleasant, a bit sweet and the aftertaste should be hoppy but i can describe it as a stinging taste. If i put in fridge and cold crash it to have the particles drop and they don't does that mean an infection and i should just toss it??? Help please...

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Sounds like jelly fish

What do jelly fish sound like?😂

stupid phone....

douglasbarbin said:

Yeast nutrient isn't going to help at this point. Your wort is probably fermented as much as it's going to with the yeast you pitched. It could be a low-attenuating yeast strain, or you might have a lot of unfermentable sugars or starches in your wort. Either way, adding yeast nutrient isn't going to improve the beer.

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Bottled it a couple of days ago...

brewski09 said:

1.015 may be the target final gravity

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