Bartz_Brew
Member
HA! My 2 year old was climbing on me as I typed the reply!
Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions
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Justibone
Well-Known Member
The main concern is oxygen permeability. You really don't want a lot of oxygen dissolving into the beer from the container. For short primary fermentation it's not that great of a concern -- the yeast will gladly dispose of excess oxygen for you, as long as they are active -- but if you ever wanted to secondary, or if you needed your fermentation to go for a long time, then it might be a concern.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/oxygen-permeability-plastic-fermenter-206588/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/oxygen-permeability-plastic-fermenter-206588/
johnsonkid
New Member
My apologies if this has been answered before...
Through a stroke of weirdness I've ended up with two Mr. Beer kits! I'm going to be brewing the West Coast Pale Ale later today (probably with the recommended honey addition), but I'd really like to try the Apfelwein recipe I've seen in these forums. I know a lot of people use their Mr. Beers to brew that - can anyone give me the recipe scaled down to Mr. Beer size? Also, is there any difficulty in bottling the Apfelwein? Can it be served straight from the Mr. Beer or is that a terrible idea?
Through a stroke of weirdness I've ended up with two Mr. Beer kits! I'm going to be brewing the West Coast Pale Ale later today (probably with the recommended honey addition), but I'd really like to try the Apfelwein recipe I've seen in these forums. I know a lot of people use their Mr. Beers to brew that - can anyone give me the recipe scaled down to Mr. Beer size? Also, is there any difficulty in bottling the Apfelwein? Can it be served straight from the Mr. Beer or is that a terrible idea?
Justibone
Well-Known Member
Actually, when brewing wine-type fermented beverages over wine-like timecourses, it's better to not brew with Mr. Beer. Mr. Beer is nice but it lets entirely too much oxygen into your fermented beverage. If you want to brew apfelwein, it's better to do it in a carboy.
SociallyDistorted
Member
I have a question for all you guys that know what you're doing (cuz I really don't). I had been brewing my beers by MrB recipe except I always use White Labs liquid yeast and replace booster w/ DME. For the most part the results have varied from good (Fall Seasonal & Bombshell Blonde) to excellent (German Hefe & Scottish Wee Heavy & others). The past few batches I've used DME and booster. The Northern Amber that has both DME and booster is not as good as expected. Not that much taste (the wife says it has too much alcohol taste - what a surprise that I didn't notice that). So my question is: when brewing something closer to a big beer w/ DME, booster and possibly some other sugar derivatives that can increase ABV should I be fermenting or conditining longer? I've just started using a hydrometer so I know that should give me a read on proper ferment time. In addition to the Northern Amber I've got a Tripel Tippel, Defibrallator Doublebock and a Cherry Mocha Stout in the pipeline and I'm wondering whether I s/b increasing the condition time even beyond the max suggested MrB time (I'm aware that you never do anything other than a sneak peek taster beer at the listed condition times).
gtlaw10
Well-Known Member
i've had excellent success with my MrB keg and "big" beers. from what i have been able to glean from hours on this forum is that time and patience are the key to making the best product from your ingredients.
all of my beers have been above 6% (not "big" by any means) and i keep each one in primary (aka the MrB keg) for a MINIMUM of THREE WEEKS followed by conditioning in bottles for another MINIMUM of THREE WEEKS before i even think about drinking one, it's bloody difficult as a n00b (as i'm sure you are beginning to be, if not already, aware of). i find that time can heal most wounds - off flavors, etc.
BUT - i also know that the booster thins out the taste of your brew, which isn't something that will go away with time. a beer made with adjunct sugars will almost always taste lighter, despite the higher abv the sugar contributes. so if you are experiencing 'cidery' or watery tastes with your brew, it could be attributed to the booster and won't go away with time. just use dme in place of booster/sugars and you won't have that problem.
so my advice is use a minimum of a 3weeks primary-3weeks bottle before trying any and if the taste doesn't dissipate to your liking, then try replacing booster/sugar with malt extract.
happy brewing!!
i've had excellent success with my MrB keg and "big" beers. from what i have been able to glean from hours on this forum is that time and patience are the key to making the best product from your ingredients.
all of my beers have been above 6% (not "big" by any means) and i keep each one in primary (aka the MrB keg) for a MINIMUM of THREE WEEKS followed by conditioning in bottles for another MINIMUM of THREE WEEKS before i even think about drinking one, it's bloody difficult as a n00b (as i'm sure you are beginning to be, if not already, aware of). i find that time can heal most wounds - off flavors, etc.
BUT - i also know that the booster thins out the taste of your brew, which isn't something that will go away with time. a beer made with adjunct sugars will almost always taste lighter, despite the higher abv the sugar contributes. so if you are experiencing 'cidery' or watery tastes with your brew, it could be attributed to the booster and won't go away with time. just use dme in place of booster/sugars and you won't have that problem.
so my advice is use a minimum of a 3weeks primary-3weeks bottle before trying any and if the taste doesn't dissipate to your liking, then try replacing booster/sugar with malt extract.
happy brewing!!
I'll leave them in the fermenter for 2-3 weeks, then leave them in the bottle for 3-4 months (not a typo, I give them months at room temp) before sticking them in the fridge for a week (3 days will chill the beer, but 5-7 days definitely improves the beer).
Justibone
Well-Known Member
Warm storage is not good for beer. It's not necessarily bad, but it's not as good as cold storage. Once the bottle is carbed, it can go in the fridge (or cool basement) for as long as necessary.
Cooler is better, when it comes to storage.
(Caveat: be sure that carbonation is complete.)
Justibone
Well-Known Member
+1
This is my advice as well. The more %ABV in a beer, the more malt flavor you're going to want to cover the alcohol flavor. You can either use more malt extract to get more flavor, or you can move up to using partial mash techniques (there are multiple threads on how to do a partial mash).
I've been brewing for over thirty years, and my experience is that once you've crossed that 5 - 6% alcohol by volume range, aging times need to go up to allow that "hot" high alcohol taste to mellow and meld into the other flavors. This does not just pertain to booster or sugar derivative adjunct beers, but to all malt beers, as well. I do think that young adjunct beers taste "hotter" than an equivalent strength all-malt beer, but, as a general rule, both need more aging time than a 4 - 5% beer. Extra aging on that adjunct beer will definitely improve its flavor and smoothness, but it won't give the beer more body. Replace the booster with more malt extract, either DME or LME, to yield a beer with more body to go along with the extra alcohol. It's not as if booster & other adjuncts should be avoided at all costs, but you should be aware that using booster in place of malt will invariably produce a thinner beer with a drier finish. If this is what you are looking for, that's fine. As to extra aging in the Mr. Beer fermenter, I don't buy this, at all. First, as you all know, the cap on the MB fermenter does not seal, so extra "bulk aging" = greater likelihood of contamination because your protective CO2 layer is likely dissipated. In addition, your yeast is beginning to autolyze (decay) from lack of activity & your beer may pick up off-flavors from extended contact with the autolyzed yeast. My recommendation to you is to bottle the beer as soon as you are confident the fermentation is complete and the beer has reasonably clarified. I would rather have that extra week or two in the bottle than in the fermenter. You'll get to drink it sooner, too! My two cents worth, anyway.
Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
I'll have to disagree (to a degree) with this one. I've taken beers from the same batch and conditioned them at room temp versus in the fridge (post carbonation) and would argue that the room temp bottles were better.
Now, it's not true for 100% of beers as I find that I like my wheat beers young and will pop them in the fridge almost as soon as carbonation is done, but on the whole I'd day that most of the beers I've made do benefit from room temp conditioning.
gtlaw10
Well-Known Member
as far as leaving your brew in the MrB keg at length - this is a long running debate on this forum. personally the best brew i have made was in the MrB primary for a month - so clear and smooth.
same with the concept of autolysis as applied to trub and flavor contamination. some people find that autolysis is a huge concern for their brews, while others simply haven't found any effect attributable to autolysis from long primaries. papazian is one of the more well known people who initially taught us autolysis was a serious concern if we wanted our brews to sit in primary longer than 3 weeks, but now in the 3rd ed. of Joy he says he no longer follows that rule for lack of evidence and consuming lots of good brews from 1-2 month primaries. check this out: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/autolysis-myth-busted-182160/
same with the concept of autolysis as applied to trub and flavor contamination. some people find that autolysis is a huge concern for their brews, while others simply haven't found any effect attributable to autolysis from long primaries. papazian is one of the more well known people who initially taught us autolysis was a serious concern if we wanted our brews to sit in primary longer than 3 weeks, but now in the 3rd ed. of Joy he says he no longer follows that rule for lack of evidence and consuming lots of good brews from 1-2 month primaries. check this out: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/autolysis-myth-busted-182160/
I've definitely experienced "yeast bite" in beers that I can attribute to extended contact with dead/dormant yeast. I can't say that it has been a major issue, though. I strongly suspect that storage temperature is a factor here. Elevated storage temperatures combined with dead yeast can lead to yeast bite - or least that has been my experience. My bigger concerns are the lack of an air lock seal in the fermenter. I don't trust it if I can't seal it with an air lock. Besides, I would rather have the beer in the bottle sooner rather than later. The sooner the beer is bottled, the sooner it will be carbonated, the sooner it will clarify, and the sooner it will mature. In other words, the sooner it will be good to drink. While I don't question the fact that your best batch may have set in the MB fermenter for a month, one could argue that it was your best batch in spite of the extended storage, not because of it. As to quoting Charlie Papazian, this is the same man that recommends 4 Tablespoons of gypsum in some of his 5 gallon stout recipes. I wouldn't quote Charlie to support any argument. As you yourself have pointed out, he contradicts himself on this point. My two cents worth. . .
Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
gtlaw10
Well-Known Member
hahaha nice, yea i figured to quote anything of his, that quoting his contradiction was appropriate, if supposed experts can't make up their minds, how are we 'hobbyists' to proceed?
i'm curious though - since you need an airlock to make sure your fermenter doesn't explode from CO2 production and since CO2 is much denser than air (CO2 has molar mass of 44kg/kmol and the combination of O2, N2, and other trace gases we call air behaves the equivalent of a gas with molar mass of ~29kg/kmol) it will settle inside the MrB keg on top of the beer, assuming that you don't keep your keg in front of a strong vent, fan or ac unit (who would though...air is so filthy) CO2 production during the initial and final stage of prebottle fermentation would fill the airspace and keep the vents pumping clean CO2 out, presumably acting the same as an airlock filled with starsan or vodka (keeping new air out and allowing CO2 to escape), if the major argument for MrB kegs not being trustworthy for lengthy primaries is that it is an unsealed container, why is a sealed container plus airlock (w/vodka or starsan) better?
i'm curious though - since you need an airlock to make sure your fermenter doesn't explode from CO2 production and since CO2 is much denser than air (CO2 has molar mass of 44kg/kmol and the combination of O2, N2, and other trace gases we call air behaves the equivalent of a gas with molar mass of ~29kg/kmol) it will settle inside the MrB keg on top of the beer, assuming that you don't keep your keg in front of a strong vent, fan or ac unit (who would though...air is so filthy) CO2 production during the initial and final stage of prebottle fermentation would fill the airspace and keep the vents pumping clean CO2 out, presumably acting the same as an airlock filled with starsan or vodka (keeping new air out and allowing CO2 to escape), if the major argument for MrB kegs not being trustworthy for lengthy primaries is that it is an unsealed container, why is a sealed container plus airlock (w/vodka or starsan) better?
In the short to medium run, I don't think there is much of a difference between a loose cap (e.g. MB) and an airlock because of the very reason you point out: CO2 is heavier than air and will protect the beer. But in the long run, I do think that CO2 layer will be dissipated simply because there is nothing other than the weight of the gas to prevent air from intruding and degrading that protection. Frankly, I don't like long-term "bulk aging" in a primary fermenter even with an airlock. Get it off that layer of spent yeast before lengthy aging. Again, I see no benefit in room-temperature bulk aging versus simply bottling or kegging when the beer finishes fermenting and clarifies. The sooner you bottle, the sooner you can drink it, with no down sides as far as I can see.
Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
gtlaw10
Well-Known Member
totally agreed.
as for a month long primary creating yeast bite...no way, maybe if you're just using the same unwashed trub cake over and over it'll happen. it just clarifies the beer more. we all want to be able to produce 'fine' (clear) ales no?
I think you can get yeast bite in as little as a month, but that would probably only happen at VERY warm temperatures in that amount of time. We're on the Gulf Coast where we have already hit 100°F once and 105°F twice in the last week. That's hot even for us, so we're a little extra cautious about that sort of thing. If clarity is the reason for leaving the beer so long, you will find that wine, beer, mead, cider, etc. clarifies noticeably more quickly when not sitting atop a large yeast cake. I'm not sure why this is, but it definitely is the case. For someone who wishes to only bottle extra clear beer, I would recommend you primary ferment in a 4 - 5 gallon pail or carboy for 3 - 6 days and then rack into a 3 gallon carboy for a secondary (three gallon batches). You can add a little gelatin when you rack to really drop out the yeast. Heck, with gelatin in there, you'll have a brilliantly clear beer within a week or so.
gtlaw10
Well-Known Member
gelatin...that's cheating!!! 
totally agree, if i lived in the gulf i doubt i would keep anything on yeast longer than 3 weeks unless i had a fermentation chamber.
this discussion is the best i've found, it has input from wyeast techs and moderators of this board. autolysis exists but temperature, abv, and food availability are major players in when and how it rises it's ugly head. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/autolysis-101230/
totally agree, if i lived in the gulf i doubt i would keep anything on yeast longer than 3 weeks unless i had a fermentation chamber.
this discussion is the best i've found, it has input from wyeast techs and moderators of this board. autolysis exists but temperature, abv, and food availability are major players in when and how it rises it's ugly head. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/autolysis-101230/
It's only cheating if you get caught!
Justibone
Well-Known Member
+1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion
The airlock ensures that the only gases that can diffuse into the sealed container are ones that have dissolved in the starsan/vodka/water first. They have to dissolve into the airlock fluid, and then come out of solution on the inside portion of the airlock (which is a very small surface area).
Essentially, diffusion will eventually remove the CO2 concentration even underneath an airlock (CHAOS MUST BE OBEYED :rockin
, but it takes a LOT longer with an airlock than without.The primary benefit of airlocks is really in allowing gas to vent out without wild yeast or bacteria getting in.
Justibone
Well-Known Member
Gelatin! Bahhh... vintner's tricks!!
No, seriously though, if you want brite beer, read this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/closed-corny-bright-tank-187028/
sigeprudy1901
Member
Looking at a new recipe and wanting to get some feedback. I have been brewing a lot of American IPAs and they have been pretty good. I really enjoy bitter beers with a whole lot of hop flavor. I have the following ingredients on hand:
LME: Northern Brewer's Gold and Munich (6-7 lbs each)
DME: Briess Amber and Pilsen (6 lbs each)
Grains: Crystal 60, Belgian Caramunich, Simpsons Extra Dark Crystal, and Roasted Barley.
Hops: Chinook, Centennial, Nugget, Warrior & Willamette (4-8 oz of each)
Dry Yeast: Nottingham, Safbrew T-58 & Safale US-05
Here is what I came up with for 2.3 gallon batch of an American Imperial IPA. All thoughts and suggestions are welcome!
malt & fermentables
2lb 0oz .. Northern Brewer Munich Malt .. 36PPG 8°L Late addition
2lb 0oz .. Northern Brewer Gold LME .. 36PPG 4°L ~
1lb 0oz .. Briess Pilsen Light DME .. 44PPG 2°L ~
0lb 4oz .. Belgian CaraMunich .. 33PPG 75°L ~
Batch size: 2.3 gallons
hops
boil @ 60 mins 0.5oz Centennial pellet (10.0AA)
boil @ 60 mins 0.5oz Chinook pellet (13.0AA)
boil @ 40 mins 0.5oz Nugget pellet (13.0AA)
boil @ 20 mins 0.5oz Willamette pellet (5.5AA)
dry hop after 7 days 0.5oz Centennial pellet 10.0AA
dry hop after 7 days 0.5oz Chinook pellet 13.0AA
Boil: 1.2 avg gallons for 60 minutes
yeast
Nottingham Ale Dry Yeast info
ale yeast in dry form with medium to high flocculation and 76% attenuation
Original Gravity 1.084
Final Gravity 1.020
Color 11° SRM
(Copper to Red/Lt. Brown)
Bitterness 97.2 IBU
Alcohol 8.5% ABV
LME: Northern Brewer's Gold and Munich (6-7 lbs each)
DME: Briess Amber and Pilsen (6 lbs each)
Grains: Crystal 60, Belgian Caramunich, Simpsons Extra Dark Crystal, and Roasted Barley.
Hops: Chinook, Centennial, Nugget, Warrior & Willamette (4-8 oz of each)
Dry Yeast: Nottingham, Safbrew T-58 & Safale US-05
Here is what I came up with for 2.3 gallon batch of an American Imperial IPA. All thoughts and suggestions are welcome!
malt & fermentables
2lb 0oz .. Northern Brewer Munich Malt .. 36PPG 8°L Late addition
2lb 0oz .. Northern Brewer Gold LME .. 36PPG 4°L ~
1lb 0oz .. Briess Pilsen Light DME .. 44PPG 2°L ~
0lb 4oz .. Belgian CaraMunich .. 33PPG 75°L ~
Batch size: 2.3 gallons
hops
boil @ 60 mins 0.5oz Centennial pellet (10.0AA)
boil @ 60 mins 0.5oz Chinook pellet (13.0AA)
boil @ 40 mins 0.5oz Nugget pellet (13.0AA)
boil @ 20 mins 0.5oz Willamette pellet (5.5AA)
dry hop after 7 days 0.5oz Centennial pellet 10.0AA
dry hop after 7 days 0.5oz Chinook pellet 13.0AA
Boil: 1.2 avg gallons for 60 minutes
yeast
Nottingham Ale Dry Yeast info
ale yeast in dry form with medium to high flocculation and 76% attenuation
Original Gravity 1.084
Final Gravity 1.020
Color 11° SRM
(Copper to Red/Lt. Brown)
Bitterness 97.2 IBU
Alcohol 8.5% ABV
Justibone
Well-Known Member
I find it odd that you are using the Willamette at 20 min., when clearly you like the Centennial and Chinook enough to dry hop with them. I'd almost just as soon leave the W-hop out completely, and just compensate with an extra 0.25 oz of Cen.
My $.02
My $.02
Tombstone0
Well-Known Member
Also, what's the point of the 40 minute Nugget addition? Why not move that to 60 minutes and move the centennial to maybe 10 or fifteen minutes?
sigeprudy1901
Member
I really don't have a reason for any of those. Hops are something I love but I really don't understand as well as I should. I know that long boil and higher AA will yield more IBUs and that wort gravity affects utilization but that is really about it. I don't know the difference between the flavors of the different varieties or how really control the flavor outcomes.
I am a bit of a noob (6 months) and just obsessed...
What would be the benefits/drawbacks of these changes?
I am a bit of a noob (6 months) and just obsessed...
What would be the benefits/drawbacks of these changes?
Tombstone0
Well-Known Member
Basically, anything in the 0-10 minute range will give you aroma, 10-20 will get you flavor and over that you'll get mostly bitterness. Of course, these aren't super strict rules, at 15 minutes you'll get a little aroma and significant flavor and at 30 minutes you might get a little flavor to go along with your bitterness.
Your 40 minute addition doesn't give you any more flavor and cuts back on bitterness, so you might as well move it back to 60 minutes. Nugget is used mostly for bittering, while centennial is often used for flavor and aroma (it gives a citrusy flavor and aroma). That's why I suggested moving it to the end of the boil, also according to BrewPal the Nugget and Chinook hops at 60 minutes already have you at 110 IBUs.
Willamette is a different style of hop, more spicy or woody whereas Centennial and Chinook go rather well together.
One thing to add is that a lot of responses should have the word "I" bolded because it comes down to personal preference. While it's true that hop TIMES have guidelines/rules about the length and what you get from the hops (aroma/flavor/bitterness), the amount of hops and style of hops that you use come down to what I call 'brewers choice'.
What I see a lot of on the boards that I participate in is a recipe being posted and then a lot of people jumping in with "I'd use X instead of X" which can lead to a lot of confusion for new brewers thinking that certain hops don't work in certain situations. They don't get the nuances of where the responder is coming from which could be personal hop preference, trying to stay within a style guideline or a recommendation based on fact like hop boil times.
I'm not responding to anybody's individual post here, just a general observation that we should all keep in mind when responding to new brewers about hop additions. The more detail you can give on WHY you're giving the advice, the more the new brewer will learn.
sigeprudy1901 - One thing you can try is a SmaSh recipe (single malt and single hop) to see what you like. Brew the same thing a number of times and swap out the hops each time so it is a single variable being changed and it will help you decide what you like from each hops.
Good luck.
What I see a lot of on the boards that I participate in is a recipe being posted and then a lot of people jumping in with "I'd use X instead of X" which can lead to a lot of confusion for new brewers thinking that certain hops don't work in certain situations. They don't get the nuances of where the responder is coming from which could be personal hop preference, trying to stay within a style guideline or a recommendation based on fact like hop boil times.
I'm not responding to anybody's individual post here, just a general observation that we should all keep in mind when responding to new brewers about hop additions. The more detail you can give on WHY you're giving the advice, the more the new brewer will learn.
sigeprudy1901 - One thing you can try is a SmaSh recipe (single malt and single hop) to see what you like. Brew the same thing a number of times and swap out the hops each time so it is a single variable being changed and it will help you decide what you like from each hops.
Good luck.
gtlaw10
Well-Known Member
+1,000,000
the timing of your additions really dictates what the hop you chose is being used for in the brew, and the 0-10 (aroma), 10-20(flavoring), and 20-beyond(bittering) is a good breakdown of it - but it is also very true that these units of time are not static measurements, the amount of flavor/aroma/bitterness you get is always subject to a weird meshing together at times as Tombstone mentioned above.
it's all about what you want to create, not what the so-called experts say, although if you create utter **** maybe some expert advice would be beneficial - but yea use whatever hop for whatever characteristic you want out of it.
i used mr beer the first time.
it worked.
my firtst batch was sour due to sanitation reasons and crummy water. but the second batch with good water and a super clean utensils and bottles. wham! i made beer.
now i am wanting bigger and better, so here i am. thanks mr beer.
it worked.
my firtst batch was sour due to sanitation reasons and crummy water. but the second batch with good water and a super clean utensils and bottles. wham! i made beer.
now i am wanting bigger and better, so here i am. thanks mr beer.
SociallyDistorted
Member
Welcome to the brew club. I'm a noob myself. First batch was brewed in late Feb and now have 13 thru or in the fermenter. My advice (condensed from reading this forum & personal experience is: 1) sanitize well, 2) replace booster w/ 1lb DME (or keep half the booster and add 1# dme), 3) ferment 2 weeks minimum, condition (room temp storage) at least 1.5 times as long as MrB recommends (although you may want to sneak in a taste sampler before then), 4) be patient, 5) read 4 over again, 6) read this thread from post 1 to the end
The thing that I've found most rewarding about doing the MrB thing is that I haven't made any beers that give me the involuntary shudders followed by a dash to the sink to drain. And I know I've bought a few beers that have produced that response so I'm 1 up on a few commercially produced brews!
The thing that I've found most rewarding about doing the MrB thing is that I haven't made any beers that give me the involuntary shudders followed by a dash to the sink to drain. And I know I've bought a few beers that have produced that response so I'm 1 up on a few commercially produced brews!
I used Mr. Beer to brew my first beer - an Oktoberfest. I made a damn tasty Imperial stout with it, as well. 2 gallons just wasn't enough.
Still on extract brewing, but will definitely be going to all-grain, etc. as time goes on.
Still on extract brewing, but will definitely be going to all-grain, etc. as time goes on.
I have a Mr. Beer dilemma. I just got one for father's day. I am not complaining, I wanted one. BUT, ups or somebody screwed up. My 'booster" was broken open in transit and powdered every thing else in the box. The sanitizer that was supposed to be included with the kit is nowhere to be seen. Worst of all, there is really only one kind of beer my wife and I don't really dig. IPA. Guess what came in the box? Yup! West coast pale ale!
So, I guess I need to buy some sanitizer. That'l be cheap, I suppose. I was thinking of replacing the booster with some malt extract anyway, I'll consider that little decision made for me by the good folks at ups.
Is there any way to cut the hoppiness of the West coast pale ale so that I can salvage something from the kit besides the fermenter? Not that I am too upset, the fermenter is cool.
So, I guess I need to buy some sanitizer. That'l be cheap, I suppose. I was thinking of replacing the booster with some malt extract anyway, I'll consider that little decision made for me by the good folks at ups.
Is there any way to cut the hoppiness of the West coast pale ale so that I can salvage something from the kit besides the fermenter? Not that I am too upset, the fermenter is cool.
jeepinjeepin
Well-Known Member
theDregs said:
You didn't want the booster anyway. You will have a better beer with extra malt instead. The kit is prehopped so you can't take any of that out but by adding more dme or lme it will make the hops less prominent.
jeepinjeepin
Well-Known Member
I prefer dme. Easy to weigh on my kitchen scale and I don't have to scrape it out of the can. What kind of beer do you like. There are several colors of malt. The lighter it is the less flavor it carries.
rniles
Well-Known Member
Momma said they'rd be days like this.
WCPA isn't very hoppy ...it's a nice experimenting brew as hop additions easily over power any existing tastes. So IPA it with whatever hops you choose.
Forget about the booster and put in the extract instead ...in fact, this is better for you anyway as it will make it easier for you to hop your IPA how you choose.
Might want to tweak it a bit but Swenocha has a good starting recipe:
WCPA Done Right
----
Brewer: Swenocha
Style: IPA
Batch: 2.13 galExtract
Characteristics
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.062 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 67 IBU
Recipe Color: 13° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.016
Alcohol by Volume: 6.0%
Alcohol by Weight: 4.7%
Ingredients
-----------
Crystal 60L 0.50 lb, Grain, Steeped
Briess DME - Sparkling Amber 1.80 lb, Extract, Extract (or any pale dme)
MrB. West Coast Pale Ale 1.21 lb, Extract, Extract
Centennial 0.40 oz, Pellet, 30 minutes
Warrior 0.50 oz, Pellet, 15 minutes
Columbus 0.40 oz, Pellet, 5 minutes
Centennial 0.25 oz, Pellet, 0 minutes
Ale yeast 1.00 unit, Yeast
http://www.mrbeer.net/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=124&func=view&catid=18&id=65464
The WCPA is a Pale Ale, not an IPA so the hoppiness is mild. If you've never brewed before and want to keep it simple, find a home brew store near you and pick up about 1.5lbs of light LME (that way you don't have to deal with the DME and you can still follow the MrB instructions) - use about 1.2lbs of what you picked up for this batch.
OR....MrB customer service is OUTSTANDING. Call them up and explain what happened with the sanitizer and the Booster. They will resend at no charge but tell them you want to buy a can of the Pale UME (unhopped malt extract) and just pay for that - you'll be all set to go with a nice, easy to drink pale ale that isn't very hoppy at all.
OR....MrB customer service is OUTSTANDING. Call them up and explain what happened with the sanitizer and the Booster. They will resend at no charge but tell them you want to buy a can of the Pale UME (unhopped malt extract) and just pay for that - you'll be all set to go with a nice, easy to drink pale ale that isn't very hoppy at all.
OH! I figured it was an IPA because I thought the West Coast was all about making IPA's. No problem then. I just tried calling mr beer, they're closed till Monday. I am not sure how much I need them to send me more sanitizer and booster, but I guess it won't hurt if I order another of can and they throw the stuff in. thanks for all the help, guys!
Justibone
Well-Known Member
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/97 - American Pale Ale
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/116 - American IPA
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/150 - English IPA
nianticcardplayer
Homebrewing Since 2009
As has already been pointed out the West Coast Pale Ale is not an IPA.....but don't write off the style just yet.......There are plenty of "milder" IPA'S out there that may satisfy ya...instead of overwhelming bitterness you get the scent of pine and taste of a grapefruit.....along those lines.....What I did with my first Mr. Beer Brew....Can of WCPA, Can of Pale Extract UME, and pack of Booster......I did not use Mr. Beer yeast...I went to brew shop and got a package of Safale American Ale dry yeast......Turned out just fine.....Currently brewing a hop head red.....
For five gallon kits I use two fermentors filled to the "Q"
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