Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

Yes, I feel you should wait. You can do 5 more days, right?

Then, can you wait 21 more days after that? Beer takes about three weeks to carb up and bottle condition. Plus, to get the best beer you can make, another 14 days at 40F or so will cold condition the beer and make it taste it's best.

So, five days to bottle, then another 35 to carb and condition... can you hold out 40 more days? Anything less than that is a bit of a compromise, so you make the call. After all, you're the brewer!

The next batch I make I want to go for a really strong, high alcohol beer. I want to stick with Mr. Beer for a couple more brews before I put my big boy pants on and get all the right equipment and start brewing for real.

What do you guys recommend for a good Mr. Beer with high alcohol, and what's the best way to boost the alcohol without ruining it?

High alcohol beer? Well, it's pretty easy, just add more sugar and find a yeast that tolerates high alcohol (high attentuation)... then the yeast do the work.

Would I recommend it for Mr. Beer? No, not really. High alcohol beers benefit from a secondary fermenter, so you can set the beer aside to rest and age for a while. Mr. Beer is a primary and bottling bucket combined, so it doesn't really have the chops for the bigger beers.

I'm not telling you that you can't do it, I'm just saying it won't be "optimal".

Oh boy... I started with Mr. Beer. One batch and I was hooked. That following weekend I went out and bought a bunch of crap I didn't know how to use. It took the guys on here to get it all under control. Lol

**If I were you, I'd start with any of the Mr. Beer kits that sound yummy. Get your brew belt on nice and tight before you go searching for something you might be too impatient to properly wait out. "Big Beers" and High gravity beers take more time to mellow out. You can go dumping a bunch of sugars in there to boost the alcohol if you want, but you might not be happy with the outcome early on. All of my BIG beers had to sit for months before they had conditioned enough to be drinkable. IMO of course.
Do some reading on high ABV beers and techniques. Take in some literature on yeast strains too... not all yeast can handle absurdly high abv. Good luck and may all your beers be delicious!

Kegstand said:

The next batch I make I want to go for a really strong, high alcohol beer. I want to stick with Mr. Beer for a couple more brews before I put my big boy pants on and get all the right equipment and start brewing for real.

What do you guys recommend for a good Mr. Beer with high alcohol, and what's the best way to boost the alcohol without ruining it?

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High alcohol Mr. beer has a recipe called I believe Novicane and registers around 9%........

please don't take this wrong but Mr. Beer is good equipment a smaller plastic bucket.....I use two fermentors now for five gallon recipes.....just have to watch the active fermentations.....but so do you with the "big buckets as well"....I have done nothing but extracts and I am looking at expanding a little myself but I don't see myself stopping the use of my Mr. Beer kegs...

Well my space is now limited so its time to shrink down my brew stuff for a while so im going to be doing 2.5 gallon all grain batches. mr beer seems to be the way to go fermenter wise so im going to be ordering up some mr beer fermenters....

Justibone said:

High alcohol beer? Well, it's pretty easy, just add more sugar and find a yeast that tolerates high alcohol (high attentuation)... then the yeast do the work.

Would I recommend it for Mr. Beer? No, not really. High alcohol beers benefit from a secondary fermenter, so you can set the beer aside to rest and age for a while. Mr. Beer is a primary and bottling bucket combined, so it doesn't really have the chops for the bigger beers.

I'm not telling you that you can't do it, I'm just saying it won't be "optimal".

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I'd have to disagree on a couple of points here:
1) Don't add sugar to the beer to boost ABV. Sugar is 100% fermentable and will thin the beer out and require a long conditioning time to get rid of a "cidery" taste. use some DME or LME if you want to boost ABV AND have a fuller beer.

2) MrB works just fine for high ABV/gravity brews. If you can't rack to a secondary, leave it in the fermenter for a full 21-28 days and then cold crash the keg in the fridge for 3 days. The trub will be nice and compact and help clear the brew up.

Longer aging/conditioning can be done at room temp in the bottles if so desired.


(new here, but been brewing for about a year - MrB batches, some PM and some AG)

Kealia said:

I'd have to disagree on a couple of points here:
1) Don't add sugar to the beer to boost ABV. Sugar is 100% fermentable and will thin the beer out and require a long conditioning time to get rid of a "cidery" taste. use some DME or LME if you want to boost ABV AND have a fuller beer.

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"Sugar" is a generic term. It doesn't mean only cane or beet sugar.

2) MrB works just fine for high ABV/gravity brews. If you can't rack to a secondary, leave it in the fermenter for a full 21-28 days and then cold crash the keg in the fridge for 3 days. The trub will be nice and compact and help clear the brew up.

Longer aging/conditioning can be done at room temp in the bottles if so desired.

(new here, but been brewing for about a year - MrB batches, some PM and some AG)

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This sounds like good advice... but it is not the optimal way to do it. Bulk aging is, in my opinion, superior to bottle aging.

I have 6 Mr. Beer fermenters and never cold crash or rack to a secondary. I always ferment at the right temperatures for the yeast for at least 21 days before bottling. By that time the trub is really compacted in the keg's trub tray so my bottles are free of trub.

Justibone said:

"Sugar" is a generic term. It doesn't mean only cane or beet sugar.



This sounds like good advice... but it is not the optimal way to do it. Bulk aging is, in my opinion, superior to bottle aging.

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I'd love to hear your thoughts on again in a secondary versus bottle aging. This is a question that I've asked many times over the past year and have never heard any good reasons for doing one way over the other.

Thanks.

Kealia said:

I'd love to hear your thoughts on again in a secondary versus bottle aging. This is a question that I've asked many times over the past year and have never heard any good reasons for doing one way over the other.

Thanks.

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Bulk-aged beer tastes different than bottle aged. The proof is in Chimay. Buy the 750 ml, then buy the 3L. Taste. They are *very* different.

You are not going to convince me, and I'm not going to convince you. Let's agree to enter the same brewing competition sometime, and we can settle it that way. Sound good?

Justibone said:

Bulk-aged beer tastes different than bottle aged. The proof is in Chimay. Buy the 750 ml, then buy the 3L. Taste. They are *very* different.

You are not going to convince me, and I'm not going to convince you. Let's agree to enter the same brewing competition sometime, and we can settle it that way. Sound good?

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Actually, I think you may be taking my post wrong. I'm actually looking to be convinced. I've never heard anybody explain WHY and I'd love to hear the actual reasoning behind this.

Everything else in brewing can be explained with science - fermentation, etc. so I'm just looking for somebody to explain to me WHY there's a difference.

Well, I don't know why, but Chimay says so, and I've done the taste test, so I do know it's true. The size of the conditioning beer *does* make a difference.

I am interested in a contest at some point, though!

I have plenty of bottle-aged beers that have gotten better over time and I'm happy with the way that they've turned out.

I'd like to see more than one example cited to 'prove' the case that bulk aging is better, though.

A "contest" as you speak of would only work if we're brewing the same thing, though.

I'm not looking to get competitive in my brewing, but I may set up my own test for this.

Your own test would be the definitive proof, of course.

SoCalChris said:

The beer was good, much better than almost any commercial beer that I've bought.

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Mr.Beer is an easy, fun gateway to more advanced brewing so I certainly don't want to sound negative but I find the above statement very difficult to believe. Mainly because I've tasted beers made with Mr.Beer kits.

milholen said:

Mr.Beer is an easy, fun gateway to more advanced brewing so I certainly don't want to sound negative but I find the above statement very difficult to believe. Mainly because I've tasted beers made with Mr.Beer kits.

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Do you know what was involved in those recipes? I ask because their basic/entry level kits involve one can of LME (hopped) + a bag of Booster which is some type of sugar. It leaves the kits with a thinner beer with less flavor for sure.

On the other hand, the higher-end kits use two cans of LME and make a huge difference. Between that and using something other than the standard yeast that it comes with, the beer is top-notch.

I say this having done AG recipes as well as extracts (LME and or DME) as well as using the MrB kits. While I like the control of using AG, I have to say that the MrB beer is damn good.

Everyone has their own opinions of course, but I hate to see MrB get a bad rap or thought of as "less advanced". At the end of the day, it's extract brewing and the level of complexity isn't limited by the cute little brown plastic keg. I sometimes think that they would get more credibility if they had a standard ale pail or something similar, but the design itself is actually quite useful.

my first brew was a mr. beer kit. it was not great. but certainly better than a bmc. ie almost any comercial beer that i bought( that is before i started brewing and appreciating beer (not that you cant appreciate with out brewing)). i still have that kit somewhere. i dont know how i feel about using it now, it being an open ferment and all. but if someone else brewed a beer in it. i would drink it. still imagin it would be better than bmc. plus if you make it then it tastes beter for that reason too!

i like what kealia has to say. mr. beer is a great introduction i think. the only reason i wouldn't want to use it now is that it doesnt have an air lock. i still may use it someday. maybe just try something that isnt too expensive so i dont worry if it gets infected

hit up the Mr Beer recipes and you can find some damn tasty stuff!

The airlock concern is easily fixed. Screw the lid on tight (it has slots in the threads to allow for the CO2 to escape normally) and drill a small hole in lid to insert your airlock. Viola!

I wouldn't suggest doing that with wort in the keg, however (insert smiley face here).

Started my first brew Tuesday...West Coast Pale Ale...krausen is nice and puffy It's alive!!! Gonna use Grolsch bottles for bottling in 11 days...

Awesome!

Remember to be patient, and no matter what it will be beer.

this has probably been asked before but I could not find it in my search. I have a freind who just got one of these and is making her first batch - I have not seen it. I wanted to make her a kit for a beer that she really liked that I made before. I do all grain but I was going to convert it to extract and make it for 2.1 gallons. Is that all I need to do? It is a sweet stout around 1.060 with coffee and cocoa put in at flame out. The recipe goes like this:

3# dark DME
3 oz british chocolate
2 oz lactose
2 oz maltodextrin

.25 oz fuggles pellets 60 min
.25 oz fuggles pellets 15 min

4 tbsp ground coffee and 2 tbsp cocoa powder in cheesecloth at flameout until wort is cooled

Wyeat irish ale smack pack

Steep chocolate malt for 25 min at 155, remove grain bag, bring to boil, add dme, maltodextrin, lactose - stir until blended, add first hops, start 60 minute timer.

It's been a while since I've done extract so I want to make sure I remember the process correctly...

IIRC, the fermenter is actually 2.5 gallons, but they have a bit of loss from the bottom since they don't use a bottling bucket. I'd double check the volume.

Beer sounds pretty good, though! I'd almost be tempted to just put a smidge of oat in there for mouthfeel.

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EDIT: I did not recall correctly: Kealia posted the correct volume below.

The fermenter is actually 2.13 gallons if you fill it to their instructions or 2.40 gallons if you 'overfill' to the bottom of the "Q" on the keg.

You could make your recipe for either volume - just let her know how high to fill it.

I did a pale ale in my Mr. Beer fermenter:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/almost-flying-dog-pale-ale-206918/

Boil size was 2.5 gallons. Boiled for 40 minutes on my stove for a batch size of ~2.2 gallons. (It wasn't a very vigorous boil)

After taking into account the little bit of beer & trub left in the fermenter, I was able to fill (16) 16oz Grolsch bottles with almost none leftover.

Justibone said:

Beer sounds pretty good, though! I'd almost be tempted to just put a smidge of oat in there for mouthfeel.

.[/I]

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I would like to add oat but I think that has to be mashed. That's the reason for the maltodextrin - mouthfeel. Lactose for sweetening (balancing out the cocoa powder). In my all grain recipe I use flaked oats.

Patirck said:

That's the reason for the maltodextrin - mouthfeel.

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Learn something every day!

I've heard glycerin can add mouthfeel, and I used it in my Edwort's (modified) Apfelwein... made a huge difference without adding cloudiness.

mr beer is great....its makes people buy 2 kits instead of the one thier gonna buy anyway! lol

btw i started with Mr. Beer. my aunt bought it for me for christmas. if it wasnt for its low cost she never would have been able to afford it. so i guess i owe something to mr beer as well

Mr. Beer has it's pluses and minuses. The biggest two minuses are 1) lack of control and 2) cost. The biggest plus is 1) ease of use.

Everybody's got to start somewhere!

I'm still using the Mr. Beer kit, and I'm about to bottle my next batch of beer. I've done a couple batches and typically follow the directions to a T, except I let it ferment a few weeks, and carbonate/condition in the bottles for over a month.

My last batch seemed severely under-carbonated. Sometimes there wasn't any head on the beer at all when pouring into a glass, and it tasted flat. I use regular table sugar and follow the directions (putting a little at the bottom of each bottle before filling).

Is there a way for me to make sure it gets carbonated better? I'm thinking the sugar needs to mix more with the beer after I bottle them, but I doubt its appropriate to shake the bottles around. Any advice would be verrrry helpful.

In the future, I imagine a bottling bucket is the best way to go, but I don't have one and won't until I upgrade kits.

Thanks!

Justibone said:

Mr. Beer has it's pluses and minuses. The biggest two minuses are 1) lack of control and 2) cost. The biggest plus is 1) ease of use.

Everybody's got to start somewhere!

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How is cost a minus for Mr Beer? You can get a full kit for very little and add to it as you progress. Ingredients cost the same whether you're buying for a 5 gallon batch or a 2.125 gallon batch.

If you only buy the refills and only buy them directly from Mr Beer, it could get costly, but if you watch sales after Christmas at places that stock it as a seasonal item and /or buy refills on Amazon, the price drops significantly.

DonutMuncher said:

I'm still using the Mr. Beer kit, and I'm about to bottle my next batch of beer. I've done a couple batches and typically follow the directions to a T, except I let it ferment a few weeks, and carbonate/condition in the bottles for over a month.

My last batch seemed severely under-carbonated. Sometimes there wasn't any head on the beer at all when pouring into a glass, and it tasted flat. I use regular table sugar and follow the directions (putting a little at the bottom of each bottle before filling).

Is there a way for me to make sure it gets carbonated better? I'm thinking the sugar needs to mix more with the beer after I bottle them, but I doubt its appropriate to shake the bottles around. Any advice would be verrrry helpful.

In the future, I imagine a bottling bucket is the best way to go, but I don't have one and won't until I upgrade kits.

Thanks!

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Walmart has a water container called a slimline in the housewares department. It's clear and holds 2.5 gallons. It's perfect for batch priming and the spigot fits the bottling wand.

bpgreen said:

How is cost a minus for Mr Beer? You can get a full kit for very little and add to it as you progress. Ingredients cost the same whether you're buying for a 5 gallon batch or a 2.125 gallon batch.

If you only buy the refills and only buy them directly from Mr Beer, it could get costly, but if you watch sales after Christmas at places that stock it as a seasonal item and /or buy refills on Amazon, the price drops significantly.

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While true, you can get seasonal deals, you normally aren't getting the freshest product. Nothing wrong with that, if you like it.

But no matter the price, you can't beat the cost per gallon when buying bulk, especially all-grain. I use the MB fermenters all the time, but I don't buy MB ingredients. I save a huge amount buying bulk dme, hops and grain, and better dry yeast. I have much fresher ingredients, and this has helped me improve my product exponentially.

That said, I've used MB ingredients in the past... and nothing could really be easier. It's a great place to start, and the equipment can't really be beat if space is an issue.

DonutMuncher, Instead of bottle priming, why don't you batch prime? It's much easier and you're more sure that every bottle gets primed equally. 1 cup of water, the proper amount of sugar (table sugar is okay, from what I've heard. I'll be trying it with my next batch.). Dissolve the sugar in the water, heat it until boiling, let it cool then, add to Mr Beer. Stir gently, wait 20 - 30 minutes (for the sediment to re-settle). Then bottle.

bpgreen said:

How is cost a minus for Mr Beer? You can get a full kit for very little and add to it as you progress. Ingredients cost the same whether you're buying for a 5 gallon batch or a 2.125 gallon batch.

If you only buy the refills and only buy them directly from Mr Beer, it could get costly, but if you watch sales after Christmas at places that stock it as a seasonal item and /or buy refills on Amazon, the price drops significantly.

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The cost of extract is much higher than equivalent grain.

Here's an example from my LHBS:

3 lbs. DME: $11.99 - http://www.greatfermentations.com/Briess-Pilsen-Light-Dried-Malt-Extract-3-lbs/productinfo/1793B/

4.25 lbs 2-row: $1.20/lb - http://www.greatfermentations.com/Rahr-2-Row-lb/productinfo/870-02/

~$12 > ~$5

All grain is cheaper than extract, always. You can do all grain batches with the Mr. Beer fermenter (BIAB method, 2 gal batch), but if you are using the Mr. Beer kits you are always going to be behind the price curve. That's just the way it will always be. Thermodynamics doesn't lie.

petey_c said:

DonutMuncher, Instead of bottle priming, why don't you batch prime? It's much easier and you're more sure that every bottle gets primed equally. 1 cup of water, the proper amount of sugar (table sugar is okay, from what I've heard. I'll be trying it with my next batch.). Dissolve the sugar in the water, heat it until boiling, let it cool then, add to Mr Beer. Stir gently, wait 20 - 30 minutes (for the sediment to re-settle). Then bottle.

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+1

It can be hard to know what the problem is when you have carbonation issues. The usual advice is 1) move the beer somewhere warmer and 2) wait another couple weeks. Three weeks to carb is really the minimum -- sometimes it can take much longer, especially for higher ABV% beers.

A bottling bucket is really the way to go. Why don't you check out Lowe's or Home Depot for a food grade bucket and use that? Or you can look into getting a 1 gal. ice tea container from Target (if you can get your bottling hose over the spout) and use that. I've not heard of anyone doing that before, but whenever I walk through the big box stores with SWMBO my brain is usually thinking of how to use anything I see as brew equipment.

So, warm it up and wait, maybe? In the future, move to bottling bucket? Good luck, DM!

EDIT: Just saw what BPgreen said... that's awesome! See, great brew minds think alike!!

Thanks petey and Justi! I plan on upgrading all my stuff pretty soon, so I think the easiest thing for me to do for now would be to follow petey's advice, which is preparing the sugar in some boiling water and add to the fermenter and gently stir before bottling. If that's a reasonable approach, I think I'll do that until I upgrade and get better equipment w/ a bottling bucket.

I'm guessing the main downside to this method is that you stir up the sediment when mixing the sugar in the fermenter.. but waiting 30 minutes or so like petey suggested allows it to settle.