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Another quick question, for those of you using pellet hops, do you even muslin bag them or just strainer them out. I was ordering a recipe from midwest and didn't know if the bag was neccesary.
 
What would you choose to start out with? Mr.Beer, Coopers Microbrewery Kit or a different setup? I had a Mr.Beer kit in high school and I am trying to get back into brewing. Mr.Beer was pretty easy to do, I am looking for something with more steps. I don't know too much about Coopers and I have looked at all the other kits they sell online but I'm not sure what to go with!
 
Do whatever. I get lazy, I do a Mr Beer ...I want to brew a hefe, I get Briess LME 3.3 lbs and some Munich and make a 2.4 gallon batch. Don't see anything wrong with Coopers ..or use any LME or DME and add your own hops to make your own.


Pakawa said:
What would you choose to start out with? Mr.Beer, Coopers Microbrewery Kit or a different setup? I had a Mr.Beer kit in high school and I am trying to get back into brewing. Mr.Beer was pretty easy to do, I am looking for something with more steps. I don't know too much about Coopers and I have looked at all the other kits they sell online but I'm not sure what to go with!
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I am making my last MR. Beer brew that I got for Xmas and am making the Whispering wheat. I subbed the booster with a cup of honey and a can (14.5 oz) of tart cherries in water. Will my beer be too watery. Just did it last night (had a few too many homebrews before starting. If not, is it too late to add the booster if I prepare it with water?
 
AlbuquerqueJoe said:
I am making my last MR. Beer brew that I got for Xmas and am making the Whispering wheat. I subbed the booster with a cup of honey and a can (14.5 oz) of tart cherries in water. Will my beer be too watery.
Click to expand...

Well, if you like a malty beer, it might be a little bit "watery". The malty flavor comes from, well, malt, and honey brews out almost completely, leaving little to no flavor behind. (Honey => Higher ABV.)

Just did it last night (had a few too many homebrews before starting. If not, is it too late to add the booster if I prepare it with water?
Click to expand...

It's not too late to add DME if you want more "malt" flavor, but since it's a fruity wheat I would probably just go with it and learn for next time. If you want to add more malt extract, though, I'd definitely boil it first to make sure you don't infect your beer.

Learning to brew is a marathon, not a sprint. That's why some people are "master brewers"... they've been doing it for DECADES. Every batch is a new lesson, just learn to listen to the yeast. And use the Force. And be the beer. And all that jazz. ;)
 
I'd like to thank everybody here for their advice with Mr Beer. I made my first batch, following the instructions, only substituting priming sugar for table sugar. If I hadn't known that changing even some of the ingredients would make a world of difference, I might have stopped here. The Canadian Draft I made has a bit of cider-y taste. Now that I know a little more I can tweak the process. I've yet to bottle my second brew. That's a week away. That means I free up another primary to experiment with another brew and can continue my pipeline...
 
petey_c said:
I'd like to thank everybody here for their advice with Mr Beer. I made my first batch, following the instructions, only substituting priming sugar for table sugar. If I hadn't known that changing even some of the ingredients would make a world of difference, I might have stopped here. The Canadian Draft I made has a bit of cider-y taste. Now that I know a little more I can tweak the process. I've yet to bottle my second brew. That's a week away. That means I free up another primary to experiment with another brew and can continue my pipeline...
Click to expand...

Sounds like a happy beginning to me! :ban:
 
I made the mistake of getting extremely anxious on my first batch and kept trying mine till its was bottled conditioned ready. Waiting that two weeks is pretty hard. Also cidery taste could be from booster which I assume you threw in your first batch.

Another thing, Mr. Beer kits are pretty expensive but go to somewhere like Midwestsupplies.com and you can put together some kits(2.5gal) for just as much or cheaper for quality yeast, and better ingredients.
 
Chris6, I'm pretty sure the cider taste was due to the "booster". That or too much O2 when I was racking. The Mr spigot leaves much to be desired. I'm also looking for a place to get some 16 oz. PET bottles cheaply. pete
 
petey_c said:
Chris6, I'm pretty sure the cider taste was due to the "booster". That or too much O2 when I was racking. The Mr spigot leaves much to be desired. I'm also looking for a place to get some 16 oz. PET bottles cheaply. pete
Click to expand...


check the classified section, there's a whole thread for people who are giving free bottles. i don't know if you'll find any pet bottles there, but free.99 is a pretty good deal :mug:
 
err.. i don't have any temperature controlling things.. umm any suggestions? Preferably a cheaper set up that won't take a lot of space.

My first batch was awesome but it was winter and i just left the beer in the laundry room. Now it's summer and i don't think the temperature is stable enough for the fermentation process, i just started yesterday.
 
Ringmaster said:
err.. i don't have any temperature controlling things.. umm any suggestions? Preferably a cheaper set up that won't take a lot of space.

My first batch was awesome but it was winter and i just left the beer in the laundry room. Now it's summer and i don't think the temperature is stable enough for the fermentation process, i just started yesterday.
Click to expand...

if you have a big rubbermaid tub, basically anything waterproof that's big enough to hold your fermentor, you have a temperature control. You can put a few inches of water in there, put your fermentor in, and then chuck in some frozen water bottles (or Coke bottles filled with water that you freeze) to keep the temp down. Easy, cheap, effective.

One issue is if you have a MB fermentor or a bottling bucket fermentor that "dirty" water will be touching your spout/spigot, so be sure to sanitize well before bottling from the spigot.
 
alright well i got it in place, thanks for the advice! i'm a little at a loss of how i'm going to sanitize the spigot while it's still on the fermenter though.. that whole gravity thing and all.

i put some plastic wrap and a rubber band around the spigot, but i guess i'll need to sanitize it again just to be safe.

34877_133680703334434_1000007751625.jpg


i hope the large drop in temperature doesn't affect the beer negatively
 
Ringmaster said:
alright well i got it in place, thanks for the advice! i'm a little at a loss of how i'm going to sanitize the spigot while it's still on the fermenter though.. that whole gravity thing and all.
Click to expand...

If you can get a cup or pan of sanitizer solution up around the spigot, you could immerse it in liquid for about a minute or so. That might be a good way to do it... or go ahead and put some sanitizer in your swamp cooler water right now if you don't mind using a bit extra.

i hope the large drop in temperature doesn't affect the beer negatively
Click to expand...

Usually not. Temperature drops don't kill yeast, it just puts them into suspended animation (usually). Freezing will kill off a large number of them, though, so avoid freezing live yeast unless they are either dry, or in a special media that can protect them from ice crystals. :)
 
hmm i see thank you for the info. I have one more question, the water looks like it's getting kinda gross kinda fast.. probably cause i threw a bunch of ice in it at first(didn't have any frozen water bottles)

Do i just not worry about that? or should i dump it out and put clean water in it regularly? Don't think there'd be any real reason to, just kinda wondering what the norm is in this case.

oh the shirt i wrapped the Mr. B in was a souvenir from some relative's who went out of state. It says "Bourbon Street" on it.. I really got a kick out of using it to make beer :)
 
Ringmaster said:
hmm i see thank you for the info. I have one more question, the water looks like it's getting kinda gross kinda fast.. probably cause i threw a bunch of ice in it at first(didn't have any frozen water bottles)

Do i just not worry about that? or should i dump it out and put clean water in it regularly? Don't think there'd be any real reason to, just kinda wondering what the norm is in this case.

oh the shirt i wrapped the Mr. B in was a souvenir from some relative's who went out of state. It says "Bourbon Street" on it.. I really got a kick out of using it to make beer :)
Click to expand...

A lot of people put a tablespoon or so of bleach in there to keep things dead... but they usually aren't using a Mr. Beer and submerging their spigots. I don't know what you should do, to be honest. I use full size 6 gallon buckets, so I don't have quite the same problem. The bleach most likely won't hurt your spigot, but if it leaked into the beer... :cross:

Then again, *any* water leaking into your beer would be tragic... Hmm. If you are going to keep doing the swamp cooler, I'd go ahead and upgrade to buckets. If you want to keep using your MrB, I'd build a fermentation chamber with some insulation and whatnot (search for the fermentation chamber to see threads and pics of what it looks like, pretty simple concept).

This batch should be okay, though!! *crosses fingers*

P.S. - Bourbon Street is the name of the 2nd closest bar to my apartment (walking distance). :)
 
hmm, well i wrapped the spigot in plastic already so i think it's less likely to incept(thank you hot for words) into my beer.

Yeah eventually i'd like to upgrade my beer kit, but just at the moment it's not really an option. The plastic really bothers me it feels like i can't clean it properly the way things are.

Guess i'll throw a bit of one step in it.. that should kill off anything that might want to grow. Although i don't see why i couldn't just add a bit of alcohol to the water, that'd work wouldn't it?

I was thinking about doing a couple more batches of mr. Beer before upgrading so i should probably figure out a method that will work for the time being.

Anyway we'll see how this batch comes out *crosses fingers* I feel like i've got a kid or an animal or something.. kinda worry about it.

Edit:
Lol, Finally got a thermometer for the temp control deally, i was keeping it at 60 degrees apparently. Just took a big hunk of ice out should warm up a little now. Was kinda guessing up till now
 
Yeah, MrB is great for a lot of things, but cleaning it can be a bit awkward. That's the upside of buckets -- easy access. Unfortunately the buckets are plastic too, and so they can potentially hold flavors or harbor bacteria, so...

I have a glass carboy, but I don't use it for beer. If I get a good cleaning brush, though, I might start. The major pain with a glass carboy is that it is so danged heavy when it's full. :(
 
petey_c said:
Chris6, I'm pretty sure the cider taste was due to the "booster". That or too much O2 when I was racking. The Mr spigot leaves much to be desired. I'm also looking for a place to get some 16 oz. PET bottles cheaply. pete
Click to expand...


You can upgrade the spigot to use the bottle filler (bottling wand). That would eliminate the O2 problems as it fills the bottles from the bottom up! It's only 5.95 from Mr. Beer (comes with spigot and wand) but you might be able to find it somewhere else also.

http://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/860/nm/Locking_Spigot_Wand_Combo1

The only problem I have with this is if the fermentor is on the counter, I pretty much have to kneel in the floor to get to the bottom of the wand. Not that big of a deal as it makes filling the bottles much easier and faster.
 
I submerge all of my fermenting MB kegs to the beer level with water in a 48
quart cooler. I put 3 capfulls of starsan in the cooler to keep the water fresh
and sanitized. Before I got the starsan I used one packet of onestep but I
prefer the starsan. Don't fear the foam right? I have made about 18 - 20
batches this spring and summer with no problems. I add a 16 oz frozen water
bottle twice daily to keep temps at a steady 67-70 degrees. Maybe two
frozen water bottles twice daily when temps are spiking early on. The beer
turns out crystal clear with no off flavors after spending 3 weeks in the
coolers.
 
Hmm, how do the buckets work? i know the Mr. Beer's fancy technology has a magic lid that lets out gases without letting in air.. I understand that that's important.. A buckets sounds like the next step in this hobby though, if there's a convenient way to set it up.

I looked up Carboy's the small opening on those carboys makes it look like a pain to clean.. in fact i spent a big chunk of yesterday reading up through the forums. Seems like a fermentation chamber is a fridge. We already got 3 in the house i don't think anyone would be to thrilled if i tried to "Commandeer" one as a temp control for my beer though. Or there's those cold cubby holes that people seem to make.. not that good with wood and don't really have a place to keep something that big at the moment. Although i like the idea "eventually"


I'll look into getting some starsan. I ended up throwing a little one step in there but i didn't want to use the whole packet, still got to worry about the bottles and i don't really want to order another one just for santizing water that won't even touch the beer. So i threw some vodka in it :) Seems to be working, something looked off about the water before but it seems all better now.

Oh and thanks for all the help, i was really worried about the heat before, probably would have created those things that make beer "hot" if i didn't do the swamp cooler thing.

Oh yeah one more thing.. i seem to be constantly at 60 degrees.. is that bad? After several hours it jumps up to about 64 but when i throw a frozen bottle in there to keep it from getting any higher it goes back down to 60.. and stays there... for a long time. will the Mr. Beer yeast still work at 60?
 
Tallmanbrewer, The only problem I have with the "dynamic duo" is that shipping is $7.95 for a $5.95 item. Oh well, I might as well order more beer stuff to balance it out....
 
Ringmaster said:
Oh yeah one more thing.. i seem to be constantly at 60 degrees.. is that bad? After several hours it jumps up to about 64 but when i throw a frozen bottle in there to keep it from getting any higher it goes back down to 60.. and stays there... for a long time. will the Mr. Beer yeast still work at 60?
Click to expand...


Anything under 65 is too cold. It probably will still ferment, it will be a slow process though. I would pull it out of te water, quickly and briefly open the lid and see what it is doing. If you see a good head of krausen (the white foam) then it is doing its thing. If not, you gotta raise the temp. You should really switch to a food service bucket. Your LHBS should have a nice kit complete with everything you need. I suggest reading The BrewMaster's Bible by Stephen Snyder if you do decide to move past MR. Beer.
 
Ringmaster said:
Hmm, how do the buckets work? i know the Mr. Beer's fancy technology has a magic lid that lets out gases without letting in air.. I understand that that's important.. A buckets sounds like the next step in this hobby though, if there's a convenient way to set it up.

I looked up Carboy's the small opening on those carboys makes it look like a pain to clean.. in fact i spent a big chunk of yesterday reading up through the forums. Seems like a fermentation chamber is a fridge. We already got 3 in the house i don't think anyone would be to thrilled if i tried to "Commandeer" one as a temp control for my beer though. Or there's those cold cubby holes that people seem to make.. not that good with wood and don't really have a place to keep something that big at the moment. Although i like the idea "eventually"
Click to expand...

The buckets work with a lid drilled and fitted with an airlock. You can get a 7 gallon food service bucket with lid drilled and an airlock for around the cost of the Mr. Beer kit. Have you thought about getting a dorm fridge? If you use a fridge you do need to get a external temp controller tho, as the highest temp a fridge will usually reach is 45. I have an analog Johnson Controller, bought at my LHBS for about 59 bucks. It seems steep, but it would cost me that might if i ruined two five gallon batches of beer.
 
I umm.. left a giant frozen 2 liter in the tub for the night because i knew i wouldn't check it until the next day.. And well it brought the temp down to 50 degrees... >_> God that's low enough for lagering isn't it? It's funny because we've been in the 90's + all week.

I think i checked it a couple days ago and it seemed to have foam but at 50 degrees there was barely anything going on.. just a couple spots of white.. Anyway i pulled out the 2 liter, it should be cool enough tonight anyway and i'm waking up early tomorrow for an interview so i'll just throw a blue ice pack in it then to keep it from getting to warm. isn't letting the temperature jump around to much bad for the beer? i should probably keep it around mid 60's since i've had it so low for so long right?

I know the local brew store has a start up kit for $100 but it seemed like a big jump from the little 2 gallon thing. I think i'd be a little more comfortable starting with buckets then maybe carboys or.. what else do you use? Those giant Keg looking things?

I'll give the dorm fridge some thought after i upgrade my gear a little bit. And i'll definitely check out the book. Thanks for the advice!
 
Ringmaster said:
I know the local brew store has a start up kit for $100 but it seemed like a big jump from the little 2 gallon thing. I think i'd be a little more comfortable starting with buckets then maybe carboys or.. what else do you use? Those giant Keg looking things?
Click to expand...

People usually ferment in one of three things: a Mr. Beer, a 7 gal. plastic bucket, or a carboy (plastic or glass).

Mr. Beer = just buy a Mr. Beer kit. Done and done.

Bucket = if you're handy, hit up Wal-mart or another place that deals with a lot of food that comes in buckets and see if they will give it to you. Bakery type places might be best (their frosting comes in those buckets, I believe), but avoid pickle buckets unless you want pickle-flavor beer. When you have a bucket with a lid, drill the hole to about the size of the rubber bung and airlock you get at a homebrew supply store (like this airlock here, but I couldn't find a good rubber bung in a quick look) -- then you're good to go. If you are NOT handy, or at least not in the mood, the buckets should sell for about $10 or less most places, while the bung and airlock should run ~$5 for both, IIRC.

Carboy =To get a carboy you just buy the carboy. Shipping is high if you buy off the interwebz, so if you have a local homebrew store see what they have and compare prices. You'll need a bung and airlock, like the bucket above. I understand that Costco sells big bottles of water, 4-5 gal., and it seems like those huge water bottles could be a serviceable carboy. They are -- *serviceable*, that is. You don't want to do long-term stuff in them, though, because they are probably oxygen permeable and so can make beer taste funny if it sits too long in them. The upside is that they are pretty danged cheap, and you can use the water that comes in them to brew if you really want to.

Kegs = some people ferment in kegs. It's not common to start doing that if you don't serve in kegs first, though, so... YMMV.
 
aren't kegs good for doing a full boil thingy? instead of a partial? The first thing i read on this forum was that the full boil was better then the partial by a long shot..

Or should i just get like a 15 gallon kettle thingy? Do they make them that big? it'd be kinda cool to do 10 gallons at a point.. some day over the rainbow..

Alright so i guess i'll be going like this:
Mr. Beer -> Bucket -> Carboy

and not bother with the keg? i only figured it was important for the full boil thingy.. and it might be easier to clean, but i'd like to bottle my beer.. i like bottles.. it means i can share :)

I umm.. i just looked up the book and it seems a little advanced. Is that something i should start reading now? or when i actually have brewed a bit in buckets/carboy's
 
I found a Mr. Beer kit a couple of years ago in the AFN Kitchen in Honduras. One of my troops and I followed the directions and made a batch of beer from two cans of two different types of beer we found under the sink next to bottles.

Needless to say the brew was horrible. When I would have inspection teams or command visits from D.C. I would push the stuff off on them and call it the "AFN Special."

Evidently the dude that left the Mr. Beer kit moved on up and went to a full size kit because I found three carboys there as well.
 
Ringmaster said:
aren't kegs good for doing a full boil thingy? instead of a partial? The first thing i read on this forum was that the full boil was better then the partial by a long shot.
Click to expand...

Any homebrew is better than none... if you enjoy learning and pride of craftsmanship, that is. Getting started is the most important thing. If you wanted to be a NASCAR driver *someday*, why not start with a go-kart, y'know?

Or should i just get like a 15 gallon kettle thingy? Do they make them that big? it'd be kinda cool to do 10 gallons at a point.. some day over the rainbow..
Click to expand...

I think you might be confusing the boiling with the fermenting. Yes, the bigger and better your boils, the bigger (and hopefully better!) your beers. Some people cut an old, used keg up in order to make a very large kettle, and that seems to be what you're referring to. It's called a "keggle". ;)

Alright so i guess i'll be going like this:
Mr. Beer -> Bucket -> Carboy
Click to expand...

Some people never go to the carboy. Only big beers really need it. Then again, some people never use a bucket and go to the carboy straight away. It really is a matter of choice, cost and convenience.

and not bother with the keg? i only figured it was important for the full boil thingy.. and it might be easier to clean, but i'd like to bottle my beer.. i like bottles.. it means i can share :)
Click to expand...

Kegging is not necessarily the end-all, be-all of brewing. New brewers sometimes think that if they aren't kegging and aren't doing all-grain that they are somehow inferior -- that's not the case. Those are more complicated options, one could say advanced in requirement (expertise and equipment)... but they are not the end-all, be-all by a long shot. :)

I umm.. i just looked up the book and it seems a little advanced. Is that something i should start reading now? or when i actually have brewed a bit in buckets/carboy's
Click to expand...

The book can be intimidating. If you brew your first brew or two and then read it, you will have a much easier time understanding it -- but you'll also say, "Doh! I should've done X instead!! :("

If the book doesn't help, don't use it! Come back to it later. Or use this online book... it's written in a very straightforward way, I think.

Cheers!
 
Frankfurtvr4 said:
I found a Mr. Beer kit a couple of years ago in the AFN Kitchen in Honduras. One of my troops and I followed the directions and made a batch of beer from two cans of two different types of beer we found under the sink next to bottles.

Needless to say the brew was horrible. When I would have inspection teams or command visits from D.C. I would push the stuff off on them and call it the "AFN Special."

Evidently the dude that left the Mr. Beer kit moved on up and went to a full size kit because I found three carboys there as well.
Click to expand...

I bet it was terrible b/c you didn't control the temperature. That's probably what made my first batch of MrB beer so terrible, I believe...
 
Ringmaster said:
I umm.. i just looked up the book and it seems a little advanced. Is that something i should start reading now? or when i actually have brewed a bit in buckets/carboy's
Click to expand...

The book is actually a great and easy read, with specific chapters and instructions on all levels of brewing from kits, extract, partial mash and all-grain. As a person that just recently brewed my first extract batch and only ever have brewed two Mr. Beer batches before that, I found the Snyder book to be a great intro into brewing. I would check it out before you start, or else you could make some big (and costly) mistakes. It will also give you a good idea of how much time, effort, and $$ you will need to invest and that will help you decide if this is for you or not!
 

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