I just got a mr beer kit,and brewed my first batch. I enjoyed it and will try the different options they have. But i thought the process is very simple,and would like to create my own flavors. I do plan to upgrade in the future once i do more research and learn about the process and how to make it. But i was wondering if it is possible to create my own flavors or if i can add to the existing flavors that mr.beer has. I have the 2 gallon fermenter and bottles. Could i just buy hops and grains and boil them in a pot then put that in the fermenter. Or do i just have to stick with the options mr beer has.
How to create my own flavors
- Thread starter spuck
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Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
I just got a mr beer kit,and brewed my first batch. I enjoyed it and will try the different options they have. But i thought the process is very simple,and would like to create my own flavors. I do plan to upgrade in the future once i do more research and learn about the process and how to make it. But i was wondering if it is possible to create my own flavors or if i can add to the existing flavors that mr.beer has. I have the 2 gallon fermenter and bottles. Could i just buy hops and grains and boil them in a pot then put that in the fermenter. Or do i just have to stick with the options mr beer has.
If you like brewing then upgrade your equipment. As for your own recipes. You can use Brewers Friend recipe builder and do a lot of reading here to see what grains and hops work best for what you want. I have been making my own recipes and most of them have come out good. I must give a lot of credit to this forum. :rockin:
1) Read this forum.
2) Take one step at a time.
Brew 2-3 kits. Then buy a few more kits but experiment with adding some hop tea. You can find more advanced kits too.
If you still think you want to do more advanced stuff, get a boiler and a wort cooler. Now you're ready to brew a lot of fancy extracts and even partial mash.
3) Keep reading the forum.
Have fun
2) Take one step at a time.
Brew 2-3 kits. Then buy a few more kits but experiment with adding some hop tea. You can find more advanced kits too.
If you still think you want to do more advanced stuff, get a boiler and a wort cooler. Now you're ready to brew a lot of fancy extracts and even partial mash.
3) Keep reading the forum.
Have fun
sputnam
Well-Known Member
you can do all grain batches in the mr beer lbk, i did it for a while until the infections set in....word of advice - take the bottling valve off and clean it after each batch.
You can use your Mr. Beer fermenter to do 2 gallon batches. You can lookup any of Northern Brewer's recipe kits and under "details" there is a link to the PDF instructions which include an ingredient list.
The recipes are meant for 5 gallon batches so just multiply all the ingredients by 0.40 and you will get the amount needed for a 2 gallon batch.
Most of the recipe kits use light LME and steeping grains to build the malt base of a wort. There are usually 60, 30, and 5 minute hop additions but some styles only use a single 60 minute addition while others may also dry hop.
Keep in mind the yeast can also impart a lot of flavor to your beer. Using Safale 05 vs 04 for instance will give you very different beers even if the malt & hops are identical.
I personally don't even use steeping grains. My LBS has "kegs" of light, amber, and dark LME. I'll just combine them to get what I'm looking for. I also try to keep things simple and use a single hop variety.
My philosophy is that it's pretty had to find ingredients that make a "bad beer" if you are just using malt extract and hops. If you're adding in a bunch of other stuff you can create some pretty funky flavors, but with malt extract and hops you are pretty safe. The challenge of making a good beer is maintaining proper fermentation conditions, keeping the yeast happy, and preventing infections & oxidation. This basically comes down to using the best practices for the equipment you have, keeping an eye on the beer, and taking good notes.
The main points I would emphasize are.
*Keep a bucket of sanstar handy while you're brewing - when in doubt sanstar, don't be afraid of putting your beer on the sanstar foam (also if you keep it in a sealed container you can reuse it)
*Cool your wort as rapidly as you can, I put my boiling kettle in a cold water bath and keep a small amount of cold water running. This gets ~2.5 gallons of boiling liquid to ~70F in 35 minutes if I use an ice bath to start it out.
*Don't pitch your wort until it's cooled down to under 70F
*If you are fermenting where the air temperature is over 65F put your carboy in a plastic storage bin and use a water bath to keep temperatures cool & stable. If things start to get too warm I throw a frozen 20oz bottle of water in the water bath which drops the temperature 1-2F after 30 minutes. This step isn't possible with a Mr. Beer fermenter because they have small holes in them to release CO2.
*Once things get going leave your beer alone. Only open it up to draw a hydrometer sample. Try to give it at least 2 weeks. 3 weeks is preferable but the Mr. Beer fermenter is not air tight so I would go with 2 weeks until you get a carboy or bucket.
*Invest in a bottling bucket, it is much easier than trying to hand prime each bottle.
*Give your bottles at least 2 weeks in a warm place, if your house is closer to 65F expect to wait 4+ weeks for the bottles to properly carb.
The recipes are meant for 5 gallon batches so just multiply all the ingredients by 0.40 and you will get the amount needed for a 2 gallon batch.
Most of the recipe kits use light LME and steeping grains to build the malt base of a wort. There are usually 60, 30, and 5 minute hop additions but some styles only use a single 60 minute addition while others may also dry hop.
Keep in mind the yeast can also impart a lot of flavor to your beer. Using Safale 05 vs 04 for instance will give you very different beers even if the malt & hops are identical.
I personally don't even use steeping grains. My LBS has "kegs" of light, amber, and dark LME. I'll just combine them to get what I'm looking for. I also try to keep things simple and use a single hop variety.
My philosophy is that it's pretty had to find ingredients that make a "bad beer" if you are just using malt extract and hops. If you're adding in a bunch of other stuff you can create some pretty funky flavors, but with malt extract and hops you are pretty safe. The challenge of making a good beer is maintaining proper fermentation conditions, keeping the yeast happy, and preventing infections & oxidation. This basically comes down to using the best practices for the equipment you have, keeping an eye on the beer, and taking good notes.
The main points I would emphasize are.
*Keep a bucket of sanstar handy while you're brewing - when in doubt sanstar, don't be afraid of putting your beer on the sanstar foam (also if you keep it in a sealed container you can reuse it)
*Cool your wort as rapidly as you can, I put my boiling kettle in a cold water bath and keep a small amount of cold water running. This gets ~2.5 gallons of boiling liquid to ~70F in 35 minutes if I use an ice bath to start it out.
*Don't pitch your wort until it's cooled down to under 70F
*If you are fermenting where the air temperature is over 65F put your carboy in a plastic storage bin and use a water bath to keep temperatures cool & stable. If things start to get too warm I throw a frozen 20oz bottle of water in the water bath which drops the temperature 1-2F after 30 minutes. This step isn't possible with a Mr. Beer fermenter because they have small holes in them to release CO2.
*Once things get going leave your beer alone. Only open it up to draw a hydrometer sample. Try to give it at least 2 weeks. 3 weeks is preferable but the Mr. Beer fermenter is not air tight so I would go with 2 weeks until you get a carboy or bucket.
*Invest in a bottling bucket, it is much easier than trying to hand prime each bottle.
*Give your bottles at least 2 weeks in a warm place, if your house is closer to 65F expect to wait 4+ weeks for the bottles to properly carb.
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