Mr. Beer...I don't get it...

[Kaz]

I got started with a Mr. Beer kit a little over 2 years ago. In those 2 years, I've made probably over a dozen Mr. Beer recipes using Mr. Beer HME, UME and different dry and liquid yeasts. Out of all those beers, I would say 1 or 2 have turned out drinkable. My wife describes the off taste that the Mr. Beer beers always have as Worcestershire sauce like? I can never quite put my finger on the off taste myself. I make 5 gallon extract w/grain batches that mostly turn out good and definitely better than MB. I just opened a double brown ale that was fermented in November and bottled in late December, it has this same off taste. Does anyone have any insight into this? I've used Star San to sanitize everything including bottles, I fully take apart the Mr. Beer keg to clean and sanitize, I try to ferment cool (around 65F). I don't know if its is just me or is this a Mr. Beer thing that I just don't like?

 

[Hockeyhunter99]

what kind of beer turned out like Worsteshire? i had one turn out that way too.


i thought it was an infection. the taste never went away. i still have three bottles for a year now and i don't think they will be drank anytime soon

 

[Kaz]

One other factor that I just thought of...is it possible that I could be pitching too much yeast and getting this flavor. For the normal sized 2.5gal batches, I'll pitch a whole White Labs vial or a whole 11g packet of dry yeast. Is this too much yeast. Also, these latest batches I've left in the primary for 4 weeks, much like my 5 gal. batches, could the large pitch and long ferment time be leading to autolysis of the yeast? I read of lots of success stories with Mr. Beer, and while it did get me into homebrewing, I've had very few Mr. Beer brews that we called successful.

 

[Kaz]

what kind of beer turned out like Worsteshire? i had one turn out that way too.


i thought it was an infection. the taste never went away. i still have three bottles for a year now and i don't think they will be drank anytime soon

Its been mostly the dark Mr. Beer refills that have this Worcestershire/Soy taste (stouts, porters, brown ales.) The lighter beers have turned out a little better.

 

[lastsecondapex]

Oxidation maybe? I know that since the Mr. Beer barrels don't have an airlock, maybe the beer was left in too long or sloshed around a bit too much.

 

[jonmohno]

Or maybe its because mr beer seems to use half of all the ingredients that are normally used in a regular LHBS. ? A light stout wouldnt make much sense but maybe good making some chicken? Am i missing something?

 

[brewingkitty]

mr beer marinades?? now your on to something!

 

[RCCOLA]

You guys are crazy. Mr. Beer makes the best beer EVAH!! Here's my award winning recipe.

Mr. Beer Naked Brunette Pale Ale:
5 Lipton tea bags
1/2 Mr. beer booster pack
1/2 can mr. beer extract
1 pack mr beer yeast
1 vial WLP001
1.5 gals. water

Step 1: Bring 1 gal water to a boil. Steep tea bags in it for 20 mins. Add 1/2 pack of booster. Cool and add ice. Now you have something to drink while you make beer.

Step 2: Bring 1/2 gal water to a boil and add extract and mr beer yeast. Boil for 10 mins. then cool to 70F pour into mr beer fermenter and pitch wlp001. Wait 24 hrs, then go to step 3

Step 3: Obtain, mill, and mash 9lbs. 2-row, 1lb. munich, and 1lb C-90 at 150F for 1hr. Collect 6.5 gallons and boil
add 1.5ozs. amarillo @30 mins, .75oz of amarillo and .75 oz. of cascade at 15mins., same amts at flameout and as dry hop post-ferm.
Cool to 62F, pitch mr beer batch into it, drink a glass of iced tea, ferment 3 weeks bottle/keg and enjoy!

There ya go. An awesome Mr. Beer batch!

 

[Righlander]

fermentation temps maybe? makes a HUGE difference

 

[KJohnson]

Are you sure you just don't like the taste of dark malts ? Also the mr beer tank has openings to allow air in and is the biggest problem you could have.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Also the mr beer tank has openings to allow air in and is the biggest problem you could have.

Really?

Oh my.

You should definitely pass this profound bit of information over to Sierra Nevada and dozens of other breweries who are making the horrible, horrible, horrible mistake of [ame]http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=119496665105[/ame]

 

[OldAtHeart]

I once had corks go bad on a couple bottles of Sam Adams Triple Bock (a very rich, dark beer for those who don't remember it), and it tasted exactly like worchestershire sauce. Oxydation maybe?

 

[davesrose]

Are you sure you just don't like the taste of dark malts ? Also the mr beer tank has openings to allow air in and is the biggest problem you could have.

No, the biggest problem you can have is if the Mr Beer fermentor exploded because there was no ventilation system for all the extra CO2 that is produced. Cleaning beer from ceilings is especially hard

 

[LakewoodBrew]

You guys are crazy. Mr. Beer makes the best beer EVAH!! Here's my award winning recipe.

Mr. Beer Naked Brunette Pale Ale:
5 Lipton tea bags
1/2 Mr. beer booster pack
1/2 can mr. beer extract
1 pack mr beer yeast
1 vial WLP001
1.5 gals. water

Step 1: Bring 1 gal water to a boil. Steep tea bags in it for 20 mins. Add 1/2 pack of booster. Cool and add ice. Now you have something to drink while you make beer.

Step 2: Bring 1/2 gal water to a boil and add extract and mr beer yeast. Boil for 10 mins. then cool to 70F pour into mr beer fermenter and pitch wlp001. Wait 24 hrs, then go to step 3

Step 3: Obtain, mill, and mash 9lbs. 2-row, 1lb. munich, and 1lb C-90 at 150F for 1hr. Collect 6.5 gallons and boil
add 1.5ozs. amarillo @30 mins, .75oz of amarillo and .75 oz. of cascade at 15mins., same amts at flameout and as dry hop post-ferm.
Cool to 62F, pitch mr beer batch into it, drink a glass of iced tea, ferment 3 weeks bottle/keg and enjoy!

There ya go. An awesome Mr. Beer batch!

Totally, the best Mr. Beer recipe I've ever heard of, though I may substitute a good Chinese herbal for the Lipton.

 

[LakewoodBrew]

No, the biggest problem you can have is if the Mr Beer fermentor exploded because there was no ventilation system for all the extra CO2 that is produced. Cleaning beer from ceilings is especially hard

I had a brew bucket blow its lid off in my ferm cellar fridge. Holy crap that was hard to clean up.

 

[davesrose]

I had a brew bucket blow its lid off in my ferm cellar fridge. Holy crap that was hard to clean up.

At least it was a fridge and not a 11ft vaulted ceiling like my first high gravity beer (I fermented in a regular pail with airlock....awoke to a very loud boom at 4 AM and then tried to clean off the spray on the ceiling with a mop) !

 

[LakewoodBrew]

My wife would gone berzerk if it happened in the house. I can't imagine trying to clean krausen off of the cieling.

 

[brewingkitty]

At least it was a fridge and not a 11ft vaulted ceiling like my first high gravity beer (I fermented in a regular pail with airlock....awoke to a very loud boom at 4 AM and then tried to clean off the spray on the ceiling with a mop) !

i can hardly clean cobwebs off my vaulted ceilings or change smoke detector batteries. i would kill myself if i had such a guiser.

 

[petey_c]

I was noticing a "bitter chocolate-y" taste with most of my dark Mr. B recipes. Then I noticed this, "All Mr.Beer® mixes feature a complex blend of Pale malt, Caramel malt, Chocolate malt, Vienna malt and Munich malt." from the Mr. B site. Maybe it was the chocolate malt flavor I was picking up... The best one so far was the "Fire In The Hole" chile beer. 1 oz each of smoked dried serrano and Panca chiles.

 

[mchlhgn1]

Really?

Oh my.

You should definitely pass this profound bit of information over to Sierra Nevada and dozens of other breweries who are making the horrible, horrible, horrible mistake of http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=119496665105

Gila, just looked your video and the difference is SN moved the beer most likely to an air tight vessel to age out only the active fermentation process is done in the open vessels. So, yes it could be air getting in without the pressure of the released CO2 during active fermentation to prevent the air getting into the beer.

What you might want to do is try watching the Mr. Beer carefully and try covering they air intake with a piece of ziploc bag and a rubber band right after the visible active fermentation is finish. I know this will not prevent all air from getting in but it is a start.

I have not used a Mr. Beer so this is just a guess.

 

[nos33]

a friend of mine got a MB kit and brewed a couple batches and he cant stand any of them. when he tried one of my homebrews from extract he was hooked. he got rid of his MB kit and bought a full kit from Midwest.

 

[K5MOW]

a friend of mine got a MB kit and brewed a couple batches and he cant stand any of them. when he tried one of my homebrews from extract he was hooked. he got rid of his MB kit and bought a full kit from Midwest.

This is what I did also but I do like my Mr. Beer.

Roger

 

[sjbeerman]

I've had some of the best beer from my MB kit. I don't know, maybe it's just me.

 

[KJohnson]

Yes Sierra Nevada a dozens of other brewerys do this under control and during peak fermentation to limit contamination. And most have a filtration system for the air After a week or two they transfer to air tight vessels. If u think u can age a beer in open oxygen your wrong. I made a mr beer also worst beer I ever tasted. Actually every mr beer kit I ever tasted was infected. Try and buy a 3 gal glass carboy and ditch that gay plastic barrel. You'll be able to watch beer ferment also.

 

[Nova5]

Yes Sierra Nevada a dozens of other brewerys do this under control and during peak fermentation to limit contamination. And most have a filtration system for the air After a week or two they transfer to air tight vessels. If u think u can age a beer in open oxygen your wrong. I made a mr beer also worst beer I ever tasted. Actually every mr beer kit I ever tasted was infected. Try and buy a 3 gal glass carboy and ditch that gay plastic barrel. You'll be able to watch beer ferment also.

Then either the people making it had ****ty practices or you did. I had many tasty beers from my Mr Beer stuff, I stuck with their recipes section and stayed out of the refills section.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Okay. I have no doubt that after primary fermentation SN et al move said product into less exposed vessles for aging. However, to assert that because the plasti-keg is not sealed is the source of the problem is just, well, irresponsible with respect to physics UNLESS Mr Beer brewers are grabbing their plasti-kegs after fermentation and doing the hokey pokey.

You see, CO2 is heavier than air that is a a proven physical fact SO once fermentation is done then the plasti-keg will eventually settle into a balance of CO2 pressure equal to that outside the keg. The only way for air to be entrained into the beer in the keg is by brewer action and mishandling.

This is all I have to say about that.

 

[RCCOLA]

Totally, the best Mr. Beer recipe I've ever heard of, though I may substitute a good Chinese herbal for the Lipton.

Just change the name of your recipe to:

"MR. Beer Naked Chinese Girl Pale Ale"

 

[irunxcjm]

I'm not buying the infection thing either. I made a batch of apfelwein and used my Mr. Beer. I forgot about it and it's been sitting in there for over a year and isn't infected. If beer is infected, you are going to know it.

There are many things, besides infection, that can cause off flavors. One thing that no one has mentioned is the age of the extract. I noticed when I did Mr. Beer in college, that the extract can be quite old sometimes. It is always best to get the freshest extract you can. That's why so many people order from Midwest, AHB and the other big online stores. They go through so much extract, you are guaranteed to get fresh extract.

 

[Hang Glider]

fermentation temps maybe? makes a HUGE difference

+1

Kaz - do you know your fermentation temps ?
I agree this is huge. Keep it at 65F and see what happens.

Also - not likely oxydation - that tastes like cardboard, not worchestershire.

 

[gio]

At least it was a fridge and not a 11ft vaulted ceiling like my first high gravity beer (I fermented in a regular pail with airlock....awoke to a very loud boom at 4 AM and then tried to clean off the spray on the ceiling with a mop) !

wow, this is making me second guess fermenting in my closet with all my dress clothes in it.

 

[Shooter]

I'm not buying the infection thing either. I made a batch of apfelwein and used my Mr. Beer. I forgot about it and it's been sitting in there for over a year and isn't infected. If beer is infected, you are going to know it.

There are many things, besides infection, that can cause off flavors. One thing that no one has mentioned is the age of the extract. I noticed when I did Mr. Beer in college, that the extract can be quite old sometimes. It is always best to get the freshest extract you can. That's why so many people order from Midwest, AHB and the other big online stores. They go through so much extract, you are guaranteed to get fresh extract.

I think the age of the extract is a lot of it. My Mr. Beer batches always had at least a touch of this soy sauce flavor to them. Even Mr. Beer batches I made after I was making very drinkable five gallon extract batches still had the taste. I think getting a really fresh can is key. I have since used the Mr. Beer fermenter to make my one extract recipes and they turn out just fine.

 

[SKMO]

I've made probably over a dozen Mr. Beer recipes using Mr. Beer HME, UME and different dry and liquid yeasts. Out of all those beers, I would say 1 or 2 have turned out drinkable.

At the risk of sounding like an A-Hole or cynical, a 1:6 success ratio is the inverse of Russian Roulette, where you have at least a .833 chance of succeeding. A beer or two "drinkable" where you do not retch and spit it back out is hardly a success story. You do exhibit determination.

Sounds like you want to brew, I'd move on quick to a process where your beers will be "good", not just drinkable.

 

[ButcherBrew]

I've had some of the best beer from my MB kit. I don't know, maybe it's just me.

Really? Not my experience at all so I guess I was really doing something wrong. I too agreed, as did some of my friends, that most of the MR. BEER kits tasted very similar to one another. Fast forward to today.......The Partial Mash recipes I have completed are LIGHT YEARS ahead of MR. Beer in quality, color, carbonation, taste, etc.

To give it some credit, the Mr Beer kit definitely exposed me to the craft brewing world and got me familiar with sanitizing, fermenting process, etc. I appreciate what it taught me and how it led me to where I am now!

 

[ButcherBrew]

Then either the people making it had ****ty practices or you did. I had many tasty beers from my Mr Beer stuff, I stuck with their recipes section and stayed out of the refills section.

Maybe thats where I went wrong......Their Canned kits are horrible....

 

[Bithead]

I still use my Mr Beer fermenter for 2.5 gallon batches. Sometimes you just need to loosen the cap a little more to let the krausen overflow. Tighten again when primary fermentation slows down. I only made maybe a handful of batches and never had Worcestershire off flavors.

 

[cbauer210]

I have deff had some ok drinkable beers from my mr beer kit. Often time the cans I would get would be looooooong expired though. I blame allot of the nasty beers on that factor. However, I have nothing but love for mr beer. If it wasn't for that kit, this board would be much, much, much, much less populated. As many of you....it is how I got my start in home brewing. Got that little kit, got so excited about the thought of making my own beer, then saw how easy it could be....I never looked back. Tasting those slightly off tasting beers only made me want to make better and better tasting beers.

 

[sjbeerman]

Many of you may not know, but I read that's how Jamil got started.

 

[DannPM]

I got started with a Mr. Beer kit a little over 2 years ago. In those 2 years, I've made probably over a dozen Mr. Beer recipes using Mr. Beer HME, UME and different dry and liquid yeasts. Out of all those beers, I would say 1 or 2 have turned out drinkable. My wife describes the off taste that the Mr. Beer beers always have as Worcestershire sauce like? I can never quite put my finger on the off taste myself. I make 5 gallon extract w/grain batches that mostly turn out good and definitely better than MB. I just opened a double brown ale that was fermented in November and bottled in late December, it has this same off taste. Does anyone have any insight into this? I've used Star San to sanitize everything including bottles, I fully take apart the Mr. Beer keg to clean and sanitize, I try to ferment cool (around 65F). I don't know if its is just me or is this a Mr. Beer thing that I just don't like?

Is it possible that Worcestershire sauce is somehow being added to the beer in a step you're overlooking?

 

[Hang Glider]

Is it possible that Worcestershire sauce is somehow being added to the beer in a step you're overlooking?

by the underwear gnomes, perhaps?
(they're always in search of profit)


sorry for the - back to our Mr. Beer discussion...

 

[DannPM]

by the underwear gnomes, perhaps?
(they're always in search of profit)


sorry for the - back to our Mr. Beer discussion...

Yeah sorry I just had to post that up! Couldn't resist!

I got a Mr. Beer for Christmas, just this last one. It got me into making beer with a kick. I just did my first all-grain a few weeks ago!

It's a decent/ok product but it's a great way to get into beer brewing.