Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions

[dole21]

So finally after 2 weeks in the brew keg, and three weeks in the bottle I popped open a west coast pale ale.

Yuck...its like a cross between a high life and a old style. Was too cidery, yet way too bubbly

Its got almost enough carbonation like a pop or a bottle of champagne.

Rather dissapointed, but I used everythign with the kit it came with (booster that yeast etc and sugar for the carbonation.) lesson learned I guess.

Got in my keg now the whispering wheat from the sampler pack. I replaced the booster with a bag of DME, and got some better yeast. Hopefully this time around things will be better. Also, got the carb tabs instead of sugar to place in the bottles.

Overall, Its definitely a ton of fun to do it all and I can definitely see me upgrading to a 5 gal kit very very soon.

 

[Shooter]

So finally after 2 weeks in the brew keg, and three weeks in the bottle I popped open a west coast pale ale.

Yuck...its like a cross between a high life and a old style. Was too cidery, yet way too bubbly

Its got almost enough carbonation like a pop or a bottle of champagne.

Rather dissapointed, but I used everythign with the kit it came with (booster that yeast etc and sugar for the carbonation.) lesson learned I guess.

Got in my keg now the whispering wheat from the sampler pack. I replaced the booster with a bag of DME, and got some better yeast. Hopefully this time around things will be better. Also, got the carb tabs instead of sugar to place in the bottles.

Overall, Its definitely a ton of fun to do it all and I can definitely see me upgrading to a 5 gal kit very very soon.

Ha, your experience is almost identical to mine! My first kit, the WPA, was cidery, that mellowed a little with age, and a little too carbonated. I have the hefe bottle conditioning right now and I also substituted DME for the booster and used a better yeast. I did use cane sugar to carb.

 

[ifishsum]

The cane sugar used for priming isn't a problem for the cidery taste IMO - after some experimentation I came to the conclusion that it's mostly the booster, greatly exacerbated by 70+ fermentation temperatures. Once I started subbing in 1 lb of DME in place of the booster, the cidery taste was pretty much gone. When I got my fermentation temps under control (read: below 70) I started making some really decent beer.

The final Mr. Beer batch I made, I had a booster package left so I decided to try it one last time - this time keeping temps at 65-67*F to see if I still got the cider taste. There was a hint of it there, but much improved - that batch (canadian draft w/booster) tasted every bit as good as your average BMC brew. Unfortunately once I got used to drinking good homebrew, the average BMC brew does not do much for me anymore

 

[85 Haro Designs]

Ha, I had the EXACT same thing happen to me (as you two, and probably many more) up until I got on here and Revvy set me straight.

I stopped using the booster and I trippled the malt extract in the recipes - finally tasted awesome even with the crappy little yeast packet that comes with it. I made a starter that sat in my fridge for 1 YEAR! I added a little more LME to "wake it up" and man did it take off in a growler.

This last batch (called my "wooly booger") tastes great so far (just racked to secondary tonight and tasted a bit).

OH yeah, and I stopped using table sugar too. I primed with LME or corn sugar.

 

[rafa_f117]

Hello again! I am currently on the carbonation stage of my first beer-WCPA... I fermented using the same setup Revvy posted on earlier pages and it seemed to work fine. I controlled the temperature and got it to be <70F the whole two weeks. I tried the beer and it was good tasting, no off tastes but of course no carbonation. On saturday I primed with table sugar (hope it doesn't mess up the flavor) and to try something different I directly put them on the fridge. The avg. temp is 37F on my fridge. Will it hold the carbonation process? thanks!

 

[Bombarde32]

Ok so I just bought MrB and I couldn't wait until the real brew shop opened later in the week so I fired away the first batch with enclosed ingredients only. Figured worst case it'll be a learning experience.

I did everything as instructued and got the wort ready. Then I blew the transfer BIG time. I spilled about 1/2 cup of the wort outside MrB. UGH. Dumb dumb dumb. I was in a hurry and Murphy took care of the rest.

Since MrB calls for 8.5 quarts of brew (water + wort) and I spilled some of the wort I figured I'd be ok if I reduced the water content and just brewed a smaller batch so I dropped 1/2 cup water and left it at 8 quarts total.

Was that wise? Dumb? Is there something I need to do to 'fix' it? I'm afraid I may have just brewed Bud Light. Or worse ... Nasty Natty.

 

[llazy_llama]

Ok so I just bought MrB and I couldn't wait until the real brew shop opened later in the week so I fired away the first batch with enclosed ingredients only. Figured worst case it'll be a learning experience.

I did everything as instructued and got the wort ready. Then I blew the transfer BIG time. I spilled about 1/2 cup of the wort outside MrB. UGH. Dumb dumb dumb. I was in a hurry and Murphy took care of the rest.

Since MrB calls for 8.5 quarts of brew (water + wort) and I spilled some of the wort I figured I'd be ok if I reduced the water content and just brewed a smaller batch so I dropped 1/2 cup water and left it at 8 quarts total.

Was that wise? Dumb? Is there something I need to do to 'fix' it? I'm afraid I may have just brewed Bud Light. Or worse ... Nasty Natty.

[SIC]

Well... it's Mr Beer. You should be so lucky as to get Bud Light. I actually brewed the West Coast Pale Ale that came with my Mr Beer kit, and it was pretty darn close to Natty Light. That being said, many of the other ingredient kits (especially the ones that don't use that godforsaken Booster package) taste much better. I was especially impressed by the Irish Stout.

All Mr Beer bashing aside, it's not a terrible little kit. Hopefully it'll serve you as it served so many of us, and it will convince you to move up to 5 gallon batches with real ingredients, real equipment, real yeast, and proper recipes.

To answer your original question, you're probably going to end up with beer that's just a tad bit more watery than intended. Depending on your palate, you might not even notice the difference. I'm sure next time you'll use a funnel, but you're fine for this time. If you start to panic, refer to my signature. Read it 10 times out loud to yourself. If that doesn't calm you, read it 100 more times.

 

[Thumper]

Hello again! I am currently on the carbonation stage of my first beer-WCPA... I fermented using the same setup Revvy posted on earlier pages and it seemed to work fine. I controlled the temperature and got it to be <70F the whole two weeks. I tried the beer and it was good tasting, no off tastes but of course no carbonation. On saturday I primed with table sugar (hope it doesn't mess up the flavor) and to try something different I directly put them on the fridge. The avg. temp is 37F on my fridge. Will it hold the carbonation process? thanks!

It will be extremely slow to carb @ that temp. Preferred method is 3 weeks @ 70. You will be looking @ months @ that temp if if carbs at all.

 

[Bombarde32]

[SIC]

Well... it's Mr Beer. You should be so lucky as to get Bud Light. I actually brewed the West Coast Pale Ale that came with my Mr Beer kit, and it was pretty darn close to Natty Light. That being said, many of the other ingredient kits (especially the ones that don't use that godforsaken Booster package) taste much better. I was especially impressed by the Irish Stout.

All Mr Beer bashing aside, it's not a terrible little kit. Hopefully it'll serve you as it served so many of us, and it will convince you to move up to 5 gallon batches with real ingredients, real equipment, real yeast, and proper recipes.

To answer your original question, you're probably going to end up with beer that's just a tad bit more watery than intended. Depending on your palate, you might not even notice the difference. I'm sure next time you'll use a funnel, but you're fine for this time. If you start to panic, refer to my signature. Read it 10 times out loud to yourself. If that doesn't calm you, read it 100 more times.

Oh, my palate will know the difference so that is a problem then. Perhaps then, this will be weak enough for SWMBO. She gits tipsy in a hurry!

 

[yeoldebrewer]

Not to worry. The WCPA w/Booster takes a long time to condition to the level of something like a Bud lite. Subbing a pound of UME or Dried Malt Extract will make a big difference. And there are better recipes.

Controlling fermentation temp is crucial. 65 deg F is about right. I'm guessing anything over about 70 is verboten for best flavor.

I put my Mr. B kegs in a cheapo ($13.00) styrofoam ice chest with plastic freeze packs and also a couple of 1 liter PET bottles of water to stabilize things. I have to watch the first 3 days or so of active fermentation pretty closely and change out the ice packs with this setup, because the keg is giving off heat during high krauzen. But it's cheap and it works.

 

[medic4070]

Alright...I'm getting a little frustrated. I got a Mr. Beer for Christmas and brewed a WCPA using the instructions and got...BMC Lite. Not bad...drinkable...but not something I'd pay money for. I moved on to batch #2-a MRB Fast Break Bock. I sub'd the Booster for a pound of extra light DME and pitched Nottingham. I also dry-hopped with Sterling hops because I didn't have the Saaz that the recipe called for. I let it ferment for 3 weeks and bottled it for 5 weeks, all at 70 degrees.

It sucks. I dropped 2 bottles in the fridge last night and just cracked one open. It smells and tastes vaguely like yeast and cider and tastes like the hops mush smelled when I pulled it out of the fermenter after bottling.

I've got a specialty grain Munich-Helles sitting in the fermenter that I'm bottling tonight (after 4 weeks fermenting) and hoping that won't end up sucking too.

Any thoughts or insight would be greatly appreciated.

PS> And yes, I did read the Mr. Beer thread, a lot of the beginner posts and Revy's bottling thread.

 

[llazy_llama]

PS> And yes, I did read the Mr. Beer thread, a lot of the beginner posts and Revy's bottling thread.

Then you know that a cidery taste is the result of green beer, and that you need to let it bottle condition for longer, right?

And you know that Mr Beer will make beer, not necessarily good beer, right?

Of course you did. I was just testing you. The only thing I can add is to upgrade your equipment. Mr Beer is great, not because it makes great beer, but because it gets a lot of people involved in homebrewing who might not have gotten into it without a cheap little $30 kit to tinker with.

 

[medic4070]

Thanks for the reality check. I can live with the cidery taste as I know it'll clear with time. I was just more irritated that the second batch tasted so awful. I'll give it more time in the bottles and hope the various flavors mellow out and blend a little better.

For my last batch, I replaced the spigot on the MRB keg, and used LME, specialty grains and pitched Windsor. I'm hoping it turns out a little better than the last few. I guess all I'm using from Mr. Beer now is the "keg". I just don't want to step up to 5 gallon batches until I get a little better at this. No sense in having 2 cases of bad beer sitting around.

Thanks a lot.

 

[llazy_llama]

Thanks for the reality check. I can live with the cidery taste as I know it'll clear with time. I was just more irritated that the second batch tasted so awful. I'll give it more time in the bottles and hope the various flavors mellow out and blend a little better.

For my last batch, I replaced the spigot on the MRB keg, and used LME, specialty grains and pitched Windsor. I'm hoping it turns out a little better than the last few. I guess all I'm using from Mr. Beer now is the "keg". I just don't want to step up to 5 gallon batches until I get a little better at this. No sense in having 2 cases of bad beer sitting around.

Thanks a lot.

Honestly, if you can follow simple instructions and use a kitchen timer, you could be making good extract batches following tried and true recipes. Are you getting the malt extract from your LHBS? If you're still using Mr Beer ingredients, you might still be disappointed in your beer, and I'd hate to see someone give up on homebrewing just because of a few bad Mr Beer batches. The two batches I made before retiring my Mr Beer were both mediocre at best. My first 5 gallon extract batch (Hank's Hefe Weizen from Midwest Supplies) was just awesome. It blew me away, and my friends couldn't stop complimenting it.

Anyway, I hope this attempt turns out better than your last and that the green batch you have ages really well and turns out awesome. Good luck, and RDWHAHB (when it's aged properly)!

 

[85 Haro Designs]

I'm sure I've chimed in here a few times about my experiences with Mr. Beer. Whenever I followed the Mr. Beer - approved instructions, the results were terrible. I mean, out of 4 batches I think there were all of about 4 beer bottles that were, er, OK.

Now, after some instructions from Revvy, I stopped using the Mr. Beer "Booster" , began boiling the kits for at least 15 minutes, and also stopped priming with table sugar. Since then I've made some really good brews - just throwing together 3 cans of Mr. Beer's extract and just random hops for bittering and aroma.

The last one (it's in 2ndary now) I made was 2 cans of Vienna Lager, 1 can of High Country Canadian Draft, 2 packets of Mr. Beer's crappy ale yeast (made into a starter a YEAR before and revived a few days before brewing) Mt. Hood and Amarillo hops.

Oh yeah, and a little crystal malt too - so far it tastes AMAZING.

I can't wait to taste it a few weeks from now when it's done getting bottled and then conditioned. I'll report back.

 

[medic4070]

Sounds about right. I also decided to follow Revvy's advice and ditched the Booster after my first batch. I also have been racking onto a corn sugar solution in a bottling bucket for bottling, rather than trying to prime each bottle individually.

I just bottled a Munich style Helles that I brewed from a recipe I got on-line. I tasted it when I was bottling and it didn't taste bad! Obviously not a finished beer by any stretch, but it didn't smell or taste like yeast or cider and it had some pretty good flavors in there. I'm hoping that a few weeks in the bottles will help everything mesh together and yield a decent beer. All the ingredients came from my LHBS.

I might be done with MRB ingredients and just keep going with stuff from my LHBS.

 

[Shooter]

Hey everyone, just wanted to give another thumbs up to using DME instead of booster. I just poured the first bottle of my second batch, after three weeks conditioning, and it is a vast improvement over the first batch. I used DME and a Safale 05 yeast on this one and it doesn't have ANY of that cidery flavor I got out of the West Coast Pale Ale kit. The US-05 did settle out a little too much for a hefe, but I just inverted the bottle and swirled lightly before pouring and now it has the nice cloudy hefe look and a very thick head. DEEEEELICIOUS!!!

 

[USMC_Brewer]

Hey everyone,
I have been reading up on these forums for a couple days and have been thinking of brewing my own beer for months. I am finally going to do it! Im going to but a Mr Beer but I cant decide on what I want to make, anyone have any good ideas on the packs I should try out?

Thanks for all the help

 

[Monk]

USMC, I've got two versions of advice for you...one for if you really want to try the Mr Beer way, and another if you are adventurous enough to try a modified version.

1. The Official Mr Beer way: I wouldn't buy any extra packs at first. Use the pale ale or whatever they supply in the equipment kit. Use the recipe option where you add dry malt extract or liquid malt extract instead of the booster. (I'm pretty sure the satisfaction rate for the Booster is about 2%). Ferment somewhere cool 60-65F.
The recipe will be like: 1 can pale ale kit, 1-1.5 lbs. dry malt extract or liquid malt extract (remember dme is more concentrated, so you needn't use as much).

2. The "I swear it's just as easy and you'll get way better beer" way:
steep 4 oz crystal malt in .5 gallon of water (~155F) for 20 minutes,
remove the grain by pouring your "tea" through a strainer or something,
add the mr. beer can and a pound of dry malt extract or liquid malt extract,
stir to dissolve,
boil for 10 minutes,
add to cold water according to the mr. beer directions. This recipe gives you a much better malt flavor because a. it actually has enough malt in it (mr beer recipes are VERY light), and b. it uses some fresh steeping malts.

When you get comfy with that, you can skip using the mr. beer can altogether and use a recipe like this one:

steep 4 oz. crystal malt for 20 minutes,
add 2 lbs. dry malt extract,
boil for 30 minutes with 1 oz of Cascade hops,
add 1/2 oz of cascade hops for last 1 minute of boil,
add to the cold water in the mr beer keg and ferment with us-05 dry yeast, or something similar.

Whatever you do...Make sure to place the fermenter keg somewhere COOL (like 60-65F) or you'll get off flavors from the yeast going crazy! Super important!

Good luck. This is how I started. If Mr. Beer doesn't turn out good, don't get discouraged...it's really easy to make tasty beer with malt extract, a little steeping grain and some hops. If you can make oatmeal, you can do it.

 

[JScott02]

New Mr. Beer owner here. Got it second hand from my future brother in law. He said he was fairly pleased with the results he got, just kind of lost interest. I just started a batch of the Whispering Wheat Weizenbeir. I now understand one reason why people say to loose the booster pack....that stuff takes FOREVER to stir in and dissolve!

I'm already planning my next batch which will be the Linebacker Doppel Bock. Going to skip the booster and and the Creamy Brown UME instead.

Found this site today while at work. I was really excited to find the Apfelwein recipe. I spent time near Frankfurt as an exchange student while in H.S. and got to try some at one of the pubs. Been looking for something similar ever since. Will be purchasing a 5 gal. better bottle soon!

 

[Irishman78]

Haven't posted in awhile, as I have been trying out the official Mr. Beer recipes for awhile, trying to reach my wit's end with Mr. Beer. Mission accomplished!

But let me say first that the recipes they sell actually do make pretty good beer, assuming they don't involve the dreaded B word (booster). I have made 2 Hellenbock, Hop Head Red, Voodoo Magic, and Defibrillator Doppelbock 7.0 (all from their website), and ALL have come out tasting great (Hop Head Red had 1 lb of DME added - wonderful, and 9.0 ABV!). I have actually thrown the Booster packs in the trash. Now I use the Mr. Beer fermenters strictly for Apfelwein.

Now I have moved on to 5 gallon brews. Got the carboy, bottling bucket, siphoning equipment, airlock, hyrometer, LHBS recipes, the works. It really is so much more fun, and a great step toward all grain brewing. For everyone reading this, this is such a fun hobby that allows you so much control, you can make a different tasting beer every time you brew!

I hate to say the standard "Mr. Beer got me to where I am now", but honestly, it did, and now I am not looking back at all! So, if you are reading these posts, and are intrigued, start with Mr. Beer, but listen to the suggestions here (i.e. ditch the Booster and use corn sugar for bottling), and let Mr. Beer give you the itch. Warning though: you will be hooked.

Seriously...

 

[JScott02]

My first batch of Mr. Beer will be ready to bottle next week.....and I'm already hooked on this "hobby". I used the quotation marks because like you all say, it's become an obsession! I've already ordered some ale pails and am planning on starting a batch of Apfelwein....can't wait for that! The supplies should arrive today....but stupid me forgot to order the dextrose...HAHA! So, I'll have to wait a bit longer, or stop being lazy and check out a LHBS.

 

[Irishman78]

I had to order dextrose the first time I needed it because of a lack of LHBS in my hometown. But I did somem checking and found a health food store that carries it in 2 lb bags for $5.00, and they always have plenty.

Still, not having a LHBS is proving to be quite a pain.

 

[llazy_llama]

I had to order dextrose the first time I needed it because of a lack of LHBS in my hometown. But I did somem checking and found a health food store that carries it in 2 lb bags for $5.00, and they always have plenty.

Still, not having a LHBS is proving to be quite a pain.

Eh, it's not too bad. I consider it a character building exercise. You learn the advantages of buying in bulk, and you're forced to master the ancient art of patience. Plus you have to plan carefully, which I think helps in reducing newbie mistakes.

Yeah, I don't have an LHBS either, and it sucks.

 

[Vuarra]

I have just purchased a "Beer Machine" from the interwebz (eBay, more specifically).

1) Is this similar to a Mr. Beer setup to ask questions in this forum?

2) This apparatus has a carbon dioxide dispenser (from seltzer chargers). Can I use this instead of priming DME / dextrose for bottling purposes?

 

[llazy_llama]

I have just purchased a "Beer Machine" from the interwebz (eBay, more specifically).

1) Is this similar to a Mr. Beer setup to ask questions in this forum?

It's close, but you might want to start a seperate thread (or just PM some of the former Mr Beer brewers) to get your questions answered. Some people who don't read this thread might notice it, and answer you.

2) This apparatus has a carbon dioxide dispenser (from seltzer chargers). Can I use this instead of priming DME / dextrose for bottling purposes?

Sadly, no. You'll still want to prime with priming sugar (or DME, or LME, or honey, or whatever else) because the tiny CO2 canister is only enough pressure to replace the air with CO2, preventing spoilage. It's not enough to force enough CO2 into the beer to carbonate it by it's self, a process we call "force carbonating."

 

[Vuarra]

Thank you, llama. Now I know that I've wasted my money, but at least it's going to a good home in the bowels of the experimentation dungeon.

I'm *so* glad I remember what a ratio is

 

[Hetuck]

I am very new to homebrewing and am not the least bit shy about admitting I use a Mr. Beer set up. In fact, I have 2 of them now so I can make two types of brew at once. Each keg makes about a case......not too much waste if my beer comes out very bad. I'm still in learning mode at the moment but I fully intend to upgrade as soon as the wife and I get a house with a room I can designate as the beer room.
I'm on my third batch at the moment.....third going on 23rd going on 203rd. I'm in this hobby for the long run

 

[Hetuck]

Haven't posted in awhile, as I have been trying out the official Mr. Beer recipes for awhile, trying to reach my wit's end with Mr. Beer. Mission accomplished!

But let me say first that the recipes they sell actually do make pretty good beer, assuming they don't involve the dreaded B word (booster). I have made 2 Hellenbock, Hop Head Red, Voodoo Magic, and Defibrillator Doppelbock 7.0 (all from their website), and ALL have come out tasting great (Hop Head Red had 1 lb of DME added - wonderful, and 9.0 ABV!). I have actually thrown the Booster packs in the trash. Now I use the Mr. Beer fermenters strictly for Apfelwein.

Now I have moved on to 5 gallon brews. Got the carboy, bottling bucket, siphoning equipment, airlock, hyrometer, LHBS recipes, the works. It really is so much more fun, and a great step toward all grain brewing. For everyone reading this, this is such a fun hobby that allows you so much control, you can make a different tasting beer every time you brew!

I hate to say the standard "Mr. Beer got me to where I am now", but honestly, it did, and now I am not looking back at all! So, if you are reading these posts, and are intrigued, start with Mr. Beer, but listen to the suggestions here (i.e. ditch the Booster and use corn sugar for bottling), and let Mr. Beer give you the itch. Warning though: you will be hooked.

Seriously...

Ditch the booster? I'm all for following the advice of people who know what they're talking about. But I also want to know why. For the 2 batches I've finished and the one of the way I use dextrose for bottling. What is the difference between dextrose and corn sugar? And what is the advantage of not using the dreaded booster from the Mr. Beer packages? Educate me, wise Ones!

 

[Hetuck]

And....I guess I should have asked this in the post above........how do you keep the ABV high without using the booster?

And another question........can you use the Mr Beer kegs to make an all-grain brew? I've got lots of ideas but I don't know the limits of my Mr Beer kegs. What I do know is that this site/forum is freaking awesome! Looking forward to some answers...

 

[Hetuck]

It's close, but you might want to start a seperate thread (or just PM some of the former Mr Beer brewers) to get your questions answered. Some people who don't read this thread might notice it, and answer you.


Sadly, no. You'll still want to prime with priming sugar (or DME, or LME, or honey, or whatever else) because the tiny CO2 canister is only enough pressure to replace the air with CO2, preventing spoilage. It's not enough to force enough CO2 into the beer to carbonate it by it's self, a process we call "force carbonating."

Wait a minute........so I'm not limited to bottling with just dextrose (priming sugar)? I can bottle my flat beer and prime it with honey or DME instead of dextrose? This is very interesting to me! Does this effect the final outcome as far as flavor is concerned. It seems to me if I'm making a honey lager it would behoove me to prime with honey. See there.....I'm learning already.....I think:rockin:

 

[llazy_llama]

Some people will tell you that dextrose and table sugar end up the same, some will tell you they can taste the difference. Some people claim DME gives a lighter head (think Guinness on a nitro tap) and some will say there's no difference.

Personally, I think there's a difference, but it's up to you the brewer to experiment and decide for yourself.

 

[ifishsum]

Ditch the booster? I'm all for following the advice of people who know what they're talking about. But I also want to know why. For the 2 batches I've finished and the one of the way I use dextrose for bottling. What is the difference between dextrose and corn sugar? And what is the advantage of not using the dreaded booster from the Mr. Beer packages? Educate me, wise Ones!

The booster is a cheap way to up the alcohol and use less malt extract. Large commercial breweries do it all the time, which is why their beers taste watery compared to the average micro brew or home brew. The other problem more specific to Mr. Beer and homebrewing is that simple sugars (like what's used in the booster) can also impart a cidery flavor to the beer, especially when fermented at warmer (ale) temperatures. For me this was much less noticeable if fermented below 65, but still there.

By using more extract instead of the booster, you'll get a more flavorful beer and about the same alcohol level because of the malt sugars in the extract. An extra can of Mr. Beer extract (they call it UME) or a pound of dry malt extract from the LHBS (in place of the booster) will greatly improve the beer - even the Mr. Beer instructions seem to acknowledge that fact. Their deluxe recipes often include 2 cans of extract instead of 1 can + booster.

Dextrose is the same thing as corn sugar.

 

[Hetuck]

Thanks ifishsum! Now for another dumb question.....what is LHBS? Ultimately I want to get off the extract all together and brew exclusively with all-grain. If I saw it a couple times I'd know what to do. But I don't know anybody who brews. So I'm limited to reading and learning what I can in here.

 

[Thumper]

Thanks ifishsum! Now for another dumb question.....what is LHBS? Ultimately I want to get off the extract all together and brew exclusively with all-grain. If I saw it a couple times I'd know what to do. But I don't know anybody who brews. So I'm limited to reading and learning what I can in here.

LHBS= Local Home Brewing Store. A local place to buy brewing supplies and equipment

 

[Hetuck]

I'm feeling the love. Thanks for the help, guys.

 

[Hetuck]

So....if I were to carbonate/condition with honey instead of dextrose, how much honey should I use for a 12oz. bottle? And is it better to dissolve the honey in hot water prior to putting it in the bottles?

 

[flylock_jac]

So....if I were to carbonate/condition with honey instead of dextrose, how much honey should I use for a 12oz. bottle? And is it better to dissolve the honey in hot water prior to putting it in the bottles?

This might help. It's by the batch ,not the bottle but your probably better off
doing it that way. I have not used these in any of my batches ,so can't vouch
for the results.

Miscellaneous Brewing Charts

 

[Hetuck]

When I bottled my last batch I dissolved 1 cup of dextrose in boiling water then with a sterilized seringe I shot 2 tablespoons of dextrose water into each bottle then capped them.....they all turned out perfectly carbonated. But I only had 2 gallons of beer. I noticed on that chart it only calls for 3/4 cup for 5 gallons. Is it possible to use too much dextrose? My beer is pretty foamy when I pour it. Is that because I used so much dex?

 

[irunxcjm]

Yes, that could be the case. An easier way than squirting the priming solution into each bottle is to pour that solution into your beer. (I'm assuming you are using only the Mr. Beer fermenter). Then stir very gently to mix it evenly. If you do rack it to a bottling bucket of sorts, then pour the solution into the bucket and rack the beer on top of it to mix.