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My keg smelled like that even after washing with the oxygen brewing wash. I simply re-washed it, rinsed it out real good and it smelled normal again. The key is to let the mixture sit in the keg for at LEAST ten minutes (i did about 20) until you rinse it. When rinsing just make sure to do several good passes. Keep things real clean is the motto of many brewers apparently ;)
 
Darklordenron said:
By the by, what are the realistic chances a homebrew beer would make you hurl or get otherwise sick?
Click to expand...

If you drink enough, any beer will make you sick.

If you're asking whether you can make mistakes and introduce something (through poor sanitation for example) that would cause you to get sick, the answer is that fermentation pretty much guarantees that "bad stuff" won't live in the beer. You can get a bad tasting beer, but not one that will make you sick.

A few hundred years ago, almost everybody in England drank beer (even little children) because the water wasn't safe to drink. That was so ingrained in the thinking of the times that when settlers landed in the Americas, they often started breweries as soon as they could because they didn't want to drink the water.
 
pretty much the same as beer you buy. if it got infected with somethin then maybe, or if you drank thirty of them definately. but it shouldn't make you sick. mine have never made me or anyone else sick. once the yeast take over the ph in the beer keeps other things from living in it. even if it doen't taste good it wouldnt make you sick. i've seen where people have gotten infections in there beers and just racked them to a new container and the beers were still fine. do a search on "don't ever dump your beer" and infections.
 
Darklordenron said:
By the by, what are the realistic chances a homebrew beer would make you hurl or get otherwise sick?
Click to expand...
What everyone else has said pretty much answers this, but I did want to add that some people do react poorly to the live yeast in home-brew.

My dad basically can't drink anything I brew (and believe me, he's tried!) that is unfiltered and bottle-conditioned.

There's nothing wrong with the beer though, he's just sensitive to the yeast.
 
Interesting. My pal tried both my pale ale and voodoo magic with no ill effects. (except for a major case of intoxication ;)

Quick question: when making a beer with a hop sack, do i leave it in the keg while fermentation occurs or take it out before storing the keg for three weeks? I'm assuming i leave it in, removing it after bottling..
 
Ahh, one more question, so sorry!
I've heard that one should use a little more corn sugar when priming than you would use table sugar. What is "a little bit" exactly? Any specific measurements? The pale ale i brewed could have used a bit more carbonation imho..
 
Darklordenron said:
Interesting. My pal tried both my pale ale and voodoo magic with no ill effects. (except for a major case of intoxication ;)

Quick question: when making a beer with a hop sack, do i leave it in the keg while fermentation occurs or take it out before storing the keg for three weeks? I'm assuming i leave it in, removing it after bottling..
Click to expand...

usually if you boil them you take them out after the boil. if you put hops in the fermenter its called dryhopping and usually done in a secondary container after fermentation has taken place. but i dont think it would hurt anything if you left them in.

as for the corn sugar do a search on corn sugar vs table sugar. i've seen it on here before. actually its on this thread to several pages back. i would just tell you but i can't remember exactly what the conversion is.
 
Darklordenron said:
Ahh, one more question, so sorry!
I've heard that one should use a little more corn sugar when priming than you would use table sugar. What is "a little bit" exactly? Any specific measurements? The pale ale i brewed could have used a bit more carbonation imho..
Click to expand...

To me the conversion is one to one. The difference in amounts is so small as to be insignificant, and it wouldn't be the reason you beer was undercarb'd.

I use a carbonation calculator to get the co2 volumes I need for that style. Like this one http://kotmf.com/tools/prime.php. It will figure corn or table sugar (and some others), but you'll see that it isn't that big of a difference. Taste wise, no difference that I can perceive.
 
My most recent batch, American Blonde Ale, was made using a little less than half a package of Coopers Yeast. Wow, did it bubble up! Hopefully I didn't kill the batch with my shenanigans... :D

The last batch I just bottled was the Bewitched Red Ale, and I used Corn Sugar at about the same ratio as the table sugar. We will be opening that April 3rd for my wife's birthday. I will keep you posted on how that turns out.

:mug:
 
Question. Before botteling I transfered my beer from the Mr Beer keg to a botteling bucket to try and reduce the debris in my bottles. Not thinking I just opened the spigot and let it drain into the second bucket severely aerating the beer. Am I screwed? What can I expect?
 
Oxidation. But then again, could be the best beer you've had. You're not screwed. This is a hobby done for relaxation, so relax. Give the beer the time it needs to carbonate, and condition, then enjoy.

You do realize, needlessly worry and stressing over your beer will make that time seem to take forever....
 
Andrwb33 said:
Question. Before botteling I transfered my beer from the Mr Beer keg to a botteling bucket to try and reduce the debris in my bottles. Not thinking I just opened the spigot and let it drain into the second bucket severely aerating the beer. Am I screwed? What can I expect?
Click to expand...

I think what you can expect is that it won't age as well as other beers that haven't been aerated at bottling time. If you plan to drink it all soon after it's ready, don't sweat it. It isn't going to go bad in a few weeks.
 
Some general comments for those who feel like they should stay with the Mr. Beer equipment because they don't want to make 5 gallon batches. There is nothing engraved in stone that says that you have to make a certain number of gallons per batch with "regular" homebrew. I've had customers make as little as one gallon at a time (cheez, that's a lot of work for one gallon, though). I personally have used the Mr. Beer equipment one time (the company generously shipped us one unsolicited). My biggest objection to the "barrel" is that you cannot put an airlock on it (and therefore guaranteeing a CO2 layer above the beer), and I hated having to hold the spigot in while I was filling bottles. Most homebrew shops stock 3 gallon carboys (available in glass & PET plastic), so you can make your 2 - 2.5 gallon recipes in one of these while using an airlock and bypassing the spigot. Syphoning is a piece of cake once you get the hang of it. These carboys are easy to clean and easy to see the action (especially since you have an airlock to gauge the vigor of fermentation. You also are not confined to using the cans of hopped & unhopped malt extract from Mr. Beer. Many shops offer bulk malt extract and you can simply buy as much or as little as you want. This is much less expensive per pound than the cans and more flexible, to boot. An alternative for those that don't have access to bulk malt extract is dried malt extract, which is easy to apportion out by the cup, ounce, etc. Unless you really like your beer on the lighter-bodied side, there is no reason to use booster or corn/cane sugar in your recipes. You can simply replace these ingredients pound for pound with additional malt extract. The quality of the final product is much improved and the aging time drops, because you do not have to wait for that cidery twang to recede. Anyway, that is my two cents worth. I am happy to offer you any advice you may wish. I've been making my living doing this since 1978.

Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Houston TX
www.defalcos.com
 
Thank you defalcos, and welcome to the forum. You have many good ideas there.

If you read through this entire thread, many, if not all the ideas you presented, have been discussed in more detail. It is a good read, though it takes awhile (2582 posts as of this post).

Your post showcases in one read some of the many options available to the Mr. Beer brewer or home brewers in general. There are even some examples of all-grain batches being done using the Mr. Beer fermenter.
 
Jollytim,
Yes, I started at the beginning of the posts, but, of course, that was dating back to 2007. But, as I have seen numerous comments from new posters with these same issues coming up time and again, I'm guessing not everybody starts reading the posts starting with Day One. I was hoping this might tie things together a bit. Yes, I don't doubt that there are folks doing all-grain batches with their Mr. Beer equipment. Heck, I don't know if you were aware of it, but William Sonoma was selling one gallon all-grain homebrew kits at Christmas (I didn't say "good" one gallon all-grain homebrew kits. . .). I find interesting that obviously there are a lot of Mr. Beer customers spending a lot of money on the Mr. Beer ingredient packages, when just about any homebrew shop (not just ours) could provide them with infinitely more variety of ingredients at considerably lower prices, in addition to free advice. Obviously, the folks at Mr. Beer know a thing or two about marketing (something that we LHBS could learn from). I think I'm up to three cents worth now.

Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Houston TX
www.defalcos.com
 
Is there a thread on what would be needed/how to about filtering beer? I am curious about doing this so i can drink directly from the bottle.
 
I don't know if there is a thread or not, but bypassing the bottle conditioning does require a fair amount of equipment. You'll need:
CO2 tank
Regulator
Cornelius Keg (soda canister)
Quick Disconnects
Tubing & fittings
Filter & Filter cartridge
Counter-Pressure filler or Beer Gun

Most homebrew shops will have this stuff. It's a lot of work, and I've noticed that often the filtering process tends to strip the beer of its body, but it can be done. It's not rocket science, but on the tedious side. You may find that you can get away with simply kegging the homebrew, allowing it to settle well, and using a "poor man's counter-pressure bottle filler" to get the job done. Technically, this is not filtering, but often it can be a good way to get a virtually sediment-free homebrew without the expense and hassle of filtering. If you're interested, check out this link: http://www.defalcos.com/brewing-information/keg-your-homebrew.html . This is general kegging information with a paragraph on the poor man's cp filler toward the end. Hope this helps.

Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Houston TX
www.defalcos.com
 
I too started with Mr Beer. Stll use it for smaller "test" batches. I don't think I would be brewing my own with out the easy introduction. I certainly have learned alot more reading here than with MR Beer, but I love being able to brew my own.
 
Bottles, there is nothing to be afraid. Bottles are specially created. It was the biggest number of bottles of bubbles:)
 
Sigh...just tasted my voodoo lager. Same green apple smell upon opening. Didnt taste the brown sugar at all. Tastes like ...beer, though just weak and there's nothing special about it. Why do all my beers taste like ****? I thought i would have created a beer thats at least worth getting excited about. If only i could get rid of the green apple smell, id be a lot happier. I did ferment both batches at around 73-74 degrees, but theyve been carbing for over a month..
 
I have another batch going and it has been fermenting at about 67-68 degrees for a week. Itsma lager with some blueberries in it. Followed directions to a "T" with these batches. Just took a gravity reading and it came out at 1.010. Dont have an og reading for it but it doesnt smell like anything. Literally nothing. A bit sweet, but hardly discernable. I just moved it to 71.2 degrees, but i cant help but wonder if something isnt right in there..
Was i not adamant enough with sanitization on the last few batches? Too high a fermentation temperature? I dont want to make the same mistakes again! I just want better, fuller tasting beer without the apple smell!!
 
Hey all, been reading through this and still in 2008 but lots of great stuff! I have been brewing MB for over a year now on and off, some great stuff an a few oks but mostly things have gone well. I was interested in doing an ingredient recipe if I could from basics maybe an amber or pale ale first off, something hoppy.

Would love any recipes people have, I have 2 kegs for mb to ferment in. Let me know! Or refer me to a great source please!
 
After a quick read of your posts, my first thought would be temperatures. You say 72 to 74 for one batch and 67 to 68 for another. Is that 'room' temperature? If so, the fermentation temperature can be several degrees to as much as 10 degrees higher. You want to keep the 'fermentation' temperature under 70. The first few days of active fermentation are the most critical.

I think you'll see a difference in the one brewed at a lower temp (all else being equal), but temperature control is about the single most important aspect to getting quality under control.

Oh, and brown sugar may not do much, it is just regular sugar with some molasses, so it may actually thin your beer, and make it drier... with a hint of molasses.

Give it some more time, some of that may fade... and look for threads here relating to a swamp cooler.... there are some pictures somewhere in this epic thread. That will help a lot.
 
If you brewed the recipe on the Mr. Beer site, it's got 2 x 1.2# of malt extract for a total of 2.4# malt extract for 2+ gallons of beer. That's not bad (especially compared to the single can & booster original recipe), but it's still not exactly what I would call full-bodied. The apple smell is probably a by-product of the fermented brown sugar (1 cup, right?) combined with warm fermentation temperatures. For a full-bodied beer (without being really heavy), try 3 lbs. of malt extract (syrup or dried) and an ounce of medium bitterness hops (e.g. Mt. Hood - 1/2 oz. boil 45 min, 1/4 oz. boil 10 min, 1/4 oz. end of boil) and a package of Cooper's Ale Yeast. Forget the brown sugar until you've made something you like. Keep in mind that they hopped the can of brown ale to balance out just that can of malt. With the addition of the second can of unhopped extract, you skew the flavor toward the malty/sweet side. IMHO, a half an ounce of some medium bitterness hops would help balance out that sweetness, plus it would help mask the flavor of the fermented brown sugar. Frankly, if you will give the beer another month or so in the bottle, it will probably lose a lot of that funkiness. Hope this helps.

Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Houston TX
 
Ok so I found a beer I would love to try and clone, I figure I could also take this to my brew shop but looking for advice here on recipe creation. I have 2 MB kegs so could do almost a full 5 gallons eventhough it says only 2 gallons each, Can I go higher than 4 gallons with fresh ingredients in the two MB kegs? Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you think the beer sounds good from below it is New World Porter by Avery Brewery in CO.


Beer Style: Robust Porter, Black IPA
Hop Variety: Columbus
Malt Variety: Two-row barley, Munich 10L, chocolate, black, caramel 120L
OG: 1.065 ABV: 6.7% IBUs: 45
Color: Black


A traditional black porter, with a surprise twist - it's dry-hopped!! We've expanded the porter category a bit, adding a delightful, dry hop aroma to blend with the sweet caramel and chocolate characteristics of a Robust Porter.
 
Mr Beer kegs hold typically 2.13 gallon (8.5 quarts), but if you fill to the Q of quarts emblazoned on the keg, that is close to 2.3. Any more than that and you won't have any headspace (and you'll still have to deal with some blow off).

With that in mind, you have a 4.6 gallon capacity. Close enough to 5 gallons as far as recipes go. They'll be slightly stronger than projected, but not much.

I regularly fill the kegs to this level, and other than watching for blow off (keep the lid really loose until the fermentation settles down), have had no problems. You'll definitely want to control temps, optimally keep them at the lower end of their temperature range, but at the very least no higher than 70.

That is a bigger beer, so you'll want to ferment longer and condition considerably longer than the instructions say to. Sounds tasty though.
 
Minnbrew said:
Hey all, been reading through this and still in 2008 but lots of great stuff! I have been brewing MB for over a year now on and off, some great stuff an a few oks but mostly things have gone well. I was interested in doing an ingredient recipe if I could from basics maybe an amber or pale ale first off, something hoppy.

Would love any recipes people have, I have 2 kegs for mb to ferment in. Let me know! Or refer me to a great source please!
Click to expand...

Here's one very basic fruity/hoppy recipe i thought of somewhat taken from a recipe already on the MB site., More experienced brewers are ENCOURAGED to chime in and provide feedback on weather this recipe will work out well..

1 can WCPA
1 can Pale Export
1/2 oz Cascade hops
1 can Oregon Blueberries
White Labs WLP023 "Burton Ale" liquid yeast

Recipe is mr. Beer standard procedure...
Sanitize everything. Boil water. Remove water from heat. Slowly add ume and hme. Add hops in muslin hop sack at this time. Fill keg per usual.
Use 1/2 vial of White Labs liquid yeast. (1 vial is good for 5 gallon batches. Save rest in fridge. Follow directions on vial as you need to let the yeast sit at room temp for three days prior to pitching) ferment keg at 60-68F for two weeks. (I personally havent had good luck with fermenting higher than this for some reason) Carbonate for two weeks. Condition for two weeks. Enjoy! (hopefully!)
Havent tried it yet, but it's going to be my next batch.. If you beat me to it, let me know if it's any good ;)
 
jollytim said:
After a quick read of your posts, my first thought would be temperatures. You say 72 to 74 for one batch and 67 to 68 for another. Is that 'room' temperature? If so, the fermentation temperature can be several degrees to as much as 10 degrees higher. You want to keep the 'fermentation' temperature under 70. The first few days of active fermentation are the most critical.

I think you'll see a difference in the one brewed at a lower temp (all else being equal), but temperature control is about the single most important aspect to getting quality under control.

Oh, and brown sugar may not do much, it is just regular sugar with some molasses, so it may actually thin your beer, and make it drier... with a hint of molasses.

Give it some more time, some of that may fade... and look for threads here relating to a swamp cooler.... there are some pictures somewhere in this epic thread. That will help a lot.
Click to expand...
Yes, this was all 'room' temperature. I wish i knew a way to get a wort reading at a glance. Is there a device that could work with the mr.b keg i could grab to help me get a reading? The side-stick thermometer seems..inaccurate. At best. I'll try the swamp cooler thing on my next batch but i have the ability to provide stable temps for the most part for several more weeks. What that temp is, remains to be seen and has somehow eluded me thus far.
 
defalcos said:
If you brewed the recipe on the Mr. Beer site, it's got 2 x 1.2# of malt extract for a total of 2.4# malt extract for 2+ gallons of beer. That's not bad (especially compared to the single can & booster original recipe), but it's still not exactly what I would call full-bodied. The apple smell is probably a by-product of the fermented brown sugar (1 cup, right?) combined with warm fermentation temperatures. For a full-bodied beer (without being really heavy), try 3 lbs. of malt extract (syrup or dried) and an ounce of medium bitterness hops (e.g. Mt. Hood - 1/2 oz. boil 45 min, 1/4 oz. boil 10 min, 1/4 oz. end of boil) and a package of Cooper's Ale Yeast. Forget the brown sugar until you've made something you like. Keep in mind that they hopped the can of brown ale to balance out just that can of malt. With the addition of the second can of unhopped extract, you skew the flavor toward the malty/sweet side. IMHO, a half an ounce of some medium bitterness hops would help balance out that sweetness, plus it would help mask the flavor of the fermented brown sugar. Frankly, if you will give the beer another month or so in the bottle, it will probably lose a lot of that funkiness. Hope this helps.

Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Houston TX
Click to expand...

It does, tremendously. Thank you! I will try another few batches and get better at this at some point! Perhaps adding hops with all that sugar would even out them funky tastes...just so happens i picked up a massive variety of hops at the store the other day! I'm excited once more!
 
Well, the stick on's aren't' real accurate, but they are in the ball park and far better than nothing.

As far as temp control, I used (before I built my temp controlled fridge) a large chest cooler. Big enough that the keg could sit in there with room to spare. I also had a couple plastic soda bottles (48 oz. or so) mostly full of water and kept frozen. I would put one of the bottles in the cooler next to the keg (but not quite touching it) in the morning, then swap them out at night. I did this for the first week, and it kept the temps close to 70. After that, I didn't worry too much about temp control as the apartment was air conditioned... but I did ferment for 3 to 4 weeks.

Some people put water in the cooler and a t-shirt over the keg to wick the water... the natural evaporation keeps things cool, sometimes with the help of a fan. I wasn't comfortable keeping the keg in water.... and frankly the method I used worked.

If I weren't in an air conditioned environment, I would've used that method, or at least had water in the cooler while swapping the frozen bottles. Just don't submerge the stick on thermometer.... once wet they are useless.
 

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