Mr Beer - Read all about it and ask questions
- Thread starter Orfy
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
I've made about 15 Mr Beer batches, and used their yeast every time. Never rehydrated or made a starter with them. Sometimes they were a little slow to take off, up to 2-3 days. The only packet I ever had that was dead, I had kept in a drawer next to my oven for 6 months. If you see nothing accumulating in the bottom of your barrel or any krausen on top after 4 days, I think it'll be fine to pitch the US-05.
Justibone
Well-Known Member
May His Holiness of the Great Marinara Miracle spare me the wrath of His terrible Falling Meatballs.
*genuflect*
*cower*
*weep*
Justibone
Well-Known Member
This is correct. Generally, in the winter, temperature control is no problem, unless it's in your basement and you are essentially refrigerating it.
In the summer, you should start cooling it *before* it really kicks into high fermentation. I place my bucket into the swamp cooler right after pitching yeast and just before I put it under an airlock.
Justibone
Well-Known Member
30 minutes is too short of a time. If you want to grow up a starter, it takes a few hours or even the better part of a day.
It did do *something*... it just didn't do *much*. It was growing, you just didn't give it time.
Yeast doubling time is about 1 hour, so in order to get up to a factor of 8x the number of yeast in the packet you need to give it 3 hours (2 x 2 x 2 = 8). 1000x takes 10 doublings, or 10 hours. (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024.)If the yeast were unhealthy, or if many were non-viable after that period of time, then it might have taken them even longer. If you are going to make a starter with your yeast, give them time to do the job. Given the right nutrients and time, they are more than happy to have enough crazy yeast sex to give you a sufficient population.
(Yes, yeast *do* exchange DNA, even though they are haploid monocytes.)
I've never made a starter with Mr Beer yeast, but I've made starters (both at home for beer and work for DNA/protein synthesis). If the beer hasn't changed gravity by Wednesday, then I suggest that you do pitch the US-05 in there. Check the gravity, though, so you really know whether or not the yeastie-beasties are munching on your sugars or not.
Justibone
Well-Known Member
Are you brewing your favorite types of beer?
That's the key, if you are a stout drinker, brew stouts. If you are an IPA fan, you need to be dry hopping your brewing brainz out.
There is also the possibility that this hobby is not for you. Some people taste the "extract twang" and decide they never want a homebrewed beer again. Some people are too bothered by the yeast in the bottom of the bottle. Some people don't want the extra expense (as compared to a BMC) and hassle. Brewing is not for everyone.
There are fixes for the above problems. Going all-grain gets rid of extract twang, and kegging gets rid of the trub-bottle issues. If you don't enjoy the extract brewing, though, then I would not recommend the significant cash outlays in order to do an all-grain set-up or kegging set-up. If you want to give it one more shot, then you need to search the "brew-in-a-bag" thread, and go with an all-grain recipe of a kind of beer you like. Give the thing a full month -- YES, ALL THIRTY DAYS!
-- of primary fermentation, and then give it a full three weeks at temperatures above 70F to carbonate. Finally, give it a full 48 hours -- seven days would be better -- in the fridge to cold condition. If you don't like it after all of that, then save yourself the hassle and expense, because brewing beer is not for you. You might like cider, mead, or wine, so you can still use your Mr Beer if so, but then again it might just be time to cut your losses.No one can tell you whether or not this hobby is for you. That's up to you and you alone.
Are you brewing your favorite types of beer?
That's the key, if you are a stout drinker, brew stouts. If you are an IPA fan, you need to be dry hopping your brewing brainz out.
There is also the possibility that this hobby is not for you. Some people taste the "extract twang" and decide they never want a homebrewed beer again. Some people are too bothered by the yeast in the bottom of the bottle. Some people don't want the extra expense (as compared to a BMC) and hassle. Brewing is not for everyone.
There are fixes for the above problems. Going all-grain gets rid of extract twang, and kegging gets rid of the trub-bottle issues. If you don't enjoy the extract brewing, though, then I would not recommend the significant cash outlays in order to do an all-grain set-up or kegging set-up. If you want to give it one more shot, then you need to search the "brew-in-a-bag" thread, and go with an all-grain recipe of a kind of beer you like. Give the thing a full month -- YES, ALL THIRTY DAYS!
No one can tell you whether or not this hobby is for you. That's up to you and you alone.
I've got a 3rd brew that I just bottled last week that I didn't use any Mr. Beer extract on. I steeped some honey malt, used dry wheat malt extract, used hallertau hops, and a K97 yeast.
I'd like to think my extract brewing methods are in line with what other home brewers are doing and would like to blame it on poor ingredients. I'm still confident that I can make a great beer at home, and would like to try a small all grain batch, probably using the brew in a bag method to see if that yields better results. I will pay much more attention to the recipe, cause I want something with flavor this time.
rycov
Well-Known Member
mr. beer has always been pretty good on their ingredients. at least for me. i would probably blame the spicyness on hops. there are def. hop varietys that i do not care for. pick a different style. follow the directions closely. and you will find something you like to make. if you like beer (i assume you do) and you enjoyed making it, and just arent happy with the results. i wouldn't quit just yet. the more you brew the better you get, and the better your beers get. also picking a style that you really like with help. DON'T GIVE UP! YOU WILL MAKE REALLY GOOD BEER!
Which Mr Beer kits have you done, which ones turned out good. Anything you did to enhance them? used DME? steeped grains? used additional hops?
Justibone
Well-Known Member
Steeping grains will add a lot of mouthfeel. If you like a "full" beer, then an oatmeal stout or a maibock could be up your alley. Not really sure. You just need to drink around until you know what you like, then search for (or create) a thread trying to replicate that beer.
Steeping grains will add a lot of mouthfeel. If you like a "full" beer, then an oatmeal stout or a maibock could be up your alley. Not really sure. You just need to drink around until you know what you like, then search for (or create) a thread trying to replicate that beer.
I really like most types of beer and can happily drink most anything I buy from the store, even a BMC, though they aren't what I prefer. These first 2 brews were really sub-par and I can't really pinpoint anything I did wrong during the brew that caused it. Possibly the LME was too old?
Justibone
Well-Known Member
Some people just don't like extract brew. It sounds like you're the type who wants a mouth experience. Part of that is carbonation and part of that is proteins. Malt extract doesn't have much in the way of proteins, but steeping specialty grains can add that. Basically, steeping specialty grains is just like making tea (except at a lower temp, 150F), and then using that tea to brew your beer. A partial mash is just using grains that have diastatic power (the ability to convert starches) and watching the temperature that much more closely.
It's a short step from a partial mash, where you are converting a small amount of grain, to brew-in-a-bag, where you are getting all of your sugar from conversion.
I'd say you need to try steeping at the least, or partial mash, or even brew-in-a-bag, since you've been unsatisfied up to this point. Also, try your beers as they get older, because time heals beer-wounds. Give them plenty of time to carbonate, then give them plenty of time in the fridge and even the bad old beers will start to shine a bit more.
It's a short step from a partial mash, where you are converting a small amount of grain, to brew-in-a-bag, where you are getting all of your sugar from conversion.
I'd say you need to try steeping at the least, or partial mash, or even brew-in-a-bag, since you've been unsatisfied up to this point. Also, try your beers as they get older, because time heals beer-wounds. Give them plenty of time to carbonate, then give them plenty of time in the fridge and even the bad old beers will start to shine a bit more.
Question: Is there any difference between what Mr. Beer sells as "Unhopped Malt Extract" and your standard liquid malt extract available @ any LHBS/online vendor?
I just ask as tips I've read for brewing better beer w/ Mr Beer seem to recommend handling it a little differently than the extract kits I've used before.
Specifically, the "no-boil" aspect, and amount/type of water to use.
If I'm using hop pellets for bittering (60 min), I assumed I'd want at least some of the LME in there for the boil, so I don't over-extract the hops.
Also, I've seen it recommended to use distilled/RO water with extracts, as the appropriate mineral content is already present in extracts (having already been boiled at the time of production). However, a list of hints on another site, focusing on Mr Beer, recommended *NOT* using RO or distilled water w/ Mr Beer extracts.
So, I'm just curious if the differences are due to the Mr Beer extract actually being different, or can just be chalked up to brewing habit/lore/voodoo/preference.
I just ask as tips I've read for brewing better beer w/ Mr Beer seem to recommend handling it a little differently than the extract kits I've used before.
Specifically, the "no-boil" aspect, and amount/type of water to use.
If I'm using hop pellets for bittering (60 min), I assumed I'd want at least some of the LME in there for the boil, so I don't over-extract the hops.
Also, I've seen it recommended to use distilled/RO water with extracts, as the appropriate mineral content is already present in extracts (having already been boiled at the time of production). However, a list of hints on another site, focusing on Mr Beer, recommended *NOT* using RO or distilled water w/ Mr Beer extracts.
So, I'm just curious if the differences are due to the Mr Beer extract actually being different, or can just be chalked up to brewing habit/lore/voodoo/preference.
Thanks. I wasn't really trying to make a starter, just trying to wake the little guys up by proofing them, like it says on here:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html (re-hydrating dry yeast)
According to that website, if nothing happens after 30 minutes then the yeast are likely dead.
But I checked my fermenter the morning after I pitched the yeast, and I had a lovely krausen on top!
:rockin:So what have we learned? Re-hydrating and proofing Mr Beer yeast may or may not produce visible results in 30-45 min.
Some people just don't like extract brew. It sounds like you're the type who wants a mouth experience. Part of that is carbonation and part of that is proteins. Malt extract doesn't have much in the way of proteins, but steeping specialty grains can add that. Basically, steeping specialty grains is just like making tea (except at a lower temp, 150F), and then using that tea to brew your beer. A partial mash is just using grains that have diastatic power (the ability to convert starches) and watching the temperature that much more closely.
It's a short step from a partial mash, where you are converting a small amount of grain, to brew-in-a-bag, where you are getting all of your sugar from conversion.
I'd say you need to try steeping at the least, or partial mash, or even brew-in-a-bag, since you've been unsatisfied up to this point. Also, try your beers as they get older, because time heals beer-wounds. Give them plenty of time to carbonate, then give them plenty of time in the fridge and even the bad old beers will start to shine a bit more.
I think my next brew I am going to try an all grain brew-in-a-bag. Looking at doing something similar to a dogfish head 90 minute with pilsner malt, amber malt, and continuous hopping with warrior, amarillo, and simcoe hops. I have a 16 quart brew pot, so I should be able to do a full boil for a 2 gallon batch
Nation5
New Member
I have been reading past posts that were somewhat related, and also trying to do conversions from Cane Sugar to Corn Sugar and using the carbonation calculator that was posted and I'm just confused.
My Mr. Beer West Coast Pale Ale has been fermenting for 16 days and I want to bottle. I picked up this Corn Sugar from my local home brew shop. Mr. Beer says to use 2 1/2 tsp of Table Sugar per liter bottle. From what I've read I can't determine if I'm supposed to use slightly more, slightly less, or exactly 2 1/2 tsp of the Corn Sugar.
Thanks in advance for any help, this forum is great!
My Mr. Beer West Coast Pale Ale has been fermenting for 16 days and I want to bottle. I picked up this Corn Sugar from my local home brew shop. Mr. Beer says to use 2 1/2 tsp of Table Sugar per liter bottle. From what I've read I can't determine if I'm supposed to use slightly more, slightly less, or exactly 2 1/2 tsp of the Corn Sugar.
Thanks in advance for any help, this forum is great!
What i did for my last 2 batches was boil 2 oz of corn sugar in a little bit of water for 10 minutes, let it cool, slowly poured the mixture into the fermenter, and very slowly stirred it around as to not expose the beer to oxygen. This was much easier than measuring out sugar for every bottle
Nation5
New Member
Thanks for the reply jbsg02.
This might sound stupid, but how did you measure out 2 oz? I just have dry package that is 5 oz, I could use just a little less than half?
I would prefer to just measure out the right proportions using teaspoons and put in each bottle, as this is my first batch of beer ever.
This might sound stupid, but how did you measure out 2 oz? I just have dry package that is 5 oz, I could use just a little less than half?
I would prefer to just measure out the right proportions using teaspoons and put in each bottle, as this is my first batch of beer ever.
Ounces by weight, not volume. We have a small digital scale that makes stuff like that easy.
http://www.centralchef.com/storefro...aspx?sfid=123094&i=185258036&mpid=7714&dfid=1
That is the one we have, only goes up to 5 pounds
Nation5
New Member
Yea, I was just wondering if you knew a conversion for corn sugar. Such as 1 Tbsp = 1/2 oz.
rycov
Well-Known Member
its kinda hard to say. they are different types of measurements (volume and weight) if the sugar is coarser or finer then it will be a different volume. also if it is really compacted or really loose then it will read different.
AR-Josh
Well-Known Member
I'm doing that exact one right now with a can of their UME pale export malt. I ditched the Mr Beer yeast and used a pack of Coopers yeast. They tore it up less than 24 hrs in. It is just sitting and slightly fizzing now. I started it 1/19 so I'm going to let it go the Mr Beer recommended 14 days before I bottle.
I like using Danstar Nottingham, especially if my brewing temperatures are going to be below 60F. I also like Safale US-05. It's good at temperatures almost as low as Nottingham, but is a little more tolerant of higher temperatures. I still prefer brewing at the lower end of the range (below 65).
Doing a science project at the moment...
I started with a Mr. B West Coast Pale Ale kit and no additional ingredients or equipment. It is bottle conditioning right now, but I wanted to do an actual taste test of the difference when using the recommendations on this forum.
So, I brewed another batch and this time I used 1lb of extra light extract instead of that crystalized headache Mr. Beer sends with its kits and I used the Safale 05. Two immediate and distinct differences. One, the wort smelled and looked ten times better and in less than 24 hours the yeasties are fat and happy. I think I know what the results will be even though the Mr. B kit will have two weeks conditioning time on the extract beer when I do the blind taste test (which will be a blind test due to me having friends taste them both with no idea of what I have done).
I can't wait.
I started with a Mr. B West Coast Pale Ale kit and no additional ingredients or equipment. It is bottle conditioning right now, but I wanted to do an actual taste test of the difference when using the recommendations on this forum.
So, I brewed another batch and this time I used 1lb of extra light extract instead of that crystalized headache Mr. Beer sends with its kits and I used the Safale 05. Two immediate and distinct differences. One, the wort smelled and looked ten times better and in less than 24 hours the yeasties are fat and happy. I think I know what the results will be even though the Mr. B kit will have two weeks conditioning time on the extract beer when I do the blind taste test (which will be a blind test due to me having friends taste them both with no idea of what I have done).
I can't wait.
Justibone
Well-Known Member
Any ale yeast is fine for a "cowboy" pale ale. You might not want a wheat yeast or a belgian yeast, but almost any type of "Safale", or Cooper's, or Danstar, or even Munton's dry yeast is fine. If it just says "ale yeast" then it would be fine for a Mr. Beer kit.
Some people have fermented dry beers with champagne yeast!
For wheat beers you will get a better result using a wheat yeast... they are specially bred to give special flavors typical to wheat beers. Kolsch beers and "steam"-style beers need a special yeast. Belgian beers are absolutely dependent on their yeast, so there's no shortcut there, but by and large most ale recipes are not too picky about the yeast you use.
Some people have fermented dry beers with champagne yeast!
For wheat beers you will get a better result using a wheat yeast... they are specially bred to give special flavors typical to wheat beers. Kolsch beers and "steam"-style beers need a special yeast. Belgian beers are absolutely dependent on their yeast, so there's no shortcut there, but by and large most ale recipes are not too picky about the yeast you use.
Justibone
Well-Known Member
This is your first batch, so you don't have a scale. That's fine, just use the corn sugar exactly like the white sugar. The carbonation will be slightly low, but there is a great deal of variation in carbonation within a style so you won't even notice, most likely.
For the future, if you are going to keep brewing, a scale that can measure down to 1/10ths of an ounce is going to be handy.
Ok, I posted a few weeks back when I first got Mr. Beer. I followed all the instructions that came with it - 2 weeks in the fermenter, 2 weeks in a closet, 48 hours in the fridge. Couldn't wait to get home last night to try it. It was pretty disapponting - sweet and flat. I didn't forget the sugar when bottling.
Since then I have bought several carboys and a fermenting bucket and have 2 five gallon batches in primary.
Is this the way home brews are supposed to come out?
I am hoping that it is just a matter of putting it back in the closet to ferment longer and not that I invested several hundred dollars to produce yucky beer.
Thoughts from the pros?
Since then I have bought several carboys and a fermenting bucket and have 2 five gallon batches in primary.
Is this the way home brews are supposed to come out?
I am hoping that it is just a matter of putting it back in the closet to ferment longer and not that I invested several hundred dollars to produce yucky beer.
Thoughts from the pros?
Justibone
Well-Known Member
Sweet and flat = dead yeast. Sorry.
EDIT: if you want, dump all the bottles into a fermenter, add live yeast, and the batch might still come out. There's a strong chance of infection, though.
EDIT: if you want, dump all the bottles into a fermenter, add live yeast, and the batch might still come out. There's a strong chance of infection, though.
Ok, I posted a few weeks back when I first got Mr. Beer. I followed all the instructions that came with it - 2 weeks in the fermenter, 2 weeks in a closet, 48 hours in the fridge. Couldn't wait to get home last night to try it. It was pretty disapponting - sweet and flat. I didn't forget the sugar when bottling.
Since then I have bought several carboys and a fermenting bucket and have 2 five gallon batches in primary.
Is this the way home brews are supposed to come out?
I am hoping that it is just a matter of putting it back in the closet to ferment longer and not that I invested several hundred dollars to produce yucky beer.
Thoughts from the pros?
Well I will wait for someone else to give you advice. But I do know that home brew is way better then beer in the store. Yes you will get a bad batch or to but in general you will get great carbonated beer. I opened my first bottle of Mr. beer yesterday 12 days in fermenter and one week in bottles one day in refrigerate and I only opened one. It was very very good and carbonated. I was very happy with only one week in bottles. Cant wait to try one after 2 weeks.
Roger
Nation5
New Member
Thanks Justibone! That is exactly the reassurance I was looking for! I guess I'll be putting a scale on my next to purchase list.
Also, thanks jbsg02, and rycov for the advise as well!
Also, thanks jbsg02, and rycov for the advise as well!
Nova5
Well-Known Member
Ok, I posted a few weeks back when I first got Mr. Beer. I followed all the instructions that came with it - 2 weeks in the fermenter, 2 weeks in a closet, 48 hours in the fridge. Couldn't wait to get home last night to try it. It was pretty disapponting - sweet and flat. I didn't forget the sugar when bottling.
Since then I have bought several carboys and a fermenting bucket and have 2 five gallon batches in primary.
Is this the way home brews are supposed to come out?
I am hoping that it is just a matter of putting it back in the closet to ferment longer and not that I invested several hundred dollars to produce yucky beer.
Thoughts from the pros?
Mr Beer can produce excellent beer if you get out of their basic cans that use booster. As for flat, You might have missed sugar in one bottle and just by random dumb luck picked that one. That being said, the stock West Coast Pale Ale/Cowboy Lager that comes with Mr Beer's deluxe kit leaves a rather... negative impression. I got a couple of their deluxe refills which use 2 cans of goo, then up to their Recipes which use Goo, Hops, spices, etc. those turn out REALLY nice.
Mr Beer is just Extract simplified even further. I have a pair of 5gal Extract batches on the way from AHS, then up to All Grain. I have no doubt I will still do Mr Beer's recipes at times. But the keg makes a nice 2.5Gal batch fermenter.
Just FYI, the scale I posted a link to earlier, will only go up to 5 pounds. I wouldn't recommend that one because if you want to start doing some all grain brews, you will often be measuring out more than 5 pounds.
Justibone
Well-Known Member
True, but until you get your own mill you will be having the HBS grind 'em for ya anyways, so they'll weigh them at the same time. When you buy a mill, you need a scale that can handle much larger weights.
Unless, that is, you want to measure your water by weight, which, if you know the temperature, is a perfectly valid way to do it.
HopfulAddiction
Active Member
For the future, if you are going to keep brewing, a scale that can measure down to 1/10ths of an ounce is going to be handy.
My scale only does up to an 1/8th oz increments. But it will measure one gram so I think I'll survive.
petey_c
Senior Member
Zamial, Can't help you tonight. I'll send myself an email and I can check in 7 or 8 hours. Okay?
Similar threads
