I'm brewing an ale for the first time. It has been in the fermenter for 3 weeks, the air lock quit bubbling about one week ago, but checking again today I can still see small bubbles coming up in the brew. So, is this a sign that it might be to early to bottle? should I wait until there is no activity? Or just do hydrometer readings?
Thank you for your suggestions
Hey all!
I am a new brewer. I have been making wine for years now, my wife bought me a Mr. Beer for xmas. If she would have asked, I would have told her to just buy me a couple of carboys, but the money is spent lol.
I put the american ale kit to ferment today. Couple of quick questions The instructional cd that came with the kit was less than helpful. Should I let the the wort set in the fermenter for 14 days? then after that, Bottle it with the carbonation tabs that came with it. Then bottle for how many weeks? How long will this stuff last on the shelf? I doubt it will last too long before I drink it. I have already ordered some more 6.5 gallon fermenters from NB. I have never brewed beer before, but mine wine making gear will be a good fit for it... I mean you can always have more stuff right?
I let it go for 2 weeks, (although the instructions say 2 to 3 weeks), and then start checking the gravity with a hydrometer, (do you have one for wine making?). If there's no change over a couple of days it's done. Then bottle condition for another two weeks, checking after a few days to see if the bottles are getting hard, i.e. carbing up.
I eventually bought a bottling wand and tubing at my LHBS, less foam when bottling.
I think that sugar cubes have about the same amount of sugar as the carbonation tabs.
Btw, those briess 3.3 lb canisters or 3 lb bags of dried malt, (at your Local HomeBrew Store), are just the right size for the MrBeer kegs, just pick out the hops and yeast you want to use.
Also check out the Biermacht app for your phone, there's a forum here about it. I've learned a lot about making recipes using the app.
Cheers
Can I use soda annd yeast to brew
Can I use soda annd yeast to brew
Hey all,
So My Mr. Beer batch was at 14 days on Saturday. I am out of town until atleast Wednesday. Is it going to be ok until then?
Good Deal! I thought it would be ok, but i wanted double check.
I have a pretty good set up on fermenting. I took a grow tent i bought at a yard sale which is 100% light proof and insulated. I placed a small heater in there and a 6 inch duct fan attached to an ink bird, and it keeps the ambient temp right on 62 degrees +\- a degree. ill eventually be getting a chest freezer so i can do real lager, but im not that far yet.
I live in an apartment complex that is strict on their safety rules and I have to ask if I want to buy and plug in a small fridge. I had one before I moved here but took an 8 month hiatus to Texas and sold a lot of stuff that I couldn't get in my storage area. My fridge stayed in the storage for over 2 years and when I finally got around to asking this new landlord if it was ok to use, they said they would get back to me. I think they meant, we turn our back to you...
But, I want to get another one and since I pay my utilities myself, I will plug one in and using my Johnson Control Temp regulator I will use less juice than if used as a fridge. That will be my Lager maker and wine cellar and maybe a cheese cave. It may not hold a lot but it will do what I need it to do at very low cost. The control cost almost as much as the little fridge but saved a ton of money.
Absolutley! I was in the same boat. I was renting up until a while ago, we finally decided it was time to buy a house.
Now I have no landlord, but the Commander in Chief is still the final say, So time will tell. I am a big lager fan, and I know the extract kits that say they are lager, typically are lager like, but use ale yeast. I am a avid wine maker, so More wine storage is always a plus!
Hello, I'm new in here . I have a knack for finding new/unopened Mr Beer kits at the local Goodwill shop for $5 . After looking up what just the plastic keg costs,or even the cans of LME I'm doing ok (I think) . I have yet to brew but I will be soon. I also bought a kit from a Lakewood Farms that has 2 beer brew kits in it. So right now I have supplies to make a Canadian lager, an American Light , an Amber and a Pilsner . Quite a variety I think.
Are these kits as easy as they read or is there something else I should be doing or buying to make them better. Seems like theyre a sanitize,heat water ,add the stuff , pitch yeast and wait, rack off into bottles , add sugar and yeast and wait some more. Sounds way too easy to make anything drinkable. Any help is appreciated. Thanks and Prost !
I'm sure I will. 3 years ago I got into growing my own tobacco (cigar,pipe and chew)and I'm addicted to that too.
Hi all, new brewer here.
I bought a hydrometer for SG readings but it takes about 5oz to get the reading (I drew the sample from the spigot into a graduated cylinder). I drank the 5oz, waste not, want not. It tasted like flat beer which I understand is a good sign.
Can I open the LBK to dump it back in or is that a no no? A few readings from these small batches can get significant. How about opening the top and just dropping the hydrometer in and reading it that way? So much to learn!
Thanks!
Are these kits as easy as they read or is there something else I should be doing or buying to make them better. Seems like theyre a sanitize,heat water ,add the stuff , pitch yeast and wait, rack off into bottles , add sugar and yeast and wait some more. Sounds way too easy to make anything drinkable. Any help is appreciated. Thanks and Prost !
The American light and Canadian light should be basically the same beer, not sure about the Pilsner.
Yes, the kits are as easy as they say. I'd pitch the old yeast into the trash and spend a couple of bucks on good dry yeast. The cleaning stuff they include isn't really a sanitizer but should work well enough for a couple batches until you get addicted and invest more in brewing. Wait longer than the minimum, I always had better luck with 2-3 weeks before bottling. Keep the temperature controlled, just below 70f, to keep off flavors (think proofing bread) away. Oh, and don't bother adding more yeast into the bottles, there will be plenty in suspension with the turnaround on these kits. But yeah, drinkable is what you get with these kits.
Well, it begins.
Yesterday I bought a complete, unused but quite old Mr Beer kit for only $5 at a local thrift shop.
This is my first attempt at brewing beer. The beer is West Coast Pale Ale, and although I could not find a date on the can or yeast the kit included a Mr Beer catalog dated 2007 (LOL!).
I followed the directions carefully, both the directions that came with the kit and a YT video from Mr Beer...quite simple, pretty quick and kinda fun!
I've wanted to try my hand at this for 20 years now, and I am pretty excited to see how this works out! In spite of its' age, I can tell that there is a lot of action going on inside the fermenter already!
Congrats on starting the hobby. The bad news - that old extract is not going to taste good at all. I started with Mr Beer and found a couple of old cans sitting around and figured "why not". Once it finished fermenting, I took a taste and dumped it immediately. It tasted exactly like celery. Those cans do have an expiration to them for a reason.
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